Discipline

Being discipline can get you a long ways in life with just about anything. One example can be with using sports. I have been a part of a lot of good athletic programs in my life. But it turns out that the team I was a part of with the least amount of talent had more success throughout the season because we were more discipline. Another example could be something as simple as being discipline enough to wake up out of bed to show up to your destination on time. Therefore, being discipline can be used as a slight edge over and opponent, co-worker for a position, and etc. How do you feel about this, do you think being discipline can help you succeed in life?

When Hunger Strikes

Man, I could really go for some Krispy Kreme donuts right now. They are too good, especially when they are fresh. I could wolf down a dozen of them. I can imagine stepping into the donut shop and staring at the yeast rings as they go down the conveyor belt. They would pass under the waterfall of glaze, gleaming as they filled the box of twelve I had just purchased. After having acquired my fresh box of donuts, I would drive over to the nearest Mickey D’s and pick myself up a double cheese. Hold onto your chairs because I am about to go into uncharted territory here with a prepossessing combination of donut and double cheese. As I sit in my parked car, I come up with an ingenious idea: “What if I use the donuts as buns for my double cheese?” I ponder this quandary as I open the box of donuts. If donut and double cheese were to become one, then what would happen? Would there be an explosion of happiness or would there be diabetes ahead? I throw caution to the wind and proceed to create my masterpiece. I rip the buns off of the double cheese and slap the donuts where the buns previously lived. Then, as if I had just won a game show, confetti popped out of my creation. Bob Barker suddenly appeared in the passenger seat and told me to make sure I spayed and neutered my pets. I stare blankly at the famous dude sitting beside me. Have I unknowingly found the secret to becoming the winner of a game show? Do I even have pets? Did the donut/double cheese combo create a hallucinogen when combined? The world may never know because like this class, this blog post is coming to an end. I’m definitely going to create my donut/burger combo in the near future.

Does social media distract you?

Social media sites play a big part in most teenagers lifestyle, and some adults too. I believe that social media sites cause majority of students to become distracted from their school work, which in return causes them to not do as well as they could've if they were more focused. I can attest to this statement because I have constantly found myself scrolling through Twitter or tapping through Snapchat stories while in the middle of an assignment. I also feel that a person should have more self control of their actions, such as choosing social media over paying attention to their assignments. Do you find yourself easily distracted by social media at the wrong times?

The New Jim Crow

I recently completed the reading of a novel titled as The New Jim Crow. This piece of literature by Michelle Alexander is about how the nation’s government is set to target African American males and keep them in somewhat of a cycle. The book has a part where the author talks to a guy named Jarvious Cotton and how he is the third generation that has been affected by the biased judicial system and how it kept him and his forefathers from doing certain things. Another key point that the book touched on was that the fact that black men are targeted more by the police, considering the statistics given throughout the book. The police use certain tactics such as the "stop and frisk" method to harass. This tactic is used by the police to stop, question, and search anyone who they believe are acting in a suspicious manner even if that person hasn't done anything lawfully wrong. One of the main quotes that stuck out to me from the book is "...how exactly does a formally colorblind criminal justice system achieve such racially discriminatory results?" Do you believe that the judicial system is biased towards African American males?

Phobias

There are hundreds of phobias that exist today. Phobias can range from the smallest thing such as amathophobia, the fear of dust, to something such as chiraptophobia, which is the fear of being touched. Most phobias posses little to no danger and are merely a unreasonable fear of an object which causes a person to have anxiety and potentially avoiding the object that they have a fear of. One might ask how a person can become afraid of something that possesses little to no danger at all. I believe that having a phobia toward something is somewhat like a psychological thing because they can affect your social life and how you may perform or react in a certain situation or area. Phobias can stem from past incidents that may have occurred during childhood, teenage, or even into the adult years. Not all phobias affect people the same even if they were to have the same exact phobia as someone else. There are treatment options for people with phobias and there is a possibility of overcoming a phobia but it may take longer for some than others depending on how deep their phobia is.

What's the point? A question of college and General Education

Students have always asked why they needed to take some classes beyond a certain degree of difficulty, math more often than not being the main target of question. Some classes go above and beyond in order to teach students things they may or may not need to know. If we continued on the subject of math, sure basic multiplication and division is cool and more than likely I will need it in life but why do I need to know the square root of the circumference of a scalene triangle? (That was a joke, you can laugh) In truth not all of us will be or seek to be math majors or mathematicians so why would I have to learn information on par to that of what they might be learning? In my field when would the opportunity ever arise that I may need to utilize that information? I basic question that has no basic answer. While some would argue that it helps build you as a person and makes you more rounded in life and your endeavors. Others would argue that it's just extra headache and useless information. General education is taught all throughout high school so why must it be instilled into us even more if we already have the information? If we don't wish to pursue the direction why force it on us. Disagreements are bound to be had but whether or not you agree or not education can only be taken to a certain degree in areas before people find it to be a deterrent. Would you agree or disagree? Keep general education at the collegiate level or focus on the studies of the major you're pursuing.

Why Do People Judge?

While in college, your main focus is to make good grades and more importantly create a good connections with people. With that being said, to complete that task, you must meet new people and leave a good impression. Despite this, in my latest encounters with newly met students and professors, I notice these people judge me before we even get into a deeper conversation. It's not bad judging, it's just the fact that why am I label as this or that  just because of the small details you notice  before we even speak. For example a really nice professor I met a few weeks notice the earrings, watch, and small necklace I had on as soon as I got into the room. Then later in the conversation he tried  to give me a lesson on dressing properly. It was interesting to me but I just wonder why do people do it on first encounters. Is it to make you feel better seeing as you can possibly place that person in a specific category or is it just a natural instinct? Let me know what you think about judging or past experiences with the issue.

Being Emotional

A lot of people tell me that I am very emotional, but I think that being emotional to a certain extent is good, do you? Like I want you to really think about it, if you were dating someone would you rather have a person who is cold and does not every show emotions or someone who is emotional and is going to show you how they feel? I am glad to be emotional, because it allows me to get in touch with my mind, body, and spirit. It allows me to understand things that bother me and things that makes me happy. As females we are born more emotional than men, because of us having a high level of estrogen in our bodies and also it’s a part of the way God made us. Whereas guys usually do not show emotions because society looks at it like it is something bad or they think it is only for women. But, showing your emotions can be a good thing, because you’re allowing your spirit and mind to exhale instead of inhaling all the time

Is College A Necessity?

There are plethora of individuals that are extremely wealthy who do not have a formal education or dropped out of school and were still successful. Before a person is born it is perceived that they will attend college. Parents already start accounts for their college experience by the time they are in the womb. So is college needed in order to be successful? What is the purpose of college? Answers vary from person to person some say networking others say just to obtain a degree and further ones education. With the internet, one can become an expert on any field of study but will never obtain a degree to verify that. So again, is college a necessity?

Early Draft

In recent years there have been athletes that opt out of their college experience in order to go straight to the professional league of their choice. Specifically basketball, in the past players such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have come straight of high school. Now, these players have had enormous success within their tenures as professional athletes and are en route to go down as two of the greatest basketball players of all time, and are the two players in the NBA with both being paid at least 20 million from the NBA alone, not factoring in the funds the receive from sponsors and endorsements, however not everyone has been or will be this lucky. Even Michael Jordan left college after three years and went on to become the first athlete to become a billionaire after basketball. My question is it a wise decision to leave college early in hopes to achieve the same acclaim and financial success as these former players or continue to obtain one's education? It would be wise to take into account that of lot of these players and great college players are coming from backgrounds that involve childhoods in which they resided in violent and dangerous neighborhoods.

The Bird

The Bird

The bird wasn't born special
In fact as an egg the bird fell from a tree and cracked
This would become pivotal later in the bird's life

When the bird tried to fly for the first time it realized it had a broken wing
Still the bird was ravenous, determined, and ambitious to one day fly away
The bird only let certain birds assist him but was to stubborn to let them help for long

The other birds admire his tenacity to learn how to fly
But they turn their beaks in disgust at his pride and arrogance
At this point the bird can only glide but he won't stop until he learns how to fly with a broken wing

This poem came to me in dream. Tell what you think.

Does A&T need more security on campus?

With everything that happened during AggieFest week, do you think we need more security on campus? Although we have our own police station, it still seems as though the campus isn't safe enough. Being an open campus allows for lots of local people and randoms to just roam the campus. They have been known to start trouble, cause fights, get our events shut down, and even sexually harass our students. Aggie Suites had three incidents where female students were sexually harassed after dark by a person that doesn't even attend the school. It is insane that we can't walk freely on our campus without feeling safe and secure. During GHOE is when extra security is needed especially. There are people out here that will take advantage of every bad opportunity just because it sounds fun to them. I would hate to see our students get hurt over senseless acts of violence. I think the university needs to take action and actually consider hiring extra security.

Should children be legally held accountable for their actions?

Should children starting from age 10 legally be held accountable for their actions? In my opinion I think they should be because in the society that we live in today there are more and more children killing their parents and/or fellow children there age. Just because the child is young does not mean that they should not be head accountable for their actions. If that were the case then children would be able to do any crime and not be punished for it. I feel if you feel like you are "grown" enough to commit the crime then you should suffer the consequences. I know that parents are going to protect their child or children and do anything for them, but isn't masking what they do and not holding them accountable only enabling them and in the future that child could potentially become a danger to society? How do you feel about this? Should children be legally head accountable for their actions when it comes to certain crimes and behaviors? For example, take a child that is 10 or 11 and loves to kill stray cats or dogs in the neighborhood. No one suspects anything of it and the child grows up. As the child grows up he or she is in and out of jail for assaulting his teachers, students, and others. The child now grown up commits murder and kills 5 people. Should the parents have addressed this issue at a young age? If they did would the child be the way he or she is now? 

Generation Switch

I remember our childhood days when we used to have the good life, well good times. That is when we kind of not had to worry about money at the time. Also, there was not really much stress. Everything was all fun and games until we started to grow up. But, the cartoon shows, playing outside, riding bikes, no homework, and everybody used to be out till the street lights came on. Those were the good days. I look at the kids in this generation now and kind of worry. Well, I would not say so much as worry, but I can see a difference in some of the kids compared to us when we were kids. The cartoons nowadays compared to our cartoons are not as good. Many of the kids are playing video games, games on phones, games on laptops, and/or stay inside nowadays. I am not saying all kids do this, but I know a lot of kids who just stay inside or do something with technology. No one really goes outside anymore. I remember when my parents used to tell me all the time, "Be in before the street lights are on." I do not know if some kids will truly understand or even hear that saying anymore. Maybe this change in generation is because technology is much more advanced nowadays than back in our days. I played the game system sometimes, but now it is different. The game system is much more serious now. The systems are way more updated. I know for a fact some kids still read. This did not change. Some kids now days will still read books if not read more than I ever did. I hated reading. I feel technology is the cause of the change of the young generation. What do you think?

$15 minimum wage

April blog

What do you guys think about the government raising minimum wage to fifteen dollars?  I think it is a terrible idea and it would have more of a negative effect overall that would affect a larger portion of society. Theoretically fifteen dollars an hour as minimum wage sounds great! That is sometimes the starting wage for people with degrees and lots of experience in a field. But fifteen for an entry level job obtainable in highschool? Sounds unreal. That's because it is and I'll tell you why.

If the minimum wage was raised to fifteen dollars and hour inflation will be the only thing we here about on the news. For example let's say McDonald agrees to pay its workers fifteen dollars an hour, how would that affect prices of the food they serve? How will this effect the number of people they employ? Something has to give. They're either going to raise the price of a Mcdouble from $1.29 to $10 dollars. Imagine the average McDonalds that might employ twenty to thirty but if they have to raise minimum that number might drop to eight to twelve. Why would this happen? Corporate greed. You might be able to force these companies to pay more by law but you won't be able to limit how much money they make and want to keep as profit. They would use those methods to combat the new laws along with increasing work load to balance out the higher wage, all so they can make the same profit. Therefore things would cost more and more people would be unemployed. Putting us in a worst position than we are now. What do you guys think about this?

My Favorite Movie

My Favorite Movie

What is your favorite movie? Why is it your favorite movie? What’s your favorite part in the movie? My all-time favorite movie is Love & Basketball.  I have watched this movie over and over. I don’t get tired of watching the same movies that I love. My mother and my brother hate that about me. Its’ like every time I watch the movie, I catch something new. I think I should watch it now!!! I know some of you love that movie as well. How can you not like it? This is one my favorite movies because I love romance, and love stories. Also, Sanna Lathan is my favorite actress.  My favorite part in the movie is the end.  At the end, Sanna and Omar played each other for their heart. I was in the movie theatre cheesing from ear to ear as though it was happening to me. Even though Sanna loss by one, because Omar knew that she was his true love he had to say, double or nothing. That moment, I was crying. I love, love. Love & Basketball movie tells a story that is so relatable and I seem to can’t get enough of it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDWfrmLkoc4

Music

Am I the only one who thinks that music was the greatest thing ever invented? I don’t really like saying invented though, because music has always been around us even in the very beginning.  From the birds singing in the trees to the wind rustling leaves on the ground.  I didn’t realize how important music was to my life until I came to college.  I honestly use music to get through everything that happens to me.  The first thing I do when I wake up is turn on my music. I go to sleep listening to music. I walk to class listening to music. It is a very big part of my life.  When I’m sad I listen to slow vocals, when I’m happy I turn on something upbeat.  When I do homework I put on classical – oh how that soothes my soul.  I absolutely love discovering new artist that move me and when I say move I don’t mean physically. I mean when they can make me cry or raise my spirits.  I try to be open about every genre, but my favorite type will always be R&B or really anything I can sing along with.  I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t even like watching Netflix when I’m bored anymore. I prefer to just sit and listen to whatever is playing.  Actually music got me back into reading.  I love curling up with a good book and even better background music. I like to think of my life as a movie and every great movie needs an awesome soundtrack. 

Does anyone else listen to music this much? Who do you guys listen to in different situations?

Give up or keep pushing? That is the question!

Often times I feel like the world is out to get me. School has really taken a toll on me and I feel like giving up. I look back on everything I have accomplished and what I did to get here and then I'm like, "you can stick it out." My mom always told me "never give up on any thing in life and always finish what you start." The anxiety, the fear of failing, being homesick, being BROKE, it just all overwhelms me. I honestly don't know how I feel about college anymore. I would say I'm stuck in between a rock and a hard place. College seriously has had me reevaluate my whole life in a matter of two seconds lol! Dealing with financial situations, personal problems and other issues can effect you mentally, physically and emotionally. I'm learning to deal with stress and trying to have a positive attitude for the rest of the semester. I know I am not the only one feeling this way. What do you guys do to help yourself to keep pushing? What are some tips that you think would be helpful for me?