E Portfolio

Education is characterized by more than the amount of time spent attending lectures and reading textbooks. My college education has demanded me to push beyond my initial academic and intellectual boundaries. I often found myself thinking, “explore beyond the pages,” in effort to encourage my development into a more rounded individual.


This academic year I have been heavily focused on advancing my communication skills. 
As an aspiring child psychologist, acquiring effective communication is essential. The works I have compiled on this e-portfolio reflect my efforts and growth as a writer as I explored beyond what I knew. 

My name is Alexis Collins and I am a Psychology BA major and a Biology minor enrolled at Pennsylvania State University.


Welcome and enjoy my e-portfolio!

Alexis' E-portfolio

Those Three Words.!

I love you.
Three words that are uttered by a mother to her newborn child in her arms. Three words that are shared between two girls who have grown up together since first grade. Three words that are whispered between two teenagers who sit on the bleachers as they reminisce on how they met in the hall. Three words that are told to a wife on her 50th anniversary with her husband.
The phrase transcends any particular type of relationship, age group, or gender.  

We all know what the words are intended to express, a deep emotional connection with an individual. But what about the secondary meanings of “I love you?”
I am not sure about you, but I find that “I love you” functions rhetorically as a way to say I will do anything for you (in most cases at least).

For example:
How many times have you heard someone say, “he/she must really love her” following a description of a near outrageous act that an individual did for their loved one? As if to mean the crazier and difficult an action is the more it illustrates ones devotion and love.
I think its funny how I have come to associate ones willingness to do anything for another as a part of love. Especially when in essence that is not what love is.
I guess it plays along with the all too cliche phrase, “love will make you do crazy things.”

I Would Run To You.!

So, go ahead and take a couple minutes to watch the video link I have at the bottom of this post.

Hopefully you watched it, now let me talk about what I thought worked and did not work so well for the clip.
The commercial intended to sell the new line of Nike Free Sneakers, but instead overall for me it had the opposite affect. The general story behind the clip was very cute. The message expressed was that Nike’s new product will carry you, the consumer, where you need to get to, even if that is a cross-country sprint to be with your love. I see this as a strategic move by the company to connect with their target audience, young women. And in this society what is one thing that is believed to be a common place among young girls? Love.

I also took notice to the apparent use of color to enhance the product’s affect. Nike uses  bright colors not only for the sneaker but for all scenes that involved the young model wearing sneakers. In doing this, the company successfully contrasted their product against all other brands, which are depicted as a fail in comparison of performance.

Though I must admit, I was turned off half way through the clip. Two minutes and thirty seconds is entirely too long for any commercial, especially for a sneaker commercial! Between the clip’s length and the irritating song that is sung throughout the commercial, I became uninterested and distracted quickly before the end came. And in result I did not receive the intended final message.

As advice to Nike Company, I say the theme that was a chosen here was great. But next time keep in mind that the viewer will not remain focused for very long.

Romantics.!

I am sure you are aware by now of the debut in theaters throughout the nation of the 90‘s tear jerking love story, The Titanic in 3D. Though I can only assume, I believe this film will once again be a hit in box offices after fifteen years since it’s first premiere.

Love stories seem to have great popularity in our society and this is nothing new. For countless decades now grandmothers, mothers and daughters around the nation come out to  
see  these films bringing along their spouses and sons (if they can get them to come). And whether admitted by the males or not, certain love stories which are considered classics, transcend gender and the stereotypes of being “a chick flick.” Just to name a few, there is obviously the Titanic and then there’s the Notebook, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and, Say Anything. Oh and let’s not forget the all time classic Romeo and Juliet.

So I began to wonder to myself why? Why do these movies gain so much popularity?

In my opinion, I believe it is because of the function they play in our society. Love is a topic or issue (however one views it) that is not only relatable to all audiences, but transcends all. These films serve to play out the way we all envision love, as fairy tales without cartoon characters but real people. Though many criticize these films saying they are unrealistic, think of what small good things they do. In a society where women are many times depicted as objects and are mistreated, these movies give females and males an idea of how they deserve to be treated and what love should look like. And yes maybe the story lines are dramatized, but the underlying messages are positive and true. I would say a little dramatization is better than the objectification that appear in other movies, wouldn’t you say?

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