Blog #9

 Barbra Graham’s journey was a hard and long addiction of quitting everything in her life. She first began with dropping out of college her sophomore year. Then she ran off with a boy named Brian and this is who continued her down the dark path of her addiction. He began by moving her away from her family and friends, hopping from town to town and place to place. They were running off to find happiness in all these places but only finding failure. In the end, she learned that quitting and saying no all her life is what lead her to failure and pushed out her family and friends. 

Brook’s main point is that college graduates are talked up all this hype and excitement their whole life about entering the job force. But when they graduate they aren't finding any jobs like they thought due to our horrible economy. They want to go out and do things that they're interested in or are passionate about, but cant because the job either pays bad or they cant find one. He brings up how everything in graduation speeches are about “you.”  When they go to find jobs after graduation they're struggling because the job that they wanted isn’t available for them. 

One way I see these articles connecting is they both talk about how they don't like engaging in things that don't satisfy their passion. In Barbra Graham’s article, in paragraph 2, the first sentence states “I had never been much good at doing things that didn't arouse my passion.” Then in Brooks”s article, in paragraph 12, the second sentence states “But, of course, when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration.” The connection is interesting because Graham says that she doesn't like doing anything which she's passionate about when Brooks is saying that we rarely see people pursuing things of their passions. Another way that these connect is talking about life being all about “you.” In Graham’s article in paragraph four she talks about how she doesn't like things not arousing her passions with basically makes her selfish. In the last sentence if her article she states “Cutting the ties that bind.” In Brook’s article in paragraphs 6 and 7 he makes it all about “yourself”, repeating “your” over and over. In his last sentence of his article he says “The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It is to lose yourself.”

blog #8

In his article Brook’s talks about how election season brings out the anxiety of people. All though, he isn't necessarily talking about the election its self. Just the worry and sorrow it brings out of the people in our society in the American people. A study found that more than half of the Americans begin to start to associate more with stress during election season. These people are experience 2 kinds of anxieties, the good and the bad. The good will warn and lead you to the dangers that could occur, and the bad can lead to self-destruction in your thoughts. Rather than the worry, stress, and anxiety leading to a positive in Americans lives, it is becoming extremely destructive and tearing down everyone around us. People are beginning to question their freedom and quality of life which can lead them down a dark path of anxieties in life.

I can see where this is coming from because people do let their stress and anxieties lead to destructing their lives instead of using that negativity to change the way they think positively on their life. The richer countries or people have a higher stress rate than the poorer countries or people because they feel like they are missing out on more. These affluent (rich) people have a lot of access to things other people on poorer countries do not due to their over abundance of money coming in. In all, these countries/ people do experience worry as in the fear of missing out and a dizziness in their freedom. They have a continuous unease that they don't really understand the whole meaning of their life. 

Anxiety really changes and effects the way people thing. This is why Brook’s used the election as an example of anxieties in the American people. It makes people begin to think about how they use their money. I know my parents think a lot about taxes and how the next president is going to change that. It can bring out worry and stress in people if they think a possible candidate will raise taxes and cause them to have more money taken out of their pay check when people who don't work are paying very little in taxes or nothing at all. This is just an example of one of the many ways people can become in an anxious state in America or even other countries who thrive in their economy. 

free write #2

These blog assignments are really good for me. It is a great way for me to express my feelings on what is going on in our class discussions. These blogs are also a great way  for us as students to see what other people are thinking and if you and someone else are thinking the same way. I have enjoyed reading other peoples bogs. Reading them sometimes will show me that I am not the only one thinking in a specific way. Sometimes when I am thinking in one way, I feel like I am all alone on that. Then I read someones blog who is thinking the same as me or has something in common with me. Then I know I am not alone. I also like to see peoples comments on my blogs. I like to know what they think of my posts and if they have anything in common with me. When I wrote about being in FFA and raising lambs, I was shocked to see how many of the people in our class did not know what FFA was. I also liked to see that other people raised animals and showed too because the livestock world is not that big, and thats where I have made some life long friends. Most of the time the people who comment on my blogs do agree with me or have that particular thing in common with me, and I really enjoy that a lot.  

I really enjoyed the last free write because I wrote about my lambs. My lambs were such a big part of my life and they are easy for me to talk about. I think it is easy for us to talk about things which we enjoy and are interested in. I would suggest that we have more free writes. I would even suggest topics of writing about what we enjoy the most or our interests in life. I know I personally would enjoy reading those blogs because I like to see people talking about something they are passionate about. I would like to see if any of us share the same interests in life. Maybe it could even spark new life long friendships. We are beginning a new stage in life and need to make new friends and one way to begin that is by finding out if we share anything in common. 

Mike's Interview

The first thing that stood out to me was the student debt issue. I really don't understand why college is so expensive to the point where students or parents are working while in school to pay off their classes. Why? This is my question.

Next he talks about community college. I came to community college to save my moms money while I get my prerequisite out of the way before I transfer to a university. It honestly saves you a lot of money, especially because students change their mind a few times on their major path plan. 

I think his analogy with the toilet was interesting because it is how he started his “dirty jobs” but also showed him the importance in his life. He said that he's not like his grandfather, who told him he needs to work in the way he wants. He is told to follow his passion, which he said was terrible advice because he's met people who were told the same thing but they didn't follow their passion and still love their job and are happy and successful. You have to identify the thing that most people wouldn't want to do, and figure out how to do it and like it. 

Compliance is a problem that Mike sees with a lot of people he's worked with. A lot of organizations aren't there to make your life easier, but more compliant. He said that safety was a big deal and then they started getting hurt. There were falling asleep in their safety meetings instead of being compliant to them. I feel like this is me sometimes in life. I am not being compliant and ignoring the importances in life. 

Next they begin the talk about the crisis in men and women numbers in the work force. The numbers in working women are going up as the number in working men are going down. Mike brings up the impact of technology being a reason for numbers in men dropping which is a good point. Women aren't really taking mens jobs, technology is just becoming more prominent in our world today which are taking up a huge chunk of job opportunities. 

At the end he talks about how he went to college and got a degree and all, but his real education came from reality tv. This to me means that you can learn a lot in life just in your everyday activities, not only college or jobs. 

Electronic devices

My phone is literally my life. I am always on it and never put it down, no matter what. I use my phone to communicate with others, look up things online, or even map my way around unfamiliar places. This sounds really bad, but one time I had failed a test in high school so my mom took my phone away from me for a whole 24 hours. At school that day without my phone, I began to break out in hives, no joke. I obviously have a small obsession with my phone. My phone my way of communication with the outside world. What if I had been in a really bad accident on my way home from school and had no way to call someone like 911. Yes, there might of been other people around, but you never know. We rely totally on our electronics for assistance in our everyday lives. Everyday I use my phone for texting, twitter, instagram, Facebook, snapchat, and FaceTime. I use FaceTime to communicate with my family back home. It is a great way to see and talk to people live! If I didn't have FaceTime I am not sure how I would be able to see my 6 year old brother coming home from his first day of kindergarten, which I am missing out on. Social media is another way of how people connect with everyone around them. I know I use Facebook to keep in touch with family who I either don't see often or live in different states. Snapchat is a way of communicating through pictures, and remember not to lose any streaks! Twitter is just like a Facebook but more oriented towards teens and young adults. We use it as a way of posting stupid things which mostly are our feelings, stalking others,or fighting with the people you don't like, we all do it. Instagram is where people post pictures hoping to get a lot of likes to make them feel good about themselves. I know I'm guilty of all these things on twitter and instagram, most of us are in fact. Electronic devices are what our world is turning into. You need a phone or tablet or computer for almost anything you do in life to be successful in your daily tasks. I know it would be hard for me to go a day without using any electronic devises considering more than half of my homework uses them. 

My lambs

It wasn't until the end of my junior year when I really got into FFA. FFA stands for Future Farmers of America and is an organization where you raise animals as “projects” over the course of months and then show them to a judge who judges them based on appearance and quality. 

April of 2015 was when I went to pick up my first lamb, Chia, to show at the county fair at the end of the year. He got his name from my mom because she called herself a chia pet while her hair was growing back after chemo. Chia and I worked well together. Over the summer we went to a few small jackpot shows where we got 3rd and 4th in our classes. In November of 2015   we showed at our last and final show, the Fort Bend County Fair show. All our hard work and preparation lead up to this moment. We ended up placing 4th in the class and 21st overall. I wasn't too happy with Chia because he decided to sleep while in the show ring. He fell to his knees a few times, but luckily the judge wasn't looking. 

October 2015 I picked up my majors sheep for Houston and Austin, and also got my school lamb. My Houston lamb was a tiny and stubborn little one. His name was Yoda and he got that name because I got him as a baby and he was so small but his ears were huge and such straight out of his head. He was the devil lamb I swear. It took me forever to train him how to walk and id even use a hot shot on his butt and that still wouldn't phase him. Yoda and I only went to one jackpot show together which was a struggle, but we still got second in our class. At the Houston Livestock show Yoda actually showed his little butt off for me, but the judge wasn't feeling him so we hit the gate and onto the slaughter trailer he went. I gladly put him in there 

without any tears!!        

Next comes Delilah, my lamb for school. She was the only female lamb that I ever raised. Our school sheep all sucked because they are the left overs who aren't good enough to go to majors so the breeder is getting rid of them. She was a well put together lamb, but wouldn't eat anything I put in front of her. She would just stare at it and look at me like I was crazy. At show did really well! We placed first in the light weight class and got 3rd overall! I was very proud of her considering that I was force feeding her Pediasure and hay at show.  

Lastly, I had my Austin lamb Taco. Now this is the lamb that I got attached to and didn't want to let go of. Taco was like my best friend and he was there for me at my lowest times in life. As funny or weird as this may sound, he was always there for me and knew when I was upset and needed to be picked back up. Taco and I only went to one jackpot show together but it was a huge success. We got first in the class and Reserve Grand Champion and picked up our first belt buckle. When we went to the Austin Rodeo to show, the judge wasn't feeling Taco like I was and sent us to the trailer. Giving up Taco and putting him on the slaughter trailer was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Giving up your best friend to be eaten isn't easy. 

Major Exam #1

I feel like major exam 1 wasn't too bad! I honestly could of studied my definitions more, but I was still some what prepared. I was expecting there to be less vocabulary than there was. I am not the best at vocabulary, so that to me was the hardest part of the exam to complete. I also was excepting there to be more questions about chapter 7 than chapter 2, so I read over and reviewed chapter 7 more than chapter 2. To prepare, I studied the paper we got on Tuesday, reviewed the chapters in the book, read over my class notes, and reviewed my vocabulary definitions in the back of my notes. 

The whole short answer test was weird to me because I am used to multiple choice or fill in the blank or bathing words and definitions. I feel like I did pretty well on it though because I had something to say on every question and tried to explain my thinking as well as I could. The short answers are kind of easier for me to answer because I can explain my thinking better than I can when I circle an answer choice. I can back up my answer which shows me and my instructor that I understand the learning. 

My view on words

       Words can either make you or break you. The old saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words will never hurt me” is extremely false, because words do hurt. In our world today people like to use words to bring down others and make themselves feel good. There are good words, but we also have the bad and the ugly. 

One word that I absolutely hate is the word “cancer.” It brings back too many negative memories from my sophomore year of high school. That word changed my life indefinitely and I will never be the same due to all the pain it caused me. It’s crazy how a simple six letter, two syllable word can have such a strong impact on someone. 

Another word to go along with my first one, is “chemo.” I associate the two together because most patients with cancer are treated with chemo. Now, let me say from experience, watching someone go through that is not a pretty sight. It’s ugly, horrible, and heart wrenching. Those two words tear my heart to pieces, especially when they lead to losing a loved one. In the end, those words turned me into the mature, young woman that I am today and ,sometimes, I am thankful for that. 

Now to some words on the positive side of things. Showing in FFA, Future Farmers of America,  you hear many things coming out of the judges mouth, but one that ill never forget is “champion.” Now I didn't will grand champion, but reserve grand champion. This was my firs time ever showing that lamb and also my first time to buckle. Hearing the judge call his champions was such a mesmerizing moment for me that when he called my name, I froze for a second because I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It wasn't until I saw the little girl walking up to me with my buckle that I had realized I won reserved champion. 

Another word, well really set of words, that I like is “love you to the moon and back” or “lyttmab”. My mom and I have always said this since I was a baby and t’s our little saying that nobody really understands. The saying “lyttmab” means so much to me that I have a tattoo of it, in my moms handwriting, where her tumor was located at. Those six little letters have created a huge unbreakable bond between my mom and I, which I am extremely grateful for. 

My name is Ali King and I am from Katy, Texas which is just west of Houston. I come from a blended family where both my parents are remarried to other people who had kids before. Sibling wise, all together I have 6 brothers and 2 sisters. My mom lives in Katy, which is where I lived, and my dad lives in Sealy, Texas. My family is a very tight-nit family and we are always on the go doing something during the holiday’s.

I attended Katy High School all 4 years of high school and I loved it. While in high school, I was involved in many school and non school activities. My freshman year I was in dance team training at school and competitive cheer outside of school. My sophomore and junior years I was only involved in competitive cheer because that took up most of my time outside of school. Towards the end of my junior year was when I got into FFA and bought my first lamb to raise over the summer and show at my county show that fall. Senior year I went all out and raised 3 lambs! I showed for my school show, Houston Rodeo, and Austin Rodeo. At my school show I placed 1st in my class and 3rd over all, which is a huge accomplishment for me as it was my first time raising and showing for my school. Some of my interests include giraffes, the river, and being outside. Giraffes have always been my favorite animal for as long as I can remember. Back at home in Katy everything in my room was giraffe and I had a whole couch full of stuffed animal giraffes. I also enjoy going to the river, especially with my friends. Its a fun chance to hangout and just relax while floating the river. I just enjoy being outside in general, but not in this humidity and heat. I enjoy the fall the best because it isn't too hot nor too cold. Its the perfect temperature for being outside and enjoying not sweating for once.