Ladies, it ain't easy bein' independent

My primary VALS type is Experiencer and my secondary type is Innovator. When we took the survey in class, we took a vote to see how many people were Experiencer and majority of the class fell into that category. The reason for that would be our age group and our generation. We are impulsive consumers and we want to have the latest and greatest of the product. The defition of Experiencer says that we spent a large portion of our income on fashion, entertainment and socializing. And I am a prime example for that. I spent more than half of my paycheck on clothing and I always feel like I don't have enough. I always feel the need to see the latest movie or go out to the best restaurants. I do believe I am Experiencer and I do place looking good and having "cool" stuff up on my priority list. 

My second VALS type is Innovator. The first sentence of the definition of Innovators is "take-charge people with high self-esteem". I do a lot at Roger Williams and I like being in charge of projects or at work. I am a perfectionist and I like to make sure that everything is getting done the right way. Also Innovators are "change leaders" and embrace new ideas and technologies. I recently invited Will Perez, a Brown medical student involved with medical programs in Haiti to come and speak with Roger Williams students. The idea was all mine and I organized the event. I loved how many students showed up and how it was a different program from anything we had done before at our school. Also, Innovators are conserned with image, not as evidence of status or power but as evidence of their taste and independence and I fit that category very well. I don't do projects or events because I want to be popular on campus but I want people to look back on the things I've done in life and say that I've made a change. 

I think the VALS types that I had fit my personality lifestyle very well and I agree with most things that the defition explain about each one. 

Peace, Love, Innovator/Experiencer

Brite Lites, Milf Town

Milford, CT is a second city in Connecticut, right on the coast 45 minutes away from New York City and 10 minutes away from New Haven. I did not grow up in Milford, however I went to high school there and I consider Milford to be my hometown. Milf town, as most of my classmates would call it, is a city with two high schools, always into sports and very family orientated. The primary PRIZM clusters for my hometown were the Brite Lites, Li'l City, Home Sweet Home, Young Influencials, Pools & Patios and Second City Elite. All of those have something in common and that's that most of the families are younger with some or no children who work white collar jobs and spent their weekends grilling by the pool. We are small city with a big heart, as our slogan would indicate. We have a gorgeous downtown area where familes spent weekends watching and feeding the ducks, as well as shopping in the little boutiques around the main street. Most of the families would in the New Haven greater area or the New York/Stamford area. However, they love coming back to Milford to relax, quickly shop at Stop & Shop and relax by the pool. As I've said earlier, many of the teenagers refer to Milford as Milf town. To my generation Milf means Mother I Like to....(I think you get the point), this relates to my town's PRIZM because my town has a lot of young families with attractive spouses who my generation would consider Milfs. I think you can get the reference and how it pertains to the PRIZM cluster of my town.

Jingle, Jingle-Bracelet girl

Thinking about a possession that is closely tied to my sense of identity was hard and stressful. However, I took a little survey and asked my friends about what's the first thing that pops into their head when they think of me and the survey was unanimous-my bracelets. I have 13 bracelets on my hands currently and every single one has a meaning in my life. On my left hand, I have two friendship bracelets from my roommate, Erica that I have had for 2 years now; a bracelet from Mexico, which I got on a trip with my parents over winter break; a Bulgarian bracelet; my Pandora bracelet; a white stone thin bracelet from my aunt and two bracelets(one pink, one turquoise) from the previous summer. On my right hand, I have a red string which is against bad luck and bad fortune; a blue and gold friendship bracelet and a Spirit chain bracelet from Orientation Team; a thick multi-color bracelet from a friend who went to Hawaii and a black and gold friendship bracelet from my good friend, Shannon.

Now you have a visual of all my bracelet, I guess I should explain why they are so closely tied to my identity. I adore jewelry and I like having a lot of bracelets on my hands. However, most of the bracelets that I have, have a deep personal meaning and value in my life. I like to have my friends close to me and some of my bracelets represent just that, my friends. Also, people now just listen to the jingle that my bracelets make and assure I am in close proximity. I suppose one day I will take most of them off but in the near future, they are not going anywhere.

I hear a lot of times people make comments if their phones are not near them that they feel "naked" and I feel the same way without my bracelets-naked. I don't hide behind my bracelets, quite the opposite actually. I express myself through them. They are wonderful conversation starters and people love playing with them. I, on the other hand, love them and consider them a very valuable part of my identity and well-being.

Peace, Love, Bracelets =)