It seems like everywhere I turn, nowadays, its one racial problem after another. Turned on the television, that season 11 of South Park is stirring up controversy. Surfing the internet, too many people saying the n-word (not to mention the popularity of the amazing racist). I can’t even walk into the common area of my dorm without having to here some heated argument involving racist issues. If this all isn’t just a major coincidence I’d call it an omen.
If world war three were to happen in the near future, it wouldn’t be between the great nations of the world, it would be between the races of the world. Everyone wants the supremacy. All I know is that I’m not fighting for it because I’m apathetic to the issue of race. Why does it even matter?
I could remember being a child in elementary school, but neither then nor today could I even tell you what race my class mates belonged to… because who cares? I mean besides the whole cultural cooking days and little events like that, where we tried new food, we had little to no understanding of the concept of race. But now that we “grew up” it’s all just a big problem. It’s time to grow down now people.
Black people do this, White people do that, Asians do the third thing, etc. etc. etc. It’s redundant, it’s ridiculous. Why does it matter where your ancestors came from? … You’ve evolved far enough from that tree already and are developing roots somewhere else. Why do people even argue what race Jesus was? ... If he was any race does that make them closer to god then all the other races? … Does that make them better, more powerful, more favorable in the eyes of god?
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Happy Music
My last three journal entries are a series of complaints and grievances. So now that I got that off my chest I want to talk about something positive. I've been listening to some old school music and I got to say... I feel happier.
WHAM!'s "Wake Me Up Before You GO-GO" has had everyone in earshot of me either wince in pain or submit to pure befuddlement. I don't want to tell how many times I've listen to Boy George and the Culture Club sing Karma Chameleon on my MP3 Player but Just the sound of it makes me want to dance like a fool in the rain.
Speaking of rain, Even though I enjoy winter, I'm actually glad that we are approaching the summer. I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS. If you’ve ever seen that movie “without a paddle” you could easily imagine that I’d live in that tree with those hairy women in that forest. While puppies and small children cry and hide from the horrid sounds, I’m happily dancing in torrential downpours to the music of the sky.
I think its astounding how music can evoke feelings and emotions.
WHAM!'s "Wake Me Up Before You GO-GO" has had everyone in earshot of me either wince in pain or submit to pure befuddlement. I don't want to tell how many times I've listen to Boy George and the Culture Club sing Karma Chameleon on my MP3 Player but Just the sound of it makes me want to dance like a fool in the rain.
Speaking of rain, Even though I enjoy winter, I'm actually glad that we are approaching the summer. I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS. If you’ve ever seen that movie “without a paddle” you could easily imagine that I’d live in that tree with those hairy women in that forest. While puppies and small children cry and hide from the horrid sounds, I’m happily dancing in torrential downpours to the music of the sky.
I think its astounding how music can evoke feelings and emotions.
Decisions... Decisions
Well, I've been thinking about my life lately and I feel like I made the wrong decision. I don't feel like I have the discipline necessary for college. Like some people may read that and think “Whoa… college kids aren’t disciplined in the first place” but I’ve become so stubborn … I have trouble pushing myself to do things. I didn’t want to go to college in the first place (well not directly to college I did know I was going to end up here eventually). I guess I’m too easily influenced.
I was all set to go into the Air Force straight out of high school. St. John's was just a last minute decision. No body wanted me to go to the military and my best friend’s mom is the assistant dean here so I made came here. So it feels like I’m only here because I knew someone, even though I had the grades and the SAT scores to get into a lot of colleges. And even with that out of the question I still just wanted something different to say at the high school reunions. I’m not even majoring in something I’m interested in… I’m only doing it because it’s supposed to make me money once I’m done. No I don’t value material possessions or monetary standings but I know other people do and I’ll have to support a family someday … too bad love doesn’t pay bills.
What the hell can I do? I mean … I already chose not to come back here next year. But I have no exit strategy. It’s either go to a different college or go to the military. I’m not going back home. And I don’t really know any ways to just instantly become rich like these people who just randomly quit college on a whim and start up IBM and Starbucks. I have some great movie/novel ideas but you need to know people in the business.
Eh, you live and you learn. I already know the moral of this story, now I’m just predetermined to live it.
I was all set to go into the Air Force straight out of high school. St. John's was just a last minute decision. No body wanted me to go to the military and my best friend’s mom is the assistant dean here so I made came here. So it feels like I’m only here because I knew someone, even though I had the grades and the SAT scores to get into a lot of colleges. And even with that out of the question I still just wanted something different to say at the high school reunions. I’m not even majoring in something I’m interested in… I’m only doing it because it’s supposed to make me money once I’m done. No I don’t value material possessions or monetary standings but I know other people do and I’ll have to support a family someday … too bad love doesn’t pay bills.
What the hell can I do? I mean … I already chose not to come back here next year. But I have no exit strategy. It’s either go to a different college or go to the military. I’m not going back home. And I don’t really know any ways to just instantly become rich like these people who just randomly quit college on a whim and start up IBM and Starbucks. I have some great movie/novel ideas but you need to know people in the business.
Eh, you live and you learn. I already know the moral of this story, now I’m just predetermined to live it.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Learning Environment
Okay there has been a certain something that’s been bugging me for a long time. A really long time. I could remember sitting in some of my high school classes and thinking to myself… wow this is really annoying. Now I find myself in my Computer Information Systems class thinking the same exact thing. This so called “ghettoness.”
Don’t get me wrong, I was raised in all the wrong places … so I “get ghetto” when the situation calls for it. But this is my time! I paid the cost for this education; not to relive high school. It never fails though! I mean when I was in high school, I switch from normal classes to honors level courses to try to escape people that like to “act ghetto.” That didn’t work but I stuck with it anyway. Now I’m paying thousands of dollars to go to this university and I have to sit in class and listen to some girl talking a bunch of crap to a nice teacher whenever she can’t get a question right. Luckily the guy can barely even hear her saying anything but the fact of the matter is there are times and places for that kind of behavior. And an afternoon in Sullivan hall is not one of those.
What’s worse? It’s fueled by other students. I mean, even though most of the class is laughing at her, she thinks that everyone is on her side and she adores the attention. This in itself makes the situation more difficult, because when people feed off the attention, it makes it hard to coerce them to acting properly without lowering yourself to their own level. COUNTLESS AMOUNTS OF TIMES I just wanted to take my laptop and throw it at her and scream and act out until she stopped. But doing so would go against my own moral standing (I would never intentionally cause harm to a female) and would escalate the situation further than it would if we just let her rant. So I just deal with it. Go to my dorm and slap walls. End of story.
Don’t get me wrong, I was raised in all the wrong places … so I “get ghetto” when the situation calls for it. But this is my time! I paid the cost for this education; not to relive high school. It never fails though! I mean when I was in high school, I switch from normal classes to honors level courses to try to escape people that like to “act ghetto.” That didn’t work but I stuck with it anyway. Now I’m paying thousands of dollars to go to this university and I have to sit in class and listen to some girl talking a bunch of crap to a nice teacher whenever she can’t get a question right. Luckily the guy can barely even hear her saying anything but the fact of the matter is there are times and places for that kind of behavior. And an afternoon in Sullivan hall is not one of those.
What’s worse? It’s fueled by other students. I mean, even though most of the class is laughing at her, she thinks that everyone is on her side and she adores the attention. This in itself makes the situation more difficult, because when people feed off the attention, it makes it hard to coerce them to acting properly without lowering yourself to their own level. COUNTLESS AMOUNTS OF TIMES I just wanted to take my laptop and throw it at her and scream and act out until she stopped. But doing so would go against my own moral standing (I would never intentionally cause harm to a female) and would escalate the situation further than it would if we just let her rant. So I just deal with it. Go to my dorm and slap walls. End of story.
Sleeping disorder or disorganized?
Ok so lately I've tried cutting back on over obligating myself with a bunch of stuff to do. The Thing is ... I still don't get enough sleep! I lay there in bed, get bored with just laying in the dark, walk around the suite, and scream randomly... and yet once 3am rolls around, I'm ready for bed. THEN (if that isn't bad enough) my classes are morning classes. If my economics teacher took attendance then I’d probably be dead by now. But seeing as I have the tendency to answer a large portion of the questions he asks the class... my absence is pretty obvious.
I'm east coast born with a west coast sleeping schedule. So maybe my next best move is to go to school in California or something. I don't know what to do. I refuse to go to get that checked out because... If they say I have a something wrong ... I have this "thing" against prescribed medicine. But what can I do to fix it? I have no expertise in holistic medicine. Does anyone out there have this problem? IS THERE A HOLISTIC DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE!?!
Here's a good random quote kind of relating to this topic "College is partying, studying, and sleeping ... but you only have time for two of those" Maybe my combination is wrong :|
I'm east coast born with a west coast sleeping schedule. So maybe my next best move is to go to school in California or something. I don't know what to do. I refuse to go to get that checked out because... If they say I have a something wrong ... I have this "thing" against prescribed medicine. But what can I do to fix it? I have no expertise in holistic medicine. Does anyone out there have this problem? IS THERE A HOLISTIC DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE!?!
Here's a good random quote kind of relating to this topic "College is partying, studying, and sleeping ... but you only have time for two of those" Maybe my combination is wrong :|
Thursday, March 1, 2007
The Lives we Denied
The college experience could be considered one of the greatest times a person may ever spend. That’s why over eighteen-thousand different people are currently attending St. John’s University today. But what other choices, for post-high school life exists, beyond St. John's University? After speaking with several of my peers, most of whom gave me wise-cracking replies, I have compiled a short list of things that St. John’s students could possibly be doing if they weren’t here, based upon a short survey that was given to a test group of about fourty people. On this list are, mostly, names of other universities, the military, the labor force, and jail. I have chosen to omit attending other four-year universities to discuss alternatives; I have also chosen to omit jail because the American penitentiary system is an extensive topic and the people surveyed who had given this answer were, just joking around… hopefully.
The United States military consists of five branches: the Army, the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. Each of which has their own standards for qualification; the Marines require the highest physical standards and the Air Force require the highest academic standards. But in the presence of other, less life-threatening choices why would anyone choose to go to the military? For some the answer to this question may be, to earn money for college or to see the world. From my own personal experience, I just wanted to get away some of the people in my family. No matter what the reason, getting in isn’t as easy as signing and initialing that first piece of paper.
When you first go speak to a recruiter you will be given the chance to ask questions or present concerns about joining the military. Most times the recruiter will have no problem with answering these questions and concerns, which most likely have all stemmed from those military horror stories you hear once in awhile from disgruntled soldiers. While the recruiter answers your question he/she will most likely be assessing your physique and mental capacity. If you’re convinced, then you’ll be asked to take a test called the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). Depending on your score, you will be given either a list of jobs that you qualify for or a chance to retake the test. Then, after a varying waiting period, you will go to MEPS (military entrance processing station) and you will receive a physical like you’ve never received before. If after all of this, you still qualify to join the military, you will be given a card that allows you to enter military bases and, in some cases, shop at the stores on these bases. Even with all the signatures and tests, it is only on the day that you step off the bus for your first day of training that you are obligated to stay with this decision. I know this for a fact because I went through the entire process.
If you don’t qualify, or don’t want to risk life then the next option would be to enter the labor force. There are literally thousands of jobs in the world today. Jobs can be found anywhere. You could be doing anything from manual labor, to clerical work, to owning your own business. However, since this is a post-high school scenario, you probably won’t qualify for all of these. But when compare to the military, the search is harder but the application process is a lot easier.
Finding an employer that will hire you can be compared to finding a needle in a haystack if you are not qualified. With a high school diploma you may not have the skills that would be considered as marketable as the skills of others with higher degrees. Even if you do, some employers won’t even take more than a glance at your application. Luckily these applications usually aren’t more than four pages long and, in some cases, can be substituted by a pre-made resume. If you “look good on paper” then the employer will invite you to an interview. Even though people may think that, seeing as it is difficult to even get an interview, they may already have the job, this isn’t the case. During this interview you have to do whatever it takes to convince the interviewer that you are the best qualified for this position. If you lie, however, you may get the job initially but if your lie is uncovered then you risk termination of employment… then you have to start all over again but this time it’ll be harder to get an interview because employers pass this information to other employers.
Your own needs and goals placed you in St. John's; not in the military, not in the full-time work force, not in technical school, and, more importantly, not in jail. We’re here and we already went through our own application process. The difference is our application actually took longer then the two other applications combined. That's because it all started on our first day of high school.
The United States military consists of five branches: the Army, the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. Each of which has their own standards for qualification; the Marines require the highest physical standards and the Air Force require the highest academic standards. But in the presence of other, less life-threatening choices why would anyone choose to go to the military? For some the answer to this question may be, to earn money for college or to see the world. From my own personal experience, I just wanted to get away some of the people in my family. No matter what the reason, getting in isn’t as easy as signing and initialing that first piece of paper.
When you first go speak to a recruiter you will be given the chance to ask questions or present concerns about joining the military. Most times the recruiter will have no problem with answering these questions and concerns, which most likely have all stemmed from those military horror stories you hear once in awhile from disgruntled soldiers. While the recruiter answers your question he/she will most likely be assessing your physique and mental capacity. If you’re convinced, then you’ll be asked to take a test called the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). Depending on your score, you will be given either a list of jobs that you qualify for or a chance to retake the test. Then, after a varying waiting period, you will go to MEPS (military entrance processing station) and you will receive a physical like you’ve never received before. If after all of this, you still qualify to join the military, you will be given a card that allows you to enter military bases and, in some cases, shop at the stores on these bases. Even with all the signatures and tests, it is only on the day that you step off the bus for your first day of training that you are obligated to stay with this decision. I know this for a fact because I went through the entire process.
If you don’t qualify, or don’t want to risk life then the next option would be to enter the labor force. There are literally thousands of jobs in the world today. Jobs can be found anywhere. You could be doing anything from manual labor, to clerical work, to owning your own business. However, since this is a post-high school scenario, you probably won’t qualify for all of these. But when compare to the military, the search is harder but the application process is a lot easier.
Finding an employer that will hire you can be compared to finding a needle in a haystack if you are not qualified. With a high school diploma you may not have the skills that would be considered as marketable as the skills of others with higher degrees. Even if you do, some employers won’t even take more than a glance at your application. Luckily these applications usually aren’t more than four pages long and, in some cases, can be substituted by a pre-made resume. If you “look good on paper” then the employer will invite you to an interview. Even though people may think that, seeing as it is difficult to even get an interview, they may already have the job, this isn’t the case. During this interview you have to do whatever it takes to convince the interviewer that you are the best qualified for this position. If you lie, however, you may get the job initially but if your lie is uncovered then you risk termination of employment… then you have to start all over again but this time it’ll be harder to get an interview because employers pass this information to other employers.
Your own needs and goals placed you in St. John's; not in the military, not in the full-time work force, not in technical school, and, more importantly, not in jail. We’re here and we already went through our own application process. The difference is our application actually took longer then the two other applications combined. That's because it all started on our first day of high school.
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