For Sisters By Sisters » Skylar D.

Goodbye, Facebook?

Skylar D. — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:12:41 +0000

After logging on to Facebook, I type in the name of one of my friends in the search box, expecting to see her name pop up first on the list. Gone. I click to another one of my friends’ pages; photos are gone, and her last post is a month ago. Instead of my friends filling my newsfeed, notifications from people I don’t really know pop up. More and more people have begun to delete their Facebooks. The appeal of connecting with people online through sites like MySpace and Facebook feels overshadowed by creepy people and overexposure of people through photos and information.

Once something is out there, it’s in cyberspace forever. People play around with their name, writing “Just” instead of “Justin,” or using only the first initial of their last name. But everyone knows that it’s you. It’s fun to share photos with your closest friends, but what is the point of having more than 1,000 photos of yourself for near-strangers to see? Using Flickr to share photos instead of Facebook has a fresh appeal. There are so many aspects of social networking—texting, videochatting, e-mailing, tweeting, talking on AIM—that Facebook seems to only be a recipe for trouble.

The astounding 500 million–plus people active on Facebook is impressive and shows the power of social media in connecting people, but if I only want to be connected to my friends, is a Facebook profile really worth it?

Anticipation

Skylar D. — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:16:53 +0000

The ads don’t lie, the phone really will change everything.

I have been addicted to the iPhone 4 ever since a careless apple employee left a proto type in a bar a couple months ago. I’ve tracked the phone on gizmodo.com, talked about it with my friends, and preordered my phone. My current iphone fears the day my iPhone 4 comes.

Correction, the iPhone four video chatting will change everything. One of the only reasons I use my computer instead of just staying on my phone was the ability to video with my friends. Facebook, texting, and AIM are all a finger touch away on the current iphone; video calling is the last key to the social media puzzle.

My friend Ian and I anticipated the arrival of the phone. Ian is heading off to college in Florida this fall. With the iphone, his face will be 7 digits away from me, no matter where I am. The phone allows for people to keep in touch, face-to-face, without stopping their busy lives to sit down at a computer.

As I sit watching the mail everyday waiting and anticipating my new phone, my macbook pro, and frankly, every other piece of technology I once used, dread the moment my iPhone 4 comes, as they will lie in the dust as I read, search, and video on my shiny new phone.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Skylar D. — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:41:54 +0000

With summer comes lots of things. Late nights going out with your friends, days at the beach, afternoons filled with frozen yogurt and shopping. Fun activities, but hard on your wallet. The solution to a draining money supply? A job.

During the spring months, teenagers are on the prowl for a job. My school is really close to Stanford University, and many incoming juniors and seniors contact professors in hopes of an internship on campus. Teens seek out the local frozen yogurt and gelato places downtown or apply for jobs at local summer camps for kids.

But with the economy in such a fragile state, finding a job can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Many of my friends turn to their parents to help them find a place to make money or gain experience in the professional world. My friend Shelby wanted the experience of working but could not find a job, so she interned at her dad’s company every day for a couple of hours. The people around you can help find a job and want to help, so use the resources around you!

Sports and countless activities can also be a roadblock to finding a job. I have water polo practice from 10 a.m. to noon, then practice again from 4:15 to 6:30 in the evening, leaving only a four-hour window to work. Instead of seeking a business, I created my own, starting a day camp for little kids called Sky Camp. I started Sky Camp during middle school as a way to gain experience and make money even with an inflexible schedule created by sports.

Sky Camp is even a way to supply jobs for my friends. I need counselors to help keep all the kids in line, and my friends need a job. Even though I am technically their boss, it doesn’t seem weird because at camp, it’s all about working together to keep the little kids happy. When I hand the counselors their paycheck at the end of the week, it’s a reward for both of us, knowing we succeeded in running a successful camp. I feel satisfied because I have learned to trust friends in a new way and respect them as a co-worker, and my friends feel satisfied that they made money and gained a work experience.

Whether you are working in the basement of the Stanford astrophysics department, playing with little kids at day camp or spending your day in an air-conditioned shoe store, it doesn’t really matter what you are doing. A big part of having a job is the experience and the knowledge you acquire. Running Sky Camp teaches me lessons that aren’t things I would learn in school but will be extremely valuable once I’m out in the working world.

You have your entire life to find that perfect, coveted job. Jobs during high school are about learning and building a background—and maybe making some money to pay for that adorable dress you saw last week.