Friday, October 24, 2014
Plan For College: 8 Ways to Keep in Touch with College Kids in the D...
Plan For College: 8 Ways to Keep in Touch with College Kids in the D...: You and your semi-adult children may be in different ballparks when it comes to communication - both philosophically and technologically. ...
Monday, October 20, 2014
Courage to cry
Well, some of you may know that I have been applying for several scholarships lately in hopes of funding my schooling. It's quite an intimidating process when you sit down and think about it. I have a lot of things working against me. I'm not a high school student, I'm not over the age of 50, I haven't been out of school for 7 or more years (but I've been fighting my way through school for 7--does that not count?!), and I don't have a lot of community service or outstanding merits to grant me consideration. I have my writing skills which can be mediocre when I'm trying to convey a message about myself, and I have my life experience. I've been trying to get involved in volunteering, I just seem to be hindered by not knowing where to start. All that being said, I applied for the Courage to Grow scholarship. I tried very hard with this one. I told myself that I would do okay and that I was equal to my competition.
I've checked their page every couple of days since the end of last month. The e-mail came to me today and I got super excited...until I finished reading it and hopped over to their website. It wasn't me. It was another young lady who discussed what it was like to grow up in a home where she wasn't able to eat yummies because they were for her mom's work. She talked of writing a book with her sister that will reflect the life of a caterer. It's a great read. It really is. The problem I keep finding myself in is that I can't help but think, "I don't want to write my 'sob' story. I want to write my future story." (No, I'm not indicating that her's was a sob story at all. It does reflect that hardship that she endured as a kid though in a good light). I was crying before I started reading her story because it was a hard reminder that I'm not able to convince people that I'm worth investing in; that my future is what is worth investing in because my past is outdated and only serves as a reminder to where I will never be again and where I hope to keep kids from being. I haven't been able to convince anyone that my untold future story is what's worth investing in...yet.
I'll get off my soap box now and sit back down at the computer thinking of what I need to write in order to convince someone that my past isn't what's important (sure, it's a good convincing story, but it's not what I want my qualification to be based on), it's my future.
I've checked their page every couple of days since the end of last month. The e-mail came to me today and I got super excited...until I finished reading it and hopped over to their website. It wasn't me. It was another young lady who discussed what it was like to grow up in a home where she wasn't able to eat yummies because they were for her mom's work. She talked of writing a book with her sister that will reflect the life of a caterer. It's a great read. It really is. The problem I keep finding myself in is that I can't help but think, "I don't want to write my 'sob' story. I want to write my future story." (No, I'm not indicating that her's was a sob story at all. It does reflect that hardship that she endured as a kid though in a good light). I was crying before I started reading her story because it was a hard reminder that I'm not able to convince people that I'm worth investing in; that my future is what is worth investing in because my past is outdated and only serves as a reminder to where I will never be again and where I hope to keep kids from being. I haven't been able to convince anyone that my untold future story is what's worth investing in...yet.
I'll get off my soap box now and sit back down at the computer thinking of what I need to write in order to convince someone that my past isn't what's important (sure, it's a good convincing story, but it's not what I want my qualification to be based on), it's my future.
Epiphanies in Class Discussions
Well, I'm happy to say that this week, I finished a full day ahead of schedule, meaning that I have an extra day to get ahead on the coming week's assignments. That shouldn't be as exciting as it is. LOL!
One of our discussions this past week was about "old people" in the work place. Our instructor posted a discussion question asking our opinions of having aged individuals in the workplace. I was quite shocked (but only slightly) at the number of responses from my classmates that felt that having "old" people at work was not ideal. Reasons for included that "they [aged individuals] are set in their ways," "they can't be taught new things," and that "they don't understand." That's just to name a few. I was very disappointed to read things like this.
My response reflected a story I read in elementary school about an emperor who wanted a string to be threaded through a warped log which had a hole drilled through it. Many young people tried tirelessly to get this string threaded through this warped old log with no success. An older individual asked to try and was basically laughed at, but still given the opportunity. The older gent tied the string to an ant and placed the ant at one end of the log and a pile of sugar at the other end. The ant crawled through the hole in the log, thereby successfully threading the string through the log. The basic moral of the story was that someone who is old does not mean that they are not useful or wise. From the time I read this story, it changed my perception of "old" people. To this day, I no longer view someone who is older and grey as someone who is incompetent. Instead, I know that the individual has experience and knowledge that at my age, I can't yet comprehend. Therefore, the people who are "washed out" and "un-teachable" in the eyes of so many young folk actually deserve respect and a listening ear because they are our past and we will eventually be their present.
My opinion of the aging community was further strengthened by my readings tonight. The book we are reading out of discussed the trials that the older generations are facing. Social Security not being enough for them to live off of. Other supplemental incomes offered that still don't allow them to even live comfortably; most living on the cusp of poverty. We forget that much of the older and aging generation lived a life trying to pave the way for us younger folk. Their sweat and tears is what allows us to be here now, making the advances, getting our education, and more. Our parents who are entering the age of medicare dependency are the ones taking care of our grandparents while still trying to raise us, "the sandwich generation" is the other name for our parents. Are we forgetting all of these important things that our parents and grandparents have done and are continuing to do for us to ensure our lifelong success? Mom is taking care of Grandpa to make sure that I don't have to stress about it so I can attend school. Mom and Dad are paying for the house that will likely get passed down to me and my siblings when I'm older so I'm not homeless. Those narratives aren't my life experience, but I see so many younger students whose parents are doing exactly that. It made me slightly sick to think of how entitled the younger generation (including my own young-ish generation) feels. We think that the older generation does not deserve to be helped through support programs, larger social security benefits, welfare, and supportive aids, yet, dare we think about where we are headed? If you must view it in personal befitting eyes, then at least consider that their [the aged and aging] present fate will be the equivalent of your future one.
One of our discussions this past week was about "old people" in the work place. Our instructor posted a discussion question asking our opinions of having aged individuals in the workplace. I was quite shocked (but only slightly) at the number of responses from my classmates that felt that having "old" people at work was not ideal. Reasons for included that "they [aged individuals] are set in their ways," "they can't be taught new things," and that "they don't understand." That's just to name a few. I was very disappointed to read things like this.
My response reflected a story I read in elementary school about an emperor who wanted a string to be threaded through a warped log which had a hole drilled through it. Many young people tried tirelessly to get this string threaded through this warped old log with no success. An older individual asked to try and was basically laughed at, but still given the opportunity. The older gent tied the string to an ant and placed the ant at one end of the log and a pile of sugar at the other end. The ant crawled through the hole in the log, thereby successfully threading the string through the log. The basic moral of the story was that someone who is old does not mean that they are not useful or wise. From the time I read this story, it changed my perception of "old" people. To this day, I no longer view someone who is older and grey as someone who is incompetent. Instead, I know that the individual has experience and knowledge that at my age, I can't yet comprehend. Therefore, the people who are "washed out" and "un-teachable" in the eyes of so many young folk actually deserve respect and a listening ear because they are our past and we will eventually be their present.
My opinion of the aging community was further strengthened by my readings tonight. The book we are reading out of discussed the trials that the older generations are facing. Social Security not being enough for them to live off of. Other supplemental incomes offered that still don't allow them to even live comfortably; most living on the cusp of poverty. We forget that much of the older and aging generation lived a life trying to pave the way for us younger folk. Their sweat and tears is what allows us to be here now, making the advances, getting our education, and more. Our parents who are entering the age of medicare dependency are the ones taking care of our grandparents while still trying to raise us, "the sandwich generation" is the other name for our parents. Are we forgetting all of these important things that our parents and grandparents have done and are continuing to do for us to ensure our lifelong success? Mom is taking care of Grandpa to make sure that I don't have to stress about it so I can attend school. Mom and Dad are paying for the house that will likely get passed down to me and my siblings when I'm older so I'm not homeless. Those narratives aren't my life experience, but I see so many younger students whose parents are doing exactly that. It made me slightly sick to think of how entitled the younger generation (including my own young-ish generation) feels. We think that the older generation does not deserve to be helped through support programs, larger social security benefits, welfare, and supportive aids, yet, dare we think about where we are headed? If you must view it in personal befitting eyes, then at least consider that their [the aged and aging] present fate will be the equivalent of your future one.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Ending Week 2 of BSHS325 (Human Systems and Development)
Holy cow! (I feel like I've said that before.)
First, if I didn't mention it before, I did receive my final grade from my first course (Historical Development of Human Services). I ended up receiving an A- and a 3.67 GPA overall. I'll take it!
(Side note, my last week's score was only 81.57% which I cringed when I saw, but that's only 15.5/19 and still 81 course points left to earn over the next few weeks.)
Onto week 2 of my present course. Again, let me say, holy wow! This week has been a tough one for me. My new learning team really struggled to get together this week and I honestly hit the point of just taking a zero on the assignment (which would really have inhibited my ability to get an A in this class--remember the collective group assignments are worth 30% of your grade).
Instead of giving up, I decided to try harder. Of course, this resulted in me feeling incredibly stressed out and completely losing two nights of sleep, but we all managed to pull together today and work on the assignment as a real group! It was amazing to see it really happen! I didn't think I could handle trying to do it. After we finished our 'meeting,' I even received a compliment from one of my group members about it. That felt really good. Now, I'm just waiting on the slides to be sent to me so I can put together and edit the slideshow presentation that is due tomorrow night.
I learned a couple of things today. This group work that I was so irritated about, is actually helping me in a leader type of way. I think. I feel weird saying that. Now that it's out there though, I actually managed to pull together a small group of people and get us all on the same page and collectively working on an assignment as a group. It was awesome. I don't think I've done that before, not in a beneficial way. I was able to be patient, even though I was freaking out here at home, and I was able to still communicate positively and with praise to them and not demonstrate frustration and anger, despite feeling it. I can do that in my professional life, so long as I have some sort of positive outlet (ie, a private ear), but I've always struggled with it when it comes to educational factors. I feel like I moved a mountain on the inside. (You can laugh now, if you aren't already).
So this week, here's what I'd offer:
1) When you feel like giving up, give it another shot and push yourself harder than you did before.
2) Put aside any personal negative emotions that you may be having. Don't project them onto other people, whether or not they were a contributing factor. It always comes down to your attitude.
3) Even if you are timid and don't feel like you are good leader, you can make it work as long as you keep 1 and 2 in mind.
Good luck! You got this!
First, if I didn't mention it before, I did receive my final grade from my first course (Historical Development of Human Services). I ended up receiving an A- and a 3.67 GPA overall. I'll take it!
(Side note, my last week's score was only 81.57% which I cringed when I saw, but that's only 15.5/19 and still 81 course points left to earn over the next few weeks.)
Onto week 2 of my present course. Again, let me say, holy wow! This week has been a tough one for me. My new learning team really struggled to get together this week and I honestly hit the point of just taking a zero on the assignment (which would really have inhibited my ability to get an A in this class--remember the collective group assignments are worth 30% of your grade).
Instead of giving up, I decided to try harder. Of course, this resulted in me feeling incredibly stressed out and completely losing two nights of sleep, but we all managed to pull together today and work on the assignment as a real group! It was amazing to see it really happen! I didn't think I could handle trying to do it. After we finished our 'meeting,' I even received a compliment from one of my group members about it. That felt really good. Now, I'm just waiting on the slides to be sent to me so I can put together and edit the slideshow presentation that is due tomorrow night.
I learned a couple of things today. This group work that I was so irritated about, is actually helping me in a leader type of way. I think. I feel weird saying that. Now that it's out there though, I actually managed to pull together a small group of people and get us all on the same page and collectively working on an assignment as a group. It was awesome. I don't think I've done that before, not in a beneficial way. I was able to be patient, even though I was freaking out here at home, and I was able to still communicate positively and with praise to them and not demonstrate frustration and anger, despite feeling it. I can do that in my professional life, so long as I have some sort of positive outlet (ie, a private ear), but I've always struggled with it when it comes to educational factors. I feel like I moved a mountain on the inside. (You can laugh now, if you aren't already).
So this week, here's what I'd offer:
1) When you feel like giving up, give it another shot and push yourself harder than you did before.
2) Put aside any personal negative emotions that you may be having. Don't project them onto other people, whether or not they were a contributing factor. It always comes down to your attitude.
3) Even if you are timid and don't feel like you are good leader, you can make it work as long as you keep 1 and 2 in mind.
Good luck! You got this!
Monday, October 6, 2014
BSHS 325 Week 1
Holy CRAP!!! That's the first thing I need to say. I made the biggest mistake ever for a class this short. If you don't know already, University of Phoenix's classes run 5 weeks per class, except in certain types (some internships for example, are 15 week courses). This is a 5 week class, which starts on Tuesday and each week's assignments are due by the following Monday at 11:59 PM. Luckily for me, I have an additional hour because their time basis is an hour ahead of mine...yea!
Anyhow, back to this...this course started this past Tuesday (it's now the wee early hours of the following Monday). Because my last class ended the day before the new class started, I decided to give myself a break and log in a day late to class, which isn't a big deal. WRONG! Had I logged in the day class opened (which technically is one day before the start of class), I would have seen that we had SIX chapters to read the first week. I would have also seen that there are 5 chapters for each additional future week in this course. Did I mention SIX chapters? Did I also mention that several are around 50 pages each...when transferred to Microsoft Word Calibri 9 pt font with the photos removed? OUCH!
So all that being said, I sure kicked myself in the 'tucas' (as my father in law would say) for not getting on it sooner. I just barely completed a 1000 word essay and a worksheet of sorts with probably close to the same amount of words. *SIGH* Rough start to a seemingly intense class. Kind of kicking myself for not doing the psychology degree because at least with psychology, I have studied so much of it that I would just be getting a brush up. Okay, that being said, human services isn't really a shock to the system, but they definitely give you assignments where you need to have read the entirety of all the chapters and be able to refer back through them.
Anyhow, back to this...this course started this past Tuesday (it's now the wee early hours of the following Monday). Because my last class ended the day before the new class started, I decided to give myself a break and log in a day late to class, which isn't a big deal. WRONG! Had I logged in the day class opened (which technically is one day before the start of class), I would have seen that we had SIX chapters to read the first week. I would have also seen that there are 5 chapters for each additional future week in this course. Did I mention SIX chapters? Did I also mention that several are around 50 pages each...when transferred to Microsoft Word Calibri 9 pt font with the photos removed? OUCH!
So all that being said, I sure kicked myself in the 'tucas' (as my father in law would say) for not getting on it sooner. I just barely completed a 1000 word essay and a worksheet of sorts with probably close to the same amount of words. *SIGH* Rough start to a seemingly intense class. Kind of kicking myself for not doing the psychology degree because at least with psychology, I have studied so much of it that I would just be getting a brush up. Okay, that being said, human services isn't really a shock to the system, but they definitely give you assignments where you need to have read the entirety of all the chapters and be able to refer back through them.
I'd like to add this: If you are enrolled here, learn from my mistake; LOG INTO CLASS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! You might otherwise find out you have a few thousand words that you will need to write in assignments and 5 or 6 chapters to read. Lesson learned.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Class 1: Assignments
Well, I finally got a couple of the assignments from my BSHS 305 course uploaded. Unfortunately, Blogger is not quite as file friendly as yolasite, so I went ahead and uploaded some of my assignment files to my yolasite page. You can check it out here: Chandreyee's Yolasite
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