Back After 4 Years :)

[Forest Walker]

Hi, Jenna.     I'm one of the new members here.  I've just read the thread that Fred provided the link to and so much enjoyed reading about Vermin and Plague while sipping my morning coffee.  You wrote in a way that made it easy to picture and imagine, and the photos are adorable.  

You have new insurance and a new medication, now. I hope it works quickly for you and that you find relief soon.  Did you finish your degree?  What was the subject?  

In 2017, I had the opportunity to travel from Washington state to Massachusetts a few times to study artistic roller skating with elite coaches in a little town called Whitman.  My host wanted to show me around Boston, but I just wanted to roller skate.     Coming from the Pacific Northwest, I was astonished by the old houses and predominantly deciduous trees I saw in MA.  

It's nice to meet you, Jenna.

Hi, great to meet you! I'm glad you enjoyed my animal saga hahah I've brought in quite a few more pets since then, and am still just as obsessed with them 

I'm really hoping that the medication works quickly too! It was a 4 month process to get it, so I'm just super grateful to have it now! 

I did finish my degree! I studied Communication, and now work in marketing, mostly in online advertising. I really enjoy it! 

That's so cool that you've visited Massachusetts! I'm vaguely familiar with Whitman, but have never visited. How did you like Boston? I'm from around an hour north. Artistic roller skating also sounds really cool! What was that like?

Congratulations on finishing your degree!  That's no small task.    The online advertising industry must have complexities ranging from understanding content users to selling advertising space (is it called space?)  I have no idea how it works.  Do you feel your degree prepared you well, or are you largely learning as you go?

Hm, I wonder if images of adorable animals are persuasive in online advertising?    You are a true animal lover.  

I didn't make it to Boston, as I wanted only to skate while there.      The Artistic skating I do and teach is similar to ice figure skating.  Recreationally, it's fun to do jam and shuffle skating.  

Have you visited much of New England?  It's surely so beautiful in your area in the Autumn, especially.  I bet you get A LOT of snow in the winter!  

Sorry for the delayed reply, and thank you!! Advertising online is definitely pretty complex. We do call it advertising space, but there also is a lot of varity depending on the advertising platform. Primarily, I'm familiar with Google and different social media advertising, and it's incredibly interesting. Honestly, my degree focused on more general marketing with a slight leaning toward social media marketing. Advertising was mostly a separate concentration, so I only took a few classes on the topic. I hadn't touched any of the software I have since been using while in college, and digital advertising specifically was something I had to spend a lot of time on my own catching up on. But it's been really enjoyable to learn, and I'm really happy to be in this specific part of the marketing industry now! 

It's actually funny you mention animals in advertising because they work extremely well! I mostly worked on ads for home service companies like heating and cooling, plumbing, roofing, etc., and the ads I made that included something like a dog cozy under a blanket to advertise a furnace installation service performed noticeably better than ads with no animals. I'm sure there's some interesting research on that that I now want to go look up!

I have visited most of the states in New England, but mostly am familiar with Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. I grew up and Maine and we got tons of snow every year! My room was on the first floor and by the end of January, the snow would always pile taller than my window! Massachusetts doesn't get quite as much, but we usually have a few feet by the end of the season! Where in the Pacific Northwest are you from?

Even though you're not using much of what you learned in your college classes, the time in college helped you to mature.  Maybe it also helped you to become a good problem solver; although, you may be a natural there.  To be able to think independently and to catch up on the nuances of digital advertising on your own are good qualities.  You are fortunate to find work that is interesting, engaging, and complex.  You won't get bored.     

I would spend more time looking at an ad with a cozy looking dog in it.  

Maine gets a lot of snow!  I'm from the northwestern corner of Washington State, about 5 miles south of the US/Canadian border.