To advertise my story in the Greenspring Review, I chose to make the social media post on Instagram. I am quite familiar with Instagram, and the types of posts that are often made on the site. If you follow people who are involved on campus, they often post event flyers on their Instagram pages. This is usually done through Instagram stories, but since the purpose of the account is for this assignment, I will be doing so in post form. In addition, this post will allow me to create a caption for the photo. While Instagram stories contain overlay text, posts are usually accompanied with captions.
Since I decided to use my caption as my text, I was not able to manipulate the text color or font. However, I do not believe this would have added to the post significantly. At the end of the post, I added a playful emoji, along with a Pride flag. Despite the serious nature of the piece, I enjoyed writing it greatly, which I hoped to reflect in the post itself. I did use punctuation throughout, although I decided to forgo the final period where the emojis are.
Pictures are far more popular on Instagram than videos are, which is why I decided to use a slightly modified version of the photo featured in my piece. Instagram uses square photos, which made it difficult to use the banner included in my piece. As such, I grabbed a different image, which also features the asexual/aromantic pride flag in place of the lesbian pride flag. This may be inconsistent, but it broadens the amount of represented identities, and may now include people who were not included before.
I made this post at around 10 P.M., which is just about the best time to post on Instagram (although a little bit earlier may have been better). To increase traffic, I could make this same post on my main account. I could also advertise my piece on social media. In addition, I could make an Instagram story post that says “link in bio” and also advertises the main post itself. I could get more views by encouraging others to like and share the post as well.
Growing up, I was an adventurer and always found great joy in exploring the unknown. I explored to learn more about the world and see how in the end, mother nature will always prevail as mankind is at her mercy.
This idea of nature always seeming to triumph fascinated me at a young age and I always sought to get out of my comfort zone and do things that got my adrenaline flowing. It was a hot, humid July day in the summer of 2015 and me along with two other friends thought of the perfect idea; find a place to go cliff jumping.
We always found joy in finding spots to adventure, especially places where we could swim and have total freedom. We asked one of our close friends if he knew of any places nearby we could go cliff jumping and he knew the best, most secluded place where we wouldn’t find trouble with anyone.
He told us of a place about an hour west of Leesburg, Virginia, the place I lived at the time, and gave us a pinpoint on google maps where the spot should be. Me and my two other friends Hunter and George embarked on this journey and found ourselves in the middle of nowhere off a country road deep in rural West Virginia.
We followed the pinpoint on the map to a massive abandoned quarry filled with sky blue water. This place was like a dream, it was perfect. A long rectangular shaped quarry that was about 100 feet across and a quarter mile in length.
We then saw across the water a towering cliff that we estimated was about 60 to 70 feet in height. At first glance, I was so intimidated I contemplated even attempting to jump but I knew I came here for a reason and was overcome with the need for adrenaline. Soon we jumped in the water and swam down to check the depth, finding ourselves about 20 feet deep with no bottom in sight, we concluded the jump was safe… enough.
Next, we had to actually get to the top of the cliff and that was a vast challenge in itself as it was nearly completely vertical. However, through some quick thinking as well as trial and error we found a way to the top.
Let me tell you, the view from the top of the water was the most nerve racking thing I have ever experienced. Heights have always been a bit of a challenge for me to face but this was something I’d never come close to experiencing; I had no way down other than jumping in the water.
The only thing we miscalculated was the fact that the last ten feet of the cliff side nearest the water began to jutt out and any mistake would surely be our last. But, I swallowed my pride and began to breathe slowly preparing myself for the jump. I was the first one to the top and that meant I was the first one to go off.
I asked my two buddies to count down slowly, five, four, three, two, one. Once they hit one I hesitated for a slight second then everything in my mind stopped as I leaped out. It seemed like an eternity on the trip down, then boom. I hit the water unscathed, and yelled with triumph and exhilaration.
This experience brought me so much adrenaline that I had no choice but to do it again, and shortly there after I did. All in all, I was able to see how at mercy I was with nature and how with courage and bravery I would experience my own personal triumph, conquering mother nature.
Bright lights, street performers, gambling, partying, and huge crowds of people coming to one place for the time of their life; because “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” My spring break was all you could ever hope for – filled with love and excitement. This was my first major trip with a boyfriend, staying in a king suite of Mandalay Bay with a view overlooking the Las Vegas strip. Antonio and I were taking the trip of a lifetime.
We arrived in Las Vegas in the morning and were immediately ready to start the fun. Upon arriving at the hotel and checking in, we ran straight into the casino. The room was huge and seemed to go on for miles because we heard people cheering for joy and they were nowhere to be seen. We went straight to the black jack table and put down 100$. The dealer placed down two cards in front of me, a 7 and a 3. I nervously tapped the green felt table, and down landed an Ace, and just like that with beginners luck, I hit 21! I doubled my money on my first play.
We decided not to push our luck and get out to continue exploring, we were instantly captivated by the Mandalay Bay Aquarium. We bought tickets to feed the sea turtles too. Not only did we feed 300 pound sea turtles, but we also got a behind-the-scenes look at the shark tanks too. We spent the rest of our day wondering the aquarium seeing all of the aquatic life they had to offer. We called it an early night due to the jetlag we were beginning to feel after our long day of traveling from Maryland.
The next morning Antonio woke up before sunrise and placed a call into room service. I woke up to the smell of breakfast and freshly brewed coffee which filled the room. Antonio handed me a soft fluffy robe and slippers and told me to wake up so we could watch the sunrise and have breakfast in bed. It was like something out of a movie.
We spend the rest of our day by exploring what felt like the entire world. We went to the New York hotel and saw the Statue of Liberty and rode a roller coaster around the city. Rode in gondolas around Italy at the Venetian hotel. Stopped in Paris and kissed at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Landed in Egypt and saw a sphinx at The Luxor. This whirlwind experience was too good to be true! I started thinking to myself, this really was too good to be true… just like that I woke up to a phone call from the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, “Hello is this Cynthia Marquez? I’d like to call and inform you that your upcoming reservation is being cancelled due to COVID-19” and just like that my dream spring break was over!
Elizabeth ran around her house, or as she liked to call it, her castle. Weaving in between the different rooms and exploring for hidden treasure, Elizabeth, with an ever-present smile on her face, was set on having a good day. Her laugh echoed through her kingdom as she marched through the halls. Her head tilted proudly upwards like she’d seen all the kings do in her cartoons. She was dressed in her royal attire with her ruby cape and a luxurious golden crown on her head. When she walked into her father’s office, she greeted him as any 6-year-old royal would.
“Bow peasant.” She folded her arms and looked at her father with an unwavering gaze. Her lips pressed together into a thin line as she attempted to stop herself from smiling. Her father turned slightly in his office chair to look at her. He merely raised an eyebrow at her as he paused in his work. His fingers still hovering over the keyboard. His eyes, a similar shade of brown as her own, held a hint of amusement as he noticed the long red blanket and burger king crown she wore.
“Gasp. My own daughter dares speak to her king that way.” He placed a hand on his chest as if she had somehow wounded him, which was ridiculous. If she was going to attack him, she would have gone for the legs.
“You are not the king. I am, and as king, I need a throne.” Her finger pointed towards the office chair as if to provide a clarification for the simple peasant. The office chair was the perfect throne. She loved to spin in it, and even though whenever she sat in it, her feet never touched the ground, she still managed to feel mature and powerful.
“Well,” he said slowly as he rose from her soon to be throne, “then where am I going to sit?”
She shrugged her shoulders as she looked up at him. “The floor.” She walked towards the chair and stopped in front of her father, waiting patiently for him to move.
“There is just one thing though,” he looked thoughtful with one hand stroking his beard like she had seen all those old wizards on TV do before they said something wise, so she paid close attention to what her father had to say next. “In order to gain the throne, you must defeat the tickle monster.” She paled at his words. The dreaded tickle monster was one of her greatest foes. She looked up at her once father and knew what she had to do. She discarded her long ruby cape and made a run for it. Unfortunately for her, her legs were short, and in a few seconds, the tickle monster caught her in its grasp. It was merciless.
She couldn’t stop laughing and there were tears in her eyes. The tickle monster tickled her sides, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She heard the demonic laugh of the tickle monster as she was tortured.
“Alright! I have been defeated.” She managed to wheeze out and look up at the tickle monster, her father. Despite her defeat, there was a smile on her face. She took off her crown and placed it on top of her father’s head. His smile was warm and gentle as he bent his head down so she could place the crown on him.
“As king, my first decree,” he picked her up and slowly walked back to his office, “is to share my throne with the princess of this kingdom.” He placed her on the office chair as she beamed at him. He placed the crown she had just given him back on her head and handed back her discarded cape. “Your highness.” He said with a small bow and a smile on his lips. Elizabeth smiled at him from her throne. It was good to be the princess.
