China and Us

Lately I’ve been hearing about how instead of English being taught around the world as the international business language it should be Mandarin, the Chinese language.  Lately it has been evident that China has been ruling the market for business, I mean, almost everything that we own is made in China.  Since many U.S. companies rely on China for its “manpower” it has been essential to eliminate the language barrier between our Eastern brethren.  Though what I really want to know is will this completely change the language taught in classes? Soon enough, if China’s power over the economy grows will learning Mandarin be required in order to land a good career?  I know it seems like a superstition but think about it, who seems to have the most power over products made?  Who does the US owe most of our national debt to?  If China were to become the primary country of where primary business is being dealt, what would that mean for us who never got the opportunity to learn Mandarin in the first place?  I know at this point I sound like one of those late-night radio channel hosts who keep spouting nonsense about the government and lizard people, but I honestly am sort of concerned about this overall.  I know that many of you definitely have plenty of counter-arguments and I’m totally open to different points of view about the matter in the comments section below.

Senior year and still not feeling it

You’d think that once senior year begins you’d feel it and think to yourself “wow this is my last and final year of high school”, however, I still feel nothing. It’s almost as if next year id be coming back to this campus, getting a new schedule, and seeing the same familiar faces I've known for the past several years of my life. It’s just too weird of a feeling that every day is sort of your last. When I think about it like that, it makes me want to make each day more special, even if it’s something small. I want to make my senior year worth remembering so when I look back on it I won’t feel any sort of regrets. This is the time to make things happen, to join that club you've had your eye on, the sport that you’d always wanted to try out. Sure there will be clubs and sports in college but why wait then when you can try it now. This is our last year to enjoy the time we have with our current friends until we all part ways. I’m surely we all know that after a certain amount of time we won’t be hearing from them again. I knew that for my senior year I wanted to make something more of myself so I set some personal goals. So far it’s not all going to plan. Just like the topic states, I’m just not feeling it. However, I’m scared that when I finally do feel it I know that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from feeling sad . I can still remember the 10 year old me thinking about how it'd be like to be a high schooler, to be going to college all grown up. I also clearly remember shaking my head and thinking that’s too weird to think about and continued doing some math problems. Now that its seven years later and that I’m finally in that moment it’s still kind of weird to think about. Also, everyone I ask seems to ask has some sort of plan of what they want to major in or hope to be. Others are just like me, clueless. I fear that I won’t find my passion in life, that I’ll end up working in a career that is a burden to me every day waking up to, but then again, who doesn't. For now I just hope that it’ll finally hit me that it’s our last year and enjoy it to the fullest. 

College Bound

What exactly are we hoping to see in college? For me, I truly believe that college is a chance to start over. It is a time for you to look back at all of your past mistakes and then try not to relive them. You are introduced to a whole new group of friends and to a whole new world of culture. We can shy away or be adventurous and experience things that we have never experienced before. It is a time to rediscover ourselves. One common mistake that most college students make is that they use their "independence" to get themselves into trouble. I am not saying that all college students are like this, but that there are a small percentage of us college-bound kids who are not used to such independence and can end up mishandling it. Here are just a few tips for us college-bounders:

• Make friends that will help you progress and not digress
• Meet people from different backgrounds
• Expand your horizons
• Get to know your professors
• be money wise

                   - You are going to be bombarded by credit card companies next year. credit cards are fun to have until you start having bad credit, then it becomes an unwanted load. if you are going to get a credit card, make sure to pay it off every month. your life literally depends on good credit

• Don't be afraid to try different things
• Join clubs that interest you
• Keep building a positive representation of yourself.
• Make sure to check with your parents regularly, they really do miss their little child

• Most of all, don’t quit when the going gets tough.

College is a lot harder than High school. We don’t have teachers or parents reminding us to do or work. It is a time to really define independence. You will be forced to make decisions that will ultimately affect your future. Those decisions can either make you or break you. Remember that there is no “grace period” in college. If you don’t do your work, you will not pass the class. There are also no tardy sweeps or Saturday school. If you miss class, you stand in risk of being dropped.

Lastly, you should have fun. Always make time to take a break from you work. You mind and soul need a break from time to time, so treat them occasionally.

 

 

Procrastination

It is something we all do regardless of what we say. Procrastination. It is the absolutely worse thing and it is something I am doing right now. I am in trouble because I feel that procrastination is also the best motivator regardless. I feel like it is something that leads me on to finish my projects rather than just wait back and relax. Once i do that I am able to focus and understand more of the topic at hand. I understand this is probably one of the worst things that a person could do because it is not something that is meant to help you. This will not help me at all in college. But i feel like it is a good things I am breaking of the habit this year. I am so stressed with school that sometimes procrastination is all you can do.

ACC College

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to go with my sister to ACC. My sister set up an appointment for the both of us because she is interested in going back to school and also wants me to get a feel on how colleges are and questions I should ask I had a really nice time and even found out things about careers I didn't know about. They were able to give us prices of the course and a more in depth view. In the beginning I was shy and quiet, observing the things around me and listening. The lady was more focused on my sister I don't know why but it was ok I was making sure I listened and took mental notes for next time when I go check out a college I have a list of questions to ask. She offered us to take a practice test and then an actual test to see how we would score and see any financial aid. She gave us a tour of the building and as we were talking she kept bringing up dates to when we can enroll. That's the part I didn't really like because it felt like she just wanted to make us enroll and not really care about what we needed and why my sister couldn't start school now. My sister isn't prepared financially and that's a problem and even though my sister could be eligible for aid she doesn't have money for another bill. The lady just kept insisting and starting to get aggressive and asking why she had so many bills and telling her she made mistakes and i didn't like that and neither did my sister so the experience was in a way ok but also kind of frustrating.

Fear

This year we students class of 2015 are facing a life turning moment. Graduation. I am going to be very honest and express my fear of graduating. I am absolutely terrified of graduating. I understand why everyone is excited because you are supposed to be and it makes perfect sense to be, but I also think it's okay for everyone to be a little scared too. I am terrified because it is already October and I still have no idea what it is I want to even be. If i have no idea what it is I even want to be then how can I be truthful and honest to myself and make all my options available if I am already enrolling in a community college just to be on the safe side. I am so glad that in this class I read about the annotated articles on college. It really boosted my confidence and doesn't make me so scared anymore. I feel that ever since that I am now able to feel liberated. More often than not many kids have no idea what they even want to be in college. It's okay not to know. Kids also go into college thinking that they know their career, but they will eventually veer away from that also.I learned that I can traditionally take a gap year just to travel and figure out my life for that extended year. I also learned that I can do other careers that are well paying without the degree. I can go into the military or the Peace Corps. I was able to turn that fear into new found confidence.Everybody should be able to be confident about life after high school but not everyone is aware of these things and feel forced to go into college. The majority of kids who go into college with unsure minds may eventually just quit and realize it isn't for them. For example, the last year in a half everyone within my life has been telling me to go to nursing school because they have great benefits and pay well and there is always work within the medical field. I perfectly agree that it is a smart decision and that is something I truly considered as a life career but was unable to agree. I could not ever do that because I have NO INTEREST. I do not care to learn of veins and check on people. I could not be kind to those who are rude to me. I sure as hell can not wear that lime green scrub that they consider uniform eiither. I just can not. Now I do no have to either. I am able to be whatever it is I want to be. This is great because it takes away my fear. I am no longer scared of the future. I am content for now. I will go to a community just to figure myself out and take the next step from there. I learned that everything has to be one step at a time.

Gap year

I feel gap years can be very much necessary, so I definitely don't disagree with them, but I do believe that it is very hard to stop going to school and then suddenly want to go back. But of course if you really want something, then you'll do whatever that it takes to get it, in this case, a college degree. A gap year is something is a time period that initially lasts for about a year, or maybe even longer, where students study what they want to be in the future so they know how everything works or they procrastinate and do whatever they want. Personally for me, I wouldn't be able to take a gap year because I wouldn't be motivated to go back to school. But if I skip taking a gap year and just go straight to school after high school I'd be used to it so it wouldn't make much of a difference. In Europe, after high school most students do gap years, choose what they're interested in, and try their career out before they go to college so that they're certain of what they want to do, then they go back to college and study that profession. By the sounds of it, it seems smarter taking a gap year so you can know for sure what you want to do in life and then study it so you can get the actual job for sure, but in reality, at least for me, it wouldn't work taking a gap year. I would just lag on studying the profession that interests me and then I still wouldn't know what to do with my life afterwards. People say that you save a lot of money, time, and stress when you do a gap year because of the whole "finding yourself" part of the gap year. It's weird that people that take gap years are mostly the students that have high SAT scores and a high GPA, which is interesting because how can you take a break from something and just go back to doing it like nothing and expect to do good like how you did the whole year before? It's just weird to me, but very interesting that some people have the ability to do so.