To study? To work?

There are many kids who have jobs while they are attending college. There are many kids who DONT have jobs while attending college. There are ups and downs to both having a job and not having a job while you are going to school. The disadvantages are that you have to set certain study hours for when you are not working. When you fill your day with school, working and studying, then you dont have much free time to do much else. However, this teaches important time management skills, as well as good study habits. I think every kid going to school should have some kind of job to occupy some of their time. The kids that do not have jobs are usually the ones who have their college handed to them by their parents. I have nothing at all against this at all, it just makes the person less likely to work hard. The people I know who have their college paid for by their parents, and who dont have a job, go to class (sometimes) then come home and sleep, and then go out at night and party all the time. This is not an every person scenario however. Im sure there are people out there that work to use their parents money wisely. I mean, if i was a parent I would probably pay for my kids college too, if i could-but I would encourage them to get a job so they will learn to work to earn other things they want. This teaches important lessons in life.

Finals Week

Its here...finally here. Finals week. The week everyone hates but looks forward to at the same time. There are so many tests and alot of pressure, but it means school is out for the summer. This week I have had the most finals I have ever had between high school, and at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. It feels good to get all my tests over with though, and I am definitely ready to start my summer. During finals week everybody gets really stressed when they know they have to study for various tests, and these tests can make or break your grade. Here are some better studying tips:
-Study in a place that is free of distractions, and have all the materials you will need
-Study at a time when you are not tired
-Dont wait till the last minute to study
-Read and reread your class notes until you know them
-Create your own study aids (pictures, graphs)
-Get help from the teacher if you dont understand something

Now that you have some insight on good study tips, you can study with ease and be ready for finals. Here is some extra tips for ya--->http://www.factmonster.com/homework/studyskills4.html

Gender Images

Men and women tend to see themselves differently as individuals. When asked to describe themselves, men usually tend to mention qualities like power, control, and energy. Women describe themselves as generous, sensitive, and considerate. I think that men have the upperhand in society because men ARE considered to be the dominant ones compared to females. People look at men as stronger, and more in control. This view of society is constantly changing however. More and more women are beginning to enter the prestigious workforce and owning their own business or being the head of a firm. Compared to the early 1900's, when women used to stay home and cook while the men made the money, this is a big improvement.

Choosing a Career

Choosing your career is probably the most important decision you will ever make. An estimated 10,000 days of your life is the average time a person spends on the job (Seiller and Beall). A person must prepare themselves to meet the qualities of future employees. Some universal skills they look for are comfort with numbers, being computer literate, speaking a second language (or at least understanding one), and being a problem solver. Also, you will need to have a global perspective and strong interpersonal skills. No matter what job you go into, you will always need basic skills. These include people skills, writing skills, speaking skills, reading skills, and organizational skills. Often through college people focus only on the classes of their major, and forget about the math skills and the speaking skills. To be a good employee and a well-rounded person, one should focus on all of the skills. This helps you be more successful. Choosing your career can be tough, but you need to do something you like, and something you have a feel for.

Groups

Why do people join groups? Groups help people to feel a sense of belonging and trust. They can look to others for help, and always feel they have someone to talk to. Groups help people to accomplish tasks they would have never otherwise gotten done. With more people to help out, alot more can get done. People in groups can learn from one another. Sometimes the people who form groups are of the same ethnic background. These people feel comfortable around eachother, and can display the actions of their ethinicity. Also, people who have a common goal join groups. For example, the goal of an Alchoholics Anonymous class is to pull people away from alcohol. The purpose of a smoking group is when people want to all help eachother quit smoking. Groups are very beneficial.

Conflict

Conflict: "is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from others in achieving their goals."-WIlliam Wilmot, Joyce Hocker.
The word conflict always brings to mind the words fight, abuse, aggressiveness,viloence, mistreatment, argument, or disagreement. Conflict is always viewed as a bad thing. Alot of people put alot of time and energy in trying to avoid conflict. But is conflict always a bad thing? Sometimes disagreements and differences can lead to compromise and solutions that are better for everyone. This helps build on relationships and understanding. Usually, poor communication causes conflict, but communication is also used to solve conflict. Instead of taking the responsiblity upon yourself for the cause of conflict, we blame it on communication. Conflict can be beneficial when underlying problems need to be solved. IT can help people to better understand eachother, and it can give new choices in how to do things. Everyone can better themselves from conflict.

Just friends

There are many people whose best buddy is a person of the opposite sex. I have a best friend thats a guy, and I love him to death. There are many advantages to having a best friend of the opposite sex:
You can tell them anything, and they'll never like you any less
They always have a straight answer
They will come out and tell you when they are pissed at you
You love eachother, but not THAT kind of love
If they date your friend, and they break up, they will still be friends with you
They pay for your dinner when they are in a good mood

There are many more, but those are the ones that come to the top of my head. I think everyone should have a guy(or girl) as one of their closest friends.

Online Relationships: Good or bad?

I never used to be a big fan of online relationships. But recently I have changed my mind. Not because I have actually had an online relationship or anything, but because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. And because I watched You've Got Mail for the first time. First of all, you can remain anonymous, so if someone starts to get weird or too pushy, then you can blow them off without them knowing who you are. Secondly, it is safe because there is no physical contact right away unless you arrange for it (and in the case of contact, you get to choose the time and place). And last, you get to know somebody before you can judge them by the way they look. Most people say "it doesnt matter what they look like, its whats on the inside." But the first thing a girl or guy notices about a person before they get to know them, is whether they are good looking or not. And, most people find someone with the same level of physical appearance as them. The only downside of online dating is that if you talk for a while, like eachother, and then meet, the person could be a total weirdo. Especially in the guy's case, he could be a rapist or a serial killer or something.

Trust

Trust is a very important asset to have. You want to be able to trust your friends and your family. Guy/Girl relationships are based on trust. You want to be able to know that your boyfriend or girlfriend, or husband or wife is trustworthy. When trust is involved, you can relate to eachother alot more, talk about anything with eachother, and know them to be faithful. Our country puts trust in the President. We expect the President to be faithful to his country, and we want to see him do only good for it. He must be able to trust us at the same time. Doctor's deal with trust everyday when working on a patient. If he or she is doing an open heart surgury, the patient's family trusts them to take care of the patient and do all he can to keep him or her alive. You must be willing to trust someone, or it could ruin relationships. In a trusting relationship we are willing to conduct ourselves differently, engage in a wider range of actions, and also to be more open to a variety of experiences. http://www.empirewire.com/images/trust.jpg

http://quiz.ivillage.com/cosmopolitan/tests/truefriend.htm

Relationships

Relationships can be good or bad, constructive or destructive, or sexual or nonsexual. Whatever the kind, relationships are important. Alot of people consider relationships to be a girlfriend/boyfriend situation. The definition of a relationship is--->A particular type of connection existing between people related to or having dealings with each other. There are mother-daughter relationships, brother-sister relationships, or friend relationships. I think relationships are one of the most important things you can have. Everyone needs someone to turn to in good times or bad, and it helps to have a person who can talk and relate to you.

Gasoline to Hydrogen?

I'm sure everyone has noticed the continuosly rising gas prices. It's insane! I hear that gas is supposed to keep on rising, and once it hits 4 bucks a gallon, it isn't coming back down. This is bad news, especially for truck and suv drivers. Pretty soon we are all going to be riding bikes around town. I was reading this article on Bush's attempt to encourage alternative fuel methods. He states that "he knows that folks are suffering at the gas pump" and he wants to promote hydrogen fuel technology. The new automobiles that would run on fuel cells would not need gas, and would only emit water. This sounds good to me, but how long before these cars are actually widely manufactured? And how much is one of these cars going to cost? Its hard to tell, but with the cost of gas now, and what it will be, something needs to be done.

Wire Tapping

There has been alot of talk about Bush and his idea of wire tapping. To some it is known as illegal and warrantless, but to others its a solution to terrorism and perhaps some other underlying problems. This relates to communication because obviously people's phone conversations, and emails, are going to be heard. The way i see it, there are ups and downs to wire tapping, but the ups definitely outweigh the downs. In my government class, we had a debate on this topic, and there was sooo much controversy. I think it is a good idea. Maybe if there would have been wire tapping, 9/11 would have never happened. Or at least it gives us much better odds of it not happening again. The people who are against wire tapping put forth the argument that it is an invasion of privacy, that its against the law, and that it is interfering with our inalienable rights. Alot of people think that the government is just going to be listening to people's conversations, and getting people in trouble for other issues rather than terrorism. However, the government would only be monitering calls or emails coming from, and going out of the U.S. On a website i read that 52% of americans, to 43% want Bush impeached for this wire tapping act. This website gives more information--->http://democrats.com/bush-impeachment-poll-2

Rude or anything?

Today I declare my topic is on rudeness. Let me just start out by saying that I myself...am not a rude person. I get along great with people. However; when people are rude to me, i just cant help myself but to be rude right back. I work at Menards in the front as a cashier, where i have been for 3 years. So yeah I have dealt with alot of rude people. Some might take this unnecessary rudeness personally, but i find it rather humorous. The best comment I have heard, and i hear it at least once a week, would be...."Fine I'm going to HOME DEPOT from now on dammit!" to which point I kindly smile and wave at them as they charge out the door. It takes a lot more than that to hurt my feelings buddy. BUT, after a long day at work ( and at menards they work you long hours) you get a little irritated by the stupid comments and complaints that the customers have. So heres the story...I had already been at work for 9 hours that day ( i was working an 11 hour shift) and i was getting a little tired, and a little irritable. So of course it would happen that some 50 year old guy comes over to me wanting to purchase a basket full of PVC plumbing fittings. So naturally I smiled and did what i had to do, until i got to the very end and one of the pieces rang up at..i think it was 85 cents. He gets all worked up and says I KNOW that piece was only 40 cents. So i roll my eyes (not at him) and have someone go and check the price. Sure enough, the price was 85 cents, he had just read the tag wrong. So instead of just accepting this, he argued and went on to try to make me feel bad, and tell me that i was cheating him. So after I had gotten nice and annoyed, I told him that i have 45 cents in my pocket that he could just have, instead of making a big scene about such a minute amount of money. He got really mad and walked out, and grabbed a good rate us form on the way out. And sure enough, next week I got in trouble for yelling at the customer. OH WELL...it was all worth it. People dont have to be rude- and thats all im gonna say.

Spring Fever

Us Grand Islanders are used to those long cold winters, and have learned to accept the fact that Grand Island sucks when it comes to winter. I have had some good times sledding and building snowmen.....back when i was 8. Face it, Nebraska just isn't a happenin place. I must say i envy those people from Colorado or Wyoming who can't wait to pull out their ski boots and snowboards whenever winter comes around. But- this year we have finally gotten a weather break. It looks like spring is just around the corner. The last few days here in GI have been beautiful. It was nice to get out and jog outside for once..the treadmill was getting old. I love the sun, and the sound of people mowing their grass. It's refreshing to get some of this nice weather after such a long time of cold air and wind. But knowing nebraska's weather, tomorrow we could all be snowed in. So enjoy the weather while you can!! Go to this site to check out your city's weather updates and driving conditions http://www.weather.com/. Oh yeah and for all those catholics out there....dont forget its ash wednesday...no meat, and get ready to make those lent commitments! good luck **!!