The Essay I Most Liked...

The essay I most enjoyed this semester was "Why Are Textbooks So Expensive?” A partial reason I enjoyed this essay so much is because I can relate to it, seeing as I have to pay for books myself, and textbooks can clean out a bank account quickly. I find that some textbooks are not very expensive and some, such as a biology book, are outrageously priced. Reading this essay really made me think about why they are so expensive: revisions and newer issues constantly being made and corporations taking over the smaller textbook companies and merging them into a higher profit seeking business. However, the author, Henry Roediger, said that even these should not affect the price of the books skyrocketing, but the reason for such high prices is the ever changing marketplace in the economy.

Is a college education really necessary in the job market today?

A college education or degree in some field is very necessary in today's job market, because the job market is getting very competitive. When the market becomes so competitive, you are going to need everything that you can get to put you on a higher level than the other fifty or so people trying to get that job. Not only will college experience look good on a resume, it will also help with doing your job. Most college programs prepare you with information that happens in the real world, an experience that you do not get just by completing high school or a GED school, and that information and education can be turned around and help you attain better socialization skills, think more critically and more rapidly under pressure, and help you to communicate on a higher level. Some critics to this claim may say that anyone without a college education of some sort can get a job, but what they are leaving out is that the jobs that can be acquired are not the well-paying, the jobs that have benefits, or the jobs that do not require as much physical grunt labor. While these are jobs, they may not be the most desirable among the job market, which are held by those with some sort of higher education than a diploma or GED. The market will continue to get more competitive and you are going to need everything you can get to get one that isn't a burger flipper at the local fast food stop.

The 2012 New World Order

Many people have come to believe that the world will end in 2012, much of those speculations are due to the famous Mayan calendar. The Mayan calendar does not go past the date December 21, 2012 thus causing some to come to the realization that the world will cease to exist beyond that date. While some critics say that it is merely coincidental and has nothing to do with anything, they have failed to realize that the end date of the calendar does have an important value. The Mayans themselves did not believe that this date is when the end of the world will occur, rather that the date means the ushering of a new cycle in the worlds history. It means that the Mayans have predicted that the planets will align themselves in a specific way that is so rare that it occurs only in 30 out of every 26,000 years. During this unusual alignment, the Sun will pass through the equator of the Milky Way galaxy. Some believers of the apocalyptic 2012 say that this will cause some sort of cataclysmic event. Other believers say that this is the day that their savior or lord will appear and begin a day of final judgment, which is coincidently transcribed through some few religious texts.

In my personal opinion, I am one of the few thousand believers that a whole other age will be ushered in, an age that has only been derived in the greatest of horror films, the age of the zombie. While this may sound silly, in some ways it makes perfect sense. Although banned by the Geneva Convention in 1975, biological warfare agents are still within easy grasp, the U.S. stockpiling over a million gallons of some agents, and other countries are bound to still have some stockpiled or even still in the process of creating some new, horrible agent. Chemical agents for "mind control" have been played with, most of the results ending in utter failure. There have been some that have been tested to initialize the breakdown of society. This agent is spread through the air, water, or food supply, and has a special hormones inducing absolute rage within those who ingest this toxin. This hormone is pumped throughout the blood stream and CAN be spread through open wounds, saliva, blood transfer, or ingestion. Although not the traditional brain eating zombies that fans have come to know and love, it still is a sort of zombie state of being, since the subject is technically not in control of their own body, emotions, or mind. I believe that this agent may either get into the hands of some terrorist organization and used against their enemies, used as a weapon against a small uprising then spread by contact or wind drafts, or accidentally released and spread through initial victims to others. While this may be a wild theory, a long shot of sorts, Einstein did say "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

Minor in College

Since I declared a major in my freshman year of college, I have yet to fully decide on a minor. Several thoughts have come up such as a minor in business, writing, and a history minor. Having to decide on which minor to choose is the biggest problem, with another problem being that I keep hearing and seeing new programs of study that interest me. Although a minor is not necessary, for me at least, it would be beneficial for me to acquire one; learning more can never hurt and it would also not look bad on a transcript or resume. When I decide on a minor, it still may take a semester or so for me to declare it; taking that time to decide on if it is the right choice for me to take.

The internet: endless fascination OR romoting distraction

The internet has become known as the mother ship of all information from all over the world; known as the place where the average person can go looking for one piece of information and come out with dozens more facts and articles than one could imagine. The internet has become the most widely used tool in colleges and other schools for reports, studies, and other educational purposes in recent years and for good reason: the internet is capable of providing almost unlimited knowledge. Everything from scientific journals to worldwide news can be found on one site or another on the internet. Being "connected" has brought people from around the world closer to each other and has led to scientists, scholars, and the everyday man from around the globe to share ideas, discoveries, and evidence with one another. Critics to the wonderful tool have said that it is nothing more than a distraction, no matter what good it has brought us, and that the internet contains information that is deemed unnecessary or inappropriate, but who is to say what information is useless? The best part about the internet is that you can find virtually any information, whether it’s relevant or not. Being distracted and loafing around on the internet is not the internet's itself fault, but rather the user. The internet cannot take you to a site that is distracting from your work, study, or that paper that is due first thing in the morning, the user has to make that decision himself. For downtime and relaxation, the internet is still a useful tool, letting you take your mind off of work or school and helping you connect and talk with friends, family, or loved ones no matter how far away. The internet is not some useless distraction; it is a tool that has helped better the lives of many around the world.

My opinion on Georgia's proposed new immigration law.

In my own personal opinion, I am reluctant to hear about the new immigration law that is going into effect in Georgia. I also like that since the idea was proposed, there have been reports of illegal immigrant numbers decreasing. The one thing I find myself as being what critics describe as unfair, is the high price of the fine which is placed on the convicted illegal immigrants, $125,000. That, even to a financially stable family let alone a family that may be experiencing some form of poverty, is a lot of money to come by. Immigrants work for very low wages and that could be a situation that they could never get out of. However, I do like the imprisonment part of the bill, but would also like to see that the idea be followed up by deportation.

Would you attempt if you KNEW you couldn't fail?

Well of course, who wouldn't? No matter what the task was, I could not fail? I would then be taking the most advanced courses and classes that the college allowed me too. Perhaps I would be seeking employment at one of the higher up establishments in town or convincing a bank to loan me money without having to pay interest, or anything at all back to them. If I had that kind of power, then there would be no literal limits to my personal wealth or education. Maybe I could even become the next top athlete or the next biggest cultural star. Perhaps, if this was true, world domination is in order?