Last Week - Practicals, Exams, and Finals

Today is my third to last day of school for my first semester in college. What a relief it is going to be and how much my stress levels will decreas within the next three days. As each day passes, a little bit more of my stress is dropped off but it is still at an extremely high level right now. Starting tomorrow, the exams and finals begin. Now most of my classes do not even have finals, maybe just a final assignment, but nothing to fret about. This is definitely not true for my General Anatomy and Physiology class however.
Tomorrow, during a two hour lab slot time, I will be taking a Lab Practical and the Cumulative Final in the same sitting, one right after the other. A Lab Practical deals directly with the Anatomy of the human body and is basically just labeling parts of the body, not too bad, although still alot of information. The Cumulative Final however is a very different story. The Final will consist of information from twenty chapters and will be made up of one hundred questions. The Final definitely has a huge impact on your overall course grade. If you achieve between a fifty percent and a seventy-five percent on the Final your grade will stay the same. If you achieve above a seventy-five percent, your overall course grade will go up by two percent. But if you achieve less than fifty percent on the Final, your overall course grade drops two whole percent.
You may be thinking that most people would have no trouble getting over fifty percent correct on the Final, but in many cases that is simply not true. First of all, there is information on the test that derives from twenty different chapters. If you were to look over all these chapters specifically, I bet you there would be close to if not one thousand vocabulary words and tons of processes. But what is even more torturing and may lead people to fail is the other amount of work that you are putting into the class around the same time.
So I told you about the Lab practical and Cumulative Final that is being held in my case on Wednesday, but that is not all that we will be tested on unfortunately. We also have to take our final Lecture Exam. Personally, I am scheduled to take the Lecture Exam on Thursday. Now it might make a bit more sense on how it is so difficult to do well on the Cumulative. You already have sooo much else to study for!
And if the amount of studying is not enough pressure for you, in order to pass General Anatomy and Physiology and continue on with your program, you need to pass with a C. You have no clue how many students are right on edge of passing or failing, I would say at least two thirds of the class. That is why all these last tests are so critical. With your last Lab and Lecture points, you may be passing, but if you have spent too much time studying for those tests, and not enough on the Cumulative, you might fail anyways.
Overall, it is just a very stressful time right now! All my time outside of class is dedicated to studying but I guess I now know how college finals truly work!

I Believe

I believe in love. I believe in trust. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe in faith. I believe time can heal most anything. I believe in hope. I believe in wishing on 11:11. I believe in a better tomorrow. I believe in wishing on fallen eye lashes. I believe in not letting anyone else determine your mood. I believe in loving unconditionally. I believe in justice. I believe in vacations. I believe in marriage. I believe in monogamy. I believe in having lazy days. I believe in sleeping in too late. I believe in family dinners. I believe in the spirit of Christmas. I believe in God. I believe in you. I believe in my brother. I believe in commitment. I believe in responsibility. I bevlive in chivalry. I believe in soulmates. I belive in eating too much. I belive in exercising. I believe in good deeds. I believe in just thinking of you presents. I believe in Dr. Suess. I believe in romance. I believe in soul searching. I believe in making good decisions. I believe in expressing your love. I believe in the truth. I believe in change. I believe in the power of music. I believe in comfy beds. I believe in eaing healthy. I believe in spending the holidays with your family. I believe in your own style. I believe in bargain shopping. I believe in watching and wishing on stars. I believe in living simple. I believe in photographs. I believe in strength. I believe in the stair stepper. I believe in homemade cooking. I believ in dancing in the rain. I believe in accepting. I believe in apologies. I believe in best friends. I believe in myself. I believe in happily ever after.

Occupation?

So trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up is a pretty tough thing and an overall huge decision that will impact the rest of your life. This is why I have a tough time deciding what career path I want to choose and why I am scared that I am making the wrong decision. My plan as of last spring was to attend a Technical College in hopes of becoming a Physical Therapist Assistant. An Associate's Degree sounded great for me because I did not want to spend another six to twelve years in school. This way, I can go to school for a shorter amount of time, still make a significant amount of money, and start earning that money earlier. Not to mention the schooling is significantly cheaper.
I have also always thought about going in to the Psychology field. Especially now that I have been in Intro to Psychology with an AMAZING teacher named Alissa Minten, I have been thinking more seriously about changing my career. The only negative that I see about changing my profession would be having to attend school for four more years, as well as paying a ton more money that I would have to if I stuck with the Physical Therapy Program. I am already set up to begin the Physical Therapy Program next year so therefor I really need to hurry up and decide if I really do want to change.
I don't know how I am going to come to the decision however. I think I am going to do some research online that will hopefully help me determine which occupation I would like better. I might just stick with Physical Therapy until next year and see how much I really do enjoy it, and if I don't I will just transfer to a different school for second semester or the following year and just take more generals. I do not know the plan as of right now which bugs me because I am one of those organized people who always want to know what is going on but i guess that is just life!

A itty bitty break! :)

So it's nothing like Christmas break but I am still extremely pumped! Thanksgiving is definitely one of the best holidays if you are looking for great food. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, buns, pumpkin pie and lots more. Personally I am a huge fan of the stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy myself and cannot wait for Thursday. The only bad thing about Thanksgiving day is after the meal when you regret eating as much as you did. But really how many times a year do you get to over indulge in such great and homemade food? Not many, particularly if you are a college student.

Every year for Thanksgiving, my immediate and extended family goes over to my Grandma's house for the Thanksgiving meal. We normally eat around one or two in the afternoon which is different from some people, because many people have two families to visit on that day. Although I only have one Thanksgiving to attend, my cousins get to attend two in one day, pretty lucky. When I was younger, I used to go to their other Thanksgiving with them as well, but as I have gotten older I decided to spend the whole day with my family. That's what holidays are for in my opinion.

This is definitely a needed break for me. School has had me so stressed out lately. Between papers and speeches, quizzes and exams, it's just getting to be a little overwhelming. This weekend I went home but most of the time was spent on homework instead of spending lots of time with my family! At least I'm done with classes on Wednesday at noon-ish so I can get out of here and go see my friends and family from back home. Like I said before, it's not a huge break, but it's keeping me going through these last few days. It is going to be hard to come back after this break, but then I just gotta keep trudging along until CHRISTMAS!!! :)

Colorado - Go Buffs!

So this summer I was able to travel to Boulder, CO to visit a really good friend of mine from high school. We have been friends since I was a sophomore and he was a senior in high school and have always been very close. I was not having the best time at home, had some personal issues gonig on so my mom decided that I needed a little vacation. My mom surprised me with buying me a roundtrip plane ticket to stay a week in Colorado.
This whole plan happened really quickly. The tickets were purchased within the same week that I left for CO which made it a big adventure for me. It was also quite an adventure because I had never travled by myself, not on an airplane, across country at least. My flight was really early. I had to get up at 3:00 a.m. in order to drive 2 hours to the airport and check bags and such. I believe I flew out of Minneapolis around 7:00 a.m., and arriving in Denver at 8:00 a.m. The actual plane ride was two hours, but because of the time difference, it seemed as if I had hardly traveled.
The Denver Airport is absolutely huge but it is very pretty. I had to take a tran from my gate, to the station where people got picked up. As soon as I got out of the elevator, I saw Ben there waiting for me and I could not wait to go see everything! After greeting each other, we drove directly from Denver to Boulder, where he has a house and attends the University of Colorado at Boulder. Colorado is pretty, but first impressions were pretty blah. Even though the drive in was quite boring, the rest of the trip was pretty exciting.
Throughout the week, we ate at many different places that I have never even heard of. one of my favorite places was named Half Fast Subs, it was delicious! That was definitely a big part of the trip, eating. Besides eating, I was able to get a tour of his school, go shopping, hiking, and got to meet most of his friends. It was a very good time and we are hoping to plan another time for me to come out and visit.
Overall, I love traveling and will usually take any chance to explore another area, especially if they are drastic changes or scenery and beautiful places. Other places I have visited include Florida, Texas, New Mexico, New York, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. I enjoyed all of these trips and hope to take many more.

So this week has been an incredibly stressful week for my, academically at least. There has just been so much going on, meetings, exams, papers due, i feel like i have no time at all. This weekend unfortunately is not looking up as of right now. I have two quizzes and an assignment due for Intro to Psychology, as well as lots of reading. I need to come up with a formal outline for a speech plus making revisions to our own papers for this class. I also need to study for a lab practical for Anat and Phys next week, which is one of my major stressors.

Anatomy and Physiology really interests me but the actual class is very demanding. It definitely is more advanced than any A&P courses I have ever taken before. I also have troubles with studying because in high school, I never had to study much. I never acquired good study skills which is hurting me now in college. For A&P, you need to obtain a C to pass the class. Lately, with such difficult exams, I have been struggling. Hopefully by dedicating more time to studying and such, I will improve my grade before the final.

All my other classes have been going pretty well. I personally think that I am a pretty strong student and truly do like attending class and working on productive assignments. Hopefully everyone else's classes are going well for them! Have a good rest of the semester and year!

Life Lessons from someone who has been through it for 90 Years

So first of all it must be said that I am very into quotes, poems, different things that sum up or give meaning to life. I like them all, inspirational, motivational, friendship, love, moving on, and all kinds of quotes. Reading such quotes and learning life’s lessons help me get through and realize that everyone goes through similar problems and that’s the test of life. Quotes help me focus on the positive instead of the negative and to re-group my thoughts when I am down or frustrated.

So today I received an email from my mom, sent to her by a friend. The email entailed a list of forty-five life lessons written by a ninety year old women who obviously knows her stuff. I consider these life lessons quotes and I believe in pretty much all of her life lessons. Even though I have obviously not lived as long as this woman, seeing that I am only eighteen years old, I have already started to realize and take into consideration such lessons.

Overall, my point of posting this email is to hopefully help out someone else by sharing these life lessons. These apply to everyone and I’m sure everyone can enjoy or learn from any of these quotes/lessons, I know they work for me.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone.. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets & wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter"?

26. Always choose life.

27. Forgive everyone everything.

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

32. Believe in miracles.

33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

36. Your children get only one childhood.

37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

38. Get outside every day . Miracles are waiting everywhere.

39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we would grab ours back.

40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

41. The best is yet to come.

42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

43. Yield.

44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

Home Sweet Home

Coming to La Crosse was not that difficult of an adjustment for me although it is greatly bigger than my hometown of Rice Lake, WI. Rice Lake has a population of about eight thousand, which is obviously much lower than the population of La Crosse. Although La Crosse is a cool town, Rice Lake is still and will always be my home.

All throughout high school, I always complained about how bored I was and how bad I wanted to get out of the town. I always was mad because my friends and I could never find anything to do or had to travel to other cities that were far away to solve the problem. The basic activities in Rice Lake are limited to going to the movies, bowling, hanging at someone’s house, or bumming around town. These activities can be fun for a while, but after so many times or repeating these activities it gets awfully boring.

Now that I have been away from home for a while and am not with my family or friends, I really realize that I shouldn’t have been complaining so much. I am always so excited when I am able to go home now, which I never thought would happen. I thought that I was going to move away and have so much fun, never be bored, but that was simply not the case. I am not saying that I have had no fun while I have been out on my own but I now realize just how much fun I truly had when my friends and I simply hung out at each others houses.

Overall, I finally realized that your home will always be your home and that it really is not as bad as you think it is. Looking back now, I do not really understand why I thought it was sooo rough and sooo boring. Being out on your own is sure an adventure and can have its benefits but that feeling at being home is just so wonderful after being away for a while. I will never underestimate my love for Rice Lake or my childhood house again, I absolutely love it and always will.

I want the sun back!

Today I drove home from La Crosse to my hometown of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Rice Lake is about two and a half hours north of La Crosse and is much smaller. Although my hometown is a great place, that is not what I am going to talk about I this blog entry. The entire drive home, all I saw was rain and snow. I am very sick of such awful weather. It rains almost everyday and I know its just going to be worse when the snow returns.

Its not that I hate winter, I just prefer warmer weather. I would much rather be in the sunny, hot weather than the cold and sleet that we are currently experiencing. I like winter right after a fresh snowfall. I like seeing and being out in the bright white snow, but that is not what I have seen yet so far.

The amount of snow we have had so far has also been a bummer for me. Like I said, the bright white snow is alright, but the sleety stuff is not ok. I like walking with the snowflakes falling down on me, but when they are slush and are melted, I do not like it at all. I especially do not like the snow or rain when it soaks through my shoes, specifically my moccasins that I love to wear.

Overall, I hope that this winter is either rather dry, or that it is very short. I just want the warm weather and the sun back!

Warnings upon Warnings

So first of all I will start out by saying that I believe myself to be a pretty good driver. I have never gotten any speeding tickets which is great because my parents would kill me, seeing that they still pay my insurance. So even though I haven't been written any tickets, I have received a couple of warning. But when I say a couple, I actually mean five! I swear I am really not that bad of a driver, I do things that almost everyone else does, but I somehow am always the one to get caught doing it. Here are my stories...

My first warning I ever got was really upsetting. First of all, it was the first day that I was able to drive to school by myself so I took a little extra time getting ready in the morning since I wouldn't have to go early with my brother. When I was finally done getting ready I realized that i would need to rush, so I ran downstairs to grab my keys. All of a sudden I had no clue where my keys were so I ran around the house searching frantically. I shouldn't have been so crazed, I mean how much trouble can you really get in for being late to high school one time, but I am a nut case who always has to follow the rules. Anyways, I finally found my keys and sped out of the drive way. As i came to the first stop sign I made a very quick stop, apparently a "running stop." So of course I got pulled over. I couldn't believe it, on my first day of driving to school ever? Really? So that was my first warning.

My second warning occurred after school one day on my way to dance practice. Wisconsin Ave is the main street in front of my high school and of course you are only supposed to drive fifteen miles an hour. I thought that I had gotten out of the school zone but apparently not because all of a sudden I saw the red and blue flashing lights. I was then given a warning for speeding because I was driving twenty five miles per hour in apparently still a fifteen. That one was pretty embarrassing cause almost everyone who drives to school drives on that road and I'm sure they allll saw me!

The third warning I got was actually not my fault, well not fully anyways. I was riding with a friend one night on the back of his moped and got pulled over. Apparently you cannot ride two people on a moped which we honestly did not know. So that night was pretty lame because the cop left the lights on for like twenty minutes while we just stood there on a sidewalk, waiting for a lame ticket, from a scooter!

And finally my last warnings. I actually was given my fourth and fifth warnings in the same stop. My roommate and myself were driving back to La Crosse from our home town on a Sunday night. The driver ahead of me was driving the actual speed limit of fifty five but it is sooo hard for me to keep at that speed, I always want to go at least three to four over which I don't even think is that bad. I was in the passing lane so I decided to pass the car. As I approached the car I saw the cop car just sitting there, waiting for someone to mess up. Of course the red and blue lights started flashing so I finished passing the car and pulled over. Once the cop pulled over and came up to my window he started asking me all the normal questions. He told me that I was speeding and that I did not finish passing the car in the no passing zone. Being that I always feel the need to defend myself, I sort of argued with the cop, bad idea I know but luckily it didn't really hurt me. He admitted that he was sitting right where the zone changed from passing to no passing so I guess he had to be right there. He ended up giving me two warnings, one for speeding, and one for not finishing a pass in the passing zone.

Overall, I just need to start following the laws of the road. Seeing that I have already been given FIVE warnings, I think the next one would for sure be a ticket. I do not know how I have been so lucky so far because I think the number of warnings I have been given is ridiculous. Especially since in the last situation I was given two at one time! I would think that if someone did something wrong that they would for sure be given at least one ticket but I am definitely thankful that I did not! Hopefully no more warnings are in my future!

Rivoli Theatre

This past weekend my roommate and I were bored on a Saturday night and were contemplating what to do to occupy our time. Of course we could walk between the UWL or Western Campus on a Saturday night and find tons of parties but we wanted to do something different. As I searched the Internet for things to do in La Crosse I came across several movie theatres. According to Google Maps, the Rivoli Theatre was the closest theatre to where I live. Without any other grand ideas of what we could do, we decided to walk downtown to see a movie.

As we came up to the theatre we were surprised by the outer appearance. The movie theatre looked like an old movie theatre, which it turns out, appears the same on the inside. As we waited in the long line with tons of other college students we became very excited seeing the options of movies we could view. My roommate and I decided that we were going to watch The Hangover, but that wasn’t even the best part of the night.

When we got to the cash register, we found out that we would be able to watch a recent movie at such a low price, which any college student would appreciate. With a student ID, any student can watch a movie for only three dollars! It is such a great deal, especially when the movies have been very recently released. Adult prices are also cheap at only four dollars, while Seniors can attend a movie for three dollars. Children can get into a movie for only two dollars, as well as everyone else for matinees. So even though the theatre’s movies are not brand new, they are still very recent and you cannot beat the prices. You can’t even rent a new movie for that price!

The Rivoli Theatre has only two viewing rooms, the main theatre, and the smaller screening room. We were lucky enough to sit in the main theatre to watch The Hangover. The main theatre is absolutely gorgeous. First of all it can accommodate so many people with all its seats, but the surrounding walls look like a seen from Romeo and Juliet, it honestly looks like a scene of an old play. The seating is also great because there is floor seating with tables, but also seating above, set up like bleachers (but actual chairs) so that each level rises, providing each person with a great view of the movie.

The Theatre is also great because it had such a wide variety of food and drinks. You can search the theatre and on there site is a full menu of great snacks. You can purchase sandwiches, pizzas, gyros, ice cream, the traditional popcorn and candy, and even more. The theatre is also very fun because it gets everyone really into the movie. It does not require the viewers to be quiet or serious. I mean obviously people are respectful but everyone is able to laugh, clap, and cheer together which definitely occurred frequently during the viewing of The Hangover. The overall feel and atmosphere of the theatre was just great and I would advise everyone to attend a movie at the Rivoli Theatre.

FINALLY starting to learn!

Throughout high school I never seemed to study and if I did it was the night before a test or quiz. For me, high school was sort of a joke, it didn’t do much to further my knowledge or test me. I am not saying that I did not learn anything throughout my four years at Rice Lake High, but I do not feel I was pushed as much as I should have been. Since most of the material came naturally to me I never fully developed adequate study skills, which I now realize will kick my butt if I do not improve upon these skills.

Now that I am in college, I have realized how bad my study habits really were. To be honest, I don’t even know if they would be qualified as study habits. I never took time out of everyday to review my notes like I was told to do each day. I know that it is easier to remember material when you review it each day but I never felt motivated enough to do so. Instead of reviewing my notes or taking real time to finish my homework to the best of my abilities, I would lie on the couch and watch TV or hang out with my friends.

Since my first Anatomy and Physiology exam was sort of a bust, I decided that I need to improve upon these study skills now! The thing is, since I was not a great studier in high school, I do not know which method to use now. I do not know what will help me remember information, which is critical for me seeing that I have a bad memory to start with. I am starting to review my notes a little each day in hopes that it will help.

I have also started putting way more into my courses, out of class that is. I devote more of my “free time” to studying and preparing different activities for me to practice with. I realize now that I really should not have had much free time during high school, I just chose to make it, therefore disenabling my opportunity to learn more. Now, I chose to devote my time to anything that will improve my grades or help me better my study habits. If anyone has any study habits that work wonders for them I would very much appreciate any suggestions. I am willing to try anything to better my studying, hoping to improve my grades here at Western!

Kitchen Malfunctions

Two of my favorite hobbies are to cook and to bake. Although I love these hobbies I sometimes have difficulties in actually performing them. I am a very good cook and baker, don’t get me wrong there, but sometimes I have troubles with the appliances. Normally I can produce a meal or dessert without any troubles but once in awhile things go wrong, which is what I am going to talk about.

My first real malfunction when trying to cook something was in my condo in Florida when I was about twelve years old. I cannot remember why I needed the cream cheese, all I remember is that I needed it to thaw out. So without even thinking about the aluminum foil it was wrapped in, I threw the cream cheese in the microwave so that it would thaw quicker but that was definitely not a good idea. As soon as I started the microwave the sparks started flying and I became very frightened. I am not very good in scary situations so instead of simply opening the microwave, I ran to the other room where the rest of my family was, screaming the whole way. I informed them of what had gone on and then they had to rush to fix the problem.

The second time was in my own kitchen at home. It was a hot summer day and I was in major need of a Capri Sun juice box. I looked in the fridge and there was a juice box there but it was frozen. Without even thinking I popped the Capri Sun into the microwave to thaw it out a bit. You would have thought that I would have learned from my first experience with aluminum foil and a microwave but obviously not. It is even worse because I did the same exact thing that I did the first time. Instead of opening the microwave I ran to the other room screaming for someone else to help me.

My third bad experience with kitchen appliances dealt with a pizza. My friend and I decided to throw in a pizza and left it to cook for sixteen to eighteen minutes. My friend later went to check on it and started screaming. As I ran into the kitchen I saw flames at the bottom of the oven. Apparently a chunk of the pizza had fallen to the bottom of the oven and somehow caught on fire.

And finally the most recent mishap with kitchen appliances happened just yesterday when I attempted to make Rice a Roni. Now I wouldn’t even qualify Rice a Roni as cooking. It is such a simple meal or side dish to make that no one should have problems successfully making it. As I was stirring the rice mixture with the butter, I noticed flames coming out of the bottom of the pan. How could I have started a fire simply making such a simple dish? I still do not know how it happened. I am just assuming that something was down in the burner and caught on fire. Oh by the way, I didn’t handle that situation very calmly either. I started screaming and my roommate was the actual one to put out the small flames. Ha I need to work on my control in such situations instead of freaking out!

Even with these troubles, I promise you I am a very good cook! I may have a few troubles along the way with the appliances but I can produce a very tasteful meal or sweet!

Indecency of Lunch Room Conversations

Today my roommate and I decided to meet up for lunch between our classes like we normally do on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Kumm Center Cafeteria. After we found a table to sit at and began eating our lunches, my roommate suddenly put down her sandwich with a disgusted look on her face. From this I believed that her sandwich was not up to par but this was definitely not the case.

“Did you hear that!?” asked my roommate.

It was obvious that I hadn’t heard what she was speaking of so she started to ramble on, quietly however, that the small group of boys was having a very sexually orientated and quite honestly derogatory conversation about women. The conversation varied in who was “hott” to who that person had hooked up with the night before and detailed descriptions that nobody needed to hear. Personally I could not hear the full conversation that was going on at the table beside us but it was enough to make my friend want to finish her lunch elsewhere.

I do understand that it is in the nature of some men, or in actuality some people to share such stories and personal information with friends or others but please keep it down or at least have such a conversation in a “safer” place. The lunch room was in no way a place to be sharing such sexually explicit information, it definitely disgusted my roommate and myself.

So basically before you decide to spill your guts in the cafeteria of your school, think about what you say and what people would perceive of you, unless you truly don’t care. But even if you don’t care, it would still be very mature of you to save such appalling conversations for somewhere else more private, especially someplace where other people are not eating. Go on a walk, chill in your living room, even the student lounge, but keep the cafeteria a clean place, and I mean more so then just the tables and chairs!

What else could we put your paycheck towards?

With not only our country, but also the world, in troubled economic times, I find it hard to believe that Hollywood actors and actresses are demanding ten to twenty million dollars per film, if not more.  I find it outrageous that billions of dollars are set aside to fund these celebrities’ paychecks when our world is full of poverty, starvation, and disease.  I am aware that some celebrities donate money to various charities, putting the money to better use then buying hundred thousand dollar cars and billion dollar homes, but I feel that this is not done nearly as much as it should be. I understand that everyone has the right to spoil themselves to some degree, as long as they work for it, but I believe many purchases of celebrities are unnecessary. As I read over my last statement, I realize that in fact not everyone has the privilege of spoiling themselves which brings me back to my original point. Hollywood actors and actresses are paid incredible wages when they are in no need of such a grand amount of money. There are bigger causes in this world than which sports car or mansion to spend the next million dollars on.

            Sub-Sahara Africa is a region that spreads over the bottom two thirds of the continent.  According to “Avert,” a site dedicated to “averting HIV and AIDS,” twenty two million people were living with HIV by the end of year 2007 and 1.9 million people were affected that same year. Millions of people continue to become infected from this disease as well as the actual AIDS virus.  It has been reported that 1.5 million people have lost their lives in this region and more than eleven million children have been put in orphanages because of this epidemic. Africa is not the only country to be infested with the HIV and AID viruses, it is found around the world. If such diseases are killing such extreme amounts of people I believe not only America should be spending money in attempts to solve this disaster but other more fortunate countries as well. (http://www.avert.org/aafrica.htm)

            In more local news, applicable to our country, health care has been a great debate among American citizens. So not only is money not helping out the people of our world, we cannot even support our own people. I believe health care should not be looked at as a privilege, but as a right for every single person in this country. President Obama had called for a health reform that is made up of three main ideas. His goal is to reduce costs, guarantee choice, and ensure quality care for all. I definitely agree with Obama’s reform and hope that Americans will sign this declaration, bringing the issue to congress. (http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hcreform?source=OM_LB_google_HC-search_O-search&gclid=COWDnu2b5pwCFRPyDAodY3XSGg)

            And lastly is the issue that I feel is the most basic and visible to almost everyone in America. Everyday, people of our country are starving or are homeless, living horrible lives. I have heard people say that these people deserve this because they are lazy and do not work for anything. I do not care who you are or what you do to better yourself or live, but I firmly believe that no one deserves to starve or live on the streets. Luckily our country has established food pantries and shelters but the increasing number of people who are in need puts a test to these facilities. Food pantries are running out of food and shelters are running out of beds. I find this extremely depressing.

Ultimately, I realize that taking ten million dollars from Angelina Jolie and another ten million dollars from Tom Cruise is not going to put a stop to HIV/AIDS, make health care available to all American citizens, or keep people off the streets and with food in their stomachs but it still agitates me. I also realize that this is such a little amount of money when it comes to looking at our country’s actual debt and other spendings, but I do think that every little bit helps. Apparently I am more upset with the American economy than I recently believed and for some reason it took seeing the amounts that actors and actresses made to spark the interest. Sad but true, coming from my world of watching E news and reading tabloids. Maybe that will be my next topic! :)