computer comparing

I am in the process of starting my college experience.  This has been taking over a lot of my time.  Along with all the excitement comes important projects and decisions such as the never ending pile of scholarships to fill out, and deciding if I would rather live in a dorm or fraternity.  One of these mind boggling questions is what laptop I should get.  I feel like this is a necessity when it comes to the college level schooling.  Going to Illinois Central College has backed this thinking of mine.  The decision that I face is where to get a Mac or PC.  I have put great thought into this because I do not know whether if the money I spend on a Mac will be worth it.  From talking to kids I know who go the school I will be attending next fall I am leaning towards the cheaper PC.  My reasoning for this is that I just need the basics such as a typing program, the internet, and printing.  Since a PC could easily accomplish this just as well as the Mac then why not.  Plus I have used a Mac maybe twice in my life and just feel comfortable with PC’s. However from talking to my uncle who is in love with Macs he claims that this is the wrong decision.  He says that there is more to some college work than just that and that I would be using it for stuff unrelated to school a lot more than I think.  He says there is a reason why it is more expensive.  “Macs are safer, easier to use, and overall better laptops” he said. This decision would be easier if my income were a little higher right now. 

Suicidal Tendencies

While researching for my topic over whether kids around my age should take Accutane or not, I stumbled across an article linking cases to this powerful acne fighting drug.  However, they do not have concrete evidence yet; the threat that this might be true worries me.  It has already been proven to deliver birth defects to women who use this drug while pregnant.  This makes me feel that if this drug presents problems to one thing why can’t it mess with another.  Even though there is no evidence that show that this medication is associated with these side effects there is also no information that it is not associated with them either.  Supposedly there have been some studies done that show some what of a relation ship but not strong enough for a connection.  People look at it that it just could a coincidence or that people killed themselves because of the stress of severe acne and not the drug.  I don’t care if it turns out that twenty years down the road that this pill does not cause these side effects.  I do not want any of my medication having any association with side effects that present the possibility of death.  This is because if that does happen and I could smile knowing I would be in the same position if I did or not.  However, if it turns out that there is a connection then who is to say ill be alive 20 years down the road, and I would much rather not think about that. 

Pimple Pimple Go Away

Being a teenager is hard. Being a teenager with acne is even harder.  I am one of those teenagers who struggle with acne.  I have tried almost everything from over the counter medications, prescription medications, and acne clearing rumors.   I have found little success and fell the next step is to try one of the hardest acne drugs out there, accutane.  I am unsure about this drug for more than one reason.  One of the most obvious reasons is the commercials you see on TV warning how this drug is dangerous and if taken this drug one could file a lawsuit.  I am young and do not want to risk my immediate health over some pimples.  I have friends who are currently on it and it seems to keep him clear.  However, it looks like it gives him a miserable time.  It makes his skin really sensitive to the sun which is what I’m in 24/7 in the summer for my job.  Also it severely dries out his nose so bad he gets random nose bleeds.  His eyes also get really red and dry which makes him look like he is on drugs.  His parents have more than once accused him for doing drugs cuss his eyes were bright red when it was just his acne medication.  For the first month he was one it he was like a snake constantly shedding skin from his face which was both unattractive and annoying.  Also I know a girl in college who has been on accutane three separate times because whenever the cycle is over she breaks out again.  This proves this is not a cure to acne.  If it hasn’t helped her who is to say it would help me.  I would much rather not go through 6 months or however long the process is of hell just to find out it didn’t work.  Lastly, am I getting close to the age where my acne will eventually go away?  Should I just wait it out rather than take the risk.  It is hard to say and even harder to decide.   All I know is that I am getting sick of looking like a pizza face.

How My Comunity College Has Changed My Life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This topic fortunately found me in my state of worry.  This topic was perfect for me because of my early graduation situation.  This is a topic I feel like I could write way over the maximum of 500 words with just my experience and not finding any sources to squeeze in.  I feel that community colleges are a blessing and a great alternative for getting an education rather than a four year university.  I feel so grateful that I was able to start off my college experience by go to a community college like ICC rather than a BIG university.  I would definitely feel lost and isolated if I would have had to of gone to University of Illinois during the second semester of what should have been my senior year.  Instead I was able to come to ICC where I received the best of both worlds.  I get a head start of my college experience but am still living at home so it does not feel way different from what I was used to.  If I could go back in time I would most definitely choose going to ICC again.  I feel it is one of the best and smartest decisions that I have made in a real long time.  The teachers are friendly and helpful and it is not hard to socialize with fellow classmates.  From my experience so far I have really considered staying for a full two years because I believe it would be worth it.  However, I feel it is time to move on and start becoming more self independent by being away from home.  If I ever I have kids I would most definitely push this great community college experience on them, because I know first hand that it is worth it.

Farming...... Now or Later?

I think I now quite a bit about this topic, but in all reality I do not have the experience to fully answer it.  I know people who have not gone to college but have been really successful at farming and I know people on the other end of the spectrum.  I guess it comes down to is getting a college degree really worth the money for a degreeless job?  I have thought about this subject greatly because I am considering farming as an occupation.  It is almost like a tradition that has been past down for many years.  I believe I would be either a 4^th or 5^th generation farmer and I would take pride in that.  My relatives before me did not have a degree and seemed to do alright.  I am not totally sure if I can assume the same will happen for me.  Things are a hundred times different now then they were fifty years ago, at least in farming.  Everything is becoming more advanced and technical, which makes me want to get a degree.  That way I possible have something to fall back on.  However, college now a days is digging deep into people’s wallets.  I could use that money for a number of things such as: land equipment, livestock, or even a house.  Just from thinking about this I realized I do not want to grow up and make these tough decisions that I could possibly regret for the rest of my life.  I wish life was like a calculator; you plug in the problem and it gives you the answer.  Unfortunately, no such thing exists so ill have to go with my gut and hope for the best.

Legal Highs?

I have been informed that there are many products out in the market that are used for purposes no other than “getting high.”  I have no idea why these products are being sold and not banished.  Some over the counter medications, bath salts, and incenses are just some of the products that can be apparently be used for a high.  Do people who buy these objects just for the sole purpose for getting a little loopy think they are a safe high?  This is absolutely not the truth.  I just saw recently on the news how a certain type of bath salt led him to kill himself.  How is that anywhere near form safe?  Also when I was in high school we had a person come and lecture us about the danger of these products and how they can be very deadly in large amounts.  She gave facts and told stories of people who died from a product like this.  It really pulled on the heart strings.  I remember after sitting through her presentation how could products like these be legal?  Illegal drugs on the street are already a big danger because of their addictiveness and strength.  How  are these products any different from those.  They are all chemically made and deliver a high.  The only difference is you can by these products legally which is almost worse.  If kids want to try getting high now they can just go their local Wal-Mart and experiment with one of these products.  This is horrible for two reasons.  First, they are able to start getting high at an earlier age which could possible gateway them into something worse later in life. Second, at that age they are experimenting and most likely will push the limits causing the situation to get dangerous.  These products do nothing good but cause trouble.  The sooner they are banned the sooner we are safer.         

Sex is Alright; Deal with it

In his essay Sex and the Cinema, Edward Jay Epstein writes, “The absence of sex--at least graphic sex—is key to the success of Hollywood’s money making movies.”  However, I think that sex plays a bigger role than Epstein gives credit too.  Sure there are movies that just so happened to not have popularity boom and have sex in them but it works both ways.  That is just how it goes not every movie will become the next best thing.  Some people go to movies just for the sex.  Why do you think the porn industry is so big?  Not only that but Epstein argues that stores like Wal-Mart use non-offensive movies to lure customers into there stores and because of it they make a pretty hefty chunk of change.  What I don’t understand is that is how this is possible.  You will see advertisements every single day promoting something along the lines of sex.  If this strategy did not work than I am pretty sure companies would not use it.  Also there are usually two different types of the same movie if rated R.  There is the theatrical version and the unrated version.  The movie may be still rated R for violence or language or what ever but the parts that are usually the most cut out are the sex scenes.  If you do not want to watch the sex scenes simply watch the theatrical version or simply fast forward.  My final thought is that I would bet more than anything that the same amount of people would know what you talking when you say a movie like National Lampoons or American Pie instead of Shrek or Up.  This is because they are popular.  Not only that why do they keep making more of these types of movies if they are not making money?  Don’t you think they would learn after awhile? Something does not add up!