Voice of Hope in the Darkness (VOHITD) is a blog dedicated to writing encouragement for people wrestling with abuse, depression, and suicidal thoughts. VOHITD writes raw, emotional pieces that people of all ages and levels of depression can relate to and find hope and peace from reading.

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In a world filled with billions of people it is easy to get swept up trying to fit in with others when you were designed to be different. One of the key beliefs that we hold at Fine Pearls Media is that the world is filled with mystery. Living a life of blending in can often mean denying yourself the uniqueness that you were created to reflect. Being true to yourself means sticking to your core beliefs even when no one around you is. It also means finding your niche in the world and not being afraid to express yourself through those skills. At Fine Pearls Media, we want nothing more than to help you achieve your dreams as an innovative entrepreneur or anonymous blogger.

BE YOURSELF…NOT SOMEONE ELSE

It is easy to focus on your flaws and all the ways that you can attempt to change who you are to be like someone prettier, smarter, or more successful. BUT there comes a point in time where you have to accept the fact that there will always be someone who is better than you at something and that’s okay. There are still many things about you that make you unique-er than everyone else. Whether you may realize it or not, there is someone out there who envies you and wishes they were capable of doing the things that come easily and naturally to you. So, with that being said, be yourself. It’s easier. It’s less stressful and it’ll give you the opportunity to enjoy your life rather than worrying about who’s watching and if you’re living up to their standards.

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.”

-Coco Chanel

BE TRANSPARENT…NOT OPAQUE

An easy way to be true to yourself is to be transparent even when the rest of the world is willing to compromise on their beliefs, laugh at jokes they disagree with, or be dishonest for the sake of popularity. A person who lives a life of transparency may not be an “open book” but they do produce qualities of trust and leadership through their vulnerability. These can be very valuable traits when it comes to relationships, business, and life in general. People who are opaque as they go through life often end up being viewed as dishonest since they change their personality based on others instead of based on the beliefs they actually hold to be true.

“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”

-Dalai Lama

FOLLOW YOUR HEART…NOT OTHERS

It is easy to find yourself doing what other people enjoy or desire as opposed to what makes you happy! Everyone is designed differently and holds a different set of values, beliefs, and skills. This is all the more reason to find what makes your heart happiest and if possible, do that. Pay close attention to what brings you joy and what causes you grief. These are two great ways to determine what your heart is passionate about. At the end of the day, life is about being you. Whatever that may look like, just remember to be true to yourself. When you are giving a choice, weigh the pros and cons of both options and stick with the one that fits your life the best. Be careful not to let others influence your decisions solely based on their desires. Always keep your heart’s dreams in the forefront of your mind.

“As soon as you begin to pursue a dream, your life wakes up and everything has meaning.”

-Barbara Shar

Wesley and Nicole’s focus have been studying Social Media Marketing and what grabs people’s attention. Online courses, blogs, and articles are a great place to start diving into these topics, but there’s nothing that quite compares to the actual hands-on experience of marketing a product or service to a target audience. This is one of the best ways to learn what people respond to and what they tend to ignore.

Nicole has recently been gaining a lot of experience with this through her role on the marketing team at the Student Money Management Center at Sam Houston State University and her job as the Social Media Marketing Coordinator at Tough Shirts. Together, Wesley and Nicole are working towards a successful Social Media Marketing Company of their own titled Fine Pearls Media or “FPM” for short.

Feel free to reach out to Wesley or Nicole concerning their services in graphic design, website design and development, photography, writing, editing, and social media marketing. They can be contacted via email or their contact page.

We can all relate to the mixed-emotions of the holiday season. There’s an element of joy and anticipation, but not without financial stress when it comes to budgeting for the excessive amount of spending.

Nicole Smith was the speaker at the workshop titled Holiday Spending on a Merry Little Budget for the Student Money Management Center. She designed the PowerPoint, gave the speech she created to 70+ students, and led a hands-on holiday gift craft. 

The event took place in the Lowman Student Center at Sam Houston State University and covered topics like saving for the holidays, budgeting Christmas expenses, and discussing how much of a person’s annual income should go towards Christmas presents and decorations. 

Together, students calculated their salary, determined how much they could spend based on their income, and completed their own budgeting worksheets for holiday expenses. Most financial planners recommend that one percent of your annual income is the maximum amount to be spent on Christmas. This includes food, decorations, presents, and gift wrapping. People are often surprised by this number, but could greatly benefit from budgeting with this limit in mind. 

The students were also able to create their own giftable hot chocolate Christmas ornament using clear ornaments, hot cocoa mix, favorite candy, marshmallows, and ribbon. This is a particularly great idea when gifting for large groups of people like sorority sisters, church groups, or campus organization members! 

Here are some tips for the holidays:

• Start saving for Christmas now!
• Purchase a couple gift cards every month throughout the entire year to use either as gifts or to purchase gifts closer to Christmas.
• Plan on limiting your holiday expenses to only 1% of your annual salary.
• Create a budget that accounts for all Christmas expenses including items often overlooked like wrapping paper, bows, ugly sweaters, wreaths, etc. 
• Create a list of everyone you plan to purchase or make gifts for and the maximum amount that can be spent on each person. Stick to this budget! If necessary, cut back other expenses or widdle down your present list. 
• Consider making heartfelt gifts instead of making large purchases.
• Avoid shopping-as-you-go since this can lead to overspending. Plan your purchases and shopping trips ahead of time.
• Be cautious with using credit cards to make large purchase.
• Layout all of your purchased gifts and keep a list of what you’ve bought and who they’re for in order to avoid shopping amnesia. 

The debate of who’s better between Apple and Microsoft is a difficult one. The various devices can be laid side-by-side and the pros and cons listed out, but it truly comes down to each individuals preferences and the needs of the consumer. For years Nicole was dedicated to Apple and their products. She owned a MacBook Pro, iPad, iPod, iHome, and iPhone. 

iPhone after iPhone would break down in near perfect unison with the release of the newest, fanciest iPhones. The iHome, charging cords, and other Apple devices would become unusable or irrelevant as the charging ports changed over time. These things happened, yet Nicole still stuck with Apple. It wasn’t until her beloved MacBook Pro hard drive unexpectedly crashed and was unrepairable by anyone at the GenuisBar that she began looking into Apple alternatives. 

Microsoft’s SurfaceBook became a viable contender against the sacred MacBook Pro. Features like tablet mode, a full touch screen, and the smart pen made a world of difference with programs like Photoshop and InDesign for graphic design. For anyone weighing their options or considering making a change, there are a lot of pros to the surface and it’s worth the time and research. 

Be sure to contact Fine Pearls Media for any questions regarding services in graphic design, photography, or social media marketing. 

Using a Surface for Graphic Design:

• The surface can be used as a laptop with the trackpad or in tablet-mode for a hands-on feel.
• The top half of the laptop can be disconnected for a lighter feel as just a tablet. 
• For digital artists, the pen tool allows users to “paint” directly on the tablet screen without having to worry about cursors or a mouse.
• For layout designers who work with text and images, tablet-mode and the smart pen simplify many of the software tools to create functional layouts faster. 
• The tablet-mode features allow designers to zoom, touch-up, and adjust lighting in photographs in a simpler fashion using Photoshop.