Who’s Lauren Cornell Anyway?

To those who are curious about who I am,
My name is Lauren Cornell. I am currently a junior at Northern Vermont University-Lyndon working towards a bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science, and an associate’s degree in Electronic Journalism Arts. I’m from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which is as far west as you can possibly go in Massachusetts before entering New York territory (which can be a big deal for many Massachusetts natives). Most people know my area thanks to the wonderfully talented Norman Rockwell. Otherwise, most days it feels like we’re a speck of dust (Fun fact: my great aunt’s ex-boyfriend is the police officer on the magazine cover created by Norman Rockwell below).

Getting a degree in Atmospheric Sciences is never easy, and I’m proud of myself for getting as far as I have in the major. Honestly, I think I thrive on the challenge and the workload. In fact, I’ve made my workload much heavier this year by becoming a Resident Assistant, and the Executive Vice President of our Student Government Association on campus. Is it bad that I think that I’m a workaholic?
When it comes to the work that I’m doing for my Electronic Journalism Arts degree, I am most proud of doing things out of my comfort zone. I have always wanted to become a broadcast meteorologist, but I never wanted to learn about anything in the studio other than the green screen. However, in my freshman year of college, I learned how I would benefit from getting an associate’s degree in Electronic Journalism Arts. As scared as I was, I decided to dive right in and have done a lot of work doing things like taking b-roll, editing, and writing news scripts. Even though my aspiration is to be a broadcast meteorologist, I have now broadened my horizons and will have more directions that I can take my career in.
I love to talk, I love to write, and I love to read about things that I am passionate about. Talking and writing about weather, climate change, and women’s rights are a few things that I am passionate about. Personally, the best storytelling I think I do currently is when I’m talking about the weather. Although I haven’t done much in front of the green screen, the practice that I do behind closed doors just seems to flow and it feels right. As a writer, I am most creative when it is something that I can relate to, or feel some sort of a connection to. For example, the best creative writing that I have ever done was written when I was at a low point in my life. When I am able to channel my emotions and release them all on paper, I write my best work. Sure, I won’t be getting emotional about everything we write about, but I’m sure I could connect to it in some way and work from there.
Social media is an addiction. I’m so glad no one keeps track of how often I’m on social media, because if they did, I’d be ashamed of myself. I wasn’t too big on social media at first. In fact, I got my first smartphone in my junior year of high school. Since then, I’ve been glued to my phone. My favorite social media apps are Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Personally, I use twitter for more professional uses, and all of my other accounts are mainly just for fun. My hope is to learn more about how my posts impact others, how to draw attention and get more followers on my accounts, and how I can use social media in a completely professional way.
So, that’s enough about me. Let’s talk about the podcast, shall we?
I really enjoyed the podcast and thought that Jon Ronson brought up many good points. Nowadays, we find most of our information on the internet. When our friends tell us about an encounter they had with someone, we instantly look them up and start to label them just by the information and posts that they share on social media. Before social media, we had to meet people in real life and ask them questions about their life. We were always curious about others, but now all we have to do is search a name, formulate an opinion, and start judging others. Not only do we label others, but we also label ourselves. On social media, we always want to get the most likes. We’ve begun to hold standards for how we look on social media, and we’ll do everything in our power to make sure that we look good. When we use social media, we need to remember that everyone is human and that no one is perfect. We shouldn’t be attacking others because that can really affect someone’s life. If we used social media the correct way and choose to not degrade others, our world would be a happier place. Social media is a great tool, we just need to use it wisely.