Having not realized there was a written portion to the PLE assignment, until just now, I am here to share with you my thoughts and reasonings for why I selected four catagories for my Personal Learning Environments.

Work Environment:  For the Work Environment I focused on jobs that have either shaped my professional skill sets or provided the eye-opening experience one needs as they are growing up.  Listed at the top is a logo for the Walt Disney World College Program, the opportunity to work for them has influeneced not only my hireability but it affected my schooling.  When I left the program in August of 2001, I decided to sign up for classes at Lane Community College that would be related to getting a degree in Business Management.  While I did get the opportunity to shadow a stage manager for two different shows, getting back into the performing arts was not on my radar yet.  Prior to working at Walt Disney World, I had been a babysitter for many years (learned I like other people’s kids as I can walk away from them at the end of the day) and I had worked my first “real” job at Auntie Brandy’s.  It was a cookie shop in Gateway Mall and I learned from them that one) they did not manage well, particularly me and two) I know how to use a mini-blow torch to make s’mores!  Jobs I have done since those first three have been focused in customer service, either at the mall or in a doctor’s office.  I ultimately learned about three years ago that I did not want to stay in the customer service field anymore.  I was missing theatre and needed a way to get back into it but with more stability as I got spoiled having a desk job at Rainbow Optics.

Theatre Environment:  As you follow the line from the Work Enviroment to the Theatre Enviroment you may be surprised to learn that my work at Walt Disney World influenced my return to theatre.  I had mentioned in class that when I had returned back home from Orlando, FL that I was bored and was introduced to the Harry Potter books.  I can honestly tell you that because of the books, they got me back into theatre.  In my Theatre Enviroment I have made my best friends and have experienced more drama than I would care to deal with but what I have really learned is that I have a talent for being organized!  Many companies have worked with me and in some cases, I was referred to organizations by others in the community because of my abilities and willingness to try something new.  The head of the Bard is most promient as it represents my largest relationship to a local theatre company, Free Shakespeare in the Park.  I have been working with them since 2003 and have continually pushed myself to do more with them.  In their organization I have been able to stage manage, direct, fundraise, act, and now administer content for their Facebook page.  Their confidence in me as helped me grow and to pursue my options within the performing arts world.

Social/Interactive Environment:  Skipping back over to the left-side of the PLE you will find how I socialize or interact with others and where I get my information about goings-on in the world.  Using sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram allows me to feel connected with specific celebrities but also allows for me to communicate with my friends.  Being a current Content Contributor to the FSitP Facebook Page means I am adding information about the organization to keep the audience invested in our program.  My favorite new phone application is Pinterest and it kills time on the bus but also allows for me to find new recipes, sewing patterns, or plan my dream wedding.    Pinterest has recently added a feature where you can “Message” a fellow Pinner/Friend, I have used this option in the app to share funny pictures with my brother’s girlfriend or send pictures of nursery ideas to a former co-worker.  I feel connected to people and can learn about them without having to have the physical conversation or be in the same space as them.  What may seem funny but it’s true, I am a bit of an introvert, I have some extrovert moments but being able to be in the comfort of my own bed and have a conversation with pictures with someone in Oklahoma is fine by me.

Beauty/Self-Aware Enviroment:  This may have to be my favorite learning environment as it includes institutions of learning but also life learning.  The major institutions pictured are Lane Community College, Portland State University, and University of Oregon.  I could have included St. Alice Catholic School (pre-school), Page Elementary, Briggs Middle School, and Thurston High School.  I loved school growing up, I didn’t love my classmates as they teased and bullied me but I learned about acting in elementary school, playwriting in middle school, and acting in high school.  Much of my love for theatre has been nutured in my early years but after a break from theatre in my second half of my senior year, I only came back theatre in my last year at Lane.  From 2000 to 2002 and I did not do a lot of theatre, I believe I did one scene from Romeo & Juliet for a Shakespeare Lit class as a final.  But because of my boredom after coming home from Walt Disney World and reading the Harry Potter books, I got back into writing which led me to a playwriting class which got me to audition for a show, I wasn’t cast but I became an assistant stage manager and from there I helped establish a student based production company.  Lane became like a second home once I returned from Portland State and wanted to keep doing theatre, I made friends, love interests, and ultimately jobs but as my reputation of being a hard-working, good natured person got around, I found myself being more confident in who I am and it is beautiful.  My trip to London in 2005 was very much a learning experience in the world of why you do not buy tickets cheap and you have a back-up to your travel alarm (hello 4am phone call for my mom…).  I know I will go back to London and I will work there, maybe fall in love with a really famous British actor and only work “for fun.”  Included in this environment is the flower from the FSitP logo because I love this flower so much it is a tattoo, a picture of the state of Oregon as I learn a lot about myself because of where I have come from, and a picture of my current Nike running shoes that I bought on my birthday as a post-10k present.  I started getting into running after my first long-term relationship broke up with me and I needed to find a way to clear my head and rediscover who I am.  Lots of long walks and trying to out run Zombies (I use a really fun app called Zombies Run!) which helped motivate me to be healthier and stronger in mind and spirit.

If I could change anything about my PLE I would add a background image of my parents or a dance studio, I am always learning from them and a year ago I was spending a lot of time in a dance studio to get back into bellydance.  Some images of dance or of Harry Potter would be fitting in my PLE, I am not a big book reader but I sure love me some Harry Potter.  It got me back into theatre and interested in cosplaying, a sewing machine would be an appropriate learning environment as I have learned several new strings of curse words and what fabrics to avoid but also shortcuts and how to make adjustments to my machine.  I would also include images of my friends, of the plants I have had and cultivated, images of the clams I have harvested, my pets, my brother…so many images and many of them crossing over from one area to the next.  My true PLE should be a Venn diagram as everything is connected is some way, nothing really stands out over the other.  Which is okay and I am glad my PLE looks the way it does now, the blank spots are the areas of potential learning I have yet to come across.