Blogging Reflection!

Blogging is something that, before this class, I had never used. I think that I have learned a lot about blogging and the Internet since taking this class. I feel that my writing has improved through all the blogging we have done. The three blog posts that I am the most proud of are numbers three, four, and six.

            Blog post #3 we were asked “What is college good for?” I feel that I answered this well by showing both sides of the story. I gave information saying college is not good and information proving it is. This was our first blog post that required us to use websites to gather more research and information for the post and I feel I did a good job using and documenting it. I also like the quote I used by Reverend Malloy, “A college degree is not a sign that one is a finished product but an indication a person is prepared for life.” I felt that it was a very relevant quote and it went along well with what I was trying to get across. I also like the statistic that the unemployment rate for young college grads is 5 percent compared to the 13 percent of those with just a high school diploma. I also thought my flow was very good in this blog post.

            Another blog post I am proud of is Blog post #4. I think I had a pretty good introduction starting with a statistic about the average annual wage of males with college degrees compared to those without. In this blog post, I also talked about both sides of the story, explaining why college was worth it and why it was not. I feel that the side explaining how some people think college isn’t worth it was stronger. I felt I used the provided links well in helping support my details. I feel I have a lot of strong points concerning the economy, unemployment, debt, and other options. I feel the paragraph about Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs showing that college isn’t the only way to be successful in life was a good real life example to back up my point. I feel my conclusion was good in the sense that I brought up some new points and left it with the questions “So would you rather go through life possibly struggling without a degree? Or make things easier on yourself?” I felt that these kept the readers guessing.

            The final blog post I was proud of was Blog post #6. It was the revision blog post and I decided to revise Blog post #2. I felt that since Blog #2 was my first real blog, I did not do as well as I could’ve. As each week went on and we had a new blog post, I improved. So, the first one wasn’t very good, in my opinion. We were asked why we personally wanted to go to college. At first I had to think about this, but I feel I gave some good points such as, wanting to study something I loved, wanting a challenge, and wanting a new experience. I talked about how I found my way to JSU through the volleyball program and how I fell in love with the school. I want to be a Physical Therapist someday, so Exercise Science and Wellness was the way to go for me. I thought my readers would be interested in my school background coming from such a small town and school district and how JSU is a big change for me. I thought that, in my revision, my flow was better as well as my introduction and conclusion.

            All in all, I feel that this class has helped my writing and the feedback has helped a lot. In the beginning of class, we were supposed to annotate “The Truth About Freshman Composition”, and it said that, when it comes to writing, practice makes perfect. I fully believe that now that I have seen my writing progress throughout these blog posts. I am very happy I took this class to help with my writing!!

Revised Blog Post #2

In some people’s eyes, the decision on whether or not to go to college is the most important decision of your life. I disagree, but I do feel that, depending on the person, it is a very important decision. College, although not for everyone, can help you out so much in the future.

            I’m from Illinois, so naturally, Jacksonville State wasn’t the place I knew I was going since I was 14. I actually am here because of the volleyball team. I have played volleyball my whole life and when I was recruited by JSU, I fell in love and decided it was the place for me! Before committing, I always knew that I was going to go to college, the question was “Where?”

One of the main reasons I decided to go to college was to study something I love. I want to be a physical therapist in the future and I need to get a couple degrees for that! I am majoring in Exercise Science and Wellness for my undergraduate degree, then I’m going to physical therapy school for three years. Going to college gives you a chance to study and become what you love!

Another reason I made the decision to continue my education was for the challenge. I went to a really small, public high school and I was not challenged at all. The kids in my school that are above the average level are babied a lot. I didn’t want to be babied anymore. Of course, I liked walking in to a test without studying and getting an A, but I wanted to be challenged. College was just the place for that!

A third reason I decided to go to college was to experience something different. People say that college is the best four years of your life. It’s something different than high school and the people you’ve been with for the past twelve years. It new and exciting! I wanted to come and find out what all the hype was about. You build new relationships that last a lifetime. Even in my last 3 months being here, I’ve made friendships that will last forever. You also get to live on your own! Your parents are always there when you’re younger, but when you leave you feel freedom. You do finally understand that Mom was always right…

College isn’t for everyone. Maybe people need to gain experience in a field if they know that’s what they want to do. But I know that, for me, making the decision to come to college was a great decision! College can do a lot of things for you in the present and future! Your chances of getting a job increase tremendously, you build life-long relationships, and you get the experience of a lifetime! 

Stranger Dinners! Strange, right?

Stranger Dinners. At first, you think of it meaning a dinner that is not like the others. This is exactly right, but take it more literal. Literally having dinner with strangers. Strange idea, right?

Arianna Davolos wrote about her crazy new idea in Share or Die. Arianna just wanted to get out of college into the real world to have freedom. As an artist, she wanted to talk to people and experience things outside her university and just spend her time doing what she loved, making art.

She soon found out that people don’t have time for art in the real world. With people constantly working to pay their rent, it’s not something most people take the time to appreciate. She found that school hadn’t prepared her for what lied ahead.

This hit me. We always say that college prepares us for the real world, but is that always true? Of course, it all depends on the person, but, for some people, it’s not exactly what they need.

After a while of working part time at a frame shop and working on projects in her free time at home, she wondered, “Is this what everyone else is doing?”

“Is this it?”

            This is when she decided to start having Stranger Dinners. She maybe did it out of loneliness, she doesn’t know. She just wanted to find out about other people’s lives. She wanted to know more about the big world she was living in. She thought of sharing ideas and perspectives with everyone, not just people close to you. She wanted to find out what life was like.

She found that everyone stumbles his or her way through life. Sometimes people catch breaks and sometimes they don’t. Some people are happy and some aren’t. It’s just how life goes.

            I really liked this part. When you’re down in the dumps, everyone’s life seems better than yours, but is it really? You really don’t think about how life is just life. Stuff happens, and then you die. Everyone is just trying to make the best life they can, facing, and potentially overcoming, all obstacles they can. And sometimes it just doesn’t work out. But sometimes it does!

            The Internet. Isolation from face-to-face communication. We can know everything about a random person we follow on Twitter, and vice versa, but we don’t really communicate. We broadcast our lives through social media.

            Arianna started to have Stranger Potlucks, to interact with people face-to-face, other than her friends and family. She wanted to act as though they “have the world in common”. She wants to create in person relationships with people that they normally would not occur with. She wants to find out about people’s lives.

            When I first read about this idea, I was a little skeptical. Inviting strangers over to your house? Seems a bit dangerous. But once I read more, I really opened up to the idea. There are strangers all over social media that we interact with like it’s nothing, only because they can’t see us. We’re hiding behind our phones or our laptops. It’s safe that way. But why not try something new? Find out about other people’s lives. What their struggles, fears, motivations, and triumphs are. Who knows? You might learn something that could change your life.  

College... Is it enough?

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual wage for males with a college degree is nearly doubled than the wages of those with just a high school dimploma. Think about it. Would you rather have the living standard with double the wages or not? For many people, this alone answers the question of "Is college good enough?" For other, more skeptical people, we still need more facts, more knowledge, and more benefits to truly answer this question. 

Like I said, many people think that just because you generally make more money being a college graduate that this makes college totally worth it. However, you have to think on the other side of the spectrum as well. In many people's eyes, college, and more specifically a Bachelor's degree, is not enough. In today's world, many fields of study can produce good jobs with a Bachelor's degree, but as a student you often have to pursue another degree, or even two more. The job field has become so competitive, that if you want to get the best type of job or the highest raise, you have to get a Master's or Doctorate degree. This takes more money and time, and to some people, it's a waste. Ramesh Ponnuru states in his article that he does not understand why you have to get a fancy college degree to get a good job in something like journalism. You don't learn how to be a journalist, in my opinion, you are born one. Writing is talent you have always had. You can't learn these things sitting in front of a professor telling you how to do them. 

Another point people make is that with the economy nowadays you can never find a job. Jordan Weissmann states in his article that 53.6% of people under the age of 25 that were college graduates were unemployed. Usually, they end up working in the merchandising or food industries. This problem goes along with the first problem because to get a compete and earn a good job, you might have to earn a higher degree. However, if you don't earn that higher degree, might end up working at a place that doesn't have anything to do with what you spent for years and paid a small fortune to study. Many people don't understand what the point is of getting a college degree if you can't get a job. 

A problem that branches off of the unemployment situation, is that, in most cases, when you leave college, you have a ton of debt. You go into college thinking that you'll be able to get a job quickly to pay it off, but what if that doesn't happen? What if you're in that 53.6% unemployed? Now you're swimming in debt, building a bigger hole right as you're entering the real world. I'm not sure if that's really the situation you want to put yourself in, and many people agree with this. With all the free knowledge there is out there, they don't think that the lifestyle where you're paying off your student loans 20 years later is the way to go.

College isn't the only route you can take to become successful in the real world. Take Mark Zuckerburg and Steve Jobs. One invented the most widely used social media network in the world. Another created the first personal computer, and changed the world of technology we have today. Like these two world famous men, take a not so world famous man who had somewhat of the same journey. At a young age, Nicholas Perez discovered his passion in life. He loved computers and everything they could do. When he got to high school, he didn't exactly fit in and mesh well with the system, so he dropped out. He doesn't regret a single second of it. He doesn't think that the old systems work well to prepare well rounded students. He is one of the people who doesn't believe college is worth it. Is he right??

http://www.collegegoalcolorado.org/

In my opinion, people are wrong. Although all of these negative points are somewhat valid and counterarguments, I feel college is an essential part of life these days.

In many fields, if you don't have a college degree, people automatically don't think you're as smart. Like the comic by Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal says, "You are here to do whatever you want for 3-5 years in order to get a piece of paper that is essentially a claim check for 20% more lifetime earnings." Just the fact that you have a college degree in anything gives you a better chance in getting a job. It also gives you a better reputation and first impression. People who go to college and graduate are generally smarter, and the stereotype is used to your advantage.

Another reason it is important to go to college, is because you can learn more about a field of study you're interested in and get a well paying job. Some people may not think the skills are enough, but it's been done for a while now. Many people get good jobs with a Bachelor's degree. And even if you need to continue on to another degree, it's enough. A lot of people use the excuse of the economy and how nobody can get a job. But if you think about it like this, wouldn't it be easier trying to find a job with a college degree than without?? This partially makes the argument invalid, because it's the same for everyone. Going to college would only make it easier on yourself to try to find a job.

Like I said in the beginning, college graduates almost make double the annual earnings as non-college graduates do. Even though college students have a ton of debt leaving college, they can pay it back. I know not all of them have jobs right away, but it'll all work out in the end right?? Of course, I'm sure there rare cases where college debt has ruined a kid's life. But if you think about it, is it the majority?

The way the world thinks today is that a college degree has you better off. A lot of people ask " Is college enough?" but maybe, just maybe, we are asking the wrong question here. Maybe the question is, "Is college the right thing to help me in the future?" There isn't a world where everyone will agree, but I think a general consensus is that a college degree will greatly help you with many things in the long run. So would you rather go through life possibly struggling without a degree? Or make things easier on yourself?

Oh College.. What's the Point??

College will always be a tough decision, and although many people feel that it’s no question that college is great, there are still more and more people who wonder if the decision to go to college is really the best decision for their future.

Ever since the economy has gone down and the cost of tuition has increased, more people are asking themselves “What is college good for?” Some people just can’t find the answer to that. Stated in the article "College Student Debt Grows. Is It Worth It?" the nation’s credit card debt was recently surpassed by the amount of money we collectively owe on student loans (NPR Staff). This is one of the reasons that people decide not to go to college. Ever since the recession started, it has gotten harder and harder for college graduates to find a job at all, let alone in the field of their degree. They in turn feel that the extensive years and money they spent on getting a degree was useless. Because they can’t find a job, they have no way of paying off the debt they accumulated over the years, and the tuition is only increasing. People may argue, saying that college students make more money than those with only a high school diploma; therefore, they are able to pay off their debt fast and efficient with their high paying jobs. Megan McArdle stated in her article “Is College a Lousy Investment?” that college graduates are making about 80 percent more than non-college attendees, but this is always the case (McArdle). Not all students can get these jobs, and the economy is greatly affecting this. Many people do not believe college is the place for them, and the rising debt and tuition paired with the scarce job market is making more people make this decision.

Reverend Edward Malloy once said, "A college degree is not a sign that one is a finished product but an indication a person is prepared for life," (Monk’s Reflections). He, like many others, believes that college benefits the students who decide to attend. People also believe that these students that are choosing to attend college benefit the generations before and after them. Although the debt is increasing, and the job market is scarce, I still believe that college is worth it. You learn many other lessons than the ones you learn out of the Statistics or Biology textbooks. You learn how to live on your own, how to manage your time, and how to take responsibility for yourself, among other things. Essentially, you learn how to grow up. And if you don’t learn, you will learn the day of your first job out in the real world. In many cases, college is the first time young adults are living on their own. You have to learn how to get up and go to class on time, motivate yourself to do your homework, and get things done when they need to be done. You’re not always going to have mommy and daddy there. Also, your professors are not like high school. In some cases, teachers never tell you when anything is due or when tests are. You just have to look on the syllabus and figure it out for yourself. Self-responsibility is an important quality to have, especially when you get your first job. Even though the cost of college is increasing, the post-college benefits are still better than just being a high school graduate. Julie Margetta Morgan stated in her debate article "College Is a Safe Bet", that "the unemployment rate for young college grads is under 5 percent, compared to more than 13 percent for young people with only a high school diploma" (Morgan). This, along with making 80 percent more on average, is a good reason to go to college. It also teaches you to interact with new people. Many people have gone to school with the same people their whole lives, including myself, and college makes you branch out. Louis Menand stated in his article “Live and Learn: Why We Have College”, “[College] takes people with disparate backgrounds and beliefs and brings them into line with mainstream norms of reason and taste” (Menand). We have to learn to communicate with new and different people, as well as people older than us, such as our professors. Like Reverend Malloy said, college is here to prepare you for the rest of your life. Yeah, you might have some debt to pay off and a little trouble finding a job, but college prepares you for so much more than that. It prepares you for life.

College has its pros and cons; some people think it’s a huge waste of time and money. Others believe it’s one of the most treasured experiences of your life. But, that’s up to you to make your own decision about it. So, what will it be??