Boom. College.

Why did I decide to go to college? I think there were a lot of reasons behind this. First off, it was what everyone was doing. I considered taking a year off before going, but was bombarded with the "if you don't go now, you'll never go back to school" comments. Those royally pissed me off. I ultimately went to college to continue competitive cheerleading. Cheering at the U of M was always one of my lifelong goals.

I don't regret my decision. It was an experience I needed to have to grow. Since I went to college not knowing what I wanted to do, I ended up throwing away a lot of precious money. I did some soul-searching my first year, and then ended up set on Physical Therapy. A year and a half into that, they changed it to a Doctorate program. No way in hell was I going to school for 8 more years. At that point, I stopped caring and my grades dropped. I felt kind of lost. I ended up changing my major to Nursing and moving back home. I'm glad I did, because it's so much cheaper.

Since my father owns a business, I had always considered working for him instead of going to college. It would've been a smart choice money-wise. I'd probably already be married with a child, though. That's not exactly what I wanted for myself at the age of 23. I know for a fact that I would've excelled in his business. He wanted me to take over his spot when he retired, meaning I'd own my own company. That was always a thrilling idea. I am so happy I didn't agree to that, though. College gave me the experience of living on my own and making my own decisions. I needed that to grow and become who I am today. I'm upset that I owe a lot of money, but I am so thankful that I was able to go to more than one good college and experiences things everyone should experience at that age. I'm proud of myself in ways. I'm where I want to be right now. I have a wonderful job, and I'm applying for something that I know I want to do.

<3

In ways, college made me become an adult. I was able to check off one of my lifelong goals. I had wanted to cheer at the U of M since I was five years old. Maybe what I did was a backwards way of moving forward, but I'm happy that I am where I am. I mean, if I never went to the U of M, would I have had my lifelong crush, Goldy Gopher, propose to me in front of thousands at a basketball game? I think not! (I still blushed like I did when I was five years old and he gave me hugs)

My Writing Process

My writing and research process has completely diminished since I went to school at the U of M five years ago. I had always been very good in English classes in high school. I got to college, and I took two general English classes over the course of two semesters. They were tough as hell. (Logical fallacy?) ;)

I had a lot of trouble finding topics and writing my papers. I ended up learning a whole lot that year, solely because I focused so much of my time on that class. My writing process hasn't changed much over the course of ten years. I figure out my topic and just start writing ideas. I take those ideas and put them into some type of draft with key points. I then go off of those key points and find examples to solidify my points. After that, I just start putting it all together. I do a couple drafts and then find one that I'm happy with.

I'm usually pretty good with papers. Research papers scare me a little, though. There is false information everywhere on the Internet. It's also hard to cite correctly when using facts you find in research. I hate MLA/APA. I understand the necessity for it, but I want to punch it right in it's nose. There are so many rules! Ahhh!

I'm glad I found a topic I'm very passionate on for this paper. I'm doing my argumentative/research paper on gay marriage, which I could talk about for hours. The fact that I'm so passionate about this should make it a little easier for me to write five pages about it! :)

Logical Fallacies

Logical fallacies, you make me smile. Sometimes you are so ridiculous, that I have to laugh at you.

I am so guilty of using logical fallacies. Once I figured out what they were, I blushed to myself. I probably use these on a daily basis.

The one time it sticks out in my mind is when I was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We were at a nice, five-star hotel for a week. We had delicious food, beautiful beach and pool areas, and comfortable rooms. We had everything you could want from a hotel. One day at the beach bar, I saw some sushi. Mind you, I have never tried sushi before aside from California Rolls, which aren't raw. My mother told me it was amazing and that I had to eat it. Trusting her opinion, I did eat some. It was delicious, but I've always been leery about raw fish. A day and a half later, I got horribly sick. I stayed in the hotel room all day and night, retching until I had nothing left. I felt a little bit better, and was able to get home without dying. Yes, that was sarcasm. Once I got back to Minnesota, I was out of commission for an entire month. I had E.Coli. It was the most severe sickness I've ever had. I lost over 25 pounds, and being that I was only 115 at the time, I was completely unhealthy. I couldn't get out of bed for three whole weeks.

Now, using my cute logical fallacy, I immediately thought it was the sushi. "Damn you, raw fish! What was I thinking trying something I KNEW would get me sick!", I kept thinking. To this day, I still haven't had sushi. It's been four years since my sickness. I was in and out of the emergency room when I had E.Coli. The doctor, whom I knew very well outside of his work and trusted, explained to me that it wasn't sushi, that it was undercooked beef. I wouldn't have it. I never believed him, and I still am leery about sushi.

Pass the California Rolls, please! :)

Gay Marriage

Gay marriage is such a huge controversy now-a-days. Personally, I find it ridiculous that people make such a fuss about it. I'm a religious person, and I believe in God, but I believe in equal rights for everyone.

Gay marriage, to me, is the same as marriage between a man and a woman. It's based on love, and in marriage, love and commitment are the only two things that matter. Since I believe in equal rights, I think homosexuals have the same rights as heterosexuals. I don't know when liberty and equality applied to only certain types of people. People from other countries move to the United States for freedom of everything - freedom of choice. If we don't let gays get married, should we not let Hispanics or African Americans get married, either? You cannot just rule out one type of person when equality is part of The Constitution.

I understand the religious aspect. Many religions look at homosexuality as a sin. I get that. Is homosexuality really hurting anyone? Does homosexual marriages hurt others? The answer is no. It does no harm letting two gay people get married. It could even help states financially. Marriage licenses, higher income tax.... Aren't most people on board for helping their state? Let them get married. They love each other, and want to show it like any other couple.

I also think that not letting homosexuals get married sends a message to people that they are inferior to others. If they don't get that right, than they must be lower on the totem pole, right? Wrong. They have the same rights as everyone else. This includes marriage.

I could go on and on about this subject. I find it ridiculous that there is such a fuss about this. I understand the cons of letting homosexuals getting married, but to me, they surely don't outweigh the pros. They deserve to show their feelings without getting criticized.

Is Social Networking a Curse?

When I think about social networking, most of me goes, "Ugh. Ridiculous." Funny how I can say this, and use social networking daily. I'm such a hypocrite. ;)

Part of me wonders, how did we survive "back in the day?" I remember being a child and only having a home phone. My parents could never get ahold of me when I was out and about around the neighborhood. That is completely unheard of now as most children have cell phones. Sometimes, I think our world would be better off without any social networking.

I already go without Facebook, which has been a blessing to me. Though I may not be "up to date" on some people's lives, or not get invited to certain events, I've learned to live with it. Facebook ended up being too much drama. I was learning things about people and I didn't even know them or care to know what they were up to. "Oh my god, boys suck!" Barf. I don't care that you're having problems with your boyfriend, and nobody needs to know that.

I use Twitter, but I don't tweet. I follow comedians and bands I like for a quick laugh or reminder when my favorite band is coming to Minnesota.

As for phones, I am guilty of having mine on me constantly. I hate it, but I feel lost when I don't have it. To think I used to live without a cell phone is crazy to me. I'm guilty of texting, which I cannot stand and am trying to use less. Most people will not even pick up a phone call anymore; they just text back. I find that frustrating that people can so easily hide behind their phones. I'm very happy for cell phones in the fact that I can get ahold of my friends pretty easily. I treasure hanging out with my friends, and the fact that I can make one short phone call and meet up with someone is pretty neat to me. I'd say I'm happy for e-mails, too. It's a nice way to get ahold of professors. It's also nice to get updates on when bills are paid electronically -- kind of like a receipt.

Social networking is at such a high right now, if it were taken away people would go insane. I'm for social networking because it keeps people connected, but I think that people need to ease up on their reliance on it. Including me. Guilty!