How am I going to pull all of these blogs together to write a paper? This is foremost on my mind right now. In my last blog, I told you all about how I had procrastinated on the blogs. I didn't and still don't know what to write about. I told you I don't use very many words, and I really don't try to push my views on other people. What I have to say is probably not the most interesting, or exciting, or even very informative. Basically the blogs have been about what I think is right or wrong in the world. Not that I am a negative person, I try to see the best in people and situations, but I am a realist. I come by this naturally. My objective is to view both sides of a story, process the information, and come up with what would be the most moral outcome. I lean to a more conservative outlook on life. I realize I am young, and am just starting this journey called life. I am trying to find my way, by being the very best I can be, which as you know, is no easy task. Life comes at us and we have be ready for any situation, whether we want it or not. In the end, it will all boil down to how we handled the situations and ourselves, not what was thrown at us.
I am still figuring this college thing and life thing out, and I am not ashamed to say, that right now, at this moment, I feel as though I am on thin ice. I hear the ice cracking, and I can see the freezing water below. How will I stay standing and not fall in? I am going to try to stay standing, by pushing through each day, doing what I know to be right, even if the world tells me its wrong.
Saturday
Procrastinators are "Me"
I hate to say that I have dreaded this blog, since the professor first gave us the assignment. I don't do social networking. I have lots of thoughts, and sometimes I feel the need to share those thoughts, but that need is far and few between. I have to say that I have felt an overwhelming sense of "jitters" since school started. For the last 8 years, since I started homeschooling, I have pretty much "done" school when I wanted. I got up when I wanted, I started lessons when I wanted, and I did work when I wanted, as long as it was turned in by the due date. I always made the due date, so this should not be such a concept to me. In my past life though, if I dreaded an assignment, my mom, also my teacher and principle, etc, would sit me down, tell me what was needed, and be there to bounce ideas off of. Now, I am on my own. I have not used this many words in the last year, and finding topics that seem sensible, and interesting to others, has been, well, lets just say like pulling teeth. So I have become a procrastinator - something my mom has always taught and warned against. I have thrown up roadblocks, and ifs and whys and hows. I know there are no perfect times and putting off what needs to be done, only leads to anxiety, and more work in the long run. So I have put off these blogs, and I know that I just need to jump in and get them done. I can't focus on the worry that they aren't exactly right. It is wrong for us to "put off today, what can and should be done today". This is a responsibility that I have simply shrugged off of late. I know there will be consequences to that. So I am going to try a new strategy, prioritize my responsibilities, tackle the unpleasant tasks first, even if they are not what I want to do. I know this is the right thing to do. Marie T Freeman said " Never fail to do something because you don't feel like it. Sometimes you just have to do it now, and you'll feel like it later." Martin Luther said, "Not now becomes never."
As we spend time thinking and planning for our future, we need to remember, that every minute that passes, a little bit of that future is slipping quietly away. So I need to use my time wisely. I am going to start today, while I still have some left.
As we spend time thinking and planning for our future, we need to remember, that every minute that passes, a little bit of that future is slipping quietly away. So I need to use my time wisely. I am going to start today, while I still have some left.
Monday
Text Twist
I have noticed on my way back and forth from campus a large number of people texting while they are driving. This has always seemed like a bad idea to me, and mostly you see young girls texting, while talking to friends and driving, but you also see guys. They are even texting while walking across campus and crossing the streets. I always wonder, do they think this is safe, have they not seen the news about people dying in car crashes, due to texting. I know that we all take our eyes off the road, take our hands off the wheel, reach down to grab our pop, or change the radio, and that is bad enough, because you never know what the person in the other lane is going to do. But to text? That actually takes some thought, and longer than a short glance away from the lane. I know that people get really comfortable with their phones, where the keys are, what buttons to push, and so on and so forth. This seems just a little extreme to me. What could be so important that it cant wait until you get to where you are going? Are our lives so busy, and so full, and are we really so sure, that what we have to say is that important to the person we are texting, that it is worth putting ourselves and others on the road with us in danger. I don't think so, and neither do a lot of other people.
I was just thinking about what I was going to blog this week, as this is not an easy thing for me to do. I had just decided after driving to school on Tuesday, and passing 6 cars from Broadway to Campus, that had people texting, that this is what I was going to blog on. I kept thinking, why don't they do something about this problem? Then when I was watching the news, their was a story about Morehead University and the fender bender problem they have around their campus, due to texting while driving. They felt a need to be able to stop this, or at least hinder it a bit, but the law was not on their side. Can you believe that in Kentucky, it is not illegal to text while you are driving? They are trying to get these laws changed, but it is a slow and long process. In the meantime, the campus and city officers have found a way to ticket drivers that are caught texting, or cause an accident because of texting. They are going to be able to ticket drivers under a law that is for operating a vehicle in a reckless manner. Good for them, I hope UK campus is next. Until then ," BE SAFE, Don't Text and Drive." LOL.
I was just thinking about what I was going to blog this week, as this is not an easy thing for me to do. I had just decided after driving to school on Tuesday, and passing 6 cars from Broadway to Campus, that had people texting, that this is what I was going to blog on. I kept thinking, why don't they do something about this problem? Then when I was watching the news, their was a story about Morehead University and the fender bender problem they have around their campus, due to texting while driving. They felt a need to be able to stop this, or at least hinder it a bit, but the law was not on their side. Can you believe that in Kentucky, it is not illegal to text while you are driving? They are trying to get these laws changed, but it is a slow and long process. In the meantime, the campus and city officers have found a way to ticket drivers that are caught texting, or cause an accident because of texting. They are going to be able to ticket drivers under a law that is for operating a vehicle in a reckless manner. Good for them, I hope UK campus is next. Until then ," BE SAFE, Don't Text and Drive." LOL.
Sunday
Just wrong no matter what
Now lets talk about wrong. I personally believe this situation was totally inappropriate.
We went to a birthday party at my mom's friends house, for her daughter, who was just turning 15 years old. Mostly it was adults, and a few of this girls friends and her boyfriend. We were grilling hot dogs, riding the four wheeler, and just hanging out, when someone asked where the birthday girl was. Her mom said she didn't know, but would someone go downstairs and see if she was in her room. Well my mom and brother went down stairs, and she and her friends were in her bedroom watching TV. At this point, they were sitting on the bed watching TV, so my mom told Leeann where they were, and she seemed to have no problem with it. Then when my mom got through grilling the hot dogs, and most everyone had gone out on the deck to eat, Leeann asked if the birthday girl was going to eat, and asked my mom to go down and get them. Boy was that the wrong thing to do. When my mom went downstairs this time, birthday girl and her boyfriend were in the bed, under the covers, and the other 2 kids that had been in the room with them, were out in the den area. My mom came back upstairs and when her friend asked where the kids were, my mom told her. She asked my mom to go down and get them, and my mom said "NO, you should go down and send the other kids home, and make her come upstairs." So she yelled down at her for them to come up, when they did, the birthday girl, went over to her mom, and whispered in her ear that Aunt Donna (that is what they call my mom), had come downstairs and given her a really mean look. In all fairness, this is probably true, my mom most likely gave her that disapproving look all mothers seem to be able to give, to get their points across. This may seem really old fashioned, but I don't think she was showing respect for herself, her mother or the guests. If it had been me, making a decsion about what needed to be done, I would have sent everyone home, ending the birthday party. I would have made her return the gifts, and then I would have to decide what would be a just punishment. I would like to see everyone in the world have more respect for themselves and others.
We went to a birthday party at my mom's friends house, for her daughter, who was just turning 15 years old. Mostly it was adults, and a few of this girls friends and her boyfriend. We were grilling hot dogs, riding the four wheeler, and just hanging out, when someone asked where the birthday girl was. Her mom said she didn't know, but would someone go downstairs and see if she was in her room. Well my mom and brother went down stairs, and she and her friends were in her bedroom watching TV. At this point, they were sitting on the bed watching TV, so my mom told Leeann where they were, and she seemed to have no problem with it. Then when my mom got through grilling the hot dogs, and most everyone had gone out on the deck to eat, Leeann asked if the birthday girl was going to eat, and asked my mom to go down and get them. Boy was that the wrong thing to do. When my mom went downstairs this time, birthday girl and her boyfriend were in the bed, under the covers, and the other 2 kids that had been in the room with them, were out in the den area. My mom came back upstairs and when her friend asked where the kids were, my mom told her. She asked my mom to go down and get them, and my mom said "NO, you should go down and send the other kids home, and make her come upstairs." So she yelled down at her for them to come up, when they did, the birthday girl, went over to her mom, and whispered in her ear that Aunt Donna (that is what they call my mom), had come downstairs and given her a really mean look. In all fairness, this is probably true, my mom most likely gave her that disapproving look all mothers seem to be able to give, to get their points across. This may seem really old fashioned, but I don't think she was showing respect for herself, her mother or the guests. If it had been me, making a decsion about what needed to be done, I would have sent everyone home, ending the birthday party. I would have made her return the gifts, and then I would have to decide what would be a just punishment. I would like to see everyone in the world have more respect for themselves and others.
Instant Gratification
We live in a society of I have to have it now, I want it now, I am going to get it now. Right now!
We drive through McDonald's, and we have our food in around 2 and a half minutes. We have have 100 plus channels on our TVs, so entertainment is literally right at our fingertips. If we get bored with that, there is always PlayStation's, X-Box's or Wii's. The possibilities with these systems are almost endless. You can be a football player, an alien, play golf, tennis, bowl and get a perfect 300, or be a futuristic soldier that saves or conquers the world. If, or should I say when we get tired of that, there is always the computer, which has endless possibilities. On the computer you can read a book, learn to cook, or play a game of rook. What more could we ask for? Just more and more stuff. Purchasing something to make us feel good, look good or entertain us, has simply become second nature.
We drive through McDonald's, and we have our food in around 2 and a half minutes. We have have 100 plus channels on our TVs, so entertainment is literally right at our fingertips. If we get bored with that, there is always PlayStation's, X-Box's or Wii's. The possibilities with these systems are almost endless. You can be a football player, an alien, play golf, tennis, bowl and get a perfect 300, or be a futuristic soldier that saves or conquers the world. If, or should I say when we get tired of that, there is always the computer, which has endless possibilities. On the computer you can read a book, learn to cook, or play a game of rook. What more could we ask for? Just more and more stuff. Purchasing something to make us feel good, look good or entertain us, has simply become second nature.
Consusmerism
Consumerism is taking over the world. I see it in my own house, my little brother wants anything and everything under the sun, and even when he gets it, he still wants more. Consumerism can mean different things. Websters Dictionary defines it as "fighting for the rights of the consumer". One definition from Wikipedia defines consumerism "as the equation of personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of material possessions."
We all want more and more, often living far beyond our means. Many college students state that the reason for going to college is not necessarily to become a Doctor, Lawyer, or Pharmacist, but to get an education, to make more money, to buy more things. They have been told that they have to go to school, because they can't get a job and earn enough money to live the life that they want to otherwise.
Madeline Levine, a prominent Psychologist and Author, criticized that she saw a large change in American Culture - " a shift away from values of community, spirituality and integrity towards competition, materialism and disconnection. "
Is this really where we want to be as a Society? It use to be that people helped take care of each other, where has that gone?
We all want more and more, often living far beyond our means. Many college students state that the reason for going to college is not necessarily to become a Doctor, Lawyer, or Pharmacist, but to get an education, to make more money, to buy more things. They have been told that they have to go to school, because they can't get a job and earn enough money to live the life that they want to otherwise.
Madeline Levine, a prominent Psychologist and Author, criticized that she saw a large change in American Culture - " a shift away from values of community, spirituality and integrity towards competition, materialism and disconnection. "
Is this really where we want to be as a Society? It use to be that people helped take care of each other, where has that gone?
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