Marketing is a first-world issue. Let's change that.

The plethora of my college experience was in marketing and communications. Just a few years ago, I was in love with strategizing and developing campaigns to drive markets, meet consumer demand and ultimately, make more sales and impact the economy.

Now, I despise it.

Our world has become one of extraordinary misinformation. Superficial needs raise above those of fact. It is a first world issue.

You may disagree. However, as I analyze what I grew up with and what I desire now, the two do not align.

In rural northwest Ohio, I did not grow up with much. I did not need to. Growing up, my family was content on our little row crop and livestock farm. My mom, dad, sister and I stuck to our agricultural roots and spent a majority of our time in the great outdoors, working during the day (or after school was out) and coming back inside for dinner together in the evenings. At some point during my youth, that all changed. I cannot pinpoint the exact year, societal pressures or cultural shift. However, the shift has accelerated tremendously to now.

It is saddening to see how much disconnect stands between families, friends, communities and the world. You might disagree. You might think social media has made us more "social" and more "connected" than ever. I beg to differ.

The quote "perception is reality" is the unfortunate view of today's world. For example, the above photo I captured while in New Zealand in 2013. Fun farm fact (on Friday), there are more total sheep in New Zealand than people!

Is the sheep helpless or being helped? 

Sheep is propped on her haunches in preparation for shearing. 

The farmer began by shearing her belly, and proceeded to shear the rest of her
wool to be cleaned and made into clothing goods.

This shearing not only lifted some weight off the sheep's body, but allows
her to grow new, healthy hair -- just like when we get hair cuts!

If you did not have these additional photos of the sheep, would you have been inclined to think she was helpless?

Picnics in Paris

After the short day of wandering London in a "lost" state, I joined 15 other travelers from around the world to go by train to Paris, France. We arrived late that evening to Paris and made our way on a 15-minute jaunt to our hostel. I had never stayed in a hostel before, let alone with complete strangers. But here went nothing! Parisians seemed to enjoy a few things: bread, cheese, wine, art and history. These things combined made for an adventurous two days in Paris.

On the day of my group's arrival, there was much activity in the streets and sites. The weather was gorgeous on our three-hour walking tour to see sights including Notre Dame, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, the Seine River, the fountain of Saint Michel, the lock bridge, the Royal Palace, the Louvre, Luxor Obelisk and more. We made our way through the streets and eventually to what was one of my favorite stops in Paris.

The culture of agriculture

Culture is a component increasingly important as I continue the career search. However, the past two days at the CropLife America annual meeting reminded me there is more than just culture of a company.

It was humbling to be surrounded by individuals involved with organizations devoted to improving modern agriculture practices. As the only student representative from AFA, I brought a unique perspective to the conversations with leading companies in crop protection services. Whether we discussed how agriculture is continuing to evolve, ways that AFA and their organizations could collaborate or college football (since we all know Ohio State has a great program), the environment was refreshing. People in agriculture have a distinct quality that makes the conversation natural and sincere. There is a deeper culture in agriculture.

Understand your past to shape your future

On Sunday, my fellow Milwaukee interns and I ventured out to gain a deeper understanding of our culture at German Fest. This was a remarkable experience and by far the best festival I have attended this summer! As you can see from the images below, there was quite a bit going on and it was fun for me to embrace the culture that makes up a large piece of my family heritage. 

Some old school Volkswagon cars were there, including the Herbie car!

Checked out some decorative beir (as they spell it in Germany) steins.

Culture is everything

Week two is in the books! Work is slowly but surely beginning to pick up as we engage in summer planning and project implementation. One thing I've come to learn is that culture is of great importance in Milwaukee.

The people, the sights, the food and beverages and the environment are all factors in the vibrant culture of this city. Today, I had a chance to indulge in one prominent part of Milwaukee culture: a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game.

Although this was not my first baseball game, it was my first Major League Baseball event. And geez, I sure have been missing out!

Growing up in Ohio, I'm surrounded by MLB teams. However, I never took the time to follow teams or attend a game. Coming to Milwaukee for the summer, I made it a goal to visit Miller Park at least once, since it was a short 10 minute drive away. ***Note: I still have not chosen my 'team', so feel free to give me your tidbits and suggestions on who to cheer for.