Author: nneagu

If you’ve scrolled through Tik Tok lately, particularly on a weekend, you’ve probably come across the phenomenon that is the Sunday Reset. A Sunday reset can be described as a process in which you dedicate a block of time in a weekend to prepare for the week to come. This typically happens on a Sunday.

Have you ever scrolled through Sunday Resets on Tik Tok and seen the absolutely beautiful apartments these vloggers live in? I wish I lived in a place like that!#exsm3989 pic.twitter.com/pHKovAIvIS

— Nicole Neagu (@nneaguuofa) December 20, 2022

As you can see throughout the above tweet and clip, Sunday Reset videos are often made by lifestyle vloggers. The scene is often set in a stark white, expensive, and modern apartment, with a few things to clean here and there. But for the most of us, we don’t have the nice apartment with stunning views and a Roomba to do our vacuuming for us. For many of us, keeping an apartment clean is a laborious task that can be overwhelming to do in one fell swoop.

The Idyllic Notion of Perfection

Sometimes, I find it difficult to find the motivation to keep my space clean, and in turn, give myself a peaceful place to live and work. In watching Sunday Reset videos, I actually find the inspiration to get up and clean my house.

I appreciate the message that that these influencers are sending and how a small community has grown from it. If you subscribe to the Sunday Reset ideology, you’d be cleaning at the same time as many people around the world (give or take a few time zones). This sense of group motivation can be great to get you going.

On the other hand, I understand how difficult it can be to watch these creators do a lot of cleaning all at once in what, to us, is a few mere seconds in a video. You can be watching this while drowning in your own chores and procrastinating the many hours of cleaning you may have ahead of you.

While these “perfect” influencers are just looking to share their lives to their followers, the lines between “real” and “online” can blur.

To rectify this, I tried to make my own Sunday Reset video, while reassuring watchers that it’s alright if your Sunday Reset doesn’t look like everyone else’s. Watch below:

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Sometimes, perfect isn’t everything. But if a sense of community and motivation is what you need to get up and get you ready for the week ahead, Sunday Resets might be great for you.

To reiterate, Sunday Resets are different for everybody. In fact, a Sunday Reset could even be a little bit of cleaning here and there throughout the entire week and leaving your Sunday free for relaxation.

Once again, I ask, what does your Sunday Reset look like?

Ever wonder how to break into this digital era we currently live in? While you’re figuring out your niche and your audience, one thing to always keep in the back of your mind is how you’re going to tell your story. Whether you’re a musician looking to create a viral hit, or a young girl looking to share your creative ideas, learning how to tell a good story will propel you forward on any digital platform.

I’ve outlined the four steps necessary to mastering online story telling. Here are the highlights:

1. Plan It Out

Like any big project, essay, or vacation, planning is an essential step to any content you wish to create. This streamlines the development of the content and shows that you put effort into your work.

2. Hook Your Audience

With social media, our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. It’s important that we find new and creative way to attract and maintain our audience’s attention.

3. Keep It Simple

Although it can feel like your audience is full of your friends, keeping granular details to a minimum when telling a story can be beneficial. This way you can focus on the most interesting parts of your story instead of cluttering your content with unnecessary details.

4. Request Feedback

It’s important that we engage with our audience. Make sure to always throw questions back to your viewers and readers to get their opinion in the comments. Not only will you build a better relationship with them, but you’ll also get direct feedback on how your content is doing and how to improve on it.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit a new office of my company and meet up with the team that I work with. Normally, we’re all scattered across different offices so it was great to connect and see them in person. While I couldn’t tweet throughout my day, my thread is more of a retelling and recap at the end of the night. The reason we were all getting together was for a team building event. I organized the entire day for us and our team and we did icebreakers and a crafty activity. Read about my day below:

Thread: A retelling of my super awesome day in a new office and spending time with my team and doing some team building. Stay tuned!

— Nicole Neagu (@nneaguuofa) November 23, 2022

Storytelling principles:

Some of the storytelling principles I used include:

• Writing like I speak, to make what I wrote more digestible and more believable to the audience that knows me personally. Also, using plain speak on platforms like Twitter make it easier to fit within the word count.
• Including visuals. Whenever I could, I tried to include a photo to better portray what I was trying to say in the tweet. Since I was making something artistic, I could post photos of the art studio, the materials we used, and my final product.
• Using emphasis. Whenever I could, I tried to emphasize my words and thoughts using punctuation and capital letters.
• Engaging the audience. I tried to ask the readers questions whenever I could to get first-hand engagement and replies.
• As Gary Vaynerchuk mentioned in the class reading, “Document, don’t create.” My twitter thread was a retelling of my day with no embellishments. This helps readers feel like they’re peeking behind the curtain on my life and can read my actual thoughts.

Nicole Neagu

If we are asked to go down memory lane and think of our favourite story growing up, I guarantee that for at least a few of us, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling will pop into our minds. For those who haven’t yet been introduced to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it’s a series that follows a young boy, who on his eleventh birthday is invited to study at the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry after the lovable and aloof Hagrid, delivers his iconic “Yer a wizard, Harry.” The series continues and centres around Harry and his best friends, Ron and Hermione, over the course of seven books (and eight movie adaptations) and the hijinks and adventure that ensue.

While that was a very watered-down recounting of what the Harry Potter series is all about, one thing is for certain, Harry Potter played a crucial role in millions of people’s lives.

Where it began

I was one of the lucky few that discovered Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in elementary school at the young age of eleven (coincidence?). I think this is where the charm of the story really began for me. All of a sudden, I’m reading about a little boy, the same age as me, who learned he was special and had the opportunity to drop everything that was sad in his life for a world of mystery and magic. Doesn’t everyone want that? I found myself waiting outside my door for that letter with emerald green writing to arrive and invite me to study at Hogwarts.

While that day never came, I was still able to attend Hogwarts through reading the series. What makes his journey so captivating and intriguing is the fact that we grew up with Harry and it felt like we were right alongside him. Although we didn’t know him personally, in reading the books, we truly got to know him and his story. This may not be the case to those who read the books later into their adulthood, but for the young readers, Harry was a friend. In all, Harry was relatable to us at a young age because he was just a small boy dealing with fear, authority, bravery, and new surroundings.

The four I’s

I can sit here and talk about why I love Harry Potter forever, but let’s look at the facts. Is Harry Potter powerful storytelling? To do so, I will be using Ashley Fell’s Four I’s from her TED Talk, Why storytelling is so powerful in the digital era:

Interest. I think in looking at the absolute beast that the Wizarding World franchise has become, it is clear that there was interest in the books, and later on an interest in the movies.

Instruct. What did Harry Potter teach us? While it’s important to separate the author (and her problematic views) from her work, Harry Potter taught us the importance inclusion, whether that’s including friends who have a different background than you or working together to fight a common enemy.

Involve. One thing about the writing style in the Harry Potter books that I enjoyed is the fact that you learned along with Harry. Harry became aware of important plot points right along with us. We felt emotionally connected to the story and felt sadness with Harry as well as happiness.

Inspire. If Harry Potter did one thing, it inspired. From videos like Harry Potter Puppet Pals to full musicals like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and references and jokes in mainstream media on shows like SNL, The Simpsons, and Southpark, Harry Potter inspired many to create (whether in parody form or not).

Ultimately, Harry Potter is one of the most memorable and engaging stories that exists in our lifetime. The franchise has quickly grown outside the original stories and we will continue to see it grow in the years to come.