This is technically my last “required” blog for my MEJO 577 class, The Branding of Me. I put the word “required” in quotation marks because it honestly has not felt like a requirement, nor have I treated it like one. I really enjoy writing about things that I care about or that interest me, so when I first received this assignment, I assumed it would be fun. However, I enjoyed it way more than I thought. Here’s what has come out of blogging and where the future of my blog will go…

This is a blog I have been hesitant to write because I feel like no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to do my love for Star Wars justice. Needless to say, I could write a whole series of blogs on the Star Wars galaxy, so condensing this blog enough to capture my passion without writing an entire novel is something that seemed very daunting to me. In order to best introduce my love for the movie franchise, I have decided that giving an inside look into the endless amount of Star Wars collectibles I have would be the best way. (They basically speak for themselves.) So, with that being said, “Punch it, Chewie!”

This blog is exactly what the title says it is: a shout out to my personal website. For a little bit now, I have had my portfolio living on one website (hosted by Adobe) and my blog living on another (hosted by Squarespace). After eating lots of popcorn and streaming lots of Gossip Girl, I have finally merged all things “Maris” into one website: www.mariswhitley.com. And there are hopefully more cool things in store for the future of my site.

This blog is definitely a rant… but it is an important one… and one I think that many others (hopefully) agree with me on. It seems that every time I purchase a ticket these days, it is virtual. I have to buy it online, which in result sends me an email to download my ticket into my iPhone’s “mobile wallet.” Believe it or not, technology does not simplify everything, and I cannot think of a more crazy thing to make 100% virtual.

It all started in late September of 2008. I was 9 years old, in 4th grade, and obsessed with chocolate. Anything chocolate was my absolute favorite, whether it be cake, candy, ice cream… you name it. I was even known to stuff my Hersey kiss wrappers in the cushions of my family’s couch to hide how many I had. (Sad, I know.) However, if there was one thing that truly outweighed my love for chocolate, it was my absolute hatred for getting sick at my stomach. This is where the chocolate ban began, and you will soon find out where it stands now.

It’s that time of the year again! April reminds me of three things: warmer weather, Easter, and the Masters Tournament. In 2020, the Masters was moved to the fall because of Covid, which was the first time the tournament had been played during this season! However, now it is back to its regularly scheduled programming, and I am going to take you on a trip to Augusta, Georgia to look at why the Masters is such a unique tournament and who some of my predicted favorites are to win it all. This blog is basically me doing something I love: talking golf!

I have recently been rewatching the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies again, which has been long overdue. As I was watching The Fellowship of the Ring (the first installment of Lord of the Rings), I remembered that I actually wrote a college essay prompt for UNC about one of the main characters, Samwise Gamgee. Every time I watch the movies, I am reminded why they are my second favorite set of movies ever. (Star Wars is first, of course.) I am also reminded how I somehow figured out a way to incorporate “LOTR” into my college application.

It was a quiet Sunday evening when I was scrolling through my phone and decided to open up my “Fox Bet Super 6'' app to check the results of this week’s trivia quiz. When I checked on the app, not all of the answers had been calculated or verified yet, so the competition was not over. However, my eyes caught a glimpse of something they had never seen before on this app: I was “3rd out of 256k people.” If one more of my six questions was counted as correct, I had the chance of winning $5,000. Wait, hold on, what is this app again?! And how did I almost win $5,000 by answering six multiple choice questions?!