College Humor.

I had heard of the books, and the YouTube videos, but I never though much of College Humor.  Yes, they were witty, but I didn't feel that we shared the same sense of humor.  That is, until The College Humor Live tour visited my school. At first I wasn't interested in attending, until my boyfriend urged me tag along with him; I am sure glad I did.  From the beginning, I found myself laughing hysterically at jokes about college, and the things that happen while in attendance at university.  The comedians, Jake, Amir, and Streeter, told there stories of college, and turned a night of what would have been boring homework into that of laughter and light hearteness.
Below, I have posted one of the many college humor spoof videos..check it out!

Jake and Amir: iPad

Multitasking..good or bad?

A few weeks ago, my college inquiry class was assigned a article titled, "The Myth of Multitasking", and it really struck a chord with me.  The article is a questain and answer session with the author of a book named Dave Crenshaw.  In a nutshell, it says that what we thought was efficient, are actually making our productivity decrease.  He further explains that when you are going from one task to another, you are not spending the complete time and attention to each task that is needed for a completed, fully immersified, end result.  He also dabbles into the idea of techonology playing a part in ineffictient multitasking, a topic that has been in the hot seat for several years now, and also a topic that I have touched upon in previous postings.  

At the very end of the article, Dave gives his tips for making better use of time and to diminish the poison that is multitasking.

"Take control over technology—Your cell phone ringer (even on vibrate) doesn't need to be on all the time. You can turn off email notification on your computer as well. Become master over the nagging beeps and buzzes by creating some silence.

Schedule what you can schedule—Set regular times in the day and week to check your voicemail and email. Let others know that you will be using that schedule so they know when to expect a reply.

Focus on the person—When you switchtask when dealing with a computer, you simply lose efficiency. But if you switchtask on a human being, you additionally damage a relationship. Be present, listen carefully, and make sure everything has been taken care of before moving on."

From this article, I have conjured up several "Inquiry Questions"..

--Do you, personally, feel that multasking improves efficiency, or decreases it?

--How does the topic of multitasking relate to college students, posive or negatively?

--Do you have any experiences were multi-tasking worked well for you?

   or the opposite?

Introducing...

When I want to find a blog that is worth following, I don't look for catchy headlines or riveting thoughts on philosophy or politics..no..I look for blogs that have LOTS of pictures, and short, easy to understand entries.  Some might be thinking that's very lazy of me, but it's o.k, I know that there are others out there with the same "blog beliefs." So if you feel the same way I do, let me introduce you to some fabulous, intriguing, and most importantly, easy to understand, blogs:


http://perezhilton.com/


Celebrity gossip is my guilty pleasure, and the Perez Hilton blog does the trick.  Perez's blogs usually include a picture, and a small paragraph explaining it.  Very interesting, and extremely easy to follow.


http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/


I am always interested in the latest styles and trends, so I found this blog to be perfect for a quick reference of what is going on the fashion world.  Best part of this blog, THE PICTURES! Very clear and professional.

Time..Managed.

Let’s set the scene:

            You walk into your English class, sit down, and prepare to take notes, only to realize you had a three-page literacy narrative due that day, which you completely forgot about and never wrote.

Yeah, it’s happened to all of us.  We over-schedule and lose track of tasks that we have to do (some people more than others.)  This isn’t just college kids, it’s everybody.  Teachers, businessmen, and parents.  Flashback to the episode of Full House were Jessie promises to bake Stephanie cookies for her bake sale, promises DJ he would coach her soccer game, promises Becky he would go to her cousins wedding, promises Danny he would fix his car, and promises Joey he would help him write a jingle…all in one day.  I’m sure most people aren’t that extreme about it, but that doesn’t hide the fact that America, as a whole needs to learn how to manage their time. 

After doing some research, I found that the Mayo Clinic developed their own list of time management tips.  I suggest checking out the link to look better at the article but here are a few tips that I felt were the most important:

Plan Each Day.

Prioritize Your Tasks.

Take The Time You Need To Do A Quality Job.

Practice The Ten Minute Rule.

Get Plenty Of Sleep.

Take A Break When Needed.

vision board.

     MY VISION BOARD

outcasts united.

Over the summer, the freshman class was given a reading assignment.  The book that was chosen was one of diversity, and unity, titled "Outcasts United."  The novel is based within a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia.  Within this town, a great change has been slowly occurring throughout the past decades, as swarms of immigrants immerse the towns once vacant apartment complexes, courtesy of the American government.  The towns people, most of whom have been living their for generations, do take the light to the situation, most of them move to the other side of town and stay as far away from the new towns people as much as they can.

The immigrants come from dozens of countries, mostly in Africa, in which civil warfare and poverty have turned them into refugees.  Most have seen first hand the terror that occurs during war, and most do not have the means to talk to someone about it. The children of theses refugees find an outlet to their hard times by playing soccer on the street, as they cannot afford to play for a real team.

An immigrant herself, Luma, was in town one day visiting a specialty grocery store when she noticed the kids playing soccer. A youth soccer coach herself, she thought it would be an excellent idea to form a no-fee soccer team, which was later named "The Fugees."
As the story continues, it goes in depth about the struggles of the team, the backgrounds of a few players, and the story of Luma, their coach.

Reading between the lines, I feel that this book is about more than a soccer team.  It touches upon the challenges of living in a new place, fitting in with different cultures, while still embracing who you are and practicing your beliefs.  You can compare this in a way to being a freshman in college.  The experience of being on your own, fitting in to a new environment, and getting along with people with different belief systems than yourself.  It is all an ever changing learning process, and it is one of the struggles in life that we must all overcome.

The "Fugees"

outside of the box.

They say the first week of school is always the most difficult, or at least I hope that’s what they say.  My beginning days of college left much to be desired.  Sharing a room with two strangers, community showers, early morning classes, college was nothing like I expected, to say the least. 

Throughout high school, I was given lackluster assignments and told to complete the work as minimally as possible, to not ask questains, and to memorize countless facts, most of which I would never use again.  Imaturlly, I thought college would be along the same lines, but I was very wrong.  The first day of classes, I was told to think outside of the box, something that I had never been told to do before.  The idea of a whole new type of thinking was not only hard to comprehend but I also found it challenging. 

That new ideal, that new way of thinking, has so far been the hardest transition for me.  Granted, living with other people away from home and community bathrooms are things that take adjusting too, I still feel that the challenge of thinking, not memorizing is the most difficult.  

            ....though dorm rooms are not the hardest thing about college, they still take a lot of adjusting too

boooo technology.

Lets face it; my iPhone never leaves my side.  Myself, along with millions (perhaps billions) of other people around the world are hooked on technology.  We live in an age of constant texting, emails, and web browsing.  Recently, the New York Times posted an article about, what else, technology.  Only this time, it wasn’t describing the newest smart phone to hit the market, or ranting about the “it” computer, but rather, it exposed the ugly, and downright unhealthy side of this new age digital mania.

“When people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.”

In the midst of constant games of brick breaker, quick emails to friends, and fast checks of the face book mini-feed, we are slowly depleting our minds of what it needs most, relaxation.  The constant call of the blackberry is now your biggest downfall.  The reason, according to the article that constantly being connected is bad for you is because your brain needs time to relax, to process the information and events that it received throughout the day and to store them as memories within your mind.  If your are constantly stimulating your brain, through television, surfing the web, or texting, you are not giving it time to breath, process, and save. 

“The technology makes the tiniest windows of time entertaining, and potentially productive. But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.”

So on that note, drop the phone, even if it's only for a few minutes a day;  it’s good for your health!

college.

uni·ver·si·ty noun \ˌyü-nə-ˈvər-sə-tē, -ˈvər-stē\

1: an institution of higher learning providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees; specifically : one made up of an undergraduate division which confers bachelor's degrees and a graduate division which comprises a graduate school and professional schools each of which may confer master's degrees and doctorates.

(webster’s dictionary)

        By the books, college is just to go to class and earn a degree, but it is much more than that.  College involves a mixture of academic, social, and personal aspects.  Academically, you strive to succeed in your courses, and hopefully learn a thing or two about the subjects you are taking.  Socially, meeting new people and creating new social groups is a key to having a fulfilling college experience.  Personally, you are forced to manage your time, make intelligent decisions, and prove to your parents that you are mature enough to live on your own.

 My goals for college are pretty basic.  I want to earn good grades, learn, and make new friends. As long as I can accomplish what I set out here to do, I will leave feeling accomplished.  

"Describe yourself in 5 words."

ME: in 5 words

Listener

            I have always been the observant type, the one that prefers to listen to what other people have to say and to keep my opinions to myself.  I have never been one to confront, nor to rant.  I would much rather prefer hearing what other people have to say. 

Young

            I am only 18 years old; I have only lived a mere fraction of my life.  I cannot wait to experience the world and meet new people and go to places that I never thought I could go.  I know that I have the rest of my life ahead of me.

Coffee-Addict

            Coffee is my addiction.  I LOVE the stuff!  At my old high school, you would have most likely seen me with a cup of coffee (iced or hot. depending on the temperature outside) in my hand, no matter the time of day.  My morning is not complete without a Cup o’ Joe

Neat- Freak

            I like things to be clean and somewhat organized, end of story.  

Beach- Bum

            In the summer, all I ever want to do is go to the beach.  Lying in the sun is such an enjoyable feeling.  The atmosphere of being at the beach is one of tranquility and relaxation; it slows you down and makes you appreciate the simpler things in life.