The College experience pt 4

During my online pursuit of the opinions of people all over the world on what they think the college experience is, I stumbled upon an anonymous blog dedicated to the college experience. It is written by a now former student from the University of Montana. After recently graduating, he blogged about how the aspirations that an incoming freshman has can quickly dim by the time they are actually ready to graduate. The blogger periodically visits the website of his alma mater to see what is new on the journalism page. The first thing that he says is, "it usually depresses me." Instead of looking back fondly at the school he just left, it brings him regret. "I look back and I am sad because I didn't even try. I went into that school with high hopes and big dreams and I graduated feeling like I had made a huge mistake," he writes. He actually doesn't regret his choice to major in journalism, but letting the competitiveness in his major program get the best of him. "My mistake was that I stopped believing in myself and started listening to people that didn't have a clue about who I was or who I could be."

Some people would argue that the blogger made another mistake by not joining a fraternity to make friends with alumni brothers to ensure job security after graduation. It is a popular opinion amongst college students that the Greek system is the way to go to get the full college experience. I lost count of the amount of times I was told to "join a sorority to makes friends" during freshman orientation. The fact that there are a total of twenty one fraternities and sororities on Georgia State's campus is a testament to the traditional importance of Greek Life in college. That theory also seems to be reinforced in any mainstream media that has to do with college. The ABC family network has a whole drama dedicated to Greek Life on a college campus. The show, appropriately titled "Greek," actually features a variety of college students but what they all have in common is that they are either in a sorority or fraternity. Well, everyone except the stereotypical uber Christian who is against the whole institution.

 To be continued...i have to go do other stuff...this paper is too dang long to sit and re type :(

The College Experience parte tres

So far at my first year at Georgia State University, I have given them six thousand three hundred and eighteen dollars. Well when I say I, I guess I should say my parents. I am one of the fortunate ones who have the financial support of their parents, and very little loans. Because of my good fortune, most students are paying for school out of their own pockets. One of my friends on Facebook, and real life, Allison Billmaier, (interests: music, cheerleading, boys) is a freshman at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, in Kalamazoo Michigan. She is actually paying for all of her college expenses, and she feels like there is a difference in work ethic between students who fall into these two categories.

"Kids who have to pay for there college themselves try better to make sure things get done and make sure they make every class, otherwise it's their money they're wasting," she said, "but kids whose parents pay just are like 'ehh whatever'. I mean most probably aren't like that but there is a few out there." 

She is right about that. Most of us spoiled kids actually care about our grades. But there are probably a good percentage of us who are in college just because it was the natural step after high school, no more important that being promoted to middle school after fifth grade. But it is probably safe to say that whether we pay for school ourselves, or have parents who fund our education, half the reason we go to school is to come out with a fancy degree so that we can have our pick of jobs. If only it were that easy. 

To be continued again....

The College Experience pt 2

(This is the first two pages of my first draft, see previous post titled "college experience")

Sitting in the coffee house located in the school library, I begin to realize how heterogeneous the college community actually is. Towards the end of high school, when "senior-itis" starts to kick in, the typical high school senior starts to fantasize about what college will be like for them. Having little to no personal experience with the college environment, these dreamers have the images of other people to rely on. These images often come from the media, older brothers, or hyped up comedies that portray the wild side of college on the big screen. But in the coffee house, I can mentally take myself out of the environment to observe what the college experience actually is. Or the many things it actually is.

The one thing most college students have in common is coffee. If they didnt have one before, college students are likely to adapt an addiction to coffee once they live through their first all-nighter. So the coffee house is an ideal place to see every kind of college student.

Over in the corner, sipping something sophisticated like a caramel macchiato, sits a studious looking college student. While her perfectly manicured fingers fly across her keyboard, I imagine that she is writing a witty essay about how she became a fashionista and the upkeep it takes to keep herself fashion forward. Or she's on Facebook. Her laptop was turned away from me so I couldn't tell. But she very well could have been doing both--college students are known to multi-task. 

Because Facebook is so essential to college life, we have to be connected at all hours of the day. It tells us everything we could possibly want to know about our fellow classmates from their favorite movies, to their views on politics. It's a borderline stalker site.

Facebook mobile allows us to be alerted when someone writes on our wall, or changes their relationship status (Ashley and Chris just ended their relationship--what?!?).  When we get a chance to actually sit at a computer, Facebook is always an open window that can be accessed easily. That comes in handy when our attention span starts to go and we need a brain break from whatever school work we were attacking at the moment.

Then there are the kids at the coffee house who need a more long term brain break, and they utilize the nice comfy chairs and couches to squeeze in a good nap. Those kids are located right next to the politically informed, worldly students who park in front of the flat screen to catch up with CNN which is almost always on. Then, sitting at the raised tables in the stool chairs are the students who come to Saxby's to socialize. The use their "outside voices" inside, and I wonder how they made it out of the fifth grade without that skill, and it isn't long before the whole coffee house is in their conversation.

Sitting adjacent to them are the kids who are working hard on their school work, headphones in, to drown out the stool kids. Periodically, I might see one of them put their head down on the table submitting to the work in front of them--sometimes the stress of college calls for a "Heads Up Seven Up" moment. And then there's me. I'm sure I'm not alone in my category, I come to the coffee house mostly to buy time between my two classes. I sit and listen to music, pretending to be working on something, but mostly I watch people. I rarely buy anything which is the product of another side-effect of being in college--"broke-itis"

To Be Continued...

The college Experience

    Today, we were doing peer revisions for our second essay assignment in my Honors English class. My essay in an investigative piece on what the college experience is. I started out kind of trying to prove that the college experience is different for everyone, despite the fact that we have a general understanding about what the "college experience" is. 

Yeah...it made more sense in my head.

So after I crank out 7 pages, of the 6 page limit, and get my peer revisions back from my group, it's pretty evident that my paper, is just a bunch of stories and doesn't really make sense.

Then, my teacher tells me that I should create a thesis, "dig deeper" and basically start over.

Cool. I still have  a week. I've been known to produce a 500 page article for my school paper, in a single class period.  

Then she said I should keep my original draft for later use because it sounds like something from a magazine. :) 

So I guess I just have trouble suppressing my future, "feature writing for Elle magazine" self long enough to channel my Soledad investigative self. 

So, I'm not completely starting over....just "re-working" and cutting stuff out....a lot of stuff.

So I should get to work...but I think I'm going to post my original draft as a blog!

Will you read it if I do??? ( and when I say you I guess what I really mean, is my mom, lals, beth, and a few extended family members...I'm still workin on my readership.)

Peace Easy

Remembering the Titans

Tonight I watched one of my all time favorite movies "Remember the Titans" with my two little brothers.

When the movie came out, they were both too young to be interested, so now, 7 years after it's original release, a movie that I practically have memorized, is brand new to them.

That's why it's so cool to watch it with them, especially my youngest brother who this was his first time seeing it.

Remember the Titans, if anyone hasn't seen it, is a movie about a football team in Alexandria, Virginia in the year 1971. The school was recently integrated, and T.C. Williams high school has the only integrated football team in their district.

Because they have race to worry about, their team becomes specially unique in more ways than one.

It was fun to sit and point out things to my two little brothers, and they probably were annoyed with all the times I said, "Didya catch that?"

So, anyway it's a good movie, and it was a good night. I LOVE a good sports movie, not necessarily because I love sports, but because of the stories and themes that come with a good sports story. One of my most amazing experiences was being on a team.

Most of the time, a team of people, are people who don't choose to be together, so naturally problems arise. How they get through those problems and come together to win is what makes the story good.

So yeah, everyone go and watch a good sports movie, it'll make u feel good. :)

Is it bad?

Is it bad that I get goosebumps from watching a movie trailer?
I'ts probably not the most natural thing in the world that I enjoy living in fictional worlds better than my own sometimes.

I've been learning a lot about the early age of movies, and mass media in some of my college classes, and it was like sitting in a psychiatrist's office and finally figuring out what was wrong with me.

The whole "withdrawal" and "diversion" aspects of mass media, especially movies is the whole reason why I love to watch them.

I get a little more than annoyed when there is someone in the theatre who just won't stop talking--it's even worse when they're sitting right next to me or apart of my family--because it just ruins the whole illusion.

So, to give my blog a little more purpose for now...I mean, I do enjoy the randomness of it and it will probably be really hard for me to keep it focused, I wan't to start writing reviews.

Maybe that will get me more readers! Imagine if people came here to get my opinion of the latest books and movies.

That would be awesome.

time to blog about the issues

This past thursday, my journalism class sat in on a lecture by Mona Eltahawy-- "an award-winning syndicated columnist and an international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues." (www.monaeltahawy.com)

Her lecture was titled "Myspace, Herspace: Women and Alternative Media in the Middle East."

It was so interesting to hear all of the things that women AREN'T allowed to take part in. Especially in Saudi Arabia. 

The stuff that Mona was bringing up sounded like issues that women might have gone through in the first half of the 20th century. Not in 2008.

Things like not being able to drive, not being able to participate in sports, to being in danger for being arrested for blogging. 

The first two were bans specific for women, which was shocking in itself, but women and men are in danger of prosecution from the government by simply doing what I'm doing right now.

So, it hit me that my blog... doesn't have a whole lot of substance. I mean, it's fun, it started as just my outlet...like a more public journal. 

But, the fact that girls just like me can't even have a public place to vent about what they're struggling with, and thinking about, made me feel like I shouldn't take for granted an opportunity to speak out. 

share time

So, i just felt like sharing my random thoughts at 4:17 in the morning...I feel like I've done this before... it's cause I have. click "it's cause I have" 

But that's beside the point. It's really late....or early...I dont really know.

I'm pullin an all nighter, finishing a rough draft for English.

I can hardly type because I'm so tired despite the fact that I had like........... a lot of coffee today.

But hey, it helped my asthma problem.

"My heart is damaged" according to Danity Kane....it feels ok to me.

I'm really tired....

What is the college experience anyway???

I'm sure this is apart of it.... Nobody sleeps in college, it's like against the rules or something.

Did you know Nick Jonas has diabetes? crazy right? he's like 12....or 15. same thing.

he's really not that much younger than me, so I shouldn't be hatin.

"A little bit longer".....cool song.

This is really coming straight from my brain to the keyboard....i felt like i should record how incoherent and random my thoughts were at 4:24 in the morning, so when I'm a little more sane I can laugh....

but it's really not funny right now.

Whoa....my brain literally cut off there for about thirty seconds....but u won't be able to tell that reading this....how do you know I didnt just make that up?

I didnt.

I'm not that savvy in the middle of the night.

I passed slap happy a long time ago...otherwise, I probly would be peeing in my pants right now over something that is not that funny.

Demi Lovato can sing REALLY well. 

I think I'm going to do this until 4:30.

The only reason I'm still going is to keep me from passing out onto my keyboard.

My paper wasn't keeping me up....but i'm not done with it yet.

My class doesn't start till 11 I have time.

SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

I think I just fell asleep with my eyes open just then.

4:28

"Get Back" Demi Lovato....check it out.

I hope that I would recommend this song when I'm more....here. otherwise, dont make fun of my song choice.

but i really like her, so I think I like this song in the daylight hours too.

4:29

it took me a really long time to find the 9 just then.

my hands started to shake from typing....

George Lopez is funny.

4:30

Good Night.