My first semester at Virginia Tech has been a very memorable experience. Over the course of a couple months I have meet many new people, experienced college level classes, lived in a dorm setting, went to my first Virginia Tech football game, and I have become adapted to a totally new and exciting environment. This new environment is gradually changing me into a more rounded and intellectual individual. Deciding to attend Virginia Tech has been one of the best decisions I have made in my lifetime and I cannot wait to see what the next four years have in store for me.
One of my biggest fears before I arrived at Virginia Tech was if I was going to get along with my roommate or not. Fortunately, I get along great with my roommate, we hang out all the time, and we are even going to live together next year with three other girls. Our three other roommates to be all have very different personalities, but we all get along very well. In addition to these four girls I have made a couple of guy friends as well and we all usually hang out together on a regular basis. We all have gone to the movies together, gone to parties, and we have even just hung out in one of their apartments and watch funny videos on YouTube. Overall I made some pretty great friends and they have made my first semester at Virginia Tech a lot of fun.
But the most fun I have had here was going to my first Virginia Tech football game. Game days in Blacksburg are the best because people tailgate all day before the game and then everyone actually goes to the game and stands up and cheers the entire time. But perhaps the most memorable moment for me on that first game day was when the football players entered the stadium while they played Enter Sandman. The song was being played so loud and the entire stadium is up on its feet jumping to the beat. It’s an indescribable experience that gets you so pumped up. But for me, it also made me feel like a true hokie and that I was in a place where I belonged. Although I have had many experience that make me feel a part of the Virginia Tech community, going to football games have been the best and most memorable ones.
But of course since I choose to be a part of the Virginia Tech community, I must participate academically. This first semester has been a totally new and more difficult academic challenge for me. I had always pushed myself in high school to take more difficult classes such as advanced placement, dual enrollment, and other challenging courses such as calculus, but none of them can even be compared to the level of difficulty I am experiencing now in college. I am currently taking Chemistry, Biology, English, Math and labs for both Chemistry and Biology and they are all very different from the classes I remember taking in high school.
My classes now require me to work much harder for good grades, study a lot more, and for me to be much more independent. I was used to getting A’s on just about everything I did in high school, but now I am working just as hard only to get a B, C or worse. So I have learned to keep trying harder and to always try to keep improving. Although I am often disappointed in my grades in some of my classes because I feel like I studied or tried my hardest and I still did not get the grade I was expecting. My labs are also totally different from high school. They require much more thinking on your own and much more work.
Being in this college setting where I have to watch after myself and make myself go to class has made me much more independent. If I over slept while I was back at home and still in high school I could count on my parents being there to wake me up in time to make it to class. But now that I am living in a dorm, I have to make sure that I do not over sleep and I had to learn not to allow myself to skip classes just because I do not feel like going (although it is very tempting sometimes because your parents are not here to make you go). But so far I have been doing very well and I hope my hard work will reflect back on my grades.
Adapting to the college setting has been very difficult but a lot of fun which makes it all worth it in the end. Week after week I am swamped with homework and studying but when I finally make it to the weekend I am glad I get to relax and hang out with all of the new friends I have met and just have a good time. I feel that I am very lucky to have met the people I have and that I am actually happy with my decision in which college to attend. Some of my friends from high school who went to college after graduation did not make the best decision on which college to attend. Some of them are having trouble finding friends they get along with, having difficulties getting along with their roommates, or are just realizing that they do not like the college that they decided to go to.
Personally I am very happy with my decision to come to Virginia Tech. I believe that it is a great school to go to with many good opportunities. I am going to try my hardest to make these next three and a half years at Virginia Tech memorable and beneficial to me as a person. Although I cannot wait to experience living off campus next year living with four of my best friends, I do not want it to go by too fast. I feel like this semester has flown by, but it has been a lot of fun and it is only the beginning of the new life I am preparing myself to live.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday in which American families typically take a day off from the madness of everyday life and enjoy themselves. Families all across the United States come together to sit down, have a delicious meal, and reflect on all of the things they are thankful for. However, the traditions do vary from family to family, but just about everyone at the end of Thanksgiving Day simply relaxes and enjoys each other’s company. Although, Thanksgiving Day requires a lot of preparation and can be very stressful to some people.
Personally, my Thanksgiving holiday has been quite eventful and somewhat stressful. My parents did not allow me to bring my car to college my freshmen year, so when fall break finally arrived, I had to find a ride back home. Even though I live three and a half hours away from Virginia Tech, there are plenty of people from my area who also go there. Once I found a ride, we made arrangements to leave Friday afternoon. When we finally left the traffic was very heavy on the interstate, most likely due to all of the college students going home that same day. We were about forty five minutes away from where the driver lives so I called my mother to come and meet us. As we kept driving it was getting dark and the traffic was still heavy. The driver and I had just finished a conversation and even though we were both looking straight ahead we did not notice that the cars in front of us were stopped.
By then it was too late, we were going about seventy miles per hour and the cars had to be less than thirty five yards away from us. I screamed “watch out!” and the driver stomped on his breaks. In desperation to avoid hitting the other cars, he swerved over into the other lane. For a split second, I thought that we had jus avoided a huge accident, but then the driver over corrected—swerving back over into the lane with the stopped cars. We crashed into one of them and the airbags deployed. The car then continued to skid along the highway and eventually spun into a stop. We asked each other if we were okay, climbed out of the car, and then ran over to the car we collided with. The girl in the other car was a little dazed but uninjured.
Thankfully no one was seriously injured in this accident (including my beta fish that was in the front seat with me) but the two cars were tragically both left totaled. Although I had a small burn from the airbag and my neck was sore for a few days, it could have been much worse. Thankfully, we were all wearing our seat belts which probably saved our lives and prevented us from receiving anymore injuries. This accident did have me shaken up for a few days, but it was only the beginning of my eventful holiday break.
The next event I had to look forward to was getting my wisdom teeth pulled. The following Monday after the accident I had my surgery and it changed my entire Thanksgiving break. I am now on three different kinds of medication and my cheeks are swollen, making me look similar to a chipmunk. But the worst part about it is not being allowed to eat the food I want. However, I have been eating a lot of foods I am really not supposed to. The whole process of getting my wisdom teeth pulled has not been that bad. From all the stories people were telling me about getting their wisdom teeth removed, I was petrified, but it turned out to be a lot better than what I was expecting. Although it does hurt a little in the morning, after I take my medication it does not hurt anymore. And even though I am no supposed to be eating most of the food served on Thanksgiving, I had small amounts anyway.
Two days after my surgery, my parents and I traveled eight hours to New York to spend Thanksgiving with my mom’s side of the family. Although I have two older sisters, I was the only one who was forced to go even after getting into a car accident and having surgery. I do enjoy visiting my family in New York, but if I had a choice, I would have stayed home this year to recover from my surgery. It was also only my second time coming home from college, so I would have liked to spend more time with my friends back at home. But now that I am here, I am glad that I came. It was nice being able to see my family and eat Thanksgiving dinner with them.
Even though my Thanksgiving holiday was filled with unfortunate events, I still have a lot to be Thankful for. I am very thankful that no one was seriously injured in the car accident we got into on the way home. Having my wisdom teeth removed over Thanksgiving break is very regrettable, but I am thankful that everything went well during the surgery and I hope it remains that way while I recover. Finally I am very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my family, especially my relatives who I only get the chance to see about once a year. Every Thanksgiving I reflect on all the things I have to be thankful for and it amazes me how fortunate I am. There are several people who are just as blessed as I am, but we often take it for granted how fortunate we really are. We live in a country that gives us so much freedom and many opportunities. Regrettably, we take advantage of these things, and do not appreciate them as much as we should. We should be much more thankful for the little things in life that we own because there are others out there who can only dream about having the things we have.
Personally, my Thanksgiving holiday has been quite eventful and somewhat stressful. My parents did not allow me to bring my car to college my freshmen year, so when fall break finally arrived, I had to find a ride back home. Even though I live three and a half hours away from Virginia Tech, there are plenty of people from my area who also go there. Once I found a ride, we made arrangements to leave Friday afternoon. When we finally left the traffic was very heavy on the interstate, most likely due to all of the college students going home that same day. We were about forty five minutes away from where the driver lives so I called my mother to come and meet us. As we kept driving it was getting dark and the traffic was still heavy. The driver and I had just finished a conversation and even though we were both looking straight ahead we did not notice that the cars in front of us were stopped.
By then it was too late, we were going about seventy miles per hour and the cars had to be less than thirty five yards away from us. I screamed “watch out!” and the driver stomped on his breaks. In desperation to avoid hitting the other cars, he swerved over into the other lane. For a split second, I thought that we had jus avoided a huge accident, but then the driver over corrected—swerving back over into the lane with the stopped cars. We crashed into one of them and the airbags deployed. The car then continued to skid along the highway and eventually spun into a stop. We asked each other if we were okay, climbed out of the car, and then ran over to the car we collided with. The girl in the other car was a little dazed but uninjured.
Thankfully no one was seriously injured in this accident (including my beta fish that was in the front seat with me) but the two cars were tragically both left totaled. Although I had a small burn from the airbag and my neck was sore for a few days, it could have been much worse. Thankfully, we were all wearing our seat belts which probably saved our lives and prevented us from receiving anymore injuries. This accident did have me shaken up for a few days, but it was only the beginning of my eventful holiday break.
The next event I had to look forward to was getting my wisdom teeth pulled. The following Monday after the accident I had my surgery and it changed my entire Thanksgiving break. I am now on three different kinds of medication and my cheeks are swollen, making me look similar to a chipmunk. But the worst part about it is not being allowed to eat the food I want. However, I have been eating a lot of foods I am really not supposed to. The whole process of getting my wisdom teeth pulled has not been that bad. From all the stories people were telling me about getting their wisdom teeth removed, I was petrified, but it turned out to be a lot better than what I was expecting. Although it does hurt a little in the morning, after I take my medication it does not hurt anymore. And even though I am no supposed to be eating most of the food served on Thanksgiving, I had small amounts anyway.
Two days after my surgery, my parents and I traveled eight hours to New York to spend Thanksgiving with my mom’s side of the family. Although I have two older sisters, I was the only one who was forced to go even after getting into a car accident and having surgery. I do enjoy visiting my family in New York, but if I had a choice, I would have stayed home this year to recover from my surgery. It was also only my second time coming home from college, so I would have liked to spend more time with my friends back at home. But now that I am here, I am glad that I came. It was nice being able to see my family and eat Thanksgiving dinner with them.
Even though my Thanksgiving holiday was filled with unfortunate events, I still have a lot to be Thankful for. I am very thankful that no one was seriously injured in the car accident we got into on the way home. Having my wisdom teeth removed over Thanksgiving break is very regrettable, but I am thankful that everything went well during the surgery and I hope it remains that way while I recover. Finally I am very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my family, especially my relatives who I only get the chance to see about once a year. Every Thanksgiving I reflect on all the things I have to be thankful for and it amazes me how fortunate I am. There are several people who are just as blessed as I am, but we often take it for granted how fortunate we really are. We live in a country that gives us so much freedom and many opportunities. Regrettably, we take advantage of these things, and do not appreciate them as much as we should. We should be much more thankful for the little things in life that we own because there are others out there who can only dream about having the things we have.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Key to Success
One out of the many difficult decisions young people have to go through in today’s society is choosing what to do after they graduate from high school. Many choose to further their education by attending college while others may choose to go directly into the workforce or military. Whatever it is that youth today choose to do with the rest of their lives, the decision is usually made with intentions to set themselves up to live long, happy, successful lives. However, many young people do not get to choose what to do after graduating from high school because they are forced by their parents to do what their parents want them to do or other unfortunate circumstances. But the underlying question is, are those who go to college setting themselves up to be more successful than those who immediately join the workforce or otherwise? Many people would agree that those who choose to attend college will turn out to be more successful in life.
Those who believe that going to college is the best route for success typically think this because college enables you to get better-paying jobs and it improves your quality of life. Out of these two things, most people would agree that a better income is the greatest factor that enables college graduates to be more successful. According to Postsecondary Education Opportunity Research Letter, “[t]he lifetime income of families headed by individuals with a bachelor’s degree will be about $1.6 million more than the incomes of families headed by those with a high-school diploma” (Hansen). This is a significant amount of money, especially when you take in to consideration all the needs of a family. It could enable a family to buy their children cars, pay off their mortgage, or help pay for anything else a family may need or want. In addition to an increased income, many people say that a college education improves people’s quality of life.
People most likely believe this because of the many benefits people usually attain from receiving a college education. Studies show that in comparison with high school graduates, those with college degrees have “greater economic stability and security, better access to health care, more book purchases, more self-confidence, and less criminal activity and incarceration” (Hansen). All of these things could improve a person’s quality of living by making their lives a little more convenient and possibly more enjoyable. However, attaining some of these things may vary depending on the person and not necessarily the education they have. Personally, I am currently a student a Virginia Tech and agree that a college education can be very beneficial to a person’s life.
However, lately I have been wondering what else I could have done after graduating from high school and if I would have been just as successful if I had chosen to do something else. But in order to figure this out I first had to decide what I think it means to be successful. I believe being successful in life should not be defined by how much money you make, but by how happy you have become with yourself and your accomplishments. By this I mean if you love what you are doing—even if it does not pay well—and you are happy with whom you have become and where you have ended up, then you are successful. Albert Schweitzer, a German-French philosopher, believes in a similar definition:
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to
success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
(Hubpages)
This means that even if you have accomplished everything that people typically describe as becoming successful (such as graduating from college and getting a well paying job), but you are not happy, then you are not truly successful (Hubpages). Unfortunately, youth today are made to believe the very opposite and that they need to be wealthy and “successful” in order to be happy.
Many teenagers who graduate from high school are pushed by their parents or other mentors to go to college and get a well-paying job. Although this may help youth to become financially stable, it may also be setting them up to do something that they do not want to do, resulting in an unhappy life. Some parents even force their children to pursue the same career path they did, even if it is against the child’s will. This is not the right thing to do because we should be allowing our youth to do whatever it is that will make them happy. We also should not be encouraging our young people to do something just because it is what the majority of people do in order to get paid better. There are several alternatives that our youth can choose to do to become successful instead of going to college.
As an alternative, youth today could chose to join the military, work a special trade, or simply choose to pursue their dreams as an artist or maybe a singer. There are many job opportunities like this that pay very well and do not require a college education. Ultimately, we need to encourage our youth to do whatever it is that will make them happy. However, going to college is something that some youth decide will make them happy and this should not be discouraged. But we should not lead our youth astray, making them believe that in order to be successful in life you need a high-paying job. So the answer to the question is no, those who go to college are not setting themselves up to be more successful than those who choose to do otherwise. They are both equally successful as long as they are doing the things they love; because success is not defined by how much money you make in your lifetime, but by how happy you are with what you have done and who you have become in your lifetime.
Those who believe that going to college is the best route for success typically think this because college enables you to get better-paying jobs and it improves your quality of life. Out of these two things, most people would agree that a better income is the greatest factor that enables college graduates to be more successful. According to Postsecondary Education Opportunity Research Letter, “[t]he lifetime income of families headed by individuals with a bachelor’s degree will be about $1.6 million more than the incomes of families headed by those with a high-school diploma” (Hansen). This is a significant amount of money, especially when you take in to consideration all the needs of a family. It could enable a family to buy their children cars, pay off their mortgage, or help pay for anything else a family may need or want. In addition to an increased income, many people say that a college education improves people’s quality of life.
People most likely believe this because of the many benefits people usually attain from receiving a college education. Studies show that in comparison with high school graduates, those with college degrees have “greater economic stability and security, better access to health care, more book purchases, more self-confidence, and less criminal activity and incarceration” (Hansen). All of these things could improve a person’s quality of living by making their lives a little more convenient and possibly more enjoyable. However, attaining some of these things may vary depending on the person and not necessarily the education they have. Personally, I am currently a student a Virginia Tech and agree that a college education can be very beneficial to a person’s life.
However, lately I have been wondering what else I could have done after graduating from high school and if I would have been just as successful if I had chosen to do something else. But in order to figure this out I first had to decide what I think it means to be successful. I believe being successful in life should not be defined by how much money you make, but by how happy you have become with yourself and your accomplishments. By this I mean if you love what you are doing—even if it does not pay well—and you are happy with whom you have become and where you have ended up, then you are successful. Albert Schweitzer, a German-French philosopher, believes in a similar definition:
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to
success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
(Hubpages)
This means that even if you have accomplished everything that people typically describe as becoming successful (such as graduating from college and getting a well paying job), but you are not happy, then you are not truly successful (Hubpages). Unfortunately, youth today are made to believe the very opposite and that they need to be wealthy and “successful” in order to be happy.
Many teenagers who graduate from high school are pushed by their parents or other mentors to go to college and get a well-paying job. Although this may help youth to become financially stable, it may also be setting them up to do something that they do not want to do, resulting in an unhappy life. Some parents even force their children to pursue the same career path they did, even if it is against the child’s will. This is not the right thing to do because we should be allowing our youth to do whatever it is that will make them happy. We also should not be encouraging our young people to do something just because it is what the majority of people do in order to get paid better. There are several alternatives that our youth can choose to do to become successful instead of going to college.
As an alternative, youth today could chose to join the military, work a special trade, or simply choose to pursue their dreams as an artist or maybe a singer. There are many job opportunities like this that pay very well and do not require a college education. Ultimately, we need to encourage our youth to do whatever it is that will make them happy. However, going to college is something that some youth decide will make them happy and this should not be discouraged. But we should not lead our youth astray, making them believe that in order to be successful in life you need a high-paying job. So the answer to the question is no, those who go to college are not setting themselves up to be more successful than those who choose to do otherwise. They are both equally successful as long as they are doing the things they love; because success is not defined by how much money you make in your lifetime, but by how happy you are with what you have done and who you have become in your lifetime.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Halloween!
Halloween is one of the greatest and most enjoyable holidays of the year. What makes it so fun is all of the hilarious costumes people dress in, the spooky decorations everyone puts up, Halloween parties, pumpkin carving, and of course all of the candy you can get by going trick-or-treating. Halloween is a holiday that can be enjoyed by people, young and old, because there are so many different, fun activities to do. Although, Halloween is a traditional holiday that has change a great deal by spreading to different countries over many, many years.
Halloween originated over 2,000 years ago in present day Ireland, United Kingdom, and northern France. A group of people known as the Celts, who lived in this area, celebrated the New Year on November 1st in an ancient festival known as Samhain. They celebrated this day as the last day of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark and cold winter; which was a season often associated with death. The Celts believed on the night of the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and dead would be broken, allowing dead spirits to freely roam the earth. They believed that these spirits caused mischief, damaged crops, and made it easier for Celtic priests, known as Druids, to predict the future. The prophecies they made were very important to the Celts because it gave comfort and direction to them during the long and hard winters.
To celebrate the Samhain festival, Druids would build large, sacred bonfires in which the Celtic people would burn crops and animals in as sacrifices to Celtic deities. During the festival, the Celts would wear costumes, typically made of animal heads and skins, and the Druids would attempt to tell peoples’ fortunes. By A.D. 43, Romans conquered most of the Celtic territory, and changed the traditions of the Samhain festival according to their own belief systems. From that time on, the tradition of Samhain evolved as it spread to different countries, eventually coming to America, and has became a far different tradition, known as Halloween. Many of the traditions and superstitions have remained relatively the same; however there are several things such as trick-or-treating that have been picked up by different people and are practiced today.
Halloween in America today for most people is less concentrated on spirits who return to earth and is now mostly about having a good time. One reason I love Halloween so much is because it is one of the only days of the year where it is socially acceptable to dress up in a ridiculous costume. Here at Virginia Tech, students and cadets dress up in a wide variety of costumes. Some are funny, creative, scary, sexy, or just simple. Both girls and guys alike go all out when dressing up in their costumes by wearing makeup, putting their hair in crazy styles, or acquiring all of the necessary accessories that add the finishing touches to their outfits. Although some of these things can get expensive, so others will just make their costumes themselves, which makes it that much funnier.
Dressing up in costumes for Halloween is typically something that younger kids do, unless you’re a college student. On Halloween night, young children usually dress up in their costumes and go trick-or-treating. This is one of my favorite parts of Halloween because you get to walk around town, knock on your neighbors’ doors, and they will just give you free candy! However it is very unfortunate that it is not acceptable for anyone older than eighteen to do this. But in addition to getting lots of free candy, whenever you go trick-or-treating, you get the chance to walk around and see all of the decorations people put up for this wonderful holiday.
On Halloween people decorate their houses with orange lights, jack-o-lanterns, ghost, black cats, or other spooky decorations. Even in my dorm, everyone decorates their doors and writes “Happy Halloween” on their dry erase boards. All the colors associated with decorating for Halloween, like orange and yellow, are perfect with the colors of the leaves that change during this time as well. Even the process of decorating for Halloween can be enjoyable for people of all ages. I personally love making jack-o-lanterns.
Carving pumpkins is something that I really enjoy doing around Halloween. It is a lot of fun to do because you get the chance to get your hands dirty and you can make any kind of pattern you want. Then when the pumpkins are finished, they make great decorations for Halloween because at night when trick-or-treaters come to your house, it glows dimly, giving an eerie sensation to anyone who knocks on your door. But the best part about carving jack-o-lanterns is when Halloween is over and the carved pumpkins start to fall apart, then you get throw them on the road or sidewalk, smashing them in a million pieces. Another thing some people enjoy doing during Halloween is watching scary movies.
Although not everyone enjoys watching scary movies, I mostly enjoy watching the classic ones such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare On Elm Street. Watching scary movies around Halloween is something a lot of people enjoy doing because of all of the superstitious beliefs about Halloween night. Along with carving pumpkins and watching scary movies, there are several other different traditions families do all across the United States.
Some traditional extracurricular activities for Halloween include pumpkin festivals, Halloween costume parties, corn mazes, and other festive activities. All of these traditions derived from a very different tradition and belief that was practiced thousands of years ago. This ancient tradition has involved into something far more commercial and much more enjoyable. Although, Halloween is practiced differently in different countries and may still be very similar to its origins in other places. But in the United States of America, we have turned this holiday into something that just about everyone can enjoy, while still keeping some of the scary traditions.
Halloween originated over 2,000 years ago in present day Ireland, United Kingdom, and northern France. A group of people known as the Celts, who lived in this area, celebrated the New Year on November 1st in an ancient festival known as Samhain. They celebrated this day as the last day of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark and cold winter; which was a season often associated with death. The Celts believed on the night of the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and dead would be broken, allowing dead spirits to freely roam the earth. They believed that these spirits caused mischief, damaged crops, and made it easier for Celtic priests, known as Druids, to predict the future. The prophecies they made were very important to the Celts because it gave comfort and direction to them during the long and hard winters.
To celebrate the Samhain festival, Druids would build large, sacred bonfires in which the Celtic people would burn crops and animals in as sacrifices to Celtic deities. During the festival, the Celts would wear costumes, typically made of animal heads and skins, and the Druids would attempt to tell peoples’ fortunes. By A.D. 43, Romans conquered most of the Celtic territory, and changed the traditions of the Samhain festival according to their own belief systems. From that time on, the tradition of Samhain evolved as it spread to different countries, eventually coming to America, and has became a far different tradition, known as Halloween. Many of the traditions and superstitions have remained relatively the same; however there are several things such as trick-or-treating that have been picked up by different people and are practiced today.
Halloween in America today for most people is less concentrated on spirits who return to earth and is now mostly about having a good time. One reason I love Halloween so much is because it is one of the only days of the year where it is socially acceptable to dress up in a ridiculous costume. Here at Virginia Tech, students and cadets dress up in a wide variety of costumes. Some are funny, creative, scary, sexy, or just simple. Both girls and guys alike go all out when dressing up in their costumes by wearing makeup, putting their hair in crazy styles, or acquiring all of the necessary accessories that add the finishing touches to their outfits. Although some of these things can get expensive, so others will just make their costumes themselves, which makes it that much funnier.
Dressing up in costumes for Halloween is typically something that younger kids do, unless you’re a college student. On Halloween night, young children usually dress up in their costumes and go trick-or-treating. This is one of my favorite parts of Halloween because you get to walk around town, knock on your neighbors’ doors, and they will just give you free candy! However it is very unfortunate that it is not acceptable for anyone older than eighteen to do this. But in addition to getting lots of free candy, whenever you go trick-or-treating, you get the chance to walk around and see all of the decorations people put up for this wonderful holiday.
On Halloween people decorate their houses with orange lights, jack-o-lanterns, ghost, black cats, or other spooky decorations. Even in my dorm, everyone decorates their doors and writes “Happy Halloween” on their dry erase boards. All the colors associated with decorating for Halloween, like orange and yellow, are perfect with the colors of the leaves that change during this time as well. Even the process of decorating for Halloween can be enjoyable for people of all ages. I personally love making jack-o-lanterns.
Carving pumpkins is something that I really enjoy doing around Halloween. It is a lot of fun to do because you get the chance to get your hands dirty and you can make any kind of pattern you want. Then when the pumpkins are finished, they make great decorations for Halloween because at night when trick-or-treaters come to your house, it glows dimly, giving an eerie sensation to anyone who knocks on your door. But the best part about carving jack-o-lanterns is when Halloween is over and the carved pumpkins start to fall apart, then you get throw them on the road or sidewalk, smashing them in a million pieces. Another thing some people enjoy doing during Halloween is watching scary movies.
Although not everyone enjoys watching scary movies, I mostly enjoy watching the classic ones such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare On Elm Street. Watching scary movies around Halloween is something a lot of people enjoy doing because of all of the superstitious beliefs about Halloween night. Along with carving pumpkins and watching scary movies, there are several other different traditions families do all across the United States.
Some traditional extracurricular activities for Halloween include pumpkin festivals, Halloween costume parties, corn mazes, and other festive activities. All of these traditions derived from a very different tradition and belief that was practiced thousands of years ago. This ancient tradition has involved into something far more commercial and much more enjoyable. Although, Halloween is practiced differently in different countries and may still be very similar to its origins in other places. But in the United States of America, we have turned this holiday into something that just about everyone can enjoy, while still keeping some of the scary traditions.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Much Love
I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends because friends are always there during good and bad times and therefore, they should never be taken for granted. I believe it is important to let your friends know how much you appreciate them because you never know when you might lose them. What if your friend suddenly and unexpectedly passed away? Wouldn’t it give you a little bit of comfort if the last thing you said to them was “I love you”? You would more than likely feel better knowing that your friend died knowing that he was loved and cared for by his friend.
When I say “I love you” to my friends it’s more of a strong like or my way of expressing kindness verses it meaning that I am in love with my friends. I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends because a simple word like love can do some much good for other people. Love is a word that can brighten people’s lives by making them happy when they are sad. I believe that love should be given by everyone because love is a renewable resource. So when one person shows love or says “I love you” to someone, that someone may enjoy that feeling so much that they do the same to someone else. I believe that love is something that is not said or spread enough. So I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends in order to spread my love to others and hopefully reduce all the hate everyone has for each other. Overall, love is good for the human soul and is essential for us to live enjoyable lives. It is impossible for someone to be happy if no one loves them or if they do not love anyone else.
I have only started saying “I love you” to my friends about two years ago when I was a junior in high school. I had three best friends; their names were Brooke, Mandy, and Megan. My friend Megan was a senior at the time. I have always looked up to Megan because she is a very smart, funny, and out spoken person. When we first became friends, we would talk on the phone frequently. After a couple of months our friendship grew stronger and one day before we got off the phone she said “much love”. I did not know exactly how to respond, so I awkwardly replied back with a “yeah, love you too”. After that awkward moment, we then said “bye” and hung up the phone. I sat there for a moment and thought it was weird how she said that. I wondered if said the right thing back or if she did not expect me to say anything at all. So I was not sure what to say the next time she said that to me.
From that phone call on she always said “much love” before we hung up the phone and in time said “I love you” to me. As she continued to say this, I would always respond by saying “I love you too” and it gradually became less awkward. We eventually got to the point to where we would say it when we said goodbye in person and even to our friends Brooke and Mandy as well. I became so comfortable with it, that I would say it to them too.
At the time I had a boyfriend named Wes and he often heard me saying “I love you” to my friends. He felt the same way I did at first and thought it was strange how we said that to each other. He asked me why we did it and I did not really know exactly. I just told him that I say it because they started to say it to me first. Then one day Wes, Megan, Brooke, Mandy, and I were all at Megan’s house. I do not remember why we started to talk about it, but Wes asked Megan why she says “I love you” to her friends. She told him because she really does love them and you never know if that will be the last time you get to talk to them ever again. This made a great deal of since to me and it changed the way I thought about saying “I love you” to my friends.
Before I would say it and not actually mean it. I was not trying to lie to them when I said it, but I was more so just saying it so I would not hurt their feelings by not saying anything back and I still sort of believed it was an awkward thing to say to your friends. But now that I thought about it that way, I would say “I love you” to my friends and be totally sincere.
I am extremely thankful that Megan started saying “I love you” to me because it gave me a greater appreciation for my friends. I used to take friendship for granted because I never thought about being able to lose my friends at anytime. But something like that is very possible so I now take it into consideration and as a result tell my friends I love them.
Although, I believe saying “I love you” to your friends can do so much more than just give you a better appreciation for your friendship. It can cheer someone up when they are feeling down, it can make your friendships stronger, or it can give someone comfort when they are feeling lonely. I believe that love can accomplish all of these things and much more. I believe that everyone should tell their friends that they love them so that no one feels unwanted or unappreciated. I believe that if everyone told their friends they love them, the world would be a better place to live in because it would decrease the amount of hate everyone has and increase the cheer in everyone’s lives.
When I say “I love you” to my friends it’s more of a strong like or my way of expressing kindness verses it meaning that I am in love with my friends. I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends because a simple word like love can do some much good for other people. Love is a word that can brighten people’s lives by making them happy when they are sad. I believe that love should be given by everyone because love is a renewable resource. So when one person shows love or says “I love you” to someone, that someone may enjoy that feeling so much that they do the same to someone else. I believe that love is something that is not said or spread enough. So I believe in saying “I love you” to my friends in order to spread my love to others and hopefully reduce all the hate everyone has for each other. Overall, love is good for the human soul and is essential for us to live enjoyable lives. It is impossible for someone to be happy if no one loves them or if they do not love anyone else.
I have only started saying “I love you” to my friends about two years ago when I was a junior in high school. I had three best friends; their names were Brooke, Mandy, and Megan. My friend Megan was a senior at the time. I have always looked up to Megan because she is a very smart, funny, and out spoken person. When we first became friends, we would talk on the phone frequently. After a couple of months our friendship grew stronger and one day before we got off the phone she said “much love”. I did not know exactly how to respond, so I awkwardly replied back with a “yeah, love you too”. After that awkward moment, we then said “bye” and hung up the phone. I sat there for a moment and thought it was weird how she said that. I wondered if said the right thing back or if she did not expect me to say anything at all. So I was not sure what to say the next time she said that to me.
From that phone call on she always said “much love” before we hung up the phone and in time said “I love you” to me. As she continued to say this, I would always respond by saying “I love you too” and it gradually became less awkward. We eventually got to the point to where we would say it when we said goodbye in person and even to our friends Brooke and Mandy as well. I became so comfortable with it, that I would say it to them too.
At the time I had a boyfriend named Wes and he often heard me saying “I love you” to my friends. He felt the same way I did at first and thought it was strange how we said that to each other. He asked me why we did it and I did not really know exactly. I just told him that I say it because they started to say it to me first. Then one day Wes, Megan, Brooke, Mandy, and I were all at Megan’s house. I do not remember why we started to talk about it, but Wes asked Megan why she says “I love you” to her friends. She told him because she really does love them and you never know if that will be the last time you get to talk to them ever again. This made a great deal of since to me and it changed the way I thought about saying “I love you” to my friends.
Before I would say it and not actually mean it. I was not trying to lie to them when I said it, but I was more so just saying it so I would not hurt their feelings by not saying anything back and I still sort of believed it was an awkward thing to say to your friends. But now that I thought about it that way, I would say “I love you” to my friends and be totally sincere.
I am extremely thankful that Megan started saying “I love you” to me because it gave me a greater appreciation for my friends. I used to take friendship for granted because I never thought about being able to lose my friends at anytime. But something like that is very possible so I now take it into consideration and as a result tell my friends I love them.
Although, I believe saying “I love you” to your friends can do so much more than just give you a better appreciation for your friendship. It can cheer someone up when they are feeling down, it can make your friendships stronger, or it can give someone comfort when they are feeling lonely. I believe that love can accomplish all of these things and much more. I believe that everyone should tell their friends that they love them so that no one feels unwanted or unappreciated. I believe that if everyone told their friends they love them, the world would be a better place to live in because it would decrease the amount of hate everyone has and increase the cheer in everyone’s lives.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Professional Athletes Are Overpaid
Professional athletes are among the most wealthy and well known people in the United States and around the world. Athletes such as Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods are all admired by millions of people for their impressive athletic abilities. Most professional athletes are very talented, dedicated, and very hard workers. But do they truly deserve all the praise people give them and multimillion dollar contracts simply because they are good at playing sports? Some athletes truly do not, because even while knowing they are being looked up to by thousands of young boys and girls, they still set bad examples. But regardless of if they are good role models or not, no one should be paid millions of dollars merely because they are good at playing sports.
Most professional athletes worked very hard throughout their lives to end up on the teams they are on today. Then once they make the team, they most likely still work very hard by exercising vigorously in practice and weight rooms, trying their hardest on game days, and doing what they can on a regular basis to improve themselves. Although this takes much commitment and hard, physical work, they do not deserve millions of dollars for it. This year, the median salary in the NFL is around $770,000 for one season! The Washington Redskins have the highest payroll at $123 million and the New York Giants have the lowest at $76 million. The national average that a teacher makes in one year is $53,000.
It is not logical for someone who is playing football, basketball or any other sport to be making hundreds of thousands more a year than a teacher who helps out other people on a day to day basis. Professional athletes do nothing to improve the lives of others—other than themselves and their teammates—when they do their jobs. All they do for other people while on the job is to entertain. Other professions such as a nurse, firefighter, police officer, or teacher help others on a daily basis, possibly risking their own lives, and still do not get as much credit, respect, or money as people who play sports for a living. But to many Americans, sports and entertainment have a greater priority over these people and therefore professional athletes are well paid and well known.
As a result, professional athletes are treated like celebrities, and unfortunately can get away with doing practically anything. One example was when a NFL player murdered a man and only received a slap on the wrist. In June of 2009, Donte Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns was sentenced to thirty days in jail for manslaughter after making a confidential, financial settlement with the family of the victim. Donte was driving after a night of drinking in Miami Beach and hit Mario Reyes, age 59 while he was on his way to the bus stop after getting off from work. Although this was an accident, it was an accident that was caused by and illegal action by Stallworth. He could have faced up to fifteen years in prison, but because he co-operated and had the money to make a settlement, he was treated differently.
Unfortunately cases like this occur all the time with professional athletes and rich and famous people. It is not fair for people to be treated differently (especially when it comes to the law) only because they are rich and famous. If anyone else in the general public, who was not wealthy, had committed the same crime, they would have had to carry out the jail sentence. Something needs to be done to stop these kinds of things from happening because this is not true justice. Also, professional athletes need to be more aware of what they are doing because there are millions of people—including young children—who look up to them.
Professional athletes are role models for young boys and girls everywhere and should take that into consideration before they do things they really should not be doing. Several athletes have set bad examples for children by doing drugs, being involved in shootings, taking steroids, and participating in many other illegal activities. One example was when Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was caught in a photograph of him smoking marijuana.
The picture was released three months after he won a record of eight gold medals in the Beijing games and it was broadcasted on the news and online everywhere. Many young children most likely saw this and were either disappointed or it may have encouraged some to try it because they just witnessed their favorite athlete doing it. Although, several professional athletes learn from their mistakes and usually turn themselves around by correcting their behavior. Others do not even do anything wrong at all and make great role models for kids.
There are several professional athletes who make great role models by performing well in games, expressing good sportsmanship, donating to charities, and getting involved in their communities. All professional athletes should behave this way because they have such great influences on the lives of other people. Although even if they are great athletes and role models, they still do not deserve to make as much money as they do and they should not be treated differently than the general public when it comes to the law.
It is sad that in society today our priorities are so messed up that we give those who play sports for a living, hundreds of thousands more a year than other people who make a difference in the world every day. If we lived in a world without professional sports to entertain us, life would be a little more boring, but we would live on. But if we lived in a world without doctors, firefighters, policemen, teachers, or construction workers, life as we know it would cease to exist. Paying professional athletes as much as we do is ethically wrong and we should give other people such as teachers the respect and payroll they deserve, because they make a difference in the lives of others every day.
Most professional athletes worked very hard throughout their lives to end up on the teams they are on today. Then once they make the team, they most likely still work very hard by exercising vigorously in practice and weight rooms, trying their hardest on game days, and doing what they can on a regular basis to improve themselves. Although this takes much commitment and hard, physical work, they do not deserve millions of dollars for it. This year, the median salary in the NFL is around $770,000 for one season! The Washington Redskins have the highest payroll at $123 million and the New York Giants have the lowest at $76 million. The national average that a teacher makes in one year is $53,000.
It is not logical for someone who is playing football, basketball or any other sport to be making hundreds of thousands more a year than a teacher who helps out other people on a day to day basis. Professional athletes do nothing to improve the lives of others—other than themselves and their teammates—when they do their jobs. All they do for other people while on the job is to entertain. Other professions such as a nurse, firefighter, police officer, or teacher help others on a daily basis, possibly risking their own lives, and still do not get as much credit, respect, or money as people who play sports for a living. But to many Americans, sports and entertainment have a greater priority over these people and therefore professional athletes are well paid and well known.
As a result, professional athletes are treated like celebrities, and unfortunately can get away with doing practically anything. One example was when a NFL player murdered a man and only received a slap on the wrist. In June of 2009, Donte Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns was sentenced to thirty days in jail for manslaughter after making a confidential, financial settlement with the family of the victim. Donte was driving after a night of drinking in Miami Beach and hit Mario Reyes, age 59 while he was on his way to the bus stop after getting off from work. Although this was an accident, it was an accident that was caused by and illegal action by Stallworth. He could have faced up to fifteen years in prison, but because he co-operated and had the money to make a settlement, he was treated differently.
Unfortunately cases like this occur all the time with professional athletes and rich and famous people. It is not fair for people to be treated differently (especially when it comes to the law) only because they are rich and famous. If anyone else in the general public, who was not wealthy, had committed the same crime, they would have had to carry out the jail sentence. Something needs to be done to stop these kinds of things from happening because this is not true justice. Also, professional athletes need to be more aware of what they are doing because there are millions of people—including young children—who look up to them.
Professional athletes are role models for young boys and girls everywhere and should take that into consideration before they do things they really should not be doing. Several athletes have set bad examples for children by doing drugs, being involved in shootings, taking steroids, and participating in many other illegal activities. One example was when Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was caught in a photograph of him smoking marijuana.
The picture was released three months after he won a record of eight gold medals in the Beijing games and it was broadcasted on the news and online everywhere. Many young children most likely saw this and were either disappointed or it may have encouraged some to try it because they just witnessed their favorite athlete doing it. Although, several professional athletes learn from their mistakes and usually turn themselves around by correcting their behavior. Others do not even do anything wrong at all and make great role models for kids.
There are several professional athletes who make great role models by performing well in games, expressing good sportsmanship, donating to charities, and getting involved in their communities. All professional athletes should behave this way because they have such great influences on the lives of other people. Although even if they are great athletes and role models, they still do not deserve to make as much money as they do and they should not be treated differently than the general public when it comes to the law.
It is sad that in society today our priorities are so messed up that we give those who play sports for a living, hundreds of thousands more a year than other people who make a difference in the world every day. If we lived in a world without professional sports to entertain us, life would be a little more boring, but we would live on. But if we lived in a world without doctors, firefighters, policemen, teachers, or construction workers, life as we know it would cease to exist. Paying professional athletes as much as we do is ethically wrong and we should give other people such as teachers the respect and payroll they deserve, because they make a difference in the lives of others every day.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Virginia Tech and Boston College
Saturday, October 10th was the homecoming football game for Virginia Tech. They played against Boston College and the final score was forty eight to fourteen, with the Hokies coming out as the victor. Once this game was over, it was discussed on ESPN and written about in several newspapers. I chose one particular article from the Washington Post website titled, “Hokies Hound Boston College in 48-14 Win” by Mark Viera to write a rhetorical analysis on. The article was very well written but had some minor flaws that may have pushed some readers away.
In this article, there were two main ideas the author wanted to get across: explain how well Virginia Tech played on Saturday and that Virginia Tech has a big challenge ahead of them. Both of these have a similar purpose of informing the audience of Virginia Tech’s overall standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with the focal point being the game they had just played on Saturday against Boston College. Since the article was based on a topic such as football, the author most likely was not writing to a general audience.
The audience who would most likely read this article and have the most interest in it would include: college football fans, but mainly Virginia Tech or Boston College fans. Knowing this, the author should keep in mind that any college football fan could be reading his article and therefore he should not favor Virginia Tech or Boston College. If the author is being biased while writing on a topic such as this, it can easily make an audience lose interest or even make some angry. Many people have a lot of pride in their favorite football team and some may be easily offended if the author is writing bad remarks about their team. If the author is being biased and talking down on a team it is very noticeable in the word choice and technique of the article.
The techniques this author mainly uses in this article are logos and ethos. In his writing the author uses logos arguments by explaining specific facts about the game. The author explains to the audience key plays throughout the game which include how many yards were gained of lost and other specific details that gives readers some knowledge of what went on in the game. He also included specific achievements or failed attempts of certain players, to show how they may have affected the outcome of the game. The author also included with in his article, the rankings of Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech and the current seasonal record for Virginia Tech and Boston College. This tells the audience how well each of the teams are doing so far in the season. Because the author uses so many facts, it makes him seem like he has a lot of knowledge about the game and both of the teams, which makes him more trustworthy.
The other technique the author used—ethos—made him a little less trustworthy. Although the author had all of his facts correct, he seemed to have his own agenda. It seems throughout the article that the author slightly favors Virginia Tech because they were the winning team, but he tries to cover it up by saying that Virginia Tech has “not always played consistently enough to warrant entry in the championship conversation”. But this is the only time the author talks negatively about Virginia Tech and the rest of the article seems to put down Boston College because they lost. This becomes more obvious once you take a closer look at the word choice and tone of the author.
When the author referred to Virginia Tech players or their performances he used very optimistic words. Some of the words he used to describe them include “efficient”, “impressive”, “positive”, “businesslike”, “dazzling”, and “crisp”. All of these words and the way he puts them into a sentence make it seem like the author is speaking in a tone that is favoring Virginia Tech. Furthermore, once the writer starts to talk about Boston College, the tone seems to become negative. He refers to Boston College being “in a daze as [they] tried to figure out the Hokies’ defense”. This makes it sound like Boson had no clue what was going on in the situation they were in and this type of language could possibly offend someone. The author also used words such as “hound” and “snuffed” to explain how badly they lost to Virginia Tech. These words may have not been the best for the author to choose because it could have turned the audience off by making them angry, so therefore he should consider being more courteous and aware of his audience.
One other minor flaw in this article was the way the author presented his argument. In his first paragraph he says how Virginia Tech’s football team watches the films of other teams. This makes the opening very weak because it is irrelevant to the rest of the article. Then in the second and third paragraphs, the author starts to talk about Virginia Tech’s next “big challenge” Georgia Tech. These paragraphs are out of place because he only says a couple things about the game against Georgia Tech, including a quote from a Virginia Tech football player, then all of a sudden starts to talk about the game against Boston College, and then later refers back to the game against Georgia Tech near the end of the article. The piece would flow much better and be more organized if the author had talked about the game against Boston College first and then talked about their next game to come against Georgia Tech at the end of the article.
Overall the article was written well except for some minor flaws that may have pushed away some audiences. The words the author chose to describe the game and players were creative, but they may have been offensive to those who are not Virginia Tech fans. Although it can be a challenge to write an article that does not sound like it is favoring the winner, but I think this author could have seemed less biased by pointing out some good things that Boston College did in the game and changing the title of the article.
In this article, there were two main ideas the author wanted to get across: explain how well Virginia Tech played on Saturday and that Virginia Tech has a big challenge ahead of them. Both of these have a similar purpose of informing the audience of Virginia Tech’s overall standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with the focal point being the game they had just played on Saturday against Boston College. Since the article was based on a topic such as football, the author most likely was not writing to a general audience.
The audience who would most likely read this article and have the most interest in it would include: college football fans, but mainly Virginia Tech or Boston College fans. Knowing this, the author should keep in mind that any college football fan could be reading his article and therefore he should not favor Virginia Tech or Boston College. If the author is being biased while writing on a topic such as this, it can easily make an audience lose interest or even make some angry. Many people have a lot of pride in their favorite football team and some may be easily offended if the author is writing bad remarks about their team. If the author is being biased and talking down on a team it is very noticeable in the word choice and technique of the article.
The techniques this author mainly uses in this article are logos and ethos. In his writing the author uses logos arguments by explaining specific facts about the game. The author explains to the audience key plays throughout the game which include how many yards were gained of lost and other specific details that gives readers some knowledge of what went on in the game. He also included specific achievements or failed attempts of certain players, to show how they may have affected the outcome of the game. The author also included with in his article, the rankings of Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech and the current seasonal record for Virginia Tech and Boston College. This tells the audience how well each of the teams are doing so far in the season. Because the author uses so many facts, it makes him seem like he has a lot of knowledge about the game and both of the teams, which makes him more trustworthy.
The other technique the author used—ethos—made him a little less trustworthy. Although the author had all of his facts correct, he seemed to have his own agenda. It seems throughout the article that the author slightly favors Virginia Tech because they were the winning team, but he tries to cover it up by saying that Virginia Tech has “not always played consistently enough to warrant entry in the championship conversation”. But this is the only time the author talks negatively about Virginia Tech and the rest of the article seems to put down Boston College because they lost. This becomes more obvious once you take a closer look at the word choice and tone of the author.
When the author referred to Virginia Tech players or their performances he used very optimistic words. Some of the words he used to describe them include “efficient”, “impressive”, “positive”, “businesslike”, “dazzling”, and “crisp”. All of these words and the way he puts them into a sentence make it seem like the author is speaking in a tone that is favoring Virginia Tech. Furthermore, once the writer starts to talk about Boston College, the tone seems to become negative. He refers to Boston College being “in a daze as [they] tried to figure out the Hokies’ defense”. This makes it sound like Boson had no clue what was going on in the situation they were in and this type of language could possibly offend someone. The author also used words such as “hound” and “snuffed” to explain how badly they lost to Virginia Tech. These words may have not been the best for the author to choose because it could have turned the audience off by making them angry, so therefore he should consider being more courteous and aware of his audience.
One other minor flaw in this article was the way the author presented his argument. In his first paragraph he says how Virginia Tech’s football team watches the films of other teams. This makes the opening very weak because it is irrelevant to the rest of the article. Then in the second and third paragraphs, the author starts to talk about Virginia Tech’s next “big challenge” Georgia Tech. These paragraphs are out of place because he only says a couple things about the game against Georgia Tech, including a quote from a Virginia Tech football player, then all of a sudden starts to talk about the game against Boston College, and then later refers back to the game against Georgia Tech near the end of the article. The piece would flow much better and be more organized if the author had talked about the game against Boston College first and then talked about their next game to come against Georgia Tech at the end of the article.
Overall the article was written well except for some minor flaws that may have pushed away some audiences. The words the author chose to describe the game and players were creative, but they may have been offensive to those who are not Virginia Tech fans. Although it can be a challenge to write an article that does not sound like it is favoring the winner, but I think this author could have seemed less biased by pointing out some good things that Boston College did in the game and changing the title of the article.
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