Author: callieexsm5110

Since I was born in February of 1997 my only goal in life has been to be a dog mom. However my parents never allowed my to have one growing up because my brother and dad have SEVERE allergies to basically anything with fur. Fast forward to 2022 and I am still living with my parents which means I am still not a dog mom.

Although I don’t have a dog of my own I am lucky enough to have a best friend who happens to have the cutest dog in the world, Elvis (see below for proof that he is ADORABLE).

A Little Bit About Elvis (The Dog)

Elvis is a shih tzu cross who was adopted by my friend Amy and her family when he was 2 years old. They didn’t know much about his background when they picked him up from the Edmonton Humane Society but what they did know was that he was nervous and needed to be loved.

Elvis is now ten years old, has a brain tumor, is blind, deaf, and has a heart murmur. Despite this list he is still a spunky, loveable ball of fur who wants nothing more than to sit in your lap and snore the day away.

Since Elvis is slowly getting older Amy didn’t know how many more Christmas’s she would have with him, so we decided that we needed to take him for holiday photos to remember the festive season with him.

Holiday Photo Day

I am fortunate that Amy lets me pretend Elvis is also my dog so naturally I tagged along to be a part of the holiday photos with Elvis.

We thought since Elvis was a rescue from the Edmonton Humane Society that it would be great to help give back to them and get our holiday pictures taken as part of their Pets With Santa Fundraiser.

BOY WERE WE WRONG.

Now since Elvis is blind and deaf he usually doesn’t have too much awareness about his surrounds (or at least he has made us believe that). However when we pulled into the parking lot of the Edmonton Humane Society it was as if this dog visions and senses were returned to him because he knew EXACTLY where we were. I have never seen him breath so heavy or shake so much but it was like all his past trauma came rushing back and once…

We had already paid for the photos so thought maybe he would calm down once we got inside…. this was not the case. We got inside and put Elvis on Santa’s lap and the fear in his eyes was evident. Elvis squirmed and wiggled and tried to get out of Santa’s lap, all while locking eyes with Amy and I as if to say “You crazy ladies better not be leaving me!”.

We took a few pictures of Elvis with Santa and then Amy and I joined in the photos. The whole process took maximum 5 minutes but I’m sure in Elvis’s world he thought it was hours. After photos the poor little guy wouldn’t leave our side – we felt AWFUL. Both of us wanted to make him feel better but didn’t know what we could do to tell him “Sorry we traumatized you”.

We got Elvis back in the car and he snuggled up into my lap but was still breathing very anxious and heavy. But Amy had an idea. She put the car in drive and mapped the closest Dairy Queen. The one thing about Elvis is there is absolutely NOTHING this dog loves more than ice cream – it is his Kryptonite. We just had to hope that a small cup of vanilla ice cream would erase the traumatic holiday photos.

We pulled into the drive through and again it’s like Elvis knew exactly where we were ( I am starting to think he is more aware of what’s going in the world than he has led us to believe). We order the ice cream and he vacuumed it up, let out a big sign, then instantly started snoring in my lap. THANK GOODNESS the ice cream worked. Hopefully all he remembers from that night now is his delicious treat and good nap and not the scary experience of this holiday photos.

Writing stories for social media follows principles of traditional storytelling HOWEVER there are a few things to keep in mind specifically for social media.

1) Great Stories Elicit Emotion

While this is a good thing to keep in mind when writing any kind of story, this is especially important for social media. With an overload of content available at our fingertips a story need to grab the readers attention almost immediately. An effective way to do this is to elicit emotion in your reader. Some ways to do this are to use humor in your story or make your story relatable/universal.

2) Write the way you Talk

When writing for social media keep your story simple and with a clear structure. If you write the way you would tell a story you are almost writing your story as if you are having a conversation with your reader.

3) Shorter is Usually Better

With dwindling attention spans and the overload of content on social media, a shorter story is more likely to hold your readers attention span. Long stories may tend to get scrolled by or only half read.

4) Vary Your Content on Each Platform

When writing stories and content for social media do not post the exact same piece of content on each platform. Each social media platform serves a different purpose and reaches a different kind of reader so your content should reflect this on each platform.

My co-worker turns 50 this week and a big milestone birthday like this needs to be celebrated… what better way to do that than to redecorate his office while he’s away on vacation! This is how Operation Balloon Blitz was born. Myself and the rest of my team took it upon ourselves to FILL his office with balloons, and cover his walls with old pictures of himself.

To read about Operation Balloon Blitz unfolded check out my Twitter thread here!

My Twitter thread outlining the unfolding of Operation Balloon Blitz seeked to use storytelling techniques and principles by:

• Writing simply and not using unnecessary adjective words (this is definitely something I struggle with so I am sure I can still improve on this with this thread).
• Trying to keep each Tweet short and succint.
• Trying to incorporate humor into my Tweets to hopefully engage and maintain the audiences attention.
• Included photos to help the reader visualize the story and to help grab their attention.

Moana is a Disney animated movie that tells the story of a teenage girl who, despite protest and disapproval from her tribe, sets out on a dangerous sailing adventure to try to save her people. Moana is expected to follow her Father’s footsteps and become the next chief of her tribe, but her heart pulls her in a different direction which takes her on a brave and dangerous journey throughout the movie.

What Makes Moana a Good Story?

1. Moana’s storyline is relatable

According to TEDx Talk: “Why storytelling is so powerful in the digital era” by Ashley Fell good stories are ones that are relateable and that we can identify with. In the movie Moana the daughter of a tribe’s Chief grows up being prepped to one day take over her father’s position as her islands Chief. However Moana dream of her own was not to be Chief, but instead she felt called by the ocean and was on a mission to become a master way finder. Moana struggled with not wanting to follow in her father’s footsteps she did not want to let her parents down. A theme i am sure we all can identify with.

For me, when I graduated highschool and I was trying to decide “what I wanted to be when I grew up” I struggled with pleasing my parents or pleasing myself. I was expected to follow a certain path but it was not the path I wanted to follow. I relate to Moana’s story and in a way felt like I could understand the internal struggle she was facing with doing what she thought she was supposed to, or following her heart.

2. Moana is a character we want to root for

As mentioned in our Module 2 video , one of the main principles of storytelling (according to Pixar) is that a good story gives you a character to root for. Moana is a character that is easy to root for because it is easy to put yourself in her shoes of struggling with making the right decision and being conflicted with being who others want you to be, or being who you want to be.

3. Moana has conflict, a climax, and a resolution

According to our Module 2 video a good story includes conflict, a climax, and a resolution.

Conflict: Moana main conflict throughout her story is whether or not she follows her heart and her own dream, or if she follows the path she is expected to take. This theme is something I am sure we have all struggled with at some point. As a people please myself this is a reoccurring theme for me and is one of the reasons why this film resonates with me so much.

Climax: Moana’s sailing journey is centered around her trying to find demi-god Maui to have him restore the heart of Te Fiti to save the people of her island. The climax of the story is when Moana, with the help of Maui, is able to return the heart to Te Fiti and save her island.

Resolution: At the end of the movie Moana returns to her island, reunites with her parents, and later becomes chief of her island and a wayfinder.