What I've Learned

I learned alot about myself this semester. I had never really written

papers like this before, and it was not too bad. I learned alot about

how easy it is to put your real feelings down on paper. I could say

alot of things that I may not have been able to say in person. Then

I would look back at it and realize that those were really my feelings.

I also learned alot about doing research. Sometimes it was hard to find

exactly what I wanted but when I did it was rewarding. I didn't like that

there seemed to be alot of work for this class. Towards the end it got

easier because I understood more of what was expected of me. But

in the beginning it was a little overwhelming. I think it was good and

it taught me how to manage my time better. Overall I think as the

semester went on my work got alot better.

 

Modest Proposal

My "Modest Proposal" list:

Poverty

Unemployment

Crime on the rise

Gangs

Drugs

War

Racism

Homelessness

Home foreclosures on the rise

Many without health insurance

Nothing like a list of all the horrible things in our society today.

Thankful

People often are thankful for recieving a gift or given the chance to participate in a certian activity. I am thankful for all of those as well, but the thing I am most thankful for is must greater than any of those. I am thankful for my mother. She has been through so much for me and I am thankful to have her.
When I was a young child my father was not always the most helpful person in my life. He was always gone partying or working. My mom gave all the time she had to support me. She would work all day and care for me all night. Whenever my dad was around he was usually drunk. My mother did not want me to be around him if he was going to be like that, so they split up. The only way they would get back together is if he got his stuff straightened out. He eventually did and came back into our lives. I always looked up to my mom because she knew how to makethe right decisions and even if she was in a bad mood she would hide that from me and be in a good mood.This is where it all started and I was looking up to my mom.
Later in life I started playing sports and going to school. My mom would drive me to school every morning and pick me up at day care after she was done with work. She would also take me to all my sporting events and cheer me on. Having support from parents at this age in sports is very helpful. I have always felt that all her support and help has led me to become the athlete and leader I am today.
Now that I am living on my own and becoming an adult, I do not see nor speak to my mom as much as I used to. She still plays a major role in my life, but is not always there for me. About three years ago my mom went through breast cancer and that was very hard for me to deal with. I was with her through the whole processand would often stay over in the hospital with her. This made our connection that much stronger. Ever since then I have been able to talk to her about anythign and everything. When I have stressful stiuations, she always calls me and we have a talk. We have a very strong relationship and she is my best friend. We go out to eat about once a week together and talk about our problems.
The thing I am most thankful for in life could easily be being able to play college baseball or having great friends, but it is none of these. It is having a great mother who would do anything for me.

Criminals

People tend to see people in jail or prison as bad people for life. Yes they may have committed a very serious and horrible crime, but does that mean they are going to be that type of person forever? Well under logical fallacies, people think they are.
Committing a crime to end up in jail or prison is a very bad act. Criminals get years to think about what they did wrong. During this time it helps them think about what they need to do to change into a better person and not do any harm again. This doesnt happen with everyone in prison, but their are people who do change their life around and are not criminals for life. Even though it is always on their record, they can become better people. Labels are almost always put on criminals backs though.
Committing the crime in the first place can make a person bad, but you don't really know what their life is like unless you live in their shoes. That person may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol which impaired their judgement and did not mean to commit that crime. I have seen in many cases that the suspect was using illegal drugs and they do not even remember committing the crime. It is kind of sad in a way because they do not even remember what happened but yet they have to serve the time for their mistakes. I know that if I committed a serious crime that I would take my punishment time to that about what I did wrong and how to change my life to make myself a better person.
Sttereotyping people who commit a serious crime as being a criminal for life is a common logical fallacy. Even though some people do go off and commit more crimes in their future, their are those people out there who devote their time to changes their life around and become better than who they were before.

College Experience

Now that we are two months into to school year and the semester is slowly creeping up, I would like to share my college experience so far. College has gone by so fast, but it has been a lot fo fun. Many great people have entered my life and I have gotten to experience things that most people will not in their lives.This is my college experience.
Meeting new people has always been a scary concept for me. I have always been a very shy person and have a hard time starting conversations with people. Well I have made many great friends and they are very accepting. Playing sports, asking them questions in class, or even meeting people at parties. All of these ways have helped me meet people and make friends. I am living in an apartment with two other guys that I have never met before this year as well. One of them is one of my good friends now. It is very reassuring meeting new friends and hanging out with all of them. Making new friends has been a great experience in my college life so far.
The greatest part about my college experience so far has definitely been making the baseball team and being a part of that group. Not many people get to play a sport after high school, and I am thankful enough to be one of those people that get to. Even though it has already been a lot of time and hard work, it has been a great experience. We are a very close group of teammates and always hang out together. We help each other on and off the field. This has been the greatest part of my college life for sure. I will never forget this experience and never want it to end.
College definitely has given me some great times. Even though the homework and long hours of studying are not always the most fun, everything outside of that makes up for it and encourage everyone who is having second thoughts of college to definitely go to college. It is a great life experience, and helps you out in the long run.

Functional or Dysfunctional

Their are many different styles families live in the world today. Everybody does their own separate little thing which sets them apart from everyone else.Their style of living can also make their family functional or dysfunctional. Not every family is classified in just functional or disfunctional, they could be both as well.
A functional family is one that
Their are many different aspects that can be put together to make a functional family. They include being trusthworthy, honest, respectful, open, and positive. They are always willing to help each other and not have any problems or confrontations.Their always willing to work things out and always be happy. Functional families are so much more happy people and much more helpful.
A dysfunctional family is a family with a lot of conflict, misbehavior, and sometimes abuse. They do not communicate well and often become violent or abuse illegal substances.Parents in dysfunctional families are often users of drugs or substances which can make them violent.They have a hard time getting along and trying to figure out things between themselves.
Their are also families out there that an be a little of both. They can know how to communicate at certian times, but can also fight and be very difficult as well. I feel like I have a family that is both. We often get along very well, but we have our times where we fight and do not get along.I feel every family is a little bit of both. They all have their moments where they get along and where they fight.
Functional or disfunctional families are part of our everyday life. Not every family is classified in one or the other. Many families are both. These were jsut a few ways to tell a functional family from a dysfunctional family.

Halloween

With the leaves falling and Haloween coming up, I would like to get into the spirit a little early. Kids dressing up going door to door for candy and seeing all of the creative costumesis what makes Halloween one of my favorite holidays. I am going to tell you a little about how Halloween got started and its tradition.
 A holiday is a special day recognized by a group of people, which holds a special meaning for each. In the past a holiday was established to recognize a holy person or saint. Halloween is a national holiday and is the focus of my paper. Halloween is thought about in different ways and most people get confused about the concept of Halloween. This process paper will tell of my travel throughout the research of the topic, Halloween. While researching this topic I learned a lot about Halloween and I learned what people have forgotten or never knew about Halloween.
The creativity of Halloween makes this holiday very enjoyable. The pumpkin has become a symbol of Halloween. People empty a pumpkin, cut a face in to the side, and put a candle inside to make a lamp. It's known as a Jack O'Lantern, from a story about a man Jack, who made a deal with the devil. Im getting a little old to be getting as excited as I did when I was younger, but driving around and seeing all of the carved pumpkins is very fun. Kids think they are cool when they go around smashing them though. This makes me very mad because people spend their own money and time to have fun adn people go off and destroy their property.
My favorite part of Halloween would definitely have to be the candy. When I was younger my mom would get off of work early and take me to as many houses as my legs would let me. I would usually come home with a pillow case full of candy. I would dump it out on the floor and eat a ton. My mom would set a limit on how much candy I could eat though. Now that im older I usually do not get as much candy, but it is still fun seeing all of the little kids get so excited over candy.
Halloween has many tales and myths of how it started. Well even if it is a holiday for the devil, it is still my favorite due to the candy, pumpkin carvings, and creative costumes.I am slowly starting to get more and more excited for Halloween to arrive because it is not too far away.

Facebook

Social networking on Facebook has become the new fad of the last century. Everyone either has their own account or has talked about it. I will admit I have a Facebook account, and it can become very addicting. It is a very useful way to stay in contact with your past friends from high school or family members. I talk to my mom almost daily via Facebook since I cannot see her everyday anymore. Well people are abusing the use of this site. They are using it to get black mail on people or to start drama. Facebook needs to set limits on some of the stuff that goes on.
Facebook drama was a very big issue in my high school. A group of teenage girls would single out other girls on things that they did wrong or that they didn't approve of. It eventually reached to the point of involving our school counseler to host a meeting to try to stop this cyber bullying. I know Facebook cannot monitor everything that goes on becuase their are over a million people who have accounts. The use of Facebook had definitely been abused in many ways.
The twenty first century has became known as the technology era. People rely on technology for everything in their everyday life .Communication, news updates, education, and work. Facebook has taken away from education for some people. When students get home from school and sit down to do their homework, they often choose to log onto Facebook instead. It has became a very big distraction for many people not only in school. People at work often tend to check their account off of their cell phones as well. Facebook definitely has it's positives as well though. It allows people to keep in contact and make new friends or build stronger relationships with people.
Over the past century our society has been changed due to the creation of Facebook. It has both broken and made relationships within people. Drama occurs everyday on Facebook, but people unite daily as well. I feel Facebook has been a good thing for our society even though people have been hurt very often.

Suicide

Being overwhelmed and angry to the point where you have to take your own life is a very extreme action to take. It may be by overdosing on drugs or using a weapon. Either way it is not worth it because life brings you something new everyday. Suicide is a major issue in many lifes today.
Taking way too many pills to end you life or putting a gun to your head is the absolute worst thing anyone could do to themselves. I know life can be very stressful and frustrating at times, but you have to look at it as tomorrow is a new day. Their are endless reasons of why people go to the extent of taking their own lives, but none of them are worth it. Their are about eighty teen suicide deaths in the United States every day. Their are many more attempted suicides, but sometimes fail. Their is a point in everyones life that they think about attempting suicide, but most people realize that their will be another day and things will become okay.
Teenage suicides are becoming the most common types. This is ridiculous because being a teenager you have barely experienced life and never know what you may become in the future. Relationship problems, family issues, being left out, or even feeling worthless are all common reasons of suicide. In the past few days a 19 year old Rochester man took his own life using a weapon. Along with this a professional football player just took his own life as well. His reason was over a knee injury he suffered. People get too caught up in the moment and do not realize the good in life.
Suicides are very preventable. I know most people do not like talking about their own problems or issues, but talking about things is the best thing to do. It can help relieve stress and possibly find a solution or alternative. Also, if you notice someone who is acting much differently can save someones life as well. Just giving a friendly smile to someone can change their atttitude and decision of taking their life. But sometimes they are not preventable. People may act like everything is okay and when they are along they let out their true feelings and may take their life. Never take anyone or anythign for granted.
Suicide has become more common and very devistating. Their is always someone out there for you, and you should never feel like you need to end your life over the things your dealing with at that point in life. If you are ever having feelings that life is not worth living, think again. god put you on this earth for a reason, and you should never turn against that.

A Loved One

Most teenagers go through the stage where they are too cool for their parents or disrespect them to get their way. I went through this with my father, but my mom has always been my best friend. She is a very helpful and understanding person. I know she has always been there for me just because she is my mom, but in all honesty she helps me through anything and everything. Well two years ago, I became her motivator. She was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I remember coming home from school just like any other normal day and she was laying in bed crying. I went up to find out what was wrong, and that is when she broke the news to me. When she told me this, it felt like the whole world was dropped on my heart. But I knew I had to do all I could to stay positive and help her through this tough time. She had to have a surgery to remove the lump and was in the hospital for two nights. I stayed with her in the hospital both nights. Missing school and sporting events to keep her positive was the least I could do for my mom.
After the lump was removed, she was put through radiation and chemotherapy. This was easily the hardest part of the whole experience. Seeing my mom losing her hair and being very sick day after day played a toll on me. When ever I was close to her you could just smell the radiation medicine and it was an awful smell. The medicine made her very sick for many months. She was always a laughing and energetic person, but during this she was far from it. After losing all her hair and energy, the radiation process was finally over. The doctors informed us that the cancer was all gone. This was the best news we had heard in months.
Her hair and spirit slowly came back after time. This experience lasted about a year and a half to go through all of the steps. She has a complete masectomy to make sure it would never come back again. My father and I did everything we could to comfort her and keep her positive when possible. The best memory I have from all of it though was that when she was really sick she would still come watch me play baseball and that gave me so much courage that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
Today my mom is back to her normal self and happier than ever. She has given me so much drive in life because she showed me that when your at your lowest points in life you still have to keep your chin up. This is the biggest memory in my life that I will never forget and always cherish to have my mom here still.

College

This is my first semester at RCTC and so far I have had a good time. College is a lot of work, but it is well worth it. I have met many new people and enjoyed playing a sport as well. Living away from home is a big change as well being an only child. The three main things that I have loved about college are meeting new people, having more freedom, and playing a sport.
I used to be a very shy person when I was younger so making new friends can be difficult for me. Many of the people at RCTC have been very friendly and accepting to me. I have made many friends and gotten to know them. I live in an apartment with two other kids i have never met before and we all get along very well. Making new friends has been a great part about college.
One of the best things in my life is baseball and I was lucky enough to get to play at the next level unlike most people. I have played baseball ever since i was a little kid around 8 years old. I have always worked my butt off to be the best and it payed off. Practice for RCTC has recently started and has been a lot of fun. It has given me something to work hard at other than just school work. It also has allowed me to meet many people and do things most people dont get to do in their life. This is what baseball has done for me in my college life.
The third thing in my college life is having freedom. I am an independent person so I love doing things on my own without parents telling me what to do and stuff. It gets to be stressful having to do dishes and laundry after awhile, but I still enjoy it. It has taught me how to manage my time wisely by knowing to do my homework before free time. This is what having more freedom has done for me.
Making new friends, playing bseball, and having more freedom have been the main things in my college life so far. I hope to make an improvement in them and learn more down the long run.