To The Future

To whomever this may concern,

I can only imagine how the world you live in must be. The decisions my generation made would take miracles to recover from. The thought of how miserable this country must be is almost unbelievable. Your future is not all that it could have been, because of the mistakes that my generation has let happen. Illegal immigration has locked your generation in a struggle for happiness and success.

Illegal immigration may be one of my generation’s biggest problems. Millions of illegal immigrants for countries all over the world come into this country and take jobs from American citizens. These jobs that Americans need to support their families are stolen away from them by people who have never given anything to this country. The year now is 2008. There is over 20 million illegal immigrants in this country. There have been nearly 10 million jobs taken by illegal immigrants from the United States citizens. The cost of illegal immigrant children to the country in grades K-12 is over 12 billion dollars since 2001(Immigration Counters). These numbers do not lie. This country is suffering from the mass number of illegal immigrants entering it. There have been 1,869,630 children born on this countries soil by illegal immigrants. This means that 1,869,630 new citizens to the United States must be taken care of legally. In this country at this time, people feel that illegal immigration is a good thing. These people feel that illegal immigrants take all the jobs that United States citizens do not want. The United States unemployment rate is 5.1 percent according to the United States bureau of labor statistics. The jobs this country has to fill are not being filled by the people of this country. The jobs that could help to lower our unemployment rate and raise our countries HDI (Human Development Index) are being given to people who snuck themselves into this country to avoid living by this country rules. These illegal immigrants enter this country, take its money, and break its laws only to be deported back to the country in which they came from. Since 2003, there have been over 7,500 arrests of alien child sex offenders (Immigration Counters). This Issue is tearing this country apart and it makes me wonder how it has developed in your day.

After the election of McCain, I feel that the only way this country can go is down. The idea to pardon all illegal immigration is one of the worst ideas of any leader of this country. The majority of this country in 50 years will be illegal immigrants if McCain held up to his platform to America. This number is outrageous. The things that illegal immigrants can do to hurt this country have been shown in great detail in my time. A day you now most likely have off from school as a memorial, September 11, 2001, is a day I unfortunately was alive for. A massive attack on the United States was conducted and took hundreds of Americans lives. What most people do not know is that 3 out of the 4 terrorists on that plane were in this country illegally. In a 2006 Homeland Security report some startling news was revealed to the American public. "The report reveals that 45,008 aliens from countries on the U.S. list of state-sponsors of terror or from countries that protected terrorist organizations and their members were released into the general public between 2001 and 2005, even though immigration officers couldn't confirm their identity" (USillegalimmigrants.com).

The country is going downhill fast it and the way it’s looking your generation will be at rock bottom. There are a few options out there now that you can try to fix this situation that we so recklessly placed you in. One option is attrition through enforcement. There are three very important things this country could do to make this mass number of illegals lower vastly. The first thing is to step up the border control. That is if this country even has borders anymore due to the presidents in the last 50 years. If you can cut the head off the snake, then you can eliminate the problem. By this I mean if you can stop the illegal immigrants from entering the country, then you will not have to worry about getting them out of the country. The second option is deportation of any illegal alien who commits egregious crimes. If we can get rid of the dangerous illegal immigrants it will save this country money and stop major drug trafficking. The last thing you can do is ask the illegal’s to leave back to their own countries. When they refuse, and they will, cut off all benefits offered to illegals. These include denying those jobs, health services, and government programs that refuse to leave. These are all main ideas stated by Federation for American Immigration Reform. Other more radical groups feel that illegal immigrants should be hunted down and deported back to the country in which they came from.

The future could be a very dangerous place to live in because of the mistakes my generation has made. The illegal immigrant problem may have already consumed the country. In all actuality I may be speaking to an illegal immigrant right now. There is a good chance that by now the illegal aliens have taken over the government and the true natives of this country are now the immigrants. Looking back on history, the Native Americans accepted the British from another country. Then the British killed off or shipped out all those who were reckless enough to let them into their country. I hope for your sake that you look back on history and learn, or else history is doomed to repeat itself upon you.

Oil? What's that?

Oil? What’s that?

To The Generations I’ve Helped Ruin:

The name is Shane McCartney. The year is 2008. I’m 19, and I go to Westfield State College in Westfield, Massachusetts. Just curious, but what’s it like? The future that is; are there flying cars? Are there robots running around? Do people teleport for means of transportation? If not, I’m not surprised. That’s what the people of the 1960’s dreamed of happening by the time the 2000’s showed up. None of it has happened; and I really don’t see it happening any time soon. Even though technology is getting better and better everyday, there’s no way all of it can happen. One main reason why I don’t see these happening is the fact that even as I write this, there is less and less oil available to supply to the world.
Oh, don’t worry, oil won’t just “run out”, that’s because “all oil production follows a bell curve. Oil is increasing plentiful on the up slope of the curve, and increasingly scarce and expensive on the down slope. The peak of the curve coincides with the point at which the endowment of oil has been 50% depleted. Once the peak is passed, oil production begins to go down while cost begins to go up.” (LATOC) The “peak” that was mentioned, scientists believe, very possibly occurred in the year 2005. So this means “the worldwide oil production in the year 2030 will be the same as it was in 1980. However, the world’s population in 2030 will be both much larger and much more oil dependent than it was in 1980.” (LATCO) So basically, the worldwide demand for oil will outpace the worldwide production of oil by a significant margin. And as a result, the price of oil will skyrocket, oil dependant economies will crumble, and resource wars will explode.
So, is there even any oil left for you and your generation? If there is, I wonder how much is left. If not, I for one am terribly sorry that my generation, the generations before me, and the generations following after mine have used all of it all up on you, and basically sending you into an “economic stone age”. The thing is that we, as a population just don’t care. We only think about ourselves, and how we are to live our own lives. Another thins was that we really didn’t realize how much oil was being used up each and everyday. Oil is the basic building block to civilization. Yes, it is mainly used as a source of heating homes, and used for transportation, but what most people don’t realize, is that oil is also in so many of everyday objects; for example, toothpaste.
Again, I truly am sorry that I helped ruin your lives, but at the same time, I’m also guilty of just not caring. You see, even though I know that oil will become scare, there’s nothing that I can do about, so I am just going to go with the flow, and live my life.

Yours Truly,

Shane McCartney

intro to last essay!!

Everyone knows as time goes on generations attitudes change toward everything. My generation was not the most productive, most mature, or even the smartest. Statistics show we have experimented with drugs and alcohol at a very early age and very consistently. We were the first generation introduces to the extreme advancements in technology as well. The generation that started the 21st century was a very lazy, stupid, useless group of kids.

im looking for a better hook if anyone wants to help out.

Unfair United States Military Pay

What is the price of a life? Are there factors that determine this price? If the person has a family, if they are old or young, male or female could all be factors. These factors do not matter in the United States military. Whether a person is white or black, male of female, single or married they all receive the same pay. A wage that is hardly enough to support themselves, and almost never enough to support a family. The United States Military is greatly underpaid for the duties that they are required to perform. The risks that every soldier takes to serve their country deserve more money than what they are given. U.S. soldiers wake up every day knowing that it could be their last. U.S. soldiers are away from their families for months and even years at a time, missing some of the most important things in their loved ones lives. This can make military relationships almost impossible to maintain. The chance of having to take another person’s life can cause a mental and emotional trauma that is hard for a person to ever come back from. All of these risks come about 20,000 less than the average pay of a full time mailman according to the 2008 fiscal enlisted military pay and allowances.

The death toll since the war in Iraq started in April 2003 has broken 4,000 deaths in this last year. There have been over 16,000 troops who have been wounded in action and returned, and another 13,000 who have been too bad to return to service (United States Department of Defense). The number of deaths within the military has caused a great concern for many people within this country. The number of recruits to all branches of the military has dropped drastically in the last 4 years. Many feel this is due to the belief that there is not enough money offered for the chance of losing their life. Another opinion of why many people stopped enlisting in the service is that there is more money offered in civilian jobs with much less danger involved. Last year it was shown that military pay was up to 14% less than civilian jobs with the same education level in the private sector (Rand.org). The growth in the pay rate for civilians has grown more steadily and at a higher level than the pay of the military. This fact raises questions to potential soldiers, such as is it worth it to put my life on the line for less pay than I can make anywhere else. It also raises the question concerning leaving family behind while they leave to serve their country and what would their family do if they were to become injured or even die.

One of the hardest things for any person to do is to leave behind everything they love. The United States military can at many times require a person to do exactly that. The time spent away from loved ones can never be replaced. Many will argue that no amount of money could ever compensate for the missed moments in their loved ones life. The time away is not the only problem with the military lifestyle. According to “The Nation” research has shown that a military family on average moves every 3 years. This moving all the time mixed in with deployments and training can make families almost impossible to maintain within the military. The divorce rate in the military is around 3.5% according to the Department of Defense. It is much higher with women in the military, around 8%. The main reason for divorces within the military is PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress disorder. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened (National Institute of Mental Health). This can occur from witnessing harm to others or doing the harm to others yourself.

According to MSNBC 1 in every 8 soldiers who have seen combat suffer from PTSD. The chance of having to take another life can cause serious mental and emotional problems for any person. Recovery from this kind of ordeal can take years, sometimes it never goes away. The medical help which soldiers may need to help with this disorder is paid for out of their own pocket. The money they make is not sufficient to pay this type of bill. It leaves many in debt and with a disabling mental problem for the rest of their life.

The majority of this countries workers do not get up in the morning wondering if they will live to see the night. These workers do not sit at work for months at a time wondering how their family is doing. These workers do not have to face down the fear of taking another person’s life. The United States military is greatly underpaid for the duties that they perform. It is time to stand up and give these soldiers what they deserve. It is time to give them the money they earn so they can live a better life than the one they are living to protect you.

Honor, duty, and freedom are all things us as Americans desire in our lives. The truth of it is that without the armed forces of this country freedom wouldn’t exist. With the freedom we receive comes great responsibility. A responsibility to act when things are not the way they should be. A responsibility to stand up and do what is right. We as a country should stand up and demand better pay for our protectors, our safe keepers. Now is the time, the chance for us to gain honor, something the U.S. military knows all about.

big research paper!!

i never got professor meek's comments on my paper on legalizing medicinal marijuana. i need his comments in order to make my paper a lot better because now it sucks. i not too worried about it because i know im going to pass this class. i would like a little better grade to help my GPA though!! hope this is enough to cover for me for this week even though i completely disagree with this once a week blogging bs

Outline

Shane McCartney
Kevin Meek
English 101+
April 12, 2009

Outline

I. Introduction:

Are you thinking about college? Then good for you! College is very important and it is something everyone should consider. It readies you for the real world with the hopes of that perfect job of yours waiting for you at the end of your journey. But, what would you say if I told you that you don’t have to spend the extra four years and the thousands of dollars? Sounds ludicrous don’t it? But in reality, you can actually go far in life with only a high school diploma.
Many people in the world have not gone to college, or even dropped out of college and have been extremely successful in life. Most of my family in fact has not gone to college, and yet they all live very fulfilling lives. In fact, it actually really is not rare for someone who does have a college degree not to get a job in there field of training, or even at all.

II. Point One:

It’s true, many people have either not gone to college, or have dropped out and have lived fulfilling lives, wealthy lives, or both. For example, one major name of someone that does not have a college degree would be the second richest man in the world, and many who call one of the smartest men in the world, a little some one called Bill Gates. Yes, that’s right; Bill Gates does not have a college degree. He indeed went to college, but had dropped out.

III. Point Two:

It’s not only rich and famous people that succeed without going to college; those are just the one’s that are most commonly known. Many members of my own family have not gone to college. The truth is that I am the first ever on my mother’s side of the family to go to college, and only the 4th ever on my father’s side. The point here is that I am the cousin on both sides of the family that separates the older from the younger, and that I have over 40 cousins from 17 aunts and uncles. So it’s not like there haven’t been others before me that had the opportunity to go to college. In fact, most of them chose to stay out of college on purpose because they had well paying jobs coming out of high school already.





IV. Opposing View Point:

CollegeBoard.com states that, “The world is changing rapidly. More and more jobs require education beyond high school. College graduates have more jobs to choose from than those who don't pursue education beyond high school.”


V. Counterargument:
Yes, the world is indeed changing more and more each day, but with this statement from CollegeBoard.com, it doesn’t say what kind of jobs, how much the different jobs would pay, and it doesn’t say that even with a college degree there is certainly no guarantee that the college graduate will even get a job. A person with only a high school diploma can have the same opportunity to get the same job, if not an even better job than someone with a college degree.

VI. Opposing View Point:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “A person who goes to college earns more than a person who doesn't. On average, someone with a bachelor's degree earns $50,900. That's 62 percent more than the $31,500 earned annually by someone with only a high school diploma.”

VII. Counterargument:

I’m not sure who exactly the U.S Census Bureau is averaging in there statistics, but they seem to leave out that there are great paying jobs out there for anyone. Even people without a high school diploma!
A list from FindingsDirect.com shows the top ten highest paying jobs where you don’t have to spend a fortune or going to college for. These jobs rank anywhere in the range from $60K to $100K. The top ten jobs are: “Business Applications Programming, Web Design, Web Programming, Database Development, Business Analysis, Software Project Management, Software Testing, Computer Networking, Game Programming, and Data Analysis & Data Mining. It seems that there are only high paying jobs in the technology field, but the truth is, that this field of work is only a small piece of the overall product. The juggernaut of the working force is in construction, and its underlings. The average salary for someone in construction work is anywhere from only ten dollars an hour up to fifty or sixty dollars an hour. What really determines a person’s salary in the construction field are two things: 1. How much business there is, and 2. What they do for a job.
VIII. Conclusion:
College helps you to expand your knowledge and skills, it expresses your thoughts clearly in speech and in writing, it helps you to grasp abstract concepts and theories, and it increases your understanding of the world and your community.

Work Better With Weed

Imagine living your life in gruesome pain that is unbearable to your body and mind. Now imagine a cure, but you can’t have it because you live in the wrong state. Medicinal marijuana has been a heated debate ever since Richard Nixon outlawed marijuana in 1969. Marijuana can cure many long and short-term illnesses such as arthritis, cachexia, cancer, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Medicinal marijuana is already legal on ten states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Maryland. It doesn’t take a genius to know that our economy is very bad right now. America can not afford to have quality employees for any business unable to work due to an illness that can be cured. When properly prescribed by a doctor, medicinal marijuana will make sick people all around the country better so they can continue to work to their full potential.

Thousands of Americans around the country suffer everyday from illnesses like arthritis that prevents them from doing their job to the fullest extent. If medicinal marijuana was legal in all fifty states employees everywhere will be more productive. There are many facts physicians live by about medical marijuana such as, “marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day.” Joycelyn Elders, M.D. wrote in a March 26, 2004 editorial published in the Providence Journal in Rhode Island. Almost everyone in America trusts every word doctors say.

Some doctors believe the side effects of marijuana are not worth the cure after smoking, "Although I understand many believe marijuana is the most effective drug in combating their medical ailments, I would caution against this assumption due to the lack of consistent, repeatable scientific data available to prove marijuana's medical benefits.” U.S. Senator Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) wrote in an Oct. 20, 2003 letter to ProCon.org. When dealing with the more serious illnesses the reward is arguably worth the risk.

If medicinal marijuana did not help at all then it would not be legal in the ten states that it is. Those states have statistics that prove there employees that take medicinal marijuana are back to work faster and are more productive. Thus helping the states economy.

Dreams really do come true

I believe that dreams are the images, thoughts and feelings that one experiences while asleeping, and is strongly associated with rrapid eye movement sleep.


Not too long ago I had a dream that my aunt had a beautiful baby boy at a family gathering. The gathering was in an open field were there were hill tops covered with all types of flowers and different shades of grasses.It was simply amazing. I have never had a dream that was filled with such vibrant colors.Colors like light green, chartreuse, green yellow,Fuchsia,Dark Khaki,Deep Sky Blue mix with yellow and a little pink.There were so many bright colors in my dream that I felt like I was looking at this world with untrained eyes that felt like they were blistering up. That is how bright and beautiful this dream was.Well any way I was running through the field and I saw all of these joyous children running as well.

Suddenly I run into this child while he or she is picking up their ball and I see something that I unfortunately do not like.To what I thought I saw as he or she bent down to grab the ball were symbols that looked like "666" on his or her scalp hidden behind his or her blond hair.When the child came back up I looked at his or her face and it was not there. I was completely gone and it kind of looked like their face was washed or smudged away. I did say anything to that child. I just ran away and when I did it was like I had forgotten that horrible encounter.But it seemed a little strange to see such a thing. Don't you think so ? When I first saw this image I thought of my mother telling me to pray to god in my dream to prevent these horrible images from appearing in my mind but what do I know I never listen to her. I just forget about that and welcome whatever is to come.

As I continue my way into the realm of my dream I see even more elegant fields of wild California Poppy's, Maximilian Sunflowers, Texas Bluebonnets etc., and a magnificent forest that was formed in a sort of horse shoe shape along side the tall hills.It was an eye sore to just try to look at the top of the hill top but I did. I even claimed that monstrous hill just because. When I got to the top of the hill top I thought to myself what a sight it was .I could see everything so clearly like a photograph.I thought to myself it could not get any better that this.I could see my family for the first time celebrating joyously without any negative atmosphere flowing around them, I could see the way the tops of the trees swayed with the ever so crisp lemon scent breeze,as if the breeze were to ask the trees to dance,and I could see that beautiful red Orange, crimson sun over the horizon of that flawless clear velvet sky. Wow! If I had the ability to stay forever in this dream world I would but I knew that it is not possible. So I just lied back and drifted off into a daydream in my dream.Ha! Ha! Ha!

Then suddenly someone yells out my name. At first I thought that is just the clatter of my thoughts moving around in my mind but then I heard it again.This time I stood up to see who it was that was yelling my name.It was my cousin Priscilla yelling up from the bottom of the hill. Although I knew that she was yelling to me I could not hear her. So I decided to go down to see what was the matter but there was a problem. The hill top was so steep that I was afraid that I might come tumbling down it but I knew that I could not just ignore her. So I gathered all of my courage and carefully jogged down the hill.As I jogged down the hill I tripped on a rock that seemed to be dug into the ground.When I tripped I lost my balance and was going to land straight on my face.As I rapidly fell to a torturous spin bending doom I started to float in the air. I do not know what allowed me to float but I did not worry about that.I flew all the way down the hill towards my cousin.

When I arrived down the hill she told me that my aunt was having the baby. At this point I was very excited of the arrival of a new family member but I was a little pissed off because I could have broken my neck jogging down that hill.Everyone was every where but there was one big circle surrounding someone.At that moment I thought I knew it was too good to be true. I knew that My family could not survive not even one nice gathering without one fight and or quarrel.Slowly walking towards Priscilla, I asked her who was fighting this time. She looked at me like I was an idiot. Then she told me that it was my aunt that was surrounded by everyone having the baby. I went into complete shock mode.How could she have the baby out here on the grass.Then I heard the sweetest and scariest voice I could have ever heard.

It was my aunts voice.My aunt is the sweetest person you would ever meet. She is always smiling but I never seen a face like this combined with such a kind voice. A pregnant women.Men watch out because this is when they are the most fragile and fermium of all time. So if you like your hands I suggest that you not get too close to that lovely flower of your because she will grab anything that she could compress all of her energy into. She will use you like an antenna to conducting the electric volts of lightening into your hand,leg anything.Well anyway I was yelled at by my mother (the new fonded lightening rod of Zeus)to go get some towels for my aunt.

Going up these flight of stairs never felt more torturous in my life than today.Possibly because I do not know maybe it was it was three flights of stairs.Well I got the towels and ran down the stairs. I was excited I could not wait to see if it was a boy or a girl.Then once I arrive back with the towels they tell me that they do not need them anymore. Ooh!!! I was so pissed but I cooled down because I wanted to see the baby.

Before anyone can kiss and or slobber all over the baby I received the child personally from the barer of the child one who yells the loudest.I caress the child in my arms,hold him and check him out. I announce that it is a baby boy. It was wonderful. I walk in the building to the first, second,and third floors and announced the news.Finally when I get up to the third floor I show everyone the baby .When I show my grandmother she is so happy but for some reason I am distracted by something.I look at the pot and I ask my grandmother what she is cooking and she tells me yellow rice.For some reason when I look at the tiny grains that are along the outside of the pot they start move. Then there is when I find out that the grains of rice are tiny maggots.

I then woke up called my mother and told her about my dream and to my and her surprise as well that exact day she had just found out that my aunt was pregnant.THis was one of the most amazing dreams that I have ever had.




After having this dream I wondered to myself how long does a dream last? Well since I was so intrigued by the many dreams that i have I decided to find it out. I used the Google search engine, and typed in the question,"How long is a dream?" I had found out that the time period of a dream is called a Rem period. A REM sleep period are dreams that last as long as five to forty five minutes long,even though the known time that is spent in a dream is much longer than that. A reason for such a time stretch in a dream would possibly be because dreams are combined from pieces that have their own different setting in time. A dreamer would first dream of something that possibly happened a year ago, then following that dream would possibly come something that occurred just recently, then the dreams would blend together and the dreamer is left with a feeling of a dream that lasted the length of a year.That is pretty incredible if I say so myself but experiments that have been conducted suggest that dreamed actions run in real time. So what a dreamer would do in his or her dream would take exactly this time to dream. With external influences from the dream, like the radio running in the morning, the dreamer would have both the real time in which you hear something and sometimes the feeling that it the dream lasted longer than expected. Time is definitely the apprehending aspects that is heavily distorted in ones dreams.

Of course every person on earth dreams every night. As a matter a fact even mammals dream . It must be that something extremely wonderful must be going on while we sleep and dream, even though in the industrialized world that we live in today, a great number of people pay little attention to there dreams, and sometimes deprive themselves of sleep because it is apprehended as a loss of time and unproductive. It is amazing that we human beings would deprive ourselves of such a luxurious feeling to rest and rejuvenate oneself. It is just like depriving oneself mind of oxygen. Without oxygen you can not breath ,therefore you can not function. Same goes for the body. Without sleep your body will feel tired, you cannot think straight, therefore your mind and body will fail at any productive activities you do.Dreams encompass an entire dimension of experience, a world as yet unexplored by most, where a fascinating world of activity awaits discovery and possible harvest for greater fulfillment in waking life. The challenge is again the same common daily experience for the average person offers little proof of this other reality, let alone the possible value of this other dimension of experience, unless one can gain perspective from outside the nine to five work day structure.Dreams relate mental skills such as dream recall or dream interpretation and information on subjects such as the meaning of nightmares or foreknowledge dreams is not usually taught in our institutions, and the majority of our parents knew or passed on little about the value of dreams as we grew up. So it is no big surprise that many adults remember a few or no dreams at all, and even more rarely think or set out to interpret the guidance and mine the jewels of creative inspiration hidden just below the surface of consciousness in dreams. Basically, nobody told us or showed us how dreams can be extremely practical.The result of where this long-standing trend of disregarding dreams has brought society is that the current misdirected notions about the value of dreams are not only extremely misunderstood, but also represent and even brought along a lack of connection with the subconscious and our own deeper nature. This artificial rift may indirectly, or even rather directly be the source for many of our current personal, cultural and planetary social, political, and environmental challenges.One solution towards re balancing and integration on a personal and eventually a planetary level, is for each of us to realize and begin to investigate how our personal dreams, at very least, each night offer a direct means to explore inner reality and gain unique, undeniable experiences of deep personal value. Dreams do indeed offer opportunities for fun, adventure, wish fulfillment, creativity, deep personal insight and healing and dreams offer all this at no cost.

Girls... Confused Yet?

Girls… Confused Yet?

They are the bringers of life. They are our lovers and our friends. They have the power to easily make any man tremble in fear. They are; to this very day, the MOST CONFUSING creature known to man. They are our mothers; they are our sisters, our grandmothers, our cousins, and our aunts. They are all of these things, but most importantly, they are women.
Any age group of women was more than worthy for me to write this essay on, but in the end I chose to observe and write about the groups of women/girls that you would find in high school and college. I chose to observe these two groups because I wanted to figure out how girls in college are both similar and different from girls that are in high school. There was that reason, and also because these are the groups that I encounter most, and for me they are the most confusing.
To write my essay, I risked my very own life time and time again. I spent a whole week each with the high school, and the college girls; observing them in their natural habitats.
I wanted to start off slowly, so I first ventured into the heart of the high school girl’s community. Looking over my shoulder every second afraid of a sudden, malicious attack; I carefully walked around the sardine-packed like hallways. I noticed that the specimens mostly walked around in packs. Everywhere I looked I was surrounded. Laughing and giggling so loudly, I was amazed that anyone within ten feet of them wasn’t deaf. I dared to get within earshot of what some groups were saying, each pack’s conversations consisted of either who looked the best, what guy each thought was cute, what each were going to do this weekend, and/or what they wanted to do that day after school.
Next I made my way into their cafeteria. Here, I found large amounts of girls sitting together in what seemed their own “clicks”. I found here, all of the girl stereotypes that I could ever imagine. I saw the gothic, the nerdy, the sporty, the preppy, and the glamorous. It seemed as if each had their own section of the café of which they owned. If another from a different click attempted to integrate with other groups, only a very few number of times were they successful.
I left the high school younglings behind, gathered up all of my courage, and found myself up against the deadlier of the two colonies. The college girls.
My observations for this group consisted of me going to numerous places where they were most commonly known to gather around the campus. Some of these places I conducted my studies from were, an interesting place called the Dinning Commons; where they conduct their eating. Another of my locations was called The Woodward Center. Apparently this is where females go to tone their bodies. The final observation site was a place called The Ely Center. Here I learned they either go to study at a library, or relax in this lounge-type area. I did this a number of times during the course of the week I was with them.
Just like their high school counter-parts, the college girls seemed to still have their own clicks, and walked around in packs. Only here the packs of girls were smaller, and less common. More and more girls in college were able to walk around by themselves, and be more independent. As I viewed this group while they ate the stereotypes were all still there. But unlike in high school, the groups were all integrated within one another. They seemed to welcome each other to sit with them, and happily all ate together.
After nearly escaping with my life from the college girls, I was able to gather up all of the information from all of my observations from both my high school escapade, and my college journey and came up with only one conclusion…
I STILL know nothing about women!

My Observation Proposal

Observation Proposal

What I am observing are girls both in high school and in college. I am observing them because I want to figure out how girls in college are both similar and different from girls that are in high school. I plan on observing my subjects through the next two weeks, one age group of girls for each week.
I will observe girls in college for the first week. Then, I will be observing girls that are in high school the second week. During the first week of observations I will be going to numerous places around my campus. For a few of them I plan on going at least twice. Some of these places I plan on going to are the Dinning Common, the Wilson Café, and the Ely Center. For the second week, I have already received permission from my old guidance counselor so I can go to my old high school, walk around the halls, and sit at the lunches to do my observations.
There are not a lot of major things that can go wrong for me and my observations, that is, unless girls decide to fall off the face of the Earth for two weeks. And if this happens then I would be shit out of luck. Something like if I wasn’t feeling very well for a day or two would give me less time to observe, but even then I still would have the rest of the week to observe at my disposal. Another thing that could slow down my observations would be, and this will most likely happen; if I get lazy and don’t feel like doing my observing for the day. I know that I won’t have any troubles observing the high school girls, because for that week I have permission to be there every day that week. But if any thing does go wrong, I will still have plenty of days to make up for it.

words

for my blog i decided to post what the definition was of "word" and how it is used to avoid confusion

Main Entry:

¹word

Pronunciation:

\ˈwərd\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German wort word, Latin verbum, Greek eirein to say, speak, Hittite weriya- to call, name

Date:

before 12th century

1 a: something that is said bplural (1): talk, discourse words> (2): the text of a vocal musical composition c: a brief remark or conversation word with you>2 a (1): a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use (2): the entire set of linguistic forms produced by combining a single base with various inflectional elements without change in the part of speech elements b (1): a written or printed character or combination of characters representing a spoken word words to a line> —sometimes used with the first letter of a real or pretended taboo word prefixed as an often humorous euphemism word on British TV — Time>word and talk about death — Erma Bombeck> (2): any segment of written or printed discourse ordinarily appearing between spaces or between a space and a punctuation mark c: a number of bytes processed as a unit and conveying a quantum of information in communication and computer work3: order, command word>4often capitalized a: logos b: gospel 1a c: the expressed or manifested mind and will of God5 a: news, information word that he would be late> b: rumor6: the act of speaking or of making verbal communication7: saying, proverb8: promise, declaration word>9: a quarrelsome utterance or conversation —usually used in plural words and parted>10: a verbal signal : password11slang —used interjectionally to express agreement

— good word

1: a favorable statement good word for me>2: good news good word>

— in a word

: in short

— in so many words

1: in exactly those terms in so many words>2: in plain forthright language <in so many words, she wasn't fit to be seen — Jean Stafford>

— of few words

: not inclined to say more than is necessary : laconic of few words>

— of one's word

: that can be relied on to keep a promise —used only after man or womanof his word>

— upon my word

: with my assurance : indeed, assuredly <upon my word, I've never heard of such a thing>

Thursday night madness

This thursday night all hell was breaking loose in Courtney. I arrived at the dorm around 11 O'clock and everything was going crazy. I was visiting my friend on the fourth floor when I noticed someone tackle someone else to the ground. I thought it was a fight but when I arrived closer I realized that it was two girls wrestling. I assumed it was all in good fun and I watched for a little while. Me and my friend then ventured down the hallway a few more rooms and entered one that looked promising. When we entered there was a recreational game of pong going on so we decided that it was time to excercise our shooting arms. After beating everyone in the room atleast once, we decided that we would leave them to thier fun and we left. The further down the hall we went the wilder it became. At one point I actually saw someone run full speed into a wall and almost knock themself out. Thursdays nights are usually fun, but this one stood out more than any other.

Observation of the Soul Food Dinner

Evan Wynn
English
Professor Meek
03/04/08
Observation of the Soul Food Dinner
For my observation I had trouble trying to decide what I was going to observe, and who I was going to observe. I finally decided that I was going to go to the soul food dinner in Scanlon hall. This was an event set up by the student support services office. I thought that this would be a real good event to go to because there would be a lot of people there that I could take notes on. Now that I knew what I was going to observe everything seemed to fit in to place.
When I first walked into the door I saw everyone was sitting down in their seats waiting for the food to be ready. The atmosphere was real light and friendly. I was really surprised to see how many people actually showed up for the soul food dinner. After I went over to the table where I had to pay 5 dollars to get in and be served food I myself looked for a seat. There were more than fifteen big round tables set up in the place that it was being held at. At every table there was a center piece of flowers.
The people in the room ranged from freshman to upper classmen to teachers, and other types of educators. I became I part of the environment of people in the event. Instead of me just sitting back and observing I became an active participant in this social group of people. I knew a lot of the people who were there already so it seemed only right for me to become part of the social climate that was going on. The soul food dinner seemed like a family reunion of sorts. Everyone was there to support each other, and to show that they cared.
There was no animosity towards anyone. When I did see someone that I didn’t know they were friendly and made sure that they introduced themselves to me.
I did notice small clicks though were certain people would hang out together. I noticed all the people who were doing poetry readings sat together. I also noticed all of the people who were receiving scholarships where sitting in close vicinity of each other. This could have been because that is how it was supposed to be set up, or maybe that is just how the students wanted to sit with. Another thing that I noticed was how most people sat on the right side of the room. The left side was the only place where seats were empty.
When it was time for the poetry readers to come forward they decided who would go by gender. The two guy poets went first. Then the two girl poets went after them. For the guys there was a one white poet and one black poet, and it was the same way for the woman. The white person went first for each gender. When it came to the announcing of who would be getting the scholarships all of the people who won where dressed up in what seemed to be there best outfits. All of the winners of the scholarships seemed to understand how big of a deal it was to be one of the people who got one of the scholarships.
The soul food dinner was a great thing to observe because of the great diversity of people there. No one person was a like but everyone was being friendly and encouraging their fellow classmates. Meeting new people was easy because of how friendly everyone was. Learning how people can come together was a great thing to witness and be a part of.

ESSAY TWO

Since many of you are very busy over spring break. Please bring 2 copies of your rough draft to class on Monday of class and I will make comments on them then.

Professor Kevin Meek

Wet and Wild

From the early hours or the morning until the late hours of the night, there is one place that makes me feel at home. This one place that no matter the time of day or the time of the year, everyone is welcome. Congamond Lake is that sanctuary of complete freedom and peace. The light sounds of fishing boats and fish jumping out of the water is the sign that the time has come. This is the time to get out of bed and prepare for a fiesta of fun on the lake. The sights of waking up to see the sunrise hitting the lake makes any person wish they were there. The water is glass, so smooth that it looks like you could walk across it. The sun reflects off the water to make the lake look like pool of inviting tropical sea. As I walk out of the lake house the sand slide between my toes and the warmth gives me a sense of relief. A relief that comes from knowing that nothing can go wrong today, nothing can bother me.

The suns heat makes my skin tingle and as I walk over to the docks. The fuzzy carpets on the deck feel like a mini golf green. My feet mold footprints into the dew covered rugs. As I sit at the end of the dock I can see fish swimming everywhere through the crystal clear water that makes me thirsty thinking about it. I dangle my legs over the end as if I have no power to move them. As my feet dangle I let my toes move towards the water inch by inch until finally I am in and it feels amazing. As I sit on the dock I watch a bald eagle sore high above. This magnificent bird of prey is the head honcho of wildlife around these parts. As it fly’s it searches for an unfortunate victim below. At last it see’s the meal it hungers for, and it begins to descend. As it gets lower the power from its wings makes the water ripple and the fish knows its time is up. The eagle’s monster talons slice through the water to spike the unlucky trout in its side. Victorious the eagle was on his search for food, and victorious on showing the lake he was still king.

The sun was starting to warm up the air now, intensifying the need to get out on the water. As I begin to take the cover off of the boat I feel the shiny metal buttons giving a warm sensation to my fingertips. With the cover off I put the key in the ignition and give it a turn. The roar of the engine is certain to wake the family of otters the lives in the nearby cove. I slide of the ropes holding my boat in place and begin backwards into the serene lake. I coast slowly so not to disturb the lakes glassy appearance. The tall Pine trees that surround the lake look like guards. These guardians reflect off of the smooth surface and it makes the lake seem unbelievably peaceful. As my boat cruises along minnows begin to jump all around it. The appearance of rain hitting the water is what these little critters create as they fly around hopelessly from an inevitable doom that lurks beneath them. These minnows are jumping because a school of bass is nearing and there is no way to out run them. As the bass grow nearer the jumping of the minnows becomes desperate. Then in a flash, a huge large-mouth leaps out of the water and engulfs a mouth full of minnows as it flails like it’s trying to fly its tail. As it crashed back into the water it made a gigantic splash and disappeared to lurk another day.

The day begins to age and the sun beats down harder than ever. I can feel the sun sizzling my skin. The lake begins to get crowded and the sounds of engines screaming up and down the lake are everywhere. The water is no longer smooth and glassy. The wake from all the boats has turned the lake into a large wave pool that makes all the boats rock back and forth. The people on the lake all seem to be having an amazing time. People on tubes skip along the surface of the water fear and adrenaline showing in their faces. As a tuber launched off a crest of a wave I watched as he flew weightlessly through the air. When he landed his face smashed against the hard tube and whipped his head backwards. I watched as his eyes rolled back into his head as he was forced from the tube violently. I moved forward down the lake at approached the sandbar.

The sandbar was full of enthusiastic young kids learning to swim. The looks of joy on the parent’s faces as their young tots took their first strokes were priceless. The water at the sandbar was so clear you could see the shells and the brown gold sand on the bottom. Parked all around the sandbar were party barges. These monstrosities had around 15 people on each of them. The boats were full of middle aged people who were drinking some beers and blaring country music. The mood on the lake today was just like every other day. The eagles said it best when they said “I got that peaceful easy feeling”. Lunch time was near so I throttle up and began to head over towards the lake’s pizza shop.

The light breeze carried the smell of melted cheese and pepperoni half way across the lake. My mouth began to water thinking of the melted mozzarella and fluffy brown pizza crust that was about to enter it. As I headed to the main docks for the pizza shop I witnessed many people heading onto their boats with lots of brews. Beer was a very common thing on this lake. Part of the lakes tradition is to give all the empties cans to the lions club. The lions club makes thousands of dollars every summer. After the pizza was devoured, I packed up my stuff and headed back out into the paradise.

I coasted under the tunnel to the last pond on the lake where I would make residence. This last pond, north pond, was the party spot of all the lakes. The low police visits and the high amount of young females that attend this spot make it a pristine area for coagulation. The people on this pond were mostly early twenties and thirties. The party boats lined the lake like a parade was going on. This array of speedboats, drunken men, and beautiful women makes for one awesome show. The people on the lake seemed to feed off each other’s stupidity. Two speedboats began to circle a pontoon and made waves that smashed over the side railings. The pontoon driver became furious and in his rage threw a full perfectly good can of brew at the speedboat. The speedboats window smashed and the brawl was on. One man leapt from his boat onto the pontoon and swung at the driver. The driver was on step ahead on him and threw him over his shoulder and right off the boat. He then drove away laughing. In this epic battle of wits one man’s windshield was broken, as well as his pride. The night is the relaxing time on this marvelous place.

As the sun fades over the tall pines the stars come out to shine brighter than ever. As I lie on the back of my boat and stare at the sky I listen to the animals all around me. I can hear the wolves in the deep woods howling to the moon. This noise could send chills through the most thick skinned of people. The sound of loons keeps me intensely listening. Only on the most silent nights can you be blessed with the sounds of these elusive birds. The water is completely still and for a moment every worry you have in life disappears. Alone in complete solitude, nothing but you and nature at its finest is what every night is like. The cool air carries across the lake and brushes with face with a gentle caress. The occasional fishing boat with move by silently like a slippery snake. The stars shine brightly and reflect off the water to make it seem like you’re surrounded by space. Crickets off shore chirp like a symphony of well orchestrated musicians. The day ends as it began, silent and peaceful. It is circle of paradise that cannot be compared with much else in the word. This is a place of peaceful tranquility as well as great excitement. It is one in a million and I found it.

Chelsea Howard

Every day I walk outside of Davis where multiple people are gathered in a group and hear them all look over at me and yell “What’s up” or “Hey girl”. This is not the way they only greet me, it’s the way that they greet almost all of their friends or even some of the by passers. There is however the few people that walk by this group and give them dirty looks or make gestures that imply they are not pleased with the smokers. This often results in the two people giving each other dirty looks and the occasional battle of the words, which can have the last word. Most of these mishaps happen because the smokers are taking up the entire sidewalk or if they are too close to the building.
One of the most dramatic situations that I have witnessed was late at night when most of Davis Hall is in bed, there was a group of smokers that were outside not being loud, but certainly not quiet. A girl was outside smoking a cigarette and started coughing when all of a sudden this guy yells from his room, “Keep smoking, get that cancer you dumbasses.” This set the rest of the group outside into a fury. The yelling continued back and forth between the two groups and finally the Residential Director from New Hall came over because his child was woken up by the argument. Everyone outside got their names taken down, even the people that did not participate, and the people inside the building got off with a clean slate. Many smokers get upset when this happens because the nonsmokers are never the ones to get yelled at. The authority only hears the distinct sounds coming from outside that could possibly be waking up the rest of the community. This often results in getting ones name taken down and a brief conversation with a Residential Director.
Everyday an hourly group of the same students stand outside, shouting to one another, playing hack sack and smoking multiple cigarettes. This happens throughout the day and most of the night. When the majority of people are sleeping, a group of smokers gather outside, shouting loudly, laughing hysterically and smoking their cigarettes. At night and during bad weather this group will stand under this cove in the building to shelter themselves from rain or snow. This causes smoke to linger up into the rooms of other students and they retaliate. Many times the ISO will come over and ask people to get twenty-five feet from the building. They listen; just long enough for the ISO to get into the building and then that all migrate back to the cove to stay dry and warm.
The smokers are not the only ones that have to take a beating for their habit. The nonsmokers get their fair share of torment from the smokers. When someone walks by that is giving even the slightest glare, all the people that smoke will make comments to the person. Also when the smokers are outside, they take up most of the sidewalk with the amount of people that are outside or because they are playing a game of hacky sack. This upsets many people because they cannot get through the large group or because they have to breathe more smoke than they would if they smoked their own cigarette.

The campus green is soaked and flooded with water. This is mainly due to the fact that it had rained all night the day before and the relative warmth of the day. The previous week has also seen vast amounts of snow accumulate on the green due to snow storms. This combination of melting snow and heavy rainfall leaves for mucky, damp and uncomfortable conditions for the trip to class. The water threatens to soak my jeans as I carefully walk through and around the puddles. There are also slick patches of ice that waiting to be slipped on.

The whole scene is fairly miserable. A dark set of clouds covers the sun. The whole green is covered in mostly ice and snow. It also is traced with footprints of people crossing the ice for a quicker trip. The green has been crossed so much and so often that paths began to form in the snow. People carving new paths in the snow as quickly as the paths had been covered up by the snow. Several footprints for several people crossing with the same idea of making their own trip a little bit quicker. Some are used more often then others resulting in some paths in which mud and grass can be seen. Others have just turned into ice, making them even more difficult to cross.
The green is different after being crossed so many times. It is no longer clean, white and fresh like after a snow storm. The melting of the snow reveals mud underneath. And the entire scene is just that much more grimy than from when I first came.

davis hall outside dwellers

Of all the people in Davis Hall the most interesting to observe is the group that is always outside or in the lounge. They are probably the most consistent group of people I’ve seen. No matter when I’m walking to or from the building I know that there will be some of them outside. I love it.
There are a few places where they seem to locate themselves while outside. One of their spots of interest is the benches. I noticed some variables on whether or not they decide to sit or stand exist. The most prominent thing is how many people there exactly are. If there is a few people out side they tend to sit at the benches, primarily the first one. But when they are outside by the masses, 6 or more they tend to stand more and converse and such. While residing themselves in this bench area I noticed there are some specific things they enjoy doing. The prominent activity would be talking among each other. There conversations include that of some things they do together at night like going out and such. Conversations about classes are sometimes thrown in the mix. Many of the people who come and hang out side Davis Hall tend to smoke cigarettes. It is almost such of a social time for all the smokers. Many times you can hear one ask another for a cigarette or if another has a lighter. Besides smoking at this bench area, another activity they enjoy taking part in is playing with a hacky sack. This tends to occur when larger groups are outside. This game gets pretty intense. In case you don’t know about this game, it includes a small round bean sack. The people stand in a circle and the sack is tossed by one person into the air using there body, but no hands. This method of keeping the sack up is used again and again by everyone else in the circle to try and keep the sack from touching the ground as long as possible. I noticed that this is one of their more favorite activities along with smoking.
Besides chilling around the benches they tend to flock around a small stair case on the building, which leads to a little cover under the roof scoop. This is the spot for if the weather outside is bad. One of my days of observation was one of those days. It had been raining consistently and I noticed people would go under this roofed area to protect them from the rain. It was smart thinking, considering they didn’t like the rain. In this location the activities tend to be the same as by the benches. Sometimes people sit on the stairs while other times under the roof scoop. They enjoy talking about life, music, school, and such things here too. Other events they do here are the same as before, like smoking and hacky sack. I did notice another thing some do enjoy in this area is skate boarding. I suppose since there is stairs and a high curb along a garden in this locale it is a prime spot to do some skate board tricks. I noticed mostly males take part in this. There are also times when those smoking in this area get warnings from I.S.O.’s or R.A.’s for smoking too close to the building, so they have to move by the benches again. Sometimes even though having been warned before some people smoke here. It is a smart place to smoke though on rainy days, because the rain can put out the cigarette or whatever is currently being smoked by person. I have also noticed that at times before they have just chilled in this area in the shade listening to music. There are a few ways they listen to music. Sometimes there is some one with a small radio, but other times I have seen a guitar or even some little conga drums. It seemed pretty chill.
Also, another place which they tend to locate themselves is in the Davis Hall Lounge. This is also a resort for those days when the weather is poor. Here they tend to do different things than they would do outside. I also noticed if inside, there are other people inside than would be outside. Since they are not allowed to smoke, skate board and such in this lounge there are other things they do to have fun and socialize. In this lounge there is a big screen television in which I noticed they enjoy watching movies or sports games on. Also there is a pool table and ping pong table. There are times when there are some intense matches going on at both these tables, and times when not even being used. While in the lounge I also noticed that the conversation level increases and there are more different conversations going on.
Everyone who hangs out side Davis Hall appears to be a friendly person with very little worries about what others think. They just lounge around outside doing whatever they want, whether its smoking or hacky sack. The biggest thing I noticed was how no matter who or when some one walks by the Davis Hall outside dwellers, some one says hi and a little conversation goes on between one another. It just shows how nice and care free some people can be.

Big Issue on Campus
As people walk by one another there is one thing that everyone has in common, smoking. This is not to say that everyone is smoking, but whether people are smoking or people are walking by the smokers, they have to deal with the distinct smell coming from every direction on campus. This causes a big problem on the college campus due to people not wanting to have to walk by people smoking cigarettes and the smokers do not and usually will not stand twenty five feet from the building.
Everyday an hourly group of the same students stand outside, shouting to one another, playing hack sack and smoking multiple cigarettes. This happens throughout the day and most of the night. When the majority of people are sleeping, a group of smokers gather outside, shouting loudly, laughing hysterically and smoking their cigarettes. At night and during bad weather this group will stand under the building to shelter themselves from rain or snow. This causes smoke to linger up into the rooms of other students and they retaliate.
While standing outside smoking there are the frequent snide remarks yelled down to the smokers. The smokers outside of Davis will get the daily, “Get that cancer you goddamn smokers!” which causes the people outside to yell back heinous remarks. This goes on for quite a bit of time and it ends with one of the Residential Assistants or Residential Directors coming out to yell at the smokers. Many smokers get upset when this happens because the nonsmokers are never the ones to get yelled at. The authority only hears the distinct sounds coming from outside that could possibly be waking up the rest of the community. This often results in getting ones name taken down and a brief conversation with a Residential Director.

Do I do something like this, or do I tell a story? Im soo confused

Fast Paced Learning

I drive home about 4 times a week to work. My home is about an hour away. I drive through Westfield, on the pike, and through Pittsfield. I choose to observe people while they drive. I thought it would be a pretty good idea seeing as how that’s all I do is drive. Not only that but I lost my license before and I am an aggressive driver so I thought observing other peoples driving habits would help me understand why I drive the way I do.

Driving through Westfield is very different than driving through my hometown. There are potholes everywhere. The roads are a complete mess. I noticed that people are extremely impatient in Westfield. It doesn’t seem like there is a good flow in traffic or a good system of getting places. At one of the bridges truck drivers have to drive around in this detour type thing. That kind of seems like an inconvenience to me. The positioning of the lights seems kind of stupid and unnecessary to me. At one of the lights when you go straight you have a flashing yellow light giving you the right of way. Although the people turning right have a flashing red light. People automatically alternate with who goes, the person going straight then the person going right. Then of course its my turn and the jerk that I am I don’t let the person turning right go I just stay right on the person in front of me and get mad when people let others go. That is the way that I am used to driving. It is weird to actually see people in Westfield compromising with each other.

By the time I get to the pike I am usually annoyed with all the drivers and traffic that held me back for the past twenty minutes. It doesn’t end there though. I notice that when people are preparing to get onto the pike they drive really slow then try to speed up with people that are going at least what seems to be 90 miles per hour. This also annoys and frustrates me. As I get onto the pike I set my cruise control at 75. I notice that there is more of a pattern on the pike. There are what seem to be these unwritten rules that everyone knows and abides by most of the time. The pike is far more organized that city driving. The slow people stay to the right. If you’re in the left lane and someone is behind you you better pull over to the right quick or they get real mad. When traffic merges from the right people usually pull over into the left lane. These are all things that I notice people doing every time I drive home or back to school and they are things that even I do.

By the time I get off the pike I am so sick of driving and I still have about twenty minutes of small towns to go through until I get to Pittsfield. Pittsfield is where you will find some of the most aggressive drivers. Everyone is in such a hurry for nothing. Then we get the people from New York that doesn’t know how to drive. I get to Pittsfield and I am also swerving to avoid potholes. I remember this one time when I didn’t have my license (I still drove) someone from the lane turning right automatically just decided to go straight into my lane which would have caused an accident if I wasn’t paying attention. Since then I notice this more frequently only now I have my license and can beep and flip them off. This is what everyone does in Pittsfield. Everyone runs those red lights after about a minute of it turning red. Everybody is just so inconsiderate which is what I think led to my aggressive driving habits.

All three of the main places in which I drive are very different from each other. Drivers in Westfield seem more respectful and nicer to everyone. The pike is organized and in uniform. Pittsfield drivers are so aggressive it’s just annoying. Driving in these three different settings has allowed me to adapt to different types of driving habits and behaviors.