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Interpersonal Communication Skills in relation to my Internship (post: April 24,2015)

Having this internship has made me realize that it is always so important to be open with your schedule. My boss has called me on multiple occasions to complete tasks on my days off. In order to be seen in the most positive light, I take on the tasks no problem, however it is a bit stressful when i’m not in the appropriate place to complete the task at hand. For example, I was in charge of a social media post where YJ and another PR company had a social media campaign going for. With unclear communication, I posted the photo exactly like my boss had asked of me. The PR company, after seeing the post a day later, was upset about the wrong wording on the post. Not being in the office or in an appropriate place to redo the mistake the post was left untouched and the PR company was not happy. It is important in moments like this to realize how vital proper communication is and more specifically interpersonal communication. If there is a gap in interpersonal communication in the workplace the entire unit working on a project can suffer from inefficiency. In this specific case, to mend the situation I had to use the following interpersonal skills: verbal communication, listening skills and assertiveness. I had to call the lady at the PR company and tell her the situation in a professional manner and active listen to understand her side of the issue. Once she had heard my side and I had heard her’s, we confidently and assertively came to a decision that worked for both companies. Although this was an issue I had no control over I knew I had to be ready to help fix the issue at hand. With good interpersonal communication skills, I helped solve the issue between the two companies and proactively fixed the lack of communication that was present during this mistake.

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The Social Model of Deindivduation Effects-a.k.a SIDE Theory (Post due for March 27th)

The Social Model of Deindivduation effects also knows as the SIDE model helps explain the effects of anonymity and identifiability on group behavior. Since my internship has revolved mostly around the company’s disposition on social media sites, this theory has heavily interested me. Today, there are several theories of technology that describe the social effects that take place due to computer-mediated communication. As I post magazine content to our social media platforms it astounds me how different the audience is across the different platforms. On our Facebook page the audience is very blunt and brutal so I have to tailor my posts according to those guidelines. While our loyal Instagram followers are more supportive and inspired by our posts. I feel that a lot of the backlash we get on Facebook comes from profound effects people can have on one another. Tying this into the SIDE model theory, anonymity changes the relative salience of personal identity in comparison to social identity and therefore has a large effect on group behavior. Once a person witnesses another speaking against something, they feel more capable and powerful to follow in the previous person’s wake. I believe this is a domino effect that continues on throughout our audience’s Facebook posts in response to our articles. This all relates to the overarching subject of the study of communication and anonymity and how it motivates people to act in ways they normally wouldn’t behave. Therefore because Deindividuation is conceptualized as a loss of self, people find it appropriate to act out on social media sites where they feel safe behind their computer screen in ways they wouldn’t normally act in real life situations. The more I learn about social media and it’s heavy impact on the success of a business with my internship I find myself more and more fascinated about communication theories in relation to this phenomenon.

Management & decision making process of small groups in the workplace.

As I develop more with getting to know the office and how everything works I have come to the realization that I am also learning more in depth about the management of small groups to get a job done. I took a class at CU about understanding small groups and how you can effectively use rhetorical situations to better the groups over all work structure. I work at a large office but I do not work with everyone. I work in a small group of 5 women, including my boss. Small groups have clearly defined roles and responsibilities as well as a hierarchy that shows how members are connected. We have daily meetings via Skype with two other girls who live in a different state. Remembering to effectively communicate what I am doing with them is a big part of keeping group structure under control and working effectively. I have also learned about different structures of various small groups that keep group decision-making under control. Our small group resembles that of a wheel. The wheel is an example of a centralized structure. We have multiple Google + hangouts to make sure we are all on the same page. We also run all ideas past each other and ask for advice when pursuing new projects. Our small group decision-making process then can be categorized as a centralized group that allows us to get our work done efficiently. In my small group communication class we learned about a group’s interdependent and shared identity. Collectively we have the identity of the social/editorial team that gets magazine content pushed out across all social platforms as well as making sure to drive traffic back to Yogajournal.com. However we all work independently very differently. Each member in our small group has a different task and goal that meets the group’s ultimate goals of having content reach greater amounts of people each week. My interdependent tasks, for example, are being in charge of Photoshoping images, coming up with Pinterest competitions and spreading content more evenly out across other platforms such as Instagram. I could not spread the content out amongst those platforms without my other teammates helping me produce and come up with the content that needs to be pushed. Lastly, groups meet interpersonal needs by giving us access to inclusion, control, and support. As a team member I have a fundamental drive to be a part of the group and to create and maintain social bonds. I want my boss to like me so I’ll have better referrals when applying for jobs therefore I go above and beyond what she asks. By showing her that I am capable of having some control over the decision making process I am able to better my opportunity of having some sort of influence in the successful results of our social media campaigns for Yoga Journal. In conclusion I feel I am a part of a Team. This type of group is formed primarily to accomplish a task. We all have a shared need to promote Yoga Journal and interest in social media/ web editorial marketing. These needs and interests keep us dedicated to helping each other perform the tasks in a very cooperative and professional manner.

Internship, defined through Communication.

In communication we define culture as “one’s identification with and acceptance into a group that shares symbols, meanings, experiences, and behavior” Danton and Zelley. With my web editorial internship with the Yoga Journal it is important for me to clearly identify the yoga culture and the way it is consumed by yoga journal consumers. In Human Communication theory we learned about various different theories that help with inter cultural communication. For the past month I have been in charge of managing Yoga Journals social media accounts. I’ve had to research the consumer base and actively post material that drives traffic to the content viewable at yogajournal.com. As Americans we live in a more individualist culture. We tend to focus more on the self before the other, stressing independence and individual achievement. Knowing this from my communication courses I can easily apply the same concept to the culture of Yoga. In yoga, individual achievement and personal success is stressed just as in inter cultural communication. In Yoga being in balance with yourself and fulfilling personal goals is the ultimate success of the overall practice. With the theories I have learned about inter cultural communication, I am able to successfully come up with content to reach consumers in an attractive way. So far this month I have developed the language for yoga journal’s social media outlets such as: Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. Using direct and informational wording to create appropriate content for these platforms weighs heavily on what I’ve learned in my communication courses. How you come across on the Internet makes a huge impact on how consumers respond to your business. I feel my internship with Yoga Journal is going to allow me to expand on theories such as inter cultural communication, interpersonal communication and persuasion techniques to perform the appropriate rhetoric to best target their yogi audience.

This comic displays my first time learning how to surf. I fell off and got in a bad crash when I attempted to surf a huge wave. With some encouragement from my surf teacher, I got back on my board and kept trying all day. I never gave up and succeeded in learning how to surf that day. Now I can share the hobby with my little sister. Whenever I am home we have morning surf sessions together!

Not so much as a storyteller but as an artist/tech savvy student, I learned that, what seemed like a simple comic, was actually very challenging. I didn't want to use a site such as Pixton because I didn't feel like it enhanced my story to make it uniquely mine, like I wanted. I learned that when sharing my stories I like them to encompass this essence of "me" in every aspect from the pictures, the wording and the structure. Therefore, I spent more time drawing instead of using a online graphic maker because I wanted that sense of true originality.

I enjoyed the minimalistic part of the graphic piece. It was challenging to display a story with minimal words, yet fulfilling because it required lots of creativity to display the emotion in the story.

I found it a challenge to not have to draw out every scene so literally. I had to really work on facial expressions of the characters and the hand gestures I included in the pictures to display the story. Not using my words but instead really pushing to advance my artistic abilities to display what was occurring in the story was definitely most challenging regarding the graphic approach.

There was a ton of great advice about starting and progressing through making a comic in Making Comics for graphic storytelling. Since I decided to hand draw my piece, working and reworking my art style was vital. I learned that in order to create a look and feel you have to draw and re-draw, a lot, before anything comes to life. I also learned it isn't about the length of your comic but the amount of substance is contained in it. My comic is very short but, from my understanding of the reading, that is perfectly ok as long as the comic contains a solid intro, an engaging middle and great ending.

Advice I would offer to a new storyteller trying to create a comic is to watch movies, listen to music, look at example comics. Anything that can spark some sort of inspiration and definitely practice practice practice if your planning on hand-drawing the comic. You cannot expect to sit down and bust out a great piece without practicing the kind of art style you wish to carry through your comic story.

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My Commentary for the ‘Cinematic Storytelling’ portion is featured under my link to my final Screenplay.

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This process was a lot more different than the cowbird story. I learned a lot about how to structure a story that was one of the biggest tragedies in my life. I was inspired by a video we watched in class of a little monster who lost her best friend. Since I just recently lost one of my best friends I decided it was a great opportunity to show what I learned through his death to display in my writing.

I enjoyed that I got to structure it within scenes and shots. Breaking down each scene allowed me to really only put in the most important pieces to the story, ultimately getting rid of a lot of “fluff” that could have been in the piece if I was to write it another way.

It was challenging to not write too much. I knew I needed to storyboard this screenplay and I didn’t want to many details or not enough. I really wanted the main point of the story to be seen in the interactions of the characters and the inner thoughts of the main character.

Through reading Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect, I realized there is A LOT more to the pre-writing phase than I originally thought. You can’t just simply think of an idea and start a screenplay. You have to go through the appropriate steps and exercises that lead to the writing phase.By doing the tasks that made me connect to myself,the purpose and the process I discovered what kind of cinematic story I was telling. My screenplay reflect a cinematic story about making a discovery; you never know what you have till it’s gone. Cherish everyone and everything in your life because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Read Read Read! Read all the chapters and really take advice from the author. They provide substantial advice on how to begin and where to go from there. I would have been lost in the process if I didn’t read Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect.

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I learned that I really enjoy the writing process when it allows me to be creative and explore some of my most fondest memories. When I had an emotional attachment to the story i’m telling I find that I am able to display my words a lot more coherently. I also learned that using metaphorical language really enhances the overall story and allows the reader to get a better picture of what is taking place rather than explicitly stating what is going on in the story.

I enjoyed the verbal approach to storytelling the best because I got to use my journal to jot down ideas. Filtering through ideas that evoked a lot of emotion for me was extremely therapeutic. Having the freedom to write about anything and everything and attach a memorable photo to the piece was very personal yet very rewarding.

Trying to display what the life lesson I learned through my words without explicitly stating it was the most challenging part of this process. The moral of the story was that I learned, through meeting Liam, that I do not need to try to impress guys in order to get them to like me. Embracing myself entirely for who I am will only bring about the best people in your life, who bring out the best in you. I hope that was somewhat apparent in my final story…

Most importantly I think my textual language displays what I learned the most from Shimmering Images. For example: “…Smile larger than the rind of a three pound watermelon” or “…the breeze entering the car left my hair getting caught up in my teeth.” I wanted to display to the audience my happiness without explicitly stating “I smiled big.” This part of Shimmering Images really taught me a lot as a writer to convey an image the audience can really see through the use of metaphors.

I would suggest to a new writer to not get caught up in all the details of the story at first. When approaching a story like this, just begin writing about the first memory that comes to mind and write until you cannot write anymore. Allowing yourself to just get all the thoughts out on the page first and foremost is the most important part. Once that part is over then you can worry about the structure and flow of the story!

Week #11 Sunday Reading Assignment

Introduction:

Human connection is essential part of storytelling that is over looked. Everyone’s personal life stories and experiences, shared with others, help them create and recreate stories to share. It is important to look into your life; how you interact with others, your background, the memories you share with close-ones and all the ways in which you perceive the world to tell a story.

Chapter 1:

Everyone has their own purpose, but making sure you connect your story to the purpose in which you are trying to relay to others is key. Identify the purpose of your story then go from there about adding concrete detail and expression. You want to make sure your screenplay “lifts your audience” off the ground. You want your audience to be captivated by the story your telling, not bored. We may experience different things as humans but we do connect with others about our goals and aspirations. As long as you make the character relatable the audience can easily connect.

Chapter 2:

I was surprised by how easy the ideas came to me once I wrote the headings for each section. I liked the quote; “the best way to connect with others is through the honest expression for our unique experience of being human.” Beautifully put, we don’t have to have these insane experiences to create a good story. Simply a story that describes an individual being himself or herself reveals a lot about that particular person. In turn, other humans that may have experienced something similar can connect, allowing the story to make a lasting impression.

Chapter 3:

I like how, as a writer or a creative, you have the option to change up your creative process by how you feel day in and day out. I personally work my best on creative stories at night because it allows me to reflect on the day and how I’m feeling towards the end of the day versus the beginning to really dig deep into my emotions. I work best in a quiet and secluded place, like my bedroom. My bedroom is an extension of myself, I have pictures of my adventures and friends on my wall and the little things that make me “me” that I look to, to feel comfortable and to spark my creativity. I don’t do well with clutter, so organizing my thoughts clearly and in some sort of sequence leads to my best work. My thoughts usually come to me at the last minute and then I cannot put the pencil down. So, as a part to better my own personal creative process, I think I need to really try and conceptualize my ideas more and more every day instead of going with the first intriguing thought that comes to my head.

Chapter 4:

I find it pretty hard to write well when working with a partner, because I like to reflect on my inner thoughts and experiences privately. Then tell my tail through my own voice rather than a shared-voice. However, the idea of differencing perspectives in this chapter is key. If you and a partner are able to bounce ideas off each other it helps with writers block and leads to more complete/ well-thought out ideas. I also shy away from opportunities to be funny because I fear the rejection of it not being funny to others except me. Writing with another person, can help fill that fear of being rejected because you will not be rejected a lone. What I really took from this chapter is that working with a partner and how you handle the disagreements and logistics of each individuals writing process/abilities can help you discover who you are and how you are best suited to write a story.

Chapter 5:

You need to develop, in the screenplay, what the point of the story is. What difference in the person’s life did it make as told through the story. “let the stories be simple and the characters be complicated” resonated with me because it is key to remember that the simplest storyline can reveal a lot about a character if done in the right way. Thinking of a screenplay as a moment is helpful. Writing the scenes associated with that moment develops the screenplay.

The Mood Exercise:

I studied long and hard for this test. I spent the time reading the chapters, highlighting the key points, studying the intensive study guide I made and I felt pretty confident about the test. I looked through that digital portal with a smirk and urge of excitement to see the grade next to test number 2 upon the screen. Only to find a %68 next to my name…..

External (studying hard) Internal (feeling excited about seeing my grade) External (actual grade announced) Internal (feeling defeated)

#MyLearningReflections

Story Ideas: Sunday Assignment

CDS-Style Digital Story Idea:

The day of junior/senior Prom at my high school (my first time attending as as a sophomore). Prior to pulling up to a house filled with friends taking pictures with their dates, my dad got a call from the hospital that my mom might pass away

-(might be a little personal but It is such a substantial event in my life that I do not mind sharing the events of what took place that day because it's been over six years.)

Graphic Memoir Idea:

-Pool day with mom and dad- a day I will never forget because of how genuinely happy everyone in my family was.

- Falling in love with London

Animated Short Story:

A little confused about what we are required to do for this particular story. Need more discussion to inspire thought.

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Bonus tips for my writing: Week #7

I read over two articles in Digital Writing 101

One article about showing and not telling and another about How to craft a twist. Both topics I struggle with in my writing. I have a hard time explaining a scene, character, feeling, etc. rather than letting the words carry through on their own. For my Cowbird story I made sure that I didn't over describe certain aspects of the moment and to allow the audience some of their own interpretations. Using metaphors, adjectives to describe internal feelings and descriptive words about the surroundings bring descriptions to life without having to put them into a literal sense. This enhances the overall story by allowing a more picturesque image of emotions and characters the writer is trying to portray to the audience. Along side showing vs. telling is crafting a twist to make your story more compelling. For my Cowbird story I need to find a more appropriate time to incorporate the twist. Instead of putting it at the very end (like it is right now) possibly tie it in more towards the middle so the ending isn't super cliche (this happened, then that happened, then happily/ not happily ever after happened… the end…). If I can somehow come up with a way to subtly imply my twist with descriptive imagery I think it will strengthen my story and set it aside from typical stories about love that audiences read all the time.

#MyLearningReflections

Week 5- Reflections on Readings

All or Nothing

http://digitalwriting101.net/content/student-sample-a-not-quite-coming-out-story/

I really enjoyed this story because it used a lot of analogies and metaphors to describe the human experience. The human experience of heartache, youth, innocence, traveling and running away from/avoiding reality. The author used metaphors to portray a message and paint vivid pictures in the audiences mind. Using "it's" as a symbol of life followed by a metaphor to paint a picture that arouses emotions. For example, "it's standing on a rock overlooking the river and seeing your life from a different country…"

Is This a Date?

http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2014/05/is-this-a-date-by-huda-al-marashi/

This personal narrative captures the essence of differencing cultures and rhetoric that comes into play with common interactions between people. Her use of direct quotes really embodies the characters personality traits. Matt, the main boy, as a confident and straight forward guy while she is more timid and passive. This story captured her feelings toward this awkward encounter and you could really grasp how she felt in the moment. The title was the selling point over all because it was so catchy I just had to read what it was about.

Confessions of a Nervous Child

http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2013/04/confessions-of-a-nervous-child-by-robert-weinberger/

The author describes a part of his personality now, his ability to empathize, as an extension of his younger self going through his "kindergarten phase." The way in which he portrays himself as a nervous child never being able to complete a day of school really tugs on the heart strings. We can all relate to those feelings of nervousness, excitement, fear, etc. that we felt on our first day of school once our parents left us. How he handled the situation and what he went through as a child leaves a piece of his personality in his adult life. He really brings us into the moment by mentioning moments about his solid relationship with his kindergarten teacher that, at the time of the events occurring, he didn't realize he would be such good friends with as the years continued. Mentioning things like this will be helpful for other students essays because it makes the stories more real life, because looking back on memories like this from an older age we didn't know what was going to come of it at the moment when they were occurring.

A not quite coming out story

http://digitalwriting101.net/content/student-sample-a-not-quite-coming-out-story/

The girls voice really helped me picture what she might look like and I did not picture your stereotypical lesbian to be honest. I think it enhanced her story by allowing me to picture what she might look like by the sound of her voice. It also allowed me to get past the stereotypes associated with being gay and really listen to her story about how she discovered whether she was gay or not. Her description of her first night with her love Emmy, was extremely real life in the sense that their most romantic moment was in a bathroom of a party. This kind of situation is really relevant to her audience who are also in college and who might have experienced the same sort of situation.

#MyLearningReflections

Week 4- Thirsty (for stories) Thursday

Focusing in on some story ideas for Cowbird

Story One Prompted by 'Decisions'

The decision to study abroad completely alone and far far away from home in Gold Coast, Australia. After being blessed with the opportunity to travel, meeting an entire new group of friends, being pushed completely (an indescribably) out of my comfort zone and embracing the unfamiliarity, I truly came home a better extension of myself. The picture I would accompany with this piece of writing would be something about traveling like the one featured below. I also feel like this story would be enhanced with some use of audio so the audience can view my story in a realistic way by hearing the tone of my voice.

Story two Prompted by 'Scars'

Relationships formed in HS, especially when dating, are very surface level. For me, I thought the nice things this one particular boy was texting me meant the world. When my good guy friend stole my phone I was so afraid of the backlash the nice boy would get if my good friend were to ever read the texts and make fun of him for it. Therefore, I chased after him to attain my phone back when I completely fell face first onto the concrete completely annihilating my knee. The scar that resides there now and for the rest of my life reminds me of the pity drama and my neglect to realize that if the boy who was texting me was actually a good guy he would not care what others would have to say. This story may be accompanied by a picture that I take personally of the scar on my knee, a little blurry to add a hint of mystery of course.

#StoryIdeas

My Own 6 Word Memoir

"The Light Within, Shines Light Without"

The meaning behind it is a little too personal and raw to share with the public but it's been a memoir of mine that I made up years ago. These 6 words remind me of my past and how It has helped shape me into the person I am proud to be today.

Week 3- Little words, Lots of emotion.

Brevitymag's site has been down and a little slow. I have not been able to pull up any stories published on this site, which is unfortunate. However, I will continue to try and post something later about my reflections on those stories.

I was able to view a couple short stories on Cowbird.com. These short narrations actually surprised me in the greatest way. I never realized how minimalism could actually evoke so much thought. It does not take pages and pages to evoke some sort of emotional ties with your audience. |

http://cowbird.com (check it out for yourself)

Two stories in particular: "After the After" and "Vulnerable"

When reading "After the After" you begin the story by thinking it is about a person's indecisiveness on what kind of tattoo she should get. After reading a few more words you realize the story reveals some major insight into her dark emotions of pain, remorse, guilt and anger she feels towards her brother's suicide | Using metaphors to describe the blood she wanted to see while getting her tattoo in order to release some of the pain she felt towards this death, so close to her, made the story that much more emotionally evoking. |

http://cowbird.com/story/11415/After_The_After/?uiid=widget-1566857153-11415

I especially saw Norton's idea of a 'Shimmering Image' in the story titled "Vulnerable" by Claire. In this story she reflects on a moment in her past that is engraved in her mind, heart and soul. She reveals that at the young age of 14 she was too naive to realize that the feelings she felt towards her best friend during that one summer might have been her first real heartache for love. Reflecting on that moment made her view things from a different perspective. She was able to express this moment and mention that, that may have been the closest thing to love that she did not even realize was love at the time. |

http://cowbird.com/story/11750/Vulnerable/?uiid=widget-1052803964-11750

I thought the 'Vulnerable' story was extremely powerful in the sense that as we grow and experience life we begin to understand the feelings we feel and are able to put words to our emotions. When you are young, naive and innocent the world is not so easily condensed. You go through the motions without realizing exactly what you are experiencing. I so badly wish I could sit down with my 14 year old self and explain some of the heartache and emotions I felt during that period in my life from the perspective of my 21 year old self today.

Photos, Photos, Photos

I, personally, love looking at people's photography (good, bad & the ugly) it doesn't matter to me if you have an experienced eye with the lens or even for with the editing machine, I just love to see photos along side text. All the stories I read were very powerful but I would have loved to have seen some type of photo journal a long side to give some more imagery and evoke some more emotion mixed into the text. However, the digital platforms the stories were published on made it really easy, as a reader, to click through stories I found interesting and one's that I felt did not suit my literary needs.

I had never heard of Cowbird.com or Brevitymag.com before, so a big thank you to Amy for showing us these creative digital realms. Going to pin these sites for those cold & snowy days were I find myself incapable of getting out of bed unless it is to fill up a cup of hot tea!

#MyLearningReflections

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1 simple moment, 18 years ago, that has had lasting affects:

A Few things I took from the reading as a guide to guide my thoughts:

Everyone has their own truth, let yours be heard as you focus in on your life. Explore your most distant memories with vivid imagery, an honest voice and compassion, shedding light from a new and wiser perspective that you did not have during the time of the event. Make sure you do not de-humanize your characters, explore possibilities of alternate interpretations

A Shimmering Image:

A shimmering image is a memory that stands alone that you have replayed in your mind over 1,000 times. On page 28 Lisa explains this image as seeming "to have nothing that comes before it, nothing that follows it… it's like a sepia-toned photo on a white wall… the simmering is the energy of the story that waits inside the image to be told." This page in particular really hit home and allowed me to reflect on my own shimmering images or a story awaiting to be told [Lisa's word's, "stories that need to be told:"].

So, therefore, "stories that need to be told:" a powerful example of my own that stands alone, thus far, as number 1 on my list of personal shimmering images:

1.) A family pool day that all began with my diva queen mother in a very unsuspected way. The picture is candid, and forever stained in my memory. It contains me, as a 3 year old girl, sitting at our kitchen table wearing my favorite pink night dress with cartoon cats all over it. I'm sitting in front of our glass pained windows that look out to our pool and backward with an expression on my face that reads of total shock and utter happiness. In the corner is a blur of big red hair. That blur is my mom, caught mid act of cannon balling into the pool with every inch of clothing on including her socks and shoes.

That shimmering Image is a scene I replayed [and continue to replay] in my head over and over as I continue[d] to grow up in a household that was continuously dividing and which is now completed divided. Looking back upon that image taken 18 years ago sheds so much lightness and innocence on my life.

#MyLearningReflections

This is my puppy. His name is Woody. He's a little ball of energy and although I love him lots I want my next dog to be a teacup bulldog and I want to name it Banks, regardless if it is a boy or girl.

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