How to Succeed in College

Taking the responsibility for my own learning has probably been one of the hardest steps in my high school and beginning of college time period. At my high school, we have what I call being “spoon feed”. By that I mean getting constant reminders of when things are due, how to do them correctly, getting un-needed extensions, and getting to re-do our work that it not satisfactory. Well here at college, we get none of that. We are given a paper with all the dates our work is due and possible reminders along the way. That’s it. Not re-dos do extensions and no help unless we ask the teacher directly.  For me, that was a hard lesson to learn. You learn everything you need on your own time, not during your teacher’s time. So to take full responsibility for my learning, I needed to study 6 times as much as I did, make sure I knew when everything was due, and if I needed help, I needed to ask. It was so important for me to take that responsibility because without doing so, I would probably have failed all 5 of my classes. Mostly I needed to learn time management, which by the end I finally did. I have a job, still participate in my high school band, participate in musical, go to church twice a week, play hand bells, take care of my brother and at times my father, and try to maintain a very active social life, along with trying to study and do work for 15 credit hours. That was so hard for me to do at first. I had no idea how I was going to manage. But by the end, I learned if I learned to say no to something in my social life and slept for only 6 hours or less a night, I could get it all done. I am not saying for everyone to try this, but I am saying to it is very critical to do well in college you need to have great time management, know when your stuff is due, and know when to ask for help. 

The Case of Torture

In the work “The Case of Torture” by Michael Levin, He believes that torture in some cases is a good thing.  He uses well thought out explanations why and gives good examples. one of his main examples is the use of torture of a man who has planted a bomb that will kill millions when set off. He says that the use of torture in this case is okay to use. he believes that even those it is unconstitutional, the millions of lives outweigh that factor (575). I on the other hand believe that there is another way to get the needed information out of him. On an episode of the Hit TV series Criminal Minds they used an alternative method to get information out of a terrorist. He was nice to the suspect, gained his trust, and had confidence and trusted the terrorist. Granted, this is not the first thing that comes to mind, but in that case it worked. Demanding and punishing doesn’t always work, you parents know that, so why not take a nicer alternative route?

Summer

For most teenagers and even adults, summer time has always been the best time of the year. It’s the same for me. Granted, my summers are not full of beaches, tanning, pool parties, and being with friends all summer. I work at a boy scout camp called Camp Lakota in Defiance. I know, crazy right. A teenage girl working at a Boy Scout Camp. But actually it’s one of the most enjoyable things I get to do. I’m not there for the other staff members. I am there because I get to teach these young boys how to turn into proper men. The y learn not only how to do outdoor things, but they lean manners, how to respect their elders, how to spend time to productive things, and how to actually contribute to society in a positive way. I worked there for the first time last summer. It was truly amazing the things I saw these boys learn. I distinctly remember one little boy. He started camp with this terrible attitude. I mean, just downright awful. He was rude to the adults, did not care what was happening and only wanted to play is Nintendo. By the end of the week, you couldn’t recognize that boy. He was polite, had great manners, and no longer remembered about his game. He had realized that there were better more important things going on. He didn’t do it just because a counselor had asked, he did it because he admired what the other people around him were doing. I have no doubt that this summer will help yet another boy turn into a better man.

Coffee :]

Every year for lent, family always gives something up. Each person has to stick with it for the entire 40 days, if not we get ridiculed, but in a fun family loving way. This year I decided to give up coffee. I have loved coffee since my sophomore year in high school and you could say I’ve been addicted to it. Every morning i would wake up, and the first thing I would do was get my morning coffee, because without it I don’t wake up very well. So when I gave up drinking coffee, I did not realize how hard it was going to be! During the first week I would still wander downstairs to get my coffee, but then remember I gave it up. Each morning has been very hard to be alert in the morning without my coffee. I almost cannot wait for lent to be over so I can enjoy my coffee again.

A Boy Named Sue

The song a Boy name Sue, by Jonny Cash, is a poem in the form of a song. The literary element that he uses is Visual Imagery. He will use word and phrases that help you picture what this young boy is going through. The song starts off with him telling the story from the beginning. His daddy left and only left him his name, which happened to be Sue. It continues on with this history of what happened because he was named Sue. All the bad things that happened, like how he got picked on, how he became the way he is, and what happened when he saw his father again. Throughout all of this he uses choice words that gives us a mental image of what is happening when he sings it.

April, April, April.

April is going to be one of the busiest moths I’ve had in a long time. The first weekend of April, is training for my summer long job at a Boy Scout camp. Which by the way, I cannot wait for it to start. Then during the second I have to be in New York City for some final arrangements to be made that must be made in person, not that I’m complaining. Any reason to go to the big apple, and I’m there. During the third week, I will be going on a music vacation to Chicago. I think that it is going to utterly fantastic.  The third weekend is our High school musical, The Sound of Music, in which I participate as a pit orchestra member. Then my fourth weekend will be my senior prom. Exciting right? I sure hope so.

New York City :]

  Upon the graduation of High School in May, I have many plans. Most high schoolers can't think of anything more than a fun, relaxing summer, possibly a vacation or two, and then it's time for college. Well for me it's different. I have a summer-long job then will be moving to New York City in August. I will be attending an amazing college called John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and I will be living in the New Yorker Hotel.
   All my life I wanted to live in New York City, and now my dream is coming true. I couldn't be any happier.

"You don’t know what you have till it’s gone”

“You don’t know what you have till it’s gone” (Joni Mitchell).

     As you grow up you learn to take your parents for granted. You use them for rides, money, food, to get new clothes, have them take care of you, help you with homework, or even for them just to be around. I know it’s not as common anymore, but I grew up with two parents in a loving home. Then the day came when my father got a call. He was being called back into active duty for the Army Reserve. For several years my father was away in different parts of the world, places like Kuwait, Australia, Japan, and New York City. Growing up my father was always there for me. We had this thing where every night, I would read and he would make me chocolate milk before bed. He was like our personal chef; he always had great ideas for dinner like pizza pockets,  new things to try with noodles, and he always knew how I like my PB&J sandwiches. When he left, I  didn’t have that anymore. Granted I was in fourth grade, but not having my father there for me was harder than I thought. I never realized how much of a daddy’s girl I was until my father wasn’t there.

Musicals

This March and April is going to be a busy time. I am going to Seven, yes count them, seven high school musicals. My friends and I have always loved musicals and this year, because knowing many people from other schools, we are attending multiple musicals. I am actually really excited, I have seen a few of them before, but it will be interesting to see people I know preforming. I have no doubt in my mind that they will be fantastic, but I am not quite sure that they will top Broadways' Wicked. Last March I got to go to New York City and see it preformed. It was absolutely amazing, and if I had the chance, I would see it again. I have do doubt that in the future, I will be seeing many more musicals.

Technology

Technology means many things. Cell phones, cars, computers, ipads, medicine, machinery, etc. Computers in the home, cell phones, and Internet makes life easier, you could say. Computers in general make life much easier. We can type our papers faster than we could on a type writer or writing them by hand. It also make communication much easier. We can send an email with attachment like pictures, homework, or other important forms. Cell phones make getting a hold of someone much easier. We can just pick up the phone and call, instead of writing a letter or going to see them in person. We can also get the information we need in a much faster way. they also come in handy when driving and you get in an accident. If I crash and can't move, I possibly reach the cell phone and call for help. The Internet does wonders when it comes to getting information. We can search for papers, send emails, even look up the meaning for a word. It helps us find the information we need in a much faster way.

High School v. College

     They say that high school is preparing you for college. Wrong. I am currently still in high school but I am taking post secondary classes. I found that college is nothing like high school. I study at least 6 more hours a week, I always feel unprepared and behind, and if you don't take notes or have a good memory you are, for better words, screwed. At high school it was easy for me to get good grades. I did my work while in class, I knew my teachers so I could ask questions when needed, and I got constant reminders from teachers when things were due. College is nothing like that. I can't do my work in class because we don't get "free time" and I take tons of notes, I don't know my professors personally so it isn't as easy to just go talk to them, and many teachers give little warning when things are due. Yes, granted we have a syllabus but it is hard to adjust from getting verbal reminders. I like to call the teachers at high school babysitters. I come from a small school of only 400 high school students and the teachers there know you personally and have probably had you or a sibling in class before. The teachers give reminders, give extensions, hints on questions, make the work easier, and review the homework with you. Sounds pretty easy to pass right? It was.
     I always thought that college would be just like high school, but with less babysitting and more studying. How wrong I was. Don't get me wrong, I love doing post secondary, but when high school teachers say they are preparing you, I feel like they shouldn't baby so much and prepare us more.

The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome Response

            I believe that the essay "The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome” by Mike Adams has many good points. He uses factual information, gives us visuals,  has reasons to back up his statements, and shows us what his ideas are to solve the problems.
            In his essay he uses factual information he has collected from his studies and gives it in both text and in charts. The text helps us understand where he got his information and explains what it means. The charts give us a visual example and something to look at to give us an idea of what the numbers on the page mean. His ideas, granted they aren’t practical, but they add humor to the essay and lighten the essay up.

An Extreme Length

Today, while on MSN.com, I saw a very strange headline. "Accused killer: I preformed plastic surgery on myself." I thought to myself, that's just outrageous! The article goes on to say how a man in Tokyo, Japan had committed a murder of his British language school teacher and then ran away. He then preformed surgeries on his face and moved from area. What I don't understand is why you would commit the crime in the first place. And then secondly why would you run and preform plastic surgery on yourself? If you committed the crime, eventually you would be caught and be punished. Granted this is not always true as we know in our society, but to go through such lengths to cut up and change your face, I feel, is quite absurd.
"Accused Killer; I preformed plastic surgery on myself"

An Ideal of Service to our Fellow Man Response

Summary : Albert Einstein wrote an essay on what an idea service to a man should be. He states that we should be base our behavior off of compassion, nature, and social bonds.

Response : Einstein's essay shows that we need to help our fellow mankind in many ways. By being compassionate we show that we care about the people around us and that they do exist. We should all live and be in harmony of the people that live around us. We interact with people all day long. Whether it is sitting in class, an office, or on the streets there is interactions. Granted, we might not talk to every single person but we notice that they are there.