How to Make Money: An Absurd Look at Capitalism

Look, we all got to make money and capitalism is perfect for that. If you have a certain skill or ability it can surely be exploited to make a profit and if that doesn’t float your boat you can always get any, old random job. But not everyone is dedicated to the “honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay” or believe that a conventional career is necessary to provide for themselves. What happens when people reject the norms and decide to make money the good ol’ fashioned sleazy way?

1) Virtual Farming

Virtual farming is a fancy way of saying “I play videogames for a living” which, for the record, is not a bad thing. If making money slaying virtual monsters was an option for me I’d be all over it. My girlfriend would lose her mind, but I’d find the time in between pauses to help her find it if it meant playing games for a living.

But then again, virtual farming isn’t just simply video games, which is why I chose college instead. It’s the mind numbing practice of gathering in-game resources to sell to other players who are too lazy or find it too inconvenient to do it themselves. So basically, it’s like a sweatshop for gamers. Seriously, these people are at it for 16 hours a day to keep up with demand.





Why It’s Bad:

Every heard of micro-transactions? What about pay-to-win games? Well both of these awful gaming trends are due to the success of the virtual farmers. These folks showed video game developers just how much gamers were willing to invest in their product. Every phone app, console game, etc gives players the option of buying advantages in-game, drastically increasing the amount of revenue gaming companies make, as well as the amount gamers spend on games themselves.

2) Professional Mourner

Yep, it is exactly what it sounds like. People who are paid to look sad. So, no worries for your grumpy, jerk of an uncle, Jim Bob, being alone when he kicks the bucket. You can just pay a someone to replace you at the funeral, who would do a much better job of looking depressed than you ever would. Unless of course you really are sad, then in that case I’d suggest you save your money.





Why It’s Bad:

Honestly, I’m not really sure that it is. More than likely these people are hired with the good intentions of making your recently deceased family member seem greater, or more missed, than they really are. I would assume, though, that it takes a special kind of person to pull this off and I would not want to be present if one of these “mourners” were busted. In fact, if you get a chance, google some stories about professional mourning. Some of the tales are downright hilarious and some others well...probably more tragic than funny.

3) 9/11/2001

Nothing in my life has been posterized to the point of nausea like the tragedies on September 11th. Now, I say this knowing that the day itself should be remembered forever, akin to Pearl Harbor, but the absolutely disgusting ways people tried to generate profit from this is well...disgusting. Let’s see, first we got the 9/11 wine, then of course let’s not forget the 9/11 quilt. After that we should head to the local Gamestop and pick up the 9/11 simulator (note to reader, Gamestop never sold such a game, BUT such a game existed). Once we get our thrills simulating human tragedy we should invest in some silver commemorative coins! Because what’s thousand of dead loved ones if we can’t mint special coins!!!





Why It’s Bad:

Because you shouldn’t make money off people’s suffering? Because you shouldn’t make people feel un-American because they won’t buy your stupid crap. Because people that do crap like this are awful. Most importantly, it makes people more nationalistic than what is necessary. Love America, by all means, it is a great place to live. But the outcome of shoving so many American products down our throats results in us coming up with such innovative ideas as building a wall on our borders, or restricting immigration of Muslims.

4) YouTube

I am a self admitted YouTube addict. I typically watch at least one hour of videos a day ranging from political commentaries, to video game “let’s play” videos just to pass the time. The fact that it is free is even better. The fact that it is home to some of the most hilarious content you can find makes it even, MORE, better. YouTube, however, is changing for the worst. Now offering a paid for ad-free version as well as housing thousands of hours of pirated content, YouTube finds itself in the precarious position of losing it’s identity.




Why It’s Bad:

Well for starters everyone has access to watch, as well as to upload videos on the site. This was fine when the videos were limited to funny cat videos, or street fights caught on tape. Now, YouTube is home to thousands of wanna-be experts who have an open forum to spill their ignorance all over your living room. Everyone on the Tube now has an opinion that the sky is falling, or the government caused 9/11, or that blood sacrifices of celebrities happen on a daily basis. This leads to people thinking they are a master of a subject because they listened to some other ignorant person on the Tube. Not to mention that there is nothing in the YouTube code of conduct that prohibits uploaders with giving their videos misleading, or outright lies, for titles. Which of course leads to more clicks, more ads, and more money generated for the uploader. On top of that the more views something has the more likely someone will take it as objective fact, as opposed to subjective opinion, which leads to more people with idiotic ideas running around vomiting nonsense all over everyone.

Nature is Healing: Why We Need to Fix Our Relationship With Nature

In today’s society, everything is fast paced. We want things as quick as possible. We have an ever-growing addiction to materialism. Our main focus is consumerism and disposability. We mindlessly buy things and throw them out without a second thought as to where they go. With the increase of technology we are even more of a disposable society. We want the new version of everything. We want faster texting, faster Internet, and faster results. While all of these advances are helpful in many ways, it is creating a disconnect among humans. We are moving further and further away from our roots with nature. It is so easy to go through the hustle and bustle of life and completely miss the natural wonders all around us. So much of the way we live today focuses on dominating nature. We don’t want to climb the mountain we want to “conquer” it. We either eat or cage animals. We cut down trees. Pollute our water and air. We have this misconstrued perception that we control nature. But the truth is, without nature we would not even be alive. We need it to survive. Yet we are slowly ruining our environment. I think it is important that we all try to make an effort to get out in nature more. If we learn to appreciate what’s around us, we may start to think twice about destroying it. Nature has the ability to heal and pull you away from the clocks of society to just be. Nature also has a way of reminding us how insignificant our problems are. If you’ve ever laid out on a clear night and looked up at the stars, you realize we are just a small speck spinning through the universe. It helps you live in the moment and appreciate the small things in life. Nature is always there, waiting and yearning for people to just open their eyes and embrace it. Nature also brings inspiration to people. Thoreau said, “For I believe that climate does thus react on man- as there is something in the mountain air that feeds the spirit and inspires.” Thoreau is showing how the beauty and power of nature can be easily reflected through people. The more wide-open spaces, magnificent views, and powerful weather there are, the more people will be inspired. The grander scale of nature can reflect one’s imagination, thoughts, intellect, and emotions. So my question is, when nature has the power and ability to spark all of these things in us, as well as keep us alive, why would we destroy it? We need to learn how to advance as a society while also preserving the nature around us.

The author McKibben wrote an essay called “End of Nature.” He talks about how nature is losing its mystery and independence since humans are trying so hard to control nature and the weather. McKibben feels like he is becoming trapped in society with nowhere to escape to. He even brings up the issue of global warming and how the sun we feel also carries the guilt that we are creating holes in the ozone layer. Man affects nature in every way and that is how things will always be until we run nature to the very edge of its existence. Despite his overall fatalistic view of nature coming to an end, McKibben does leave a little sense of hope for the issue. He says that humans can choose to stop following the path we have been for so many years. The earth has limited amounts of natural resources, therefore we need to slow down on our productivity and consumption to try and conserve what little we have left. However, changing our ways is not going to be enough. Society will need to make some “mental adjustments” and realize that we are not the most important creatures on this earth. McKibben says, “The momentum behind our impulse to control nature may be too strong to stop. But the likelihood of defeat is not an excuse to avoid trying.” He says that we need to start making the changes right now to limit our wants and desires so that nature can go back to working it’s natural ways. McKibben ends this essay by talking about the stars. He talks about how man has managed to control and destroy the environment around us, yet the entire universe above us remains an untouchable mystery. Sure, we have managed to travel to the moon, and technology is able to look at planets far away. However, outer space still holds a deep mystery that remains to be unconquered by humans.

The famous poet Ralph Waldo Emerson had a very strong relationship with nature. In some of his essays, he talks about how every person should take time to be completely alone in solitude so they can truly appreciate the sun, moon, stars, and trees.  He also mentions how many people think they can own the land and certain parts of the earth, but it’s really just a false claim because nature cannot be owned by anyone. Emerson says nature is connected to spirit because it can help someone look within and discover his or her true self. Emerson talks about moral guidance from nature when he says that “In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth.” This idea suggests that if everyone in the world could truly connect to nature we could all gain a little bit of our innocence in life back. This could even bring out the good in people and reduce all the hatred and destruction.  Emerson talks about how nature is in perfect harmony to create life for humans and everything works together in a way that helps us. The circle of life in nature is what provides life for us, which is why it is connected to the spirit and should be appreciated. He even goes so far to say that nature can be medicinal and provide a sort of cure to people who are stuck in buildings all day working.

Nature is sacred. We need it. We need to evolve with nature rather than destruct it. In some ways we are heading in the right direction. People are increasing their awareness on sustainability and preservation. However, we still have a long way to go. The sooner we learn everything is connected, the better off future generations and we will be. So everyone, please, get outside and breathe some fresh air. I promise it’ll do some good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

― Henry Ford

This semester is winding down.  It’s almost over and for this I am thankful.  It’s not so much that I haven't enjoyed it, I am simply tired.  I am twenty eight years old and have finally decided to continue my education.  I had an idea that it wouldn't be easy, but then again nothing is ever truly “easy”.  As a young child I had all the same dreams as everyone else, most didn’t include the ideas of working 50 hours a week and being a full time student.  Being an adult who has finally decided what to do when she “grows up” is probably the most challenging thing I have done.  I am still not entirely sure what I am doing, or if I am doing it right.  After all I have been out of school for eleven years. So for each year I am writing a life lesson that I have learned, some I have learned the hard way.  

1. Enjoy all the people in your life that make a positive impact.  I have had so many people to be an inspiration to me in all aspects of my life. My Grandparents, especially my grandmother has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders.  People are not always going to be there so we need to enjoy them while they are.

2. Things are going to happen in your life that are just never going to make sense.  In fact more often than not life just doesn't make sense.  Just know that in my experience sometimes the worst times in life turn out to be the best in the end.

3. Pets are a wonderful thing to have in your life.  If you have the time they bring more happiness than you can imagine.

4. Sometimes it's okay to admit that you are scared.  It doesn't make you less of a person and it doesn't mean the world is ending.  

5. Try to be some sort of inspiration to someone else every single day.  No matter how small it may seem the impact can be great.  
6. Some days you just need to vent.  Having a person in your life that will listen and understand no matter the context is huge.  Whether it’s family or friends it is nice to have unconditional love and support.

7. Not everyday is going to be sunshine and puppy dogs.  Reality is a hard thing to face, but life isn’t perfect and probably never will be. Don’t get yourself down just make the best of it.  

8. Do what makes you happy.  Happy is such a relative term, what makes me happy may not make you happy.  Just remember that if you enjoy it, do it without question.

9. People that you run across are all fighting a battle.  It could be a personal, financial, health, or work related.(Refer to number 7)

10. Don’t judge others.  If you find yourself judging someone that you know or even a stranger just remember a time in your own life when you were judged unfairly.  Remember that hurt and decide that you don’t want anyone else to feel the same.

11. Life is all about balance.  Between relationships, family, life, and school life can get out of control and overwhelming sometimes.  Finding the proper balance between all aspects of life is a must to keep yourself sane.

The rest of my education as an adult will continue to be difficult I’m sure. I will continue to learn, and grow as a person.  I know is that eventually it will all be worth the hard work.  

Procrastinating

Procrastination is the bane of most, if not all, college students. By the time we reach college, many of us are already experts at avoiding the inevitable. “Oh, we’ll get to it,” we say. And most of us do. We get it done, but not without a constant and looming pressure that builds until, the night before, we cram, sometimes all night long, to finish. The result? Seldom our best work. Was it worth it? Not a chance. So why do we procrastinate over and over again? The reasons we procrastinate are easy to identify. We might feel overwhelmed by the task, or we may be perfectionists, or maybe we get distracted easily, or perhaps we are just plain lazy. Whatever the reason, the fact remains: procrastination creates more stress in our lives, and never yields our best results. Since the demands placed on first-year college students are high, it is important to enter college knowing, first of all, that procrastination can severely hinder your academic performance. This is true in school as well as in life. With this in mind, it is essential to have a realistic game plan for overcoming procrastination in college.

climate change

Over the years we've been ignoring the obvious, that our climate is changing and soon if we don't do anything about it, it will be to late for our species. The global average temperature increased by more than 1.4°F over the last century. In fact, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the decade from 2000 to 2010 was the warmest on record, and 2010 was tied with 2005 as the warmest year on record. Rising global temperatures have also been accompanied by other changes in weather and climate. Many places have experienced changes in rainfall resulting in more intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. The planet's oceans and glaciers have also experienced changes: oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, ice caps are melting, and sea levels are rising. All of these changes are evidence that our world is getting warmer. With all this evidence i think its safe to say we need to do something before its too late. If the global average temperature is increased by 1.4 degrees in ten years then by 2100 the average temperature will be about 12 to 14 degrees higher making the planet almost uninhabitable for us. We need to do something about these big business pumping carbon into the atmosphere because with all that extra carbon it has to go somewhere so it pumps into the sea killing all the aquatic life and damaging their ecosystem.

Vaping

Today, almost every teenager is using e-cigs also known as vaping. what is an e-cig? it's a electronic nicotine delivery system. “E-cigarettes are devices that allow users to inhale an aerosol (vapor) containing nicotine or other substances” according to American lung association. “The main component of e-cigarettes is the e-liquid in cartridges. To create an e-liquid, nicotine is extracted from tobacco and mixed with a base (usually proplylene glycol), and may also include flavorings, coloring and other chemicals” according to American lung association. In order to buy an e-cigarette, you have to be 18 and older. There is different flavors and brands, nearly 500 brands and 7,700 flavors of e-cigarettes. Most teenagers say that the nicotine inside the e-cigarettes is safe but that is not true. Most companies say that, so teenagers can buy their product. In reality the nicotine is dangerous and it has other harmful chemicals, including carcinogens. What can e-cigarettes do to teenagers? e-cigarettes have so many chemicals that can lead to nicotine poison and cancer. Some symptoms begin with nausea and vomiting but it can get even worse. Why do teenagers use e-cigarettes? many e-cigarettes companies say that it will help teenagers to quit smoking. However, e-cigarettes are not safe or effective method to help smokers quit. This is not the way to help smokers quit because they will get addicted to e-cigarettes. Instead of quitting, many teenagers are continuing to use e-cigarettes while still using regular cigarettes. So it means that many teenagers are smoking more than before. In 2013, 76.8 percent of the people who recently used e -cigarettes also currently smoked regular cigarettes according to American lung association. Some teens that have never smoked before, are now using e-cigarettes. It might have helped some people to quit smoking but in the hands of teenagers and drug abusers, e-cigarettes are very dangerous to have. E-cigarettes are becoming more popular today. According to American lung association that high school and middle school students are using e-cigarettes more than before. The use of e-cigarettes is increasing from 4.5 percent in 2013 to 13.4 percent in 2014 among high school students and from 1.1 percent in 2013 to 3.9 percent in 2014 among middle school students. In addition, kids can easily buy e-cigarettes online, according to a March 2015 study published in the journal of JAMA Pediatrics. Teenagers use e-cigarettes everywhere for example public spaces, including bars, restaurants, and on public transportation. On the other hand, more public areas are becoming smoke-free. Today, more teenagers use e-cigarettes in school.

http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html

Fall In The High Country/ Hiking

Hiking in the High Country in the fall provides brilliant views of the foliage, trails are colorful because of the leaves changing colors. Most people hike during fall because they like to take pictures of the fall colors. During fall, the trees look orange, red, or gold. The trails are filled with colourful leaves. While hiking in fall the weather is perfect because it's balanced by that I mean, it’s not so cold nor hot. For example the trails of Rough Ridge are spectacular in the fall as the wind blows softly and colorful leaves falling from the trees. On the other hand, hiking during winter is not enjoyable. By that I mean hiking in winter is dangerous because the trails can be slippery. The trails are full with snow and they are wet. The trees are dead and there are no people around. Pretty much hiking in winter is being alone because nobody likes to go during winter.

Plus when the wind blows, the wind is so cold. Hiking in winter is dangerous because people fall, and they get hurt. I would not recommend anybody to go hiking during winter.

Fall is the best time to visit the High Country because when the leaves change colors, the views is spectacular. The view in the High Country is colorful and bright. The trees change colors and turn orange,red, and gold. The whole woods are colorful. Tourist come to the High Country during the fall to take pictures of the fall colors. Moreover, tourist will usually go on the side of the road and stop to take pictures because they like the view. However, in the winter the view is not colorful. The view in winter is white and foggy, bare trees with no leaves. In addition, the strong winds blow trash on the side of the road so one can’t really have a great view. Plus in the winter tourist can't take pictures of the view because it's foggy. The view is all white and frozen. It's not relaxing to go outside and stare at the view for hours because it is extremely cold.

In the High country during fall there are a lot of people in town. People like to come visit the High Country during fall because the weather is perfect and colorful trees. The town is usually packed with people from around the world. People are usually walking around and shopping. In addition to shopping people come to go to football games. We have lots of football games in the in the High Country. People come to see the football games and the streets are full with traffic and people walking around. Other people cook out and drink before the football games starts. On the other hand, in winter roads become icy and dangerous. There is no people in town because of the snow plus it's super cold outside. Nobody walks in town during winter and most people hate walking around in the cold. Plus some of the stores are close because of the snow. In winter there is no football games because people don’t like to stay outside and watch a football game while they freeze to death.

The town of Boone looks very different in the fall and winter, with tourist and less outdoor activity. Fall is the best time to come to the High Country to do some fun activities like hike, look at the colorful view, and the town is full of people. The weather is perfect in fall. On the other hand, winter is not the best time to visit the High Country. Winter in the High Country is dangerous and no people in town. Can’t go hiking because the trails are icy and dangerous. The view isn’t great in the winter. I would not recommend anyone to come visit the High Country in the winter.

College Tips

When starting college first thing you want to do is attend orientation. Attending orientation, will give you a head start, and you will meet some of your teachers. Always try to make new friends because friends can help you with your assignments or if you are lost. Joining club is always a good idea because they can give you tips about college stuff. Being on time can help you be organized and know what's going on in class. Don’t be afraid to try new study techniques in college. Trying new techniques can help you get through the class and make good grades. If you are having trouble with the class or the assignment is too difficult ask the teacher for some help, if you don’t speak up the teacher won’t know what's going on with you. Turning assignments on time is great advantage because you can rewrite paper or make corrections to get better grades.

Prescription Drugs

44,000 people died from overdose on drugs in the US which is almost twice the number from 1999. Of that 44,000 around 52% were from prescription drugs. One person dies from a drug overdose every 19 seconds in the US. Opioid pain relievers killed more people from overdose than cocaine and heroin combined. The older people are in more risk than the young. With things such as alzheimer's disease especially for those who live alone it could be easy to forget and take too much medicine. Though it isn’t brought to the spotlight many elderly are medicated to death. Although their death certificate may say things like stroke or heart attack it is really the result of daily drug doses that overwhelmed their vitals. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared prescription drug abuse an epidemic in the United States and when that happens you know it’s serious. All states except Missouri now have a drug monitoring program. Now with Obamacare even the poor have health insurance which is a great thing, although now more and more people are using prescription drugs.

Some prescription pain relievers are known opioids which are highly addictive. There are many other classes of drugs which are known to be addictive. Overdose is often a result of taking more medication to ease the pain after taking the medication for years has built your tolerance. These drugs are also used as recreational to get ‘high’ or to ‘escape’. This making it seem like they can use drugs in a socially accepted way or without fear of getting caught with some kind of drug such as heroin or methamphetamine. These drugs are prescribed to millions of people and their effect is killing our society. While medical marijuana has zero deaths and few known side effects it is illegal in this country. Medical marijuana could take place of thousands of these prescribed drugs but since it is illegal it is hard to do testing and find the results of marijuana. I believe if marijuana was legal the rates of deaths from prescription drugs would decrease greatly and so would addiction rates.

Whale 'Vomit', Big Money

A couple in the UK came across a smelling rock. A lot of people are calling it whale vomit but it could be ambergris which is used to makes perfumes last longer on your skin. Ambergris is definitely not whale vomit but more like whale poop. Not much better. Its comes from where poop comes from but is a result of indigestion and is only produced in some sperm whales. The couple who found this ‘rock’ followed the stench on Middleton Sands beach near Morecambe bay to find it. Ambergris feels waxy and smells like a mixture of poop, ocean, wood, tobacco, moist earth, and ozone. Ambergris is only made by few sperm whales but they are extremely hard to find. If what the couple found is ambergris it could be worth up to 70,000 dollars! The couple is now negotiating with buyers in New Zealand and France. The trade of ambergris is illegal in The United States, although it is not harmful to the whale, they want to prevent the exploitation of the endangered species.

Foreign languages

Learning has always been a vital part of survival. From learning how to walk to get around to collect food, learning how to collect the food and what food to collect. Some of the basic masterpieces of learning, that are also cliche: learning how to make fire, learning to create tools, and learning how to make a wheel. A lot of ideas, inventions and other things have evolved from thousands of years of learning. One of the most used, vital, and diverse thing to come from these thousands of years of learning is language.

It is estimated that there are nearly 7,000 distinct languages spoken throughout the world. Within all of these languages there are dialects, of which can make the same language seem entirely new. Throughout the past 9 months I have been teaching myself German. I often get questioned: “Why are you learning German?” As if learning something for the sake of learning it is taboo anymore, I often answer with multiple reasons. I enjoy the culture, I think the country is beautiful, I think the language is cool, etc.

The journey has been a rough one, spending half of the time trying to ensure I know what a pronoun, an adverb, or an independent clause is in English before I even begin to worry about what they are in German. One of the main benefits I've gained from learning a foreign language is I've become more fluent in my native language by reinforcing the structures, grammar, and vocabulary.

Most people are unaware that in other countries throughout the world, most people are bilingual. In America, it is typically unusual unless you are from another country or you teach a foreign language. These foreign languages unite us and allow us to communicate with each other unlike any other way. German itself has many similarities to the English language as parts of English come from the Lower German language. However besides that German is considered the “language of inventors and innovators.” Germans have received over one hundred Nobel Prizes in physics, medicine, chemistry, literature, and many other ways. Not to mention the Nobel Prizes awarded in German-speaking countries Austria and Switzerland. Germany also the biggest economy in the European Union and the fourth largest in the world. Germany is quickly becoming the global market leader, with Berlin often considered Europe's Silicone Valley as if is the central hub for start-ups. As well as start-up companies Germany is also home to Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, and Lufthansa (the largest airline in Europe). Simply having German on your resume could get you an interview as an international company. Simply knowing German allows you to communicate with approximately 100 million additional people.

Thinking about wanting to learn German but scared you won't be able to find resources online? Well think again, Germany's domain ending, “.de” instead of the generalized “.com”, is the most popular domain on the internet, seconded only to “.com” which is far above anything else. Not counting German sites using a “.com”, “.org”, or “.net” domain there are 15 million websites created in German.

Scared you won't ever use the language without traveling to Germany or Austria or Switzerland? You're most likely wrong. For most of modern history Germans have been considered the most traveled people in the world. In 2012 they spent $84 Billion USD on traveling alone. They are everywhere and most times you don't even have to look for them. Not to mention German is the most widely spoken native language in Europe and for centuries was considered the language that unified different peoples throughout large parts of the European continent.

Not a people person and you prefer to remain alone in your room listening to music or reading a book, quietly. Well again German has you covered. Often Germans are considered “left-brained”, analytical, and love logic; however the German world has produced some of the best literary, musical, artistic, and philosophical names in their area of human history. Some literary geniuses being Goethe, Kafka, Brecht, and Mann; which while slightly unknown generally in America they are well known throughout Europe and other parts of the world. A simple Google search will result in a plethora of results. Some more widely known geniuses from Germany are Mozart, Bach, Schubert, Beethoven, and Wagner. Whether you enjoy classical music or not these names are known throughout the world. Wouldn't it be great to be able to experience these works in there original state and their wholeness without losing the meaning through translation?

Still not interested? Because 'Merica? Well how about this handy fact, the direct investment by German in the United States is over $10 Billion USD. Bits of Germany are here as well. They are invested in our economy, and not to mention that Germany is the second biggest exporter in the world, meaning not only are they invested in our economy they are part of our economy. Germans are also here in America, learning German will allow you to understand and appreciate the culture and history of the U.S. There are many family names and city names in America that indicate the presence of Germans. In 2000 the census reported 15.2% of Americans having German ancestry, making German-Americans the largest single heritage group in the U.S. Germans migrated to America over centuries in waves and they brought with them traditions and their culture of which still exist to this day that you may not know about. German immigrants introduced kindergarten, the Christmas tree, hot dogs, and hamburgers to America. On top of all of this they also founded several breweries (go figure), created Levi's jeans, invented ketchup, and created Hershey's chocolate. German, believe it or not, held such a fundamental part to the founding of the United States that a German version of the Declaration of Independence was printed only a few days after it was adopted. Well this quickly turned into a U.S. History class, anyways the point is German culture and language holds a pivotal role in the development of our culture and country.

For any of you that I have convinced to maybe even check out the German language there are a multitude of resources that you can use to get yourself started. Most of them are free, but as anything else there are paid options if you desire or become a hardcore German-maniac. The language is incredibly straightforward and mostly logical, as it reflects those “left-brained” Germans thought process. There are so many more people, some interesting cultural events you can attend (I mean who doesn't want to go to Oktoberfest and drink beer from a one-liter stein), and so much history to experience. I am about to prove to you how easy it is to understand German with no previous knowledge.

“Meine Schwester hat grüne Haar. Sie ist intelligent. Sie kann gut singen.”

There I proved you already know some German, no matter how little it may be. Maybe give it a try and see how interesting and how fun it can be. Also the funny looks you get in public when your phone speaks German or you are reading a German news article. I hope I convinced some of you to give German a try or made some gears turn in your head. None the less you learned something about your country, and for those of you thinking about giving it a try; Viel Glück!

Resources for anyone wanting to give it a try:

Phone apps:

• Duolingo
• Memrise
• Babel
• Anki

Websites:

• http://www.deutsch-lernen.com/
• http://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469
• http://www.ielanguages.com/German.html
• http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/Grammatik.html

Genre

Genre can be describe for just about anything in my opinion. When it comes to describing certain categories of movies, books, internships, jobs, and scholarships. The term genre can also describe different types of music. Such as, country, rock, pop, hip hop, r-n-b, soul, funk, and gospel just to name a few. These are categories that you may encounter when browsing for music online. Music websites, Itunes, and Music Choice on demand have different genres. Each genre of music can have many different styles when it comes to a certain category. Hip Hop music, Rap music, Pop Rap, etc. For Rock music, you will come across Alternative Rock, Blues Rock, Folk Rock and even Country Rock. Therefore, the term genre can be use for just about anything, not just movies,novels, and job descriptions.

Writer's Block

The only time I find myself having an issue with writer's block is when I'm writing a lyrics for my next big hit song. Sometimes I may get writer's block when writing poetry. Rather, its lyrics for a song I'm working on in the studio, and I stumble across writer's block. I always stop writing, and go watch T.V.. Because sometimes this helps me come up with material to write about. When writing music writer's block is very common. And I do not let that get me discourage. I just simply stop writing and go watch T.V. as stated above. Also, I will stop and pull up one of my favorite hip hop artist's on Itunes, and just listen to his or her music until an idea pop's up in my head.So rather you writing an essay,research paper,narrative,novel or you next big hit song. If you stumble across writer's block just try the T.V. method or just stop writing. And go do some kind of activity that will help you come up with material to write about.

Getting help from experts

It's always good to seek help from experts when researching information. A lot of us may think we know it all, but let the truth be told. We do not know everything, when it comes to writing essays, research papers,books, etc. Since I have decided to come back to college, and get me a degree. I have found myself, always asking for help rather it is a research paper, math problems, or how to write a great argument paper. To be honest I do not know everything. But I feel I'm a very smart person as long as I apply myself. So with that said, always seek professional help from the experts. Because we all do not know everything like we think we do.

Smart Reading

When I have an writing project I always read over the sources of material. I like to highlight important information as I read. Also, I like to read at a slow pace, so I get an better understanding of the material or topic that I'm writing in inquiring. Sometimes, I find myself reading very slowly over information, I most likely already know about. But I like to do this, so I can gain more knowledge that I may have miss, by trying to read at a rapid pace. Now if I'm reading something like a map,comic books,websites or blogs. I find it very easy to read at an faster pace and still be able to process all the information, as if I'm reading at a slower pace.

High School

My four years in High School have truly been some of the best years of my life. I have built everlasting friendships with some of the greatest people. High School has taught me that it is okay to be different and that it is okay to be who you really are. You realize who your true friends are. In High School there are so many different friend groups. I have learned that finding various friends with completely different personalities, attitudes, and lifestyles just shows you how to connect with others. I have had so much fun participating in High School sports and being able to play with and watch my friends. There are so many clubs that are open to join. I have been in FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes, AFG (Athletes for Good), and REACH Club. All of these clubs try to pull in peers and show them that there are clubs and people that surround them that want to do good for the community and for others. High School gives you a fair share of obstacles and hard times; whether it is with friends, grades, or just growing up. In these four years you grow as a person and it gives you a feel of what college may throw at you. If I could go through High School for another four years, I would in a heartbeat. I have been blessed to have been surrounded by some of the best teachers, coaches, and friends anyone could ask for. These four years have flown by and I can only hope my upcoming years in college will be as memorable and amazing as the ones I took away from High School.

Darksiders II

            Okay so here we are again, but with the sequel of Darksiders!  If anybody has played one or two then please feel free to express, which you considered better.  Personally, when I first played Darksiders II, I was so hyped that it just led to disappointment.  The intro of this sequel had no hook in it.  Apparently your character Death is the strongest of the Four Horsemen, and his story is very deep compared to his brother War.

            As the story of Death unfolds, you learn that he and his other three brothers were nephlim.  Death was instructed by the Charred Council to kill his other nephlim brothers, but Death never truly killed them.  Instead Death slayed them all and kept their souls in a bottle, in return Death’s nickname became the kin slayer.  Now I don’t know about you, but that is a truly deep fictional story.  Death loved his brothers and in the game you can tell by what he says and his body language. 

            Now the only reason as to why I hated and loved the sequel of this game was 1.) Hated it because I was really hoping to see Death with his brother War, but I understood why that couldn’t happen, 2.) Loved it because Death’s skills are unmatched, he is literally the coolest character to ever been introduced. 

            Deaths main challenger is a former nephlim once slayed by Death himself; Corruption.  Corruption is a pain because he literally takes the innocent and finds the very corruption within that person and turns it against them for his will.  Death’s sins caught up with him and affected other universes.  As Death is trying to find Corruption he is also trying to find a way to free Wars name.  As all of this is taking place on some other universe, it explains that War was on earth.  It’s a little confusing in the beginning of the game because it’s literally a huge puzzle of events missing and you just have to piece the pieces together.

            As the story continues and you fight each boss to gain level and new weapons the story unfolds a new event that leads Death closer and closer to finding and challenging Corruption.  Once you arrive at the Tree Of Life then everything gets really intriguing!  You’re presented with three portals: Heaven, Hell, and I’ll leave the third one as a surprise.  Once you finish the events of Heaven and Hells portal you retrieve a stone from the Heavens boss battle and Hells boss battle.  I’m not going to lie I was very frustrated and at times felt like throwing my controller at the television.

            Once you gather these stones you can open the final portal; Corruptions portal.  Once I opened that portal I didn’t want to step foot in there, because then I knew I would destroy Corruption and the game would be over.  I felt a sense of sorrow that the game was coming to a conclusion.  Anyway, once you step in the portal and challenge and beat Corruption, Death meets Crow father, which is introduced in the beginning of the game.  In the beginning Crow father shatters Deaths bottle of souls, and the souls breached Deaths chest and unified with him.

            Death was left with a decision to make.  The decisions Death were offered were: resurrect mankind, or the nephlim.  Death said he would do anything for his brother War.  Death steps up to the edge and takes off his mask, handing it to Crow father.  Death then sacrifices himself along with the nephlim souls he carries to resurrect mankind.  In the end it goes back to the first darksiders and shows War speaking with Uriel and the seventh seal War broke to release his other three brothers.

Octopus?

So in February an octopus was found deep in the ocean and it could possibly be a new species. It was found in an ocean near Hawaii about 2 1/2 miles underwater. It was discovered by Deep Discovery, a little camera vehicle that can get around underwater to do research, also called and ROV. As the ROV scanned the ocean bottom it came to a flat area where a little octopus was sitting on top of the sediment. The appearance of this animal wasn’t like any other published records of any kind of cephalopod. A cephalopod is the class of any large mollusk. Also this cephalopod was deeper than any other recorded. Cirrate octopods are cephalopods which have fins between their arms and little finger-like strands near their suckers. This kind has been reported at depths up to 5,000 meters. But the octopod encountered by Deep Discoverer was incirrate, like the familiar octopus; and incirrate octopods have never been detected at depths below 4,000 meters. Not only is the little animal unique for it’s depth but also it’s appearance. Rather than two series of suckers on each arm it only had one. It was also unusual because of it’s color; it didn’t have pigment cells called chromatophores which most octopus’ have; giving it a ghost white color. Lastly, the creature did not seem to be very muscular so it looked very squishy. If you haven’t seen this animal yet, here is a picture for you. Its a pretty cute little creature if you ask me.

Darksiders I

            If you’re a big gamer or a person fascinated with the concept of Heaven and Hell then the game Darksiders is definitely for you to try.  The intro takes place in New York City where people are living their day to day lives, when all of a sudden the chaos begins.  All of Heaven reign down upon earth and the floor of the earth is opened, and Hell unleashes its beasts.  A war occurs among Heavens angels and Hells demons.  A seal that was to remain intact was broken, thus releasing your main character, War; one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. 

            Now when you begin playing and you see your character, you’re going to say “holy sh** this guy is awesome”!  At the same time your character is totally confused as to why he is there, because it was yet the time for his true arrival and at the same time War was sent alone, without his other three brothers.  As the war rages across New York City, you can see how small the people are compared to the angels and the demons, which is really cool to see the perspective of the game makers’.  The Charred Council created the Four Horsemen and the laws (seals) were set to preserve peace until it was time for the endwar.  There are some really main characters introduced early in the game such as: Uriel, Abaddon, and a huge demon named Straga.

            When war comes across Straga a battle is fought.  A horn is blown about three times and the Horseman War begins to slowly lose his abilities, thus enabling him to lose the match against Straga.  So when war dies he’s sent to the in between where the Charred council resides.  If you ever decide to play this wicked game you actually feel pity for your character.  The Council believes that War broke the seal of the Four Horsemen, so War is forced to provide the Council proof of his innocence.  As War is talking, he interrupts the Council and says “How long have I been here”?

            So when the Council opens a portal to send War back to earth, everything is completely destroyed and humans are extinct.  Much of the war between the angels and demons still occurred, but not much was left.  Now I don’t want to give TOO MUCH info as to what happens in the middle and the end, but I will say this, Wars journey is very long but very cool and the ending is pretty shocking.  If you decide to download this game on your game system then prepare to have a case of energy drinks, because once you pick up that controller I swear you won’t be able to put it down.      

Buddhism

Buddhism comes from Buddha who practiced peace and compassion. His teachings influenced people’s way of life and also the way they think. His beliefs and teachings will later create the 4 noble truths and a tuneful harmony known as Enlightenment. The practice of Buddhism still goes on today along with meditation (another way to practice). This was the world's first founded religion.

Afterlife was common in this belief. After Buddha’s death, a baby was born, Sithata. There was something unusual about this baby, there was a marking on his foot. Along with these people’s religion, any marking is a sign of an important human-- whether it’s to become king and follow in the footsteps of his father (which is what is wanted) or to impact in some way. Born into royalty and constantly protected from the cruel outside world, Sithata had no idea about suffering until going out and seeing the life of others. What he saw was people aging, dying of sickness, and people begging on the streets. When he saw a man struggling to plow a field, he saw a bird come down and get an uncovered worm. After observing this, Sithata came to the conclusion that everything is connected and all actions have consequences, this thought is later known as karma. As Sithata starts to get older the world around him sends him discomfort and confusion. He decides to leave home including his wife and child to find answers to the worldly problems. He cuts off his hair and trades in his robe for rags and begins his journey in hope to find answers.

Sithatas’ first thought was he would have to experience suffering as well, also known as Asceticism. This was a common belief that included fasting and not washing. Through this, Sithata gained 5 followers on his journey. Although in doing this practice he almost starved to death before a girl saved him. After this experience, he gave up fasting and lost his followers. As he is roaming he comes across a guy tuning his instrument, he observes that it needs to be tuned in the middle for a beautiful harmony. This observation gives him the idea that he needs a middle ground to clear his mind; Enlightenment. Enlightenment’s stepping stones are morality, wisdom and meditation. Sithata goes and sits under a tree and refuses to leave until he gets a peace of mind. He goes into a deep meditation and overcomes being tempted by a demon king. After this long meditation he figures out if we can remove desire, we can remove dissatisfaction. He traveled for 6 years and in those few years he revealed something known as the 4 noble truths, which are suffering, desire, cure for desire and the prescription. After coming back home he shares his teachings and has a school opened right under the tree he meditated under- temple of the body tree. He was set out to teach for 40 years.

Some people don’t even view Buddhism as a religion. Buddhism revolves around self improvement. This differs from the religion of Hinduism in various ways. Buddhism rejects extreme asceticism, while the idea in Hinduism is extreme asceticism. Hinduism also sees the ultimate reality as being glorious and divine, while Buddhism sees the ultimate reality as nothingness. Buddhism is more within your own self and your own thoughts to be a more pure human. This is where Hinduism and Buddhism differ.


http://www.souledout.org/wesak/storybuddha.html

Anti-LGBT Law

Recently North Carolina has passed laws that discriminate against the transgender/homosexual population. Known as, ‘Anti-LGBT’ law. The reason behind this is it “defends religious liberty and protects girls in public bathrooms.”

As a citizen of North Carolina this concerns me deeply. How can they describe this as a religious liberty yet discriminate these people? If they want to make this a religious matter, don’t discriminate, period. In my mind, this reminds me of when African-Americans were discriminated and had to have separate bathrooms, water fountains, etc. so how is this law any different? Gov. Pat McCrory implies that all public schools, government agencies and public college campuses to require that multiple-occupancy bathrooms and changing facilities, such as locker rooms, be designated only by people based on their "biological sex" stated on their birth certificate. If I was a transgender individual, I would be highly aggravated with the the state of North Carolina. I have lived in NC my whole life and throughout my few years on this Earth I realized NC is a very conservative place with a whole lot of close minded individuals. As far as the religion concept goes, it’s ridiculous. Not everyone is going to be the same religion as you and that’s okay, not everyone is going to have the same political beliefs as you and that is also okay. The point I’m making here is they are basing this law around conservative beliefs and discriminating the people who have made their OWN life choices to be the way they are.

Traveling

I have always had a desire to travel ever since I was little. My dream is to travel the world one day and it is one of my goals in life. We are only on this earth for a short amount of time so I want to venture out and see things I have never seen before. There are so many different cultures, religions, lifestyles and people out in the world. There are so many sights to be seen and languages to be heard. I want to experience and see the beauty of the differences with my own eyes. I have only traveled to close states around North Carolina and I want to be able to cross the country. I have been out of the country one time to the Dominican Republic. When I was in Boone, North Carolina one day, then Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic this was when I realized how much I truly wanted to travel. The people of the Dominican had a completely different world than me. To see a lifestyle so different from mine truly opened my eyes. I knew I wanted to then see how many different lifestyles and cultures there were out there. The sights were completely different. There were nothing but gravel roads and tin sheds used as homes. It was such a dramatic change for me to see. I can not wait to be able to see the world and the various sights, cultures and lifestyles that are out there.

Soccer

Soccer has been a part of my life ever since I can remember. I started playing soccer when I was around 5 years old. After playing park and recreation I then began to play on a travel team. I have played with the same team these past nine years. My journey as a soccer player has grown and changed completely. I always knew I had a love for soccer but I never knew where it would take me. I built relationships with about 15 other girls and we all have a strong bond and connection with each other. There is nothing like being on a team that you can call your family. I have been blessed to be able to have some of the best coaches out there. When I was younger we had the previous App State Women's Soccer coach as our travel coach. He led us into a path of correct and good technique and showed us how soccer should be played. He made us better, even as little kids. If we did anything wrong such a kick a ball with our toe, did not show for a ball properly or not use our space given, he would make sure knew and we would have to fix that. He wanted us to use the talent we had in the correct way and only increase our skill. Around our 3rd year in travel soccer, the coach moved and we were all devastated... thinking we could never have another coach like that one. The director of High Country Soccer Association, Kiki Wallace, stepped in and filled that spot. None of the players really knew Kiki to begin with. It was so different being with another coach. We were not sure what to expect. Kiki has stuck with us till the very end. Our last season just ended this past fall. Our team made to the final four these past 2 years. We ended up not winning state champions but we were very close. Through these past nine years, our team has grown as soccer players and individuals. Kiki put everything he had into our team and I could not be more thankful for him as my coach and for the role model he is to me. He has impacted me and has only pushed my to be a better player and person.

High School soccer is also a huge factor that plays into my soccer career. I have played on the women's High School varsity soccer team for four years. A lot of the same girls on my travel team play for the High School team as well. We tend to click and connect as team when it comes to High School soccer I think because of the fact we have played together for so long on the travel team. I have the absolute best teammates anyone could ask for. I love High School soccer. There is nothing like it. Now that it is my senior year, it has hit me that I will not have the opportunity anymore to play travel soccer and High School soccer. I have made some of the best memories on those two teams. I will always hold such memorable moments close to my heart and will never forget them.

Next year I am planning on attending App State University to continue my soccer career. I am so excited for this opportunity. I am excited yet nervous to be on a team with new players and in a different collegiate environment. I know the coaches at App are awesome people and I can not wait to surround myself with them. I am very thankful that soccer is not out of my life and that this sport is something I can keep up with. I can not wait to be up at App and I am very happy I am staying close to home. I love Boone and this is home for me. Soccer is more than a sport to me. It is something I love and I am so thankful I get to keep on with my soccer journey.

Societal Influences

           One of my classes this semester was social problems. If you’ve taken this class you know that some of the topics discussed can be pretty heavy or disturbing. I’ve found myself leaving class everyday questioning not only society, but even myself. One of the topics that left a lasting impression on me was gender inequality. We discussed things like discrimination in the work place, within the military, and things such as sexual harassment as well. I was fascinated with patriarchal societies and learning that men’s dominance over women is historical. I was even more fascinated seeing how far we have come as a country where women have the opportunity to be employed, to be single and powerful in society. All of this lead me to think on my childhood and the society around me that told me what was socially acceptable for little girls versus little boys.

            Think of a new born baby or a toddler and the way we speak to them based on their sex. If it’s a little girl we will be softer and sweeter with our tone of voice and words, whereas with boys we’re harder sounding. Consider the jobs we associate with different sexes even when children are toddler to elementary age, “You’re going to be a big tough firefighter!” Or, “You’ll be a sweet and loving school teacher!” I didn’t even have to say it but you more than likely pictured a boy for the firefighter and a girl for the teacher. These “gender norms” are so drilled into our heads at this point that it’s so hard to realize how powerful they are.

            I’m currently working through a church helping with child care. One night while at work with the kids (mainly around ages 4-6) we were dressing up for an activity. When my co-working was asking who wanted the muscle man suit a little girl age 4 said she wanted it. My coworker’s response was something along the lines of, “Oh no this is for a boy, a sweet girl like you needs the princess costume.” While this may seem silly and insignificant it really struck me as wrong. Its comments like this that are drilled into our heads at such young ages that impact the way we see ourselves in the future. I can’t walk down toy isles anymore without getting annoyed at the fact that everything in the girls isle is pink. I find it ridiculous that our society has gone so far as to associate one color solely to one sex, and if the other sex wants to wear pink they “must be gay” or his parents are considered crazy for letting him wear that.

          My hope is that as a society we can normalize the fact that women can be CEO’s of big companies and men can be secretaries if that is what they want to do. Regardless of gender, you should be able to live the life you want and are passionate about. The past few years of my life have been spent working with children- babysitting, working in child care, and volunteering with elementary school classrooms. I am passionate about the influence I can make on younger generations and I think that is why this topic of gender made such a big influence on me and my day to day life. It made me more aware of what I say to children now that I wouldn’t have even realized before. I want these kids, both girls and boys, to grow up knowing they can be whatever it is they desire for themselves if for their best interest. 

Iceland

Iceland

One place I would to travel to would be Iceland. Despite what you may think it is not always snowy and cold. It is filled with beautiful natural scenery like waterfalls and black sand beaches. Iceland is the fourth happiest country in the world. If you go at the right time of the year you may see the northern lights. Iceland has over 200 volcanoes. They have about 800 hot springs. The water from this geothermal activity makes the average water a temperature of 167 degrees Fahrenheit so you do have to be careful when visiting a hot spring. Some of the largest tourist places in Iceland are The Blue Lagoon, Gullfoss Waterfalls, Jokulsarlon (Glacier Bay), Fjadrargljufur Canyon, Skaftafell Ice Caves, and there's plenty more! I love nature and being outdoors so I think this would be an amazing, relaxing vacation. Hopefully i’ll get there one day.

my week on the parkway

During spring break, I decide to spend a week on the parkway, as everyone was stressing me out, and I needed relief. I packed my camping supplies, which consists of tarps, some rope, fishing gear, handbooks for outdoor survival(for reference) my hammock, a tent, and some pots and pans( for boiling water, as I have no water filter.) I set out on my bike in the early morning, and rode down winklers creek road, until I got to Bass Lake. After chaining my bike to a tree and hiding it with some brush, I started walking straight through the woods, until I got to Price park. There are some blackberries on the hill in the back of this park, so I went and picked all that I could, even though they were not ripe. They were still food, and I was not sure how long my dry food would last.  There is a small pond across from there, and I decided to set up camp in the woods behind that pond, well out of the way of anyone who would try to prevent me from camping( it is illegal to camp on the parkway) After hanging my dried food in a tree, I went fishing, and caught my dinner, which I proceeded to fry ( being careful to conceal the light of my fire, as well as the smoke). I then turned in for the night, which was uneventful.
I woke up to the sound of an over curious person wondering what I was doing. I had a small panic attack, until I realized that this person was not a park ranger,. After briefly telling him that I was spending the week on the parkway, I took off, not anxious to wait until a ranger came,which may have been called. I did not want to take the chance of getting a ticket. I hiked through the woods on the tanahwa trail, until i reached rough ridge, where I  proceeded to climb, for a good amount of time. I have been to rough ridge before, and knew that there was a way to climb under the small boulders halfway up the trail, so I did not bother keeping track of time. I set up camp there and slept.
After packing everything up the next morning, Iset out again. I climbed back to the top of rough ridge, and continued hiking past it, something I have never done before. I found many good climbing places, which i tried, yet it was not long before other people started to come out in droves. So, I started hiking again, backtracking until I reached rough ridge, and turning back onto the tanahwa trail. I hiked until I reached Ship Rock. I decided I wanted to climb it, and spent all day trying to do so. Once it got dark, I set out again, hoping to find a less obvious spot for camping, and found one not five minutes later, in a small crevice one has to crawl into in order to enter. Once inside, I found that there was plenty of room, and pitched my tent. It was easy to make a fire and to conceal it in such a place, so I ate the rest of my fish and went to sleep. Once again, the night was uneventful.
I woke up, and started heading back, as it was thursday. I did not stop to climb, as I was strapped for time. I spent that night at price park, and set out the next morning, reaching my bicycle before afternoon. i spent that night camping near bass lake, in order to regain my strength for the long ride back, as I had exhausted it all on climbing and hiking. I ate all the blackberries, and most of my dried food, knowing i would be back at my apartment the next night.
I reached my apartment the next evening.

The Holocaust Museum

I recently visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. This museum is probably the most memorable of the ones I visited. We have all learned about this gruesome genocide. The museum really brings the history to life and makes it seem more real and more recent. When reading in history books we think of this time as a long time ago but it really wasn’t. At the museum there are all kinds of artifacts from the time and things that were used during this time. They had plenty of pictures of course and they were very hard to look at. When you think these are all real people. The soldiers, the prisoners, the children. They were real. Near the end of the museum there is a room that is filled with shoes from the Jews and other minorities who were discriminated against. The shoes make the people real and it really make you think and wonder how could anyone do this to another person and justify their actions. This genocide shows conformity and how easily humans can be manipulated. This museum really humbled me in showing me to be grateful for the freedoms I have.

The benefits of playing video games

This is a broad topic but i chose it anyways because even though parents may think video games are a waste of time. I think there are a lot of psychological benefits from playing them such as increased reaction time, hand eye coordination, and the ability to strategist and come up with new ideas to accomplish something. Over the years I have played video games they have helped me in the real world, because I play video games that require a good reaction time it helps me detect and react to things in my environment that I normally wouldn't have noticed. Like for instance, this one time I was about to cross the road without looking and right when I started walking i realized there was a car about to hit me. When i realized what was going on i turned around and jumped into the ditch. I believe if it wasn't for me playing video games that call for instances like that I wouldn't have had the reaction time needed to turn around and jump. Video games also help with hand eye coordination because you cant keep looking down at your fingers when you play you have to stay focused and look at the screen so you know whats coming up and you can react accordingly.  Lastly certain types of games can help you with strategizing plans and executing them accordingly. One of my favorite games to play is a game called "Smite" and in that game you have to strategize every move you make or else the enemy will kill you and win. This game is all about taking it one step at a time, and that can be applied to the real world. If you don't think about what you are going to do and strategize it could potentially end badly. That's my reasons for thinking video games are an important developmental process for all ages if you agree comment below fam.

Ted Cruz or Kevin from the Office?

Ted Cruz. When his name comes up what do you think of? Ted Cruz the presidential candidate or Kevin from the Office? It is sad to say that many young people when they first think of Ted Cruz they associate him with Kevin from the Office. That seems to be quiet the talk when Ted Cruz is mentioned in a conversation of young voters. Instead of worrying how “unattractive” he is, worry more about what he stands for.

While listening to some college students talk about the presidential candidates the first thing one student said when they began talking about Ted Cruz was how ugly he was. Not anything about his platform was mentioned, but only how ugly he was and how they couldn’t vote for him because he wasn’t appealing to the eye. Maybe instead of not worrying about the looks of a presidential candidate, we should worry more of electing a president that could get the United States back on track. Looks won’t get a president far anyways, so it doesn’t truly matter what the next president looks like. All Americans need to worry about in the upcoming presidential election is voting for someone who will make America the great country it use to be.

So let's stop freaking out about how ugly or attractive a candidate is and look into what they truly stand for and what they would do if they got elected president. So put the comparison of Ted Cruz and Kevin from the Office in the trash and read his platform!

Texas

I could go on and on for days about why I love Texas. No one truly understands why I love Texas so much, and I can’t even grasp the idea of why I am so drawn to the state. Though when I sit back and deeply think of everything in Texas that brings joy to me, I then start to understand why I love Texas. Sitting here looking through pictures that I have taken on my multiple trips to Texas, I can’t help but smile and get a butterfly feeling in my stomach. Though also it makes me want to cry because I miss it so much. The people, the food, and mostly the ambiance of Texas is what makes Texas the wonderful state it is today.

Whenever I go back to Texas the people make me feel so welcomed as if I was an old friend of theirs. The many Texans I have encountered on my journeys to Texas have all been welcoming and very upbeat. While in Texas for my seventeenth birthday, I went to a tailgate before the Texas Tech football game with my uncle that was hosted by two of his friends. When we walked up to the tailgate his friends bolted towards us attacking us and giving us hugs. Even though this was my first time meeting them, they did not shy away from hugging me till I felt like I couldn’t breath. Throughout the time we were at the tailgate I was introduced to what felt like everyone who lived in Texas. I quickly learned that this was one of the popular tailgating parties at the school on game day. I could see why after meeting so many people. Even though this was the first time meeting these people they made me feel like they already knew me. It wasn’t one of those awkward conversations where after you finish what you have to say you walk away. The one thing I have taken away and made note of about Texans is that they are never going to pass up on a good time!

Texas is home to some of the most amazing food ever! Texas barbecue is the best no question about it. The beef brisket is some of the best food you will ever eat in a lifetime, especially if it is from Texas. North Carolinians argue that they have the best barbecue, but that is very untrue. Beef has much more flavor to it than pork. Also, I mostly love that Texas barbecue sauce is not a vinegar base like North Carolina’s. Texas barbecue sauce is much more sweeter and it doesn’t make you cringe when you put it on your barbecue like North Carolina’s sauce.

To add onto why I love food in Texas, the Tex-Mex in Texas is superb! Tex-Mex I am sure of is God’s gift to this world! Tex-Mex is ten times better than regular Mexican food. It is cooked with more seasons than regular food giving it more flavor. My favorite Tex-Mex dish is Texas fajitas. It is not like the fajitas you get here in North Carolina. It is packed with lots of meat with long strips of beef and chicken. If you go to Dos Amigos in Boone, North Carolina and order beef fajitas you get tiny pieces of beef. Though if you go to a Tex-Mex restaurant in Texas and get beef fajitas, you get huge pieces of beef. The number one reason why I hate leaving Texas, is coming back to North Carolina food which doesn’t have anything on food in Texas. Well maybe not the number one reason, but it’s up there!

The atmosphere of Texas is probably the most lively atmosphere I have seen in my travels so far. No one could fully describe Texas perfectly because it would take years to give someone a clear picture of Texas. The cities are fast pace and everyone is constantly on the go. Most people are always running around. You rarely get a break especially if you are young. There is normally always something happening in Texas. Come football season, most people are going to tailgate parties, football games, or both. That is when Texas is truly alive, is when it is football season. Football could be considered a religion in Texas. Texans live for the thought of football season coming up! The people of Texas is what makes Texas the state it is. A wonderful, exciting, and truly beautiful state. Talking about Texas brings so much joy to me. Though going back to Texas seeing friends and family is even better. I plan to stay in North Carolina for college then move out to Texas after I graduate. I am looking forward to the day that I can say, “I live in Texas!” “I’ve traveled all over the world, but I don’t think there is any place better than Texas” (Red Adair).