Month: October 2023

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Total Overhaul… Again

We had the first tutorial since the strike last week, and Christina gave me some feedback that disrupted my progress. She told me that my website design needed some improvement, which I kind of expected to hear but wasn’t ready for because the design process has been such a headache for me. That day, I decided to change the theme of my website once again to one that allows for more customization. The theme and layout of my site does stray quite far from what I originally imagined it to look like, but I am surprisingly pleased with the result. The new theme looks more sleek and refined, I was able to insert a photo into the header, which my previous theme did not allow. I also added a logo to my site, so now there is a little dumbbell next to the URL.

One thing that I have struggled with all semester is trying to create the “About” page. No matter how many tutorials I watched, I was never able to make it a separate page. I originally made the “about” section a post and then assigned the post to a menu category. As a result, when I clicked on the “about” menu section, the content was displayed as a post that I had to click on to read, rather than being directly displayed on the page. I’m not sure how I missed it for so long, but after more exploring I discovered how to add a page to a menu, and it solved all of my “about” section problems. I now have a whole page dedicated to the section that is connected to my sites menu, which is a big win for me.

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Digital Gardens

I found this week’s reading, “Digital gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet,” quite interesting. The author explained that the nature of the internet has changed over time, allowing people more creative freedom over their online real estate. The author uses the term “digital gardens” to explain that blogs and personal sites can really be whatever we want them to be. They don’t have to be these formal pages that follow the same template week after week.

I felt quite inspired by this article. Since starting this blog, I have struggled to find my voice. I have so many ideas, but this blog is the first time I have had this much creative control over anything, and stringing all my ideas together has been difficult. This article helped me realize that I shouldn’t be afraid to take more risks with my content and try out new types of posts. The written posts are still going to be the bulk of the blog, but I am going to experiment with video posts and photos to share with my audience.

I want to create a blog that is useful for others, but I also want to use this space to express myself and share my passion creatively.

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My Audience

When I decided to make my blog about fitness, I knew I wanted it to cater to an audience I have been a part of. More specifically, I wanted to create a space for people just getting started in the fitness world, because it can be so intimidating. When I was first learning about fitness, I found the most valuable information came from fitness professionals and influencers who made their content accessible for all skill levels, so that is what I have tried to do with this blog so far.

There is almost too much information available on the internet about fitness, so to separate myself from the masses, I blog about the absolute basics. I want Fueling Your Twenties to act as a blueprint that anyone can access and apply to their own journey. I focus on using simple language and keep my posts as short as they can be to make them more accessible and easy to digest.

Truthfully, I picture my audience being largely female. This influenced my choice of theme because I wanted to ensure that it looked feminine. Additionally, I made the whole site pink, because as a female myself, everything looks better in pink.

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Peer Review 1

My classmate Karamveer’s site “Blockchain: The New Internet” is a blog dedicated to discussing the evolution of blockchain technology. Immediately, I was impressed by the design of the site. The site is sleek, organized, and easy to navigate. I tend to associate darker colours with topics like business and finance, so I found the black and blue tones used across the site to be quite aesthetically pleasing. 

Before starting this review, I read all the content on the website. The process post from week 2 stood out to me because I saw some clear connections to Gardner Campbell’s work. Campbell (2009) explains that by giving students a digital space in which they can create freely, they would learn and practice a wide range of skills that can be applied to other avenues of life. In addition, having a digital space, or personal cyberinfrastructure, allows students to express their passions and interests in diverse ways (Campbell, 2009). In his week 2 process post, Karamveer shared that he works as a software engineer outside of school, so he was able to use his skills from that field to develop his website. He also mentioned that blockchain technology is something he is passionate about, so blogging about it was an easy choice. I found it really cool that in just a few weeks of class, there are already such clear links between how we run our sites and the material we are learning about in class. 

I spent some time trying to figure out who the intended audience is. There is some background information about blockchain technology in the “about us” section, but I found that the actual blog content went a bit over my head, as someone who has no background knowledge on the topic. As mentioned by Hollenbaugh, (2021), content creators tend to imagine an audience, and create their content with that audience in mind. From my perspective, it seems as though Karamveer has imagined an audience that is equally as passionate and knowledgeable about blockchain technology as he is. While Karamveer did mention in his week 4 process post that he uses simple language to make the information more accessible for people with varied levels of knowledge about blockchain technology, he could widen his audience a bit more by making a “blockchain technology basics” post, or something of that nature, for people with little to no knowledge of the topic. 

Overall, Karamveer has created an online self that demonstrates a passion for blockchain technology, as well as educating others about the topic. Karamveer’s interest in web design is also made clear through the sleek and simple layout of the site. 

References 

Campbell, G. (2009). A Personal Cyberinfrastructure. EDUCAUSE Review, 44(5), 58.

Hollenbaugh, E. E. (2021). Self-Presentation in Social Media: Review and Research Opportunities. Review of Communication Research, 9, 80–98.

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My Vision for Fueling Your Twenties

I have been struggling to make my visions for my site come to life. I am happy with my content so far, but I am struggling with the design element. I have watched tutorial, after tutorial, after tutorial about WordPress and Elementor, but I still find myself wanting to throw my laptop across the room every time I try to make a change. I spent hours this week trying to figure out how to incorporate my “about” section onto a page, rather than having it up as a post within a category. I was finally able to get the site set up in a way that I liked, but I had to pick a new theme, which meant that I had to redo everything. After spending a good chunk of time creating pages on Elementor and playing around with the new theme, my site is getting close to what I originally envisioned. Below you can find my original design idea. 

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Tracking Progress

I track my progress in a few different ways because I have several goals that I am working towards at the same time. I am going to break down how I track my progress toward my aesthetic goals, my performance goals, and my nutrition goals. 

I did not start my fitness journey with any aesthetic goals, but as time has gone on, I have set out to lose weight to look and feel healthier and stronger. There are a few ways that I track my progress toward this goal. First, I weigh myself every morning to ensure that I am moving in the right direction. It is normal to see some fluctuation from day to day, so it is not the only way I track progress, but it is a good tool to use to identify and understand the trends in my weight loss. In addition, I take a lot of photos. It can be really hard to see any changes in the mirror because we are our own worst critics, so photos are a great way to compare the changes that have occurred over a longer period of time. I have also noticed changes in the way my clothes fit, which can be a great indicator of progress if you are not comfortable weighing yourself or taking photos. 

In the gym, my goal has always been to get stronger. I have recently started to track my progress every week by writing down the amount of weight and reps that I do for each exercise, and then I try to increase that a little bit every week. I included a screenshot of my notes app to demonstrate what this looks like. 

A screenshot of a note describing how to track weight and reps during a workout

When it comes to nutrition, I use an app to track my daily food intake to ensure that I am eating the right amount of food, as well as the right types of food. I am going to dedicate a post to nutrition in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more details about how I set and track my nutrition goals! 

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Activewear: The Pieces I Love

six photos showcasing sports bras, workout shorts, and leggings.

I truly believe that if you look good, you feel good, or at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m trying to justify buying more activewear. What you like and don’t like in activewear is really going to come down to personal preference, but here are a few of my favourite activewear brands and their standout pieces!

I only recently discovered Amazon activewear, but I wish I had found it sooner. A lot of the pieces you can find on Amazon are relatively inexpensive, similar quality to the leading activewear brands, and on top of that they are super cute and trendy. I find that the key to finding good pieces on Amazon is to read the reviews. I won’t buy anything from Amazon unless the reviews are almost all positive. There are two brands from Amazon that I really love, Aurola and Yeoreo. The Aurola Dream and Yeoreo Tiedye shorts are comfortable, compressive, and squat-proof, and they come in so many cute colours.  Recently, I’ve gotten into super strappy sports bras and the Yeoreo Criss Cross Back and Aurola Venus are my favourites. 

When I feel like splurging, Gymshark is my go-to. They are definitely in the higher price range, but their quality shines through. Their items hold up well in the wash, the materials they use feel really sturdy, and their product design is super minimal, so they are great for mixing and matching. My top three favourite Gymshark items are the Bandeau Sports Bra, the Minimal Sports Bra, and the Everyday Seamless Shorts. 

While I find that Lululemon isn’t my favourite for weightlifting, it is my favourite brand for athleisure, and for other physical activity that I do outside of the gym. I really love the Wonder Train Tights, the Align bra, and the Align Shorts. 

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