Don't believe the billboards!

"Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. Time is short." -Adam Hochschild

Everyone knows what a billboard is, right? Those annoying signs that distract you while you are in a vehicle usually going 70mph or more? The things that make you hungry when you have been driving all day? The things that tell you where to find help or when to get your a/c fixed because your "wife is too hot". Billboards have so many different designs and locations, but they all have the same purpose. That purpose is to advertise. Advertising makes money, shares information, and in a way can connect people to similar things. But who chooses what gets advertised? Who makes the decision of where something is located and what goes on each sign? Advertising is not just something companies do to make money or share information, advertising is also something that we as humans do on a daily basis. We advertise who we are, what we want, and what we are looking for. We have social media, email, photography, television, and other resources to get what we want out there. Quite often, we don't realize what we say and do for the public to see. We post our feelings, our morals, our beliefs, our family situations, and much more without even thinking twice. So when others see it, what do they think? Does it look fun? Does it make people jealous? Or is it a cry for help? Life is rarely private unless we choose to keep everything personal on the down-low. What we advertise to others, is what we become. If you don't want to be known as the complainer, then why complain about everything on Facebook? If you don't want your boss to know you really aren't sick, why post pictures everywhere of the game you are at? We must be smart about how we portray and advertise our actions. Also, we must advertise the truth about ourselves. If we don't paint a truthful image of ourselves to others, how will we ever attract the right crowd? You want to be surrounded by people who are like you, don't you? You want to be around others who view you as kind, respectable, lovable, and strong, don't you? When getting to know someone, they get to know the basic and fundamental parts of you, but wouldn't you like them to still see those qualities later down the road once you are familiar with each other? You must be careful how you advertise your life, personality, and decision making. Because one thing can throw a person off for a long period of time. Have you ever heard that 1 negative comment must be accompanied by at least 10 positive comments just to contradict the bad comment? People are the same way. Your first impression, is how you choose to advertise yourself. Classy, trashy, sophisticated, funny, strong, wise. I'm assuming those are qualities that people like to be known as. If we choose to advertise the truth about ourselves, and we look for the right outlets to do so, then we would end up in much better situations. So, in the end, if we don't advertise the truth, how must we find people to have around that respect us for who we really are? Be smart. Be honest. Be you.