Why the 2008 Elections are Important to Me

Throughout my early childhood, I have never cared much about the elections. My parents used to watch the elections on T.V. all the time and I would not sit in and watch it with them. Now, I have a lot of thoughts about our elections and about who will be selected. The 2008 election is extremely important to me. This election is important to me because I am now caring about the decisions that are made in our nation. I am caring about the acts that are being passed to help our economy. I am caring about the resources that the people in our nation are using. I am caring about how the choices that we make and how they could effect our future and the future of life on earth. My fear is if our nation mistakenly chooses a bad president. To me, the presedent that is selected must recognize the problems that our nation is faceing. He must recognize the global warming crisis that is going on and he must recognize the high cost of food and gas. I don't want to pay over 60 dollars for gas after college when I could be paying under 40. I also don't want to see polar bears become extinct or the artic Ice which has been around for hundreds of years melt alway. These disisions that he makes will greatly effect our future. It is best to choose a presedent that will make the best decisions. This way, the horrible events that could occur later on in our lives will not. We could still save our nation. We just have to change how we live our lives. It is very critical that the presedent recognizes that we are living on scarce resources. All it takes is one creature to become extinct or one dependent recourse to dissapear for the occurance of a disaster. Thats why the 2008 elections are extremely important in my point of view.

Test taking Stragegies and what I learned

There are many ways that I am thinking about studying for my IDC midterm. My first stategie would be to find a quiet place to study. The place that I think would be best is the library. This way I would have no distractions and I would be able to get my work done at a quicker rate. Next, I would reccomend being around some place where I could get help if I had a question. That would also be the library. The people that work there are always able to assist me with work. They might even be able to help me answer a question. The next way that I could study would be with a friend or someone that is in the class. This way both of us would be able to answer questions that we each have and we would have a better understanding for what materials are going to be on the test. We would also be able to get the studying done at a quicker rate.
In this semester, I have learned that the workload in college is continuous. It is best to get your work done as quickly as possibe. You never know when something new is going to pop up. Aspecially, if you are a music major, you can't percrastinate. I have also learned that it is best to take as many notes as you can and write down all of your assignments in your planner. Notes are always something that you can refer back to when studying for a test or quiz. Another thing that I have learned is to ask for help whenever you get the chance. You never know when you would run into a problem later on so it is best to get that help now. Last, I have learned that it is best to keep everything organized and neat. It would be hard to get homework done if it can't be found or if your desk is to cluttered. Neatness is very crucial to life in College.

What I have learned about myself during College

There are a lot of things that I have learned as a freshman in College. I have learned that I tend to build a lot of my new relationships around people with common interests. Since I am getting a degree in Music Therapy, most of my friends are music majors. As I have gotten to know each person, I have found out that a lot of people tend to group around someone that they have known from before. Sometimes that may not be the case. Some people may be interested in hanging out with someone that dresses and acts the same as they do. Everyone is different. With hall mates, I have learned that everyone is recognized for doing or having one thing that makes them unique. With roomates, I have learned that some don't understand privacy and personal boundries while others do. Some of them also end up being a really good friend of yours while others end up being a bad friend. It all depends on who you get. With classmates, I have learned that those are the people that I am around most of the time and will probably see for the rest of my life. With professors, I have learned that they are the best people to get help from when you don't understand an assignment. With staff, I have learned that they are the best people to go to for help but only when it involves something other than school.

Staying Healthy in College

The study environment in the library is an easier place for my study and work compared to the other areas on campus. Its a lot easier for me to do my work in the library because I am able to get better help when I am stuck on a problem in the library. The people that work in the library are always willing to help me whenever I had a problem. My ideal study environment is in a place where it is quiet, full of what I need and where there are people that are willing to help me with my work. Loud noise, lack of technology and distractions are the things that inhibits my ability to concentrate.

Experience with Honesty

The experience went pretty well. I found that there was nothing to be lie about yesterday. I don't think I had any challenges with being completely honest. I was at church that day a lot of the time and didn't run into any problems where I wanted to lie. Academic integrity and honesty are important in college because they help get you though a lot of the work that college has to offer. They also help make the workload at college easier. Academic integrity and honesty are important to me because they help me gain respect from friends which go's a long way and makes me experience college better and enjoyable.

Organizations that I would like to get involved in.

- In converse, there are a bunch of organizations that I would like to get involved in. I would like to get involved in the Daniel's leadership program, The Campus Crusade for Christ, the South Carolina student legislature, the project serve all campus meeting, the Canterbury of Spartanburg faith community for young adults, Delta, modeling, swim team, and the Equestrian team. But, what I can do is very limited just because I am a music major. I already know that I can't do the equestrian team just because it takes up so much time. Other things that I probably won't be able to do would be the Daniel's, leadership program, the South Carolina student legislature and the swim team. As far as i'm sure, I will be able to get involved in the rest of the organizations.
- I would say that these organizations do fit into my interests from high school. The organization that fits the most would be the swim team. I have done swimming in high school since the 9'th grade and have managed to stick with that sport all the way through high school. Another organization that I would like to do is water polo. The only problem for that is that Converse doesn't have a water polo team. Some people haven't even heard of the sport. It's sort of sad. Water polo is a great sport to get involved in.
- I also wold like to challenge myself to try something new. I have never tried the equestrian team, modeling and the South Carolina Student Legislature. These things that I have always wanted to try. I have always wanted to try the equestrian team because it involves riding horses and I have always enjoyed doing that. I wanted to try modeling because only because I have never done it before and am curious about what models do. I would like to try The South Carolina Student Legislature because I know that it will make me become a stronger leader and presenter. These are skills that I feel that I must have for the future. I also would like to try it because I like presenting stuff and bringing up strong points. For now that is everything that I would like to get involved in here at Converse.

What I expect my first semester in College to be Like

-I expect my first semester to be very busy, As a music major, I will be required to take about 8 classes if I am to graduate on time. Not only that, I will also have to practice all of my instruments for my major as well. So far, I am required to know the clarinet, guitar and piano. The clarinet and guitar are instruments that I already have down. The only instrument that don't know is piano. That means that I have to take a class that will teach me how to play the piano along with my other classes. For time spent practicing, it is recommended that I must spend at least thirty minutes on each instrument. Since I will have to know how to play all three instruments for my major, I will have to spend at least 1 hour and 30 minutes on each instrument. I will also have to know how to sing for my major. Right now, I am taking a musicianship class for that. The musicianship class covers something called sight singing. I will have to practice that as well along with my other instruments. Along with practicing and taking classes, I am required to have clarinet lessons to keep me up to date on my practicing. Clarinet is my major instrument so it is extremely important that I have these lessons.
-As far as for homework, I will have to take 6 classes that are based around my major and 2 that are required for every student. Those classes are English 101 and IDC. The English 101 is mostly an open discussion class where we discuss ways to prepare for future classes that will require a lot more work. I will also have to do blogs and an essay assignment. For IDC, I am expected to do a lot of reading. Than everyone in that class will have an open discussion about what the book is about. So far, thats all that I am doing in that class.
-Along with each class, I am given homework. One homework assignment from one class doesn't bother me that much. Its when I get one homework assignment from each class that I am taking. That is what has me worried the most. Each homework assignment takes about 30 minutes to an hour from each class. If I had 8 classes that gave out homework, I would be spending 8 hours per night on homework.
-As a music major, I am also required to watch a certain number of recitals per semester. The amount of recitals that I have to sit through for this semester is 20. I also have to attend 8 events this semester along with that.
- Last, I have to find time to shower, eat, clean my room and do my laundry. This stuff normally takes 30 minutes to an hour each. It is very important that I keep myself clean and organized. Plus, It would be very hard to handle college if everything is out of order or if you can't find an assignment that is due for a class in 10 minutes.
-Right now, my life outside school is very limited. I don't even have time to exercise. Thats why I expect everything in my first semester of college to be a challenge.