Up until reading the insert in our sociology textbook, I had never envisioned billboards to be anything more than the large signs I've constantly passed on many drives throughout my life. I didn't take into consideration that how we present ourselves to others by our wardrobe or something as simple as a bumper sticker.
One example of a personal billboard is a personalized license plate.
I personalized this Minnesota license plate with my initials and the word "emoja." Although I was born in North Dakota, I consider Minnesota to be my home and it's where I will continue to live my life and be "Minnesota Nice."By placing my initials on my license plate, I am communicating the pride of being a part of my family and my relatives I am named for. Being named after family members constantly reminds me of the value of family, something that I take very seriously in my life. I also personalized the license plate with the word "emoja" because it represents both the aspect of a team and overcoming obstacles. This word was first told to me by a local pastor from my hometown during my sophomore season in basketball. Pastor Frovik told us he heard of the word while he was working as a mission in South Africa and felt that it fit perfectly into the team aspect we were looking for in our postseason run. Emoja means "I am because we are." Although the word is very unknown to most of the general US population, the word shows the importance of being a team, that a team effort will benefit all those involved in the team. No one expected much from our basketball team that year, being comprised of one senior, five sophomores, and two freshman in the varsity rotation. Our team unity propelled us to the section finals, against all odds.
After looking through my wardrobe, I discovered that I am not one that shows off many personal billboards through my apparel choices. However, I found that I own a large amount of both Windom and Hamline gear. Within this particular articles of clothing, I am advertising the schools of Windom and Hamline, as well as the Eagle and Piper athletic communities. Many times I have been approached by someone at an event or elsewhere in the community and asked about the school I was representing on my chest. Nearly every time I provided a great deal of detail into Windom or Hamline, leaving the person who came up to me with a wealth of knowledge about either of my two particular schools.
A personal billboard allows me to publicly show my support for my schools or other things I believe in. Taking a quote from a favorite movie of mine, Forrest Gump says, "Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going. Where they've been." Shoes, in this case, are personal billboards; detailing the life of the person and where their feet have taken them. Personal billboards are an excellent way to learn about someone without directly interacting with them, and I have been able to generally know a little something about a stranger just by "checking out their advertisements."
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