Zac's Blogging Extravaganza

How My Love For Hockey Has Affected My Feelings Towards The NBA

2010-01-24T19:13:00.000-05:00

I finally timed this!!

Last night I watched the end of the Pistons game. Guess what? It took OVER fifteen minutes to finish the last 2:27 of the game!!

15 MINUTES TO PLAY 2:27 of Basketball! And not to mention all the fouls and commercials that really just slow the crap out of the game!

I think the NBA should reduce the number of timeouts each team has. I mean that is riduclous. The NBA players are good enough that they should just play the last couple of minutes out w/o having to call 45 timeouts to go talk to the coach.

Hockey is skate, skate, skate! The last 2:27 of a hockey game usually takes, well 2:27 to play unless there is offsides or a penalty call, etc.

I am feeling really spoiled watching hockey I guess, and it has really made it hard for me to watch the NBA regularly, especially the end of games! Even the ones that aren't close are brutal to watch.

That being said, I still love to watch Baseball!! Go figure!!!!

New Site Launched!

2009-11-12T16:36:00.005-05:00

Well thanks to my buddie Gaines, I've created a new website dedicated to the Olympic Hockey Games that will be held in Vancouver 2010.

www.CenterIce2010.com

Please come by and sign up. We have Forums that are just waiting for all the hockey talk you can handle! You will also find a TON of information about the Olympic hockey games included the Format and Rules of the Tournament, The History of the Olympic Hockey Games, Rule Changes for this Year's games, and also a Team Page with information on every single Team in this year's Tournament (Coaches, History, Logo's, Execs, Medal History, etc.).

So please stop by! And remember,

Your Country Needs Your Support, at www.CenterIce2010.com!!!

My Halloween Costume!

2009-10-30T17:26:00.001-04:00

I Can Say This For The 1st Time, "I've Been Published!"

2009-10-29T05:28:00.006-04:00

Well I've been taking a Journalism class which I LOVE and our first publication came out. Nothing fancy but a little cool. I really enjoy writing (most of the time) and this was pretty fun to do.

Click here to view it. I am on the 3rd page, "Welcome Week."

The text is a little hard to read in .pdf (backgrounds overlap) but it came out great on paper. If you want a copy of the real publication, just let me know and I'll mail it out.

Just so those know.......

Join talented students who
created this issue of the Zine
Dave Vizard
Kirtland Zine Advisor

As readers review this first issue of the
Fall 2009 Kirtland Zine, I’m confident
they’ll discover plenty of interesting articles
about the college and its people.

I’m also sure they’ll discover something
else. In a matter of moments, they will
realize that the students who researched
and wrote the news stories in this
publication are very talented individuals
who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves
and work.

The Kirtland Zine is the campus
magazine produced by journalism students
and volunteers at KCC. They are part of
the student body, faculty and staff that
make Kirtland a great place to learn.

In no particular order, they are: Colette
Spirdione, Zac Wood, Matt Keeton, Billie
Grandchamp, Katie Smith, Erika Nichols,
Bennett Malonen, Lee Womack, Dan
Ragan, Kenny Boleski, Veronica
DeColumna, Erin Giles, Sonya Cowles,
Aaron Haynes, Richard Bourland, Katelyn
Durst, Lyndsey Hodnett, Hilary Salvas,
Ben Johnson and Cari Talarico.

Is this issue of the Zine perfect? Hardly.
If readers inspect closely, they’ll find errors.
The reporters who put this issue together
are working students (and human) - just
like its readers.

But the goal of the staff is to produce
the very best publication it can, and
improve with every new issue throughout
the semester.

Other students who would like to
participate in the production of the Zine
are welcome to jump on board. To learn
the basics of good news writing, sign up
for a journalism class next semester, or
volunteer to pitch in and help the staff with
the next two issues this semester in
November and December.

Gathering information, conducting
interviews and writing compelling
narratives will help students while they
complete the rest of their education and
when they are out in the real work world.

Those who take the plunge and join the
Zine staff won’t regret it. I guarantee it.

Dave Vizard can be reached at
vizardd@kirtland.edu or by calling (989)
553-4804.

Finally Got My Own Guitar!

2009-10-29T04:58:00.006-04:00

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Now playing: Rancid - 1998
via FoxyTunes So I was cruising through the village a couple of weeks ago and what do I see; a music store!!!

After the shock finally wearied from my body, I went into said store. About an hour later I walked out w/ a brand new "strat type" wood guitar and an Epiphone Studio 15R Practice Amp (which is plenty loud and has reverb) for $150. The guitar was being sold in a box as a "put it together yourself project" but I took the display model which was already put together and the wood finish looked perfect on.

I love it! I can't play drums right now, and I NEED to be playing something. I'm not good on guitar or anything, but it's fun listening to my Winamp Playlist and looking up tabs for songs and being able to jam along w/ some music (even though it's not a real band). It'll get me bye!

Anyway, the guitar looks like some of the $550+ bass guitars I've always loved in Guitar Center.

Some pics now......

The New "Alice In Chains"

2009-10-29T04:49:00.004-04:00

I just can't believe how close the new Alice In Chains sounds to the old Alice In Chains!! WOW!! You can't get any closer to sounding like Layne Staley IMO!! I love the new song "Check My Brain".

I have to say, my first time listening to the new Album, I feel it leaves much to be desired. But the Vocals are amazing!
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Now playing: Rage Against the Machine - Mic Check
via FoxyTunes

Dexter - Season 4

2009-10-27T19:33:00.003-04:00

Man next to "The First 48" this has got to be my favorite show!!

I wasn't the biggest John Lithgow fan before, but he's really impressed me so far this season acting wise.

And Rita is just plain annoying!

I Hate College Math!

2009-10-26T17:26:00.008-04:00

Just wanted to remind everyone of that!

Testing Scheduled.

2009-10-26T17:21:00.002-04:00

Well I am finally scheduled for my heart test down at the University Of Michigan Hospital! YAY!

The first day, November 4th. I'll have 3 tests done. EKG, Echo, and MRI of the heart. The second day the Heart Catheter. All procedures are Outpatient.

It's just a step in the right direction, getting my two heart valves replaced. I really can't wait for that day! I'm sick of getting tired all the time!! lol

Things Have Really Picked Up On The Site!!

2009-10-26T17:16:00.004-04:00

Well, I have made a lot of changes to the site I am Modding hphdx.net. The forums saw the biggest upgrades. There are a lot of cool people over there, still only 360+ members but it's a great community for learning, discussing, and troubleshooting computer problems.

I'm rageman over there on the forums.

Head-On Collision.

2009-10-25T06:36:00.003-04:00

I still can't believe the accident that went through in my head!!!

It was on LaSalle Ave, the street I lived on in Waterford....I was outside my home and the truck heading LEFT, the guy was throwing his arms around before he crashed into the the other driver heading the opposite direction.

I saw somebody killed in a head-on collision. It was a dream.
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Now playing: Nine Inch Nails - Every Day Is Exactly The Same
via FoxyTunes

Life's lows and highs.

2009-07-05T00:46:00.004-04:00

I am wondering, how can life have so many ups and downs? It is crazy!

The lows? For example. I learned a couple of days ago that I may have to serve some time in the county jail. This was a HUGEEEEE low!! When you get this low the highs in life don't seem obtainable.

The Status Quo. Sometimes, you are feeling down and out, or experiencing the lows in life, you crave for THE STATUS QUO. Heaven knows that's what I prayed for a couple days ago.

The Highs! What can I say, They are the best! It's best not to think about experiencing more lows while experiencing the highs in life. It ruins them. When I found out that I had obtained enough money to avoid jail, well I felt a high!!

After a little time, I realized that I'd just be happy with the Status Quo for a while!! :) I need to get through college!! I can't keep experiencing these lows! Because lately it has seemed that once I had things going good in my life, I experienced another low. And I really have been doing good the last year or so. Well let's hope that with this court shit behined me I can continue to get everything in my life worked out. I wanna finish out a degree, not experience anymore lows(of course there will be some) and have a life for myself.

How do you all deal with life's extreme lows and highs?

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Now playing: Guns N' Roses - November Rain
via FoxyTunes

Track Twelve

2009-04-30T00:10:00.001-04:00

You can look all over the Internet these days trying to find out what album was their best. You'll find people picking various albums as their personal favorite and also what they feel was the bands best album. The debate will probably live on forever; after all there is no real science when it comes to these types of conclusions. We must remember that when it comes choosing the best music; it's often a matter of opinion not fact. I find it nearly impossible to pick out their best album. There are so many great ones! For sake of argument, my personal favorite Beatles' album is Abbey Road.

How did I come to choose Abbey Road as my favorite Beatles' album? I knew that if I were to be stranded on an island and only got to choose one album to take with me, I'd have to make a very good decision. I knew that my all time favorite band has always been the Beatles. So I was sure to pick one of their albums. Thanks to the technology in my laptop, I browsed through each album by the Beatles very carefully, taking notes on what songs were on what album as well as playing some to get a better idea of each album. I don't believe any of their studio albums come together as well as Abbey Road, so I picked that one.

Ever since I can remember, my dad always played The Beatles music for me. He played them on the guitar, when we traveled, and even at home. Needless to say, I knew every song they recorded. I use to sing along with them when I was younger. The music made for great memories on our trips to visit my grandparents and cousins. We used to sing all the way to wherever we were traveling to. I remember one particular time when we made the long Michigan drive from Hale to Marquette in the middle of the night. Singing along with The Beatles was all we could do to stay awake! It was a blast though, and neither of us fell asleep.

Have you ever gone to a music store to buy a new cd only to be disappointed that you only like a couple of songs on it? Most of us have. Who likes paying $15 for a cd that they only like a few songs off? Not me! The Beatles seem to be in a league of their own when it comes to making great albums.

While I was going through my Beatles collection for this assignment I was reminded of how well every cd they put out is. I like nearly every song off of every cd! To me, that is amazing. I think about some of my other favorite bands, most of which are modern and that I listen to far more often than The Beatles, and with exception to a few particular albums, those bands just don't have albums that I like ever song on. When it comes to my other favorite bands' albums, it's usually closer to a six ten ratio. Six out of ten songs are good, while the others leave much to be desired. I'd say The Beatles albums are closer to an eight out of ten ratio. That's quite a difference.

Picking only one album to have on a deserted island is no easy task. One reason why I picked Abbey Road is because of "the melody". There a total of eight short songs (nine if you count "Her Majesty") that is part of one sixteen minute melody. This melody finishes the cd, and it's like a roller coaster ride in terms of the emotion it can bring you.

It starts with "You Never Give Me Your Money," which in itself seems to be three separate songs. It seems to go from a really mellow soft rock song to a harder rock song towards the end. Then there is "Sun King," which is really mellow and soft filler song, but a great one that links the next three upbeat songs together. "Mean Mr. Mustard," "Polythene Pam," and "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window," are all very short songs that go from "good feeling" rock songs, to "upbeat felling" rock songs. These three could only be followed by another upbeat song right? Wrong! Next is "Golden Slumbers," which one always one of my favorite songs growing up. It's a beautiful ballad that is full of emotion. It is followed by "Carry That Weight," which unless you knew about the melody you'd swear those two songs were one in the same. Then it burst into "The End," which is another upbeat rock song to start, but then ends with a slow calm feeling. This seems the perfect way to end the genius that is "the melody".

That melody is one of the finest pieces of music I have ever heard. It never gets old hearing it. It's almost as if they don't make music like that anymore.

While I don't sing along with The Beatles anymore (basically because I've grown to realize how ridiculous I sound when I attempt to), I know that if I were on a deserted island all alone I sure would be singing Abbey Road! It helps me get through the hard parts of being all alone. It'd also keep me upbeat at the same time. It would be nice to be reminded of the great memories I had singing Abbey Road with my dad. It would make a deserted island feel not so deserted!

The Mystery That Is Teaching

2009-04-28T00:16:00.001-04:00

Have you ever taken a class that you could not stay awake during? How about a class that you always remained interested in? If you've had classes that you can't stay awake for, do you think it was because of the teacher or the subject being taught? If you've had classes that you always remained interested in, was it the teacher or subject?
    At the begging of every school year while I was in high school, we were given a list of classes to choose from. Some classes were mandatory, while others were electives. I remember picking out my classes one year, and thinking to myself, "Man, I am going to hate this Applied Science and Bio/Chem. Class!" I was never good at science. I probably could have been, but I just found the subject to be boring as hell. Towards the begging of the year, I realized that I had a really cool science teacher. He would explain the material out of the book, but also gave real life examples which seemed to help me learn better. Don't get me wrong; I still didn't care to learn about the subject he was teaching, but he kept it interesting enough that I actually paid attention during class. I still felt myself struggling through the class at times, but I wasn't afraid to approach him for help when I needed it. I believe I got a "C" in that class, which was really good for me. I think that teacher performed miracles! This is a great example of a good teacher teaching a boring subject.
    Another class that I had while in high school was English. I really love English. I love to write papers (unless they are research papers) and learn how to talk and write better. My softmore year of high school I had the hardest teacher I'd ever had. And guess what, she taught one of my favorite subjects, English. Everybody knew that whatever classes she taught were difficult. You could say I was warned ahead of time. It wasn't that she was a mean lady; it was just hard to get good grades. It also seemed that if you didn't understand something, asking her would just piss her off. Needless to say, I didn't ask many question in that class! Each day the class seemed twice as long as all the others I was taking. It wasn't because of the subject; it was because of the teacher. At the end of the year, I did have a decent grade and I had a great deal of respect for her. Although her teaching methods were difficult, it prepared me for harder classes that I had to take later in school. I feel that was an example of a bad teacher teaching a good subject.
    I believe when you break it down, you have four different scenarios. You can have a bad teacher teaching a class that interests you. You can have a good teacher teaching a class that interests you. You can have a good teacher teaching a class that doesn't interest you. And you can have a bad teacher teaching a class that doesn't interest you. I feel that the latter is the worse case scenario. I believe that some of the most impressive teachers are those that teach boring subjects, but are such good teachers that the subject can somehow become interesting to the students.
I would sum up a good teacher as someone who can keep the attention of the class, even if the subject they're teaching is boring. A good teacher is also someone that will make sure you understand what they are talking about, not someone that just reads out of the schoolbook. They should also not be intimidating to the students. Most students are shy as it is. Having a teacher that doesn't enjoy being asked questions is a bad quality for one to have. I think a sense of humor, while not necessarily important, is an added bonus to being a good teacher. Making students laugh will help them feel more comfortable and usually helps them stay attentive, which generally produces better grades. Hey, if the students are listening for the next joke and have to wait halfway through a lecture to hear it, that can only be a good thing right?

Track Twelve – WHAT!?___ Went Wrong?

2009-04-24T04:03:00.001-04:00

Had it! I think I might have lost it! I had such a great feeling about my class, well until now that is; now I feel as if I floated thru it.

It should have been my best paper this year, but instead, I let other things fuck w/ me. Instead of writing the paper in timely fashion, I spent many hours thinking about my 30 days. I felt as if I could not concentrate. Well, I couldn't. At least, I didn't. I guess I could have, but I damn well failed to. I felt like giving up! I have given up one too many times though, and I knew I had to throw something together. So that is what I did. I am not happy w/ the results. It's a sad ending to a great experience this year. Fuck. I just wish it wasn't all over yet. I wish I had my shit together when I wrote this paper. I wish it was able to be a 10 page paper instead of a 500 word or so paper.

Uuuggghhh…. I just wish the 30 days would disappear.

Happiness

2009-04-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

How much happiness does your life bring you? Have you done everything in your power to get the most out of life? I tend to agree with something that Abraham Lincoln once said. He said, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Although said many moons ago, this is still a very factual statement, and it remains true to this day.
I had the great pleasure last summer to listen to a brilliant guest speaker that was speaking to the higher-ups of the local Michigan Company “Art Van”. Art Van was having a conference at Garland Golf Course where I work. They hired a former CEO of a major airline company to speak to them and give them ideas on how to survive through this struggling economy. This man had a great working background in business, and even helped the company he worked for achieve its highest goals. It was the opening story that he told that really impressed me though.
He talked of this man who had a very successful hot dog stand in an American city. The man made enough money with his hot dog stand to feed his family and pay all the family bills. This man didn’t have much in the way of communication with the outside world other than his customers and son who rarely visited. While the man was making a great living with his hot dog stand, others in America started finding it difficult to survive due to the downfall of the economy. Due to the lack of communication, the man had no idea that the economy had taken a turn for the worse. He just kept on making a living.
One day his son came to visit him. It had been years since he’d last seen his son. He son said to him, “Dad, what are you doing still selling hot dogs? Don’t you know that the economy has taken a turn for the worse and nobody has money to spend on hot dogs?”
“What do you mean? Since when has the economy been so bad?”
“Dad, it has been horrible for over a year and it’s only going to get worse!”
“Well it hasn’t stopped people from buying my hot dogs!”
“Dad, people are not going to keep buying hot dogs, we are in a depression here! Stop selling hot dogs!”
The man was saddened by the news. He didn’t know what to do. His hot dog business brought such great fortune to his family. He couldn’t see surviving with out it.
Slowly the man stopped selling hot dogs. Every once in a while somebody would ask, “Why have you stopped selling hot dogs?”
“Haven’t you heard? We are in a depression! Nobody wants to buy hot dogs anymore.”
Abraham Lincoln’s quote reminds me of this story. If the man would have kept selling hot dogs instead of giving up, he and his family would have been better for it. His customers would have been happy as well. The man was happy doing what he was doing. It wasn’t until his son came and told him that the country was in a depression that he decided to stop selling hot dogs. I guess folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be!
Another thing that Abraham Lincoln’s quote reminds me of is my own personal life. For the last few years I have been trying to be as happy as possible. I have been in bands that didn’t make money, worked dead-end jobs, and barley had enough money to put a decent meal on my plate. I’ve since decided that, unless I want to keep having the lack of success that I was bringing myself, something had to change.
I knew that I needed to start college and get an education so that I could start to for fill aspirations that I have. I knew that with an education I could get a great job. With a great job, I wouldn’t care if my bands didn’t make money. With a great job I would be able to afford decent meals, and even a decent table to enjoy them on!
So I started attending college. I am very happy with my decision and I can’t wait to graduate. Although I may have struggled before, I know that I can survive if I keep one thing in mind, “With an education and great job, I can finally be happy with my life.”
After all, we are only as happy as we make up our minds to be, right?

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Listening to: Black Stone Cherry - Crosstown Woman
via FoxyTunes

Talented

2009-04-01T14:58:00.000-04:00

One of the best compliments I've ever received was from an older friend of mine who once told me, "I can't believe how talented you are. You are good at many different things in life." Even though this was said to me over ten years ago, I often think back to it when I need an extra boost of confidence, or just want to smile.
I've often pondered what being "talented" meant to me. If someone told me that I was a talented drummer, I used to interpret that as being better than most of the drummers they’d heard play. I'd often shrug it off and try not to think about it. This was because I didn't truly understand what talented meant, nor did I comprehend what a nice thing that is to say to somebody. I used to think I knew what being talented meant. Now I have a better idea of the true definition.
The first time I remember hearing the word talented was when I was a young boy in mini-little league. I was one of the pitchers on our team and it was a great experience. Even greater, was the fact that my Father was one of our coaches. He used to help me work on my pitching in our back yard nearly every day.
After one of our team's games, the umpire said to my Father, "Your son has some real talent. I have umpired for every team this year, and he throws the hardest." Hearing this must have helped, because it boosted my confidence behind the mound and we ended up being the best team that year. My hitting and on-base-percentage also increased that year.
While receiving this compliment boosted my confidence behind the mound, there was one downside. Since I knew I threw the hardest, I started feeling sorry for all of those batters I hit every so often. Hey, this was mini-little league after all!
Growing up I developed a newfound appreciation for the word "talented". It used to just mean the dictionary definition to me. Now when I hear somebody call someone else talented, I stop and think of what a great compliment that is. I think it means that you are viewed as the person with better skills at something. I also know that with that compliment comes respect. It should also give people the opportunity to feel good about themselves and what they are good at. To me, it's one of the best things somebody can call another individual.
Knowing what it means to be considered talented in a world that has many people that are great at many things, makes me think that there is something special about myself. They say that everyone has been given one "gift", something they are very talented at. I’d like to think that we can all be talented at something. And why stop there? We should all strive to be talented at many things. This, I think, would make the world a much better place.

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Listening to: Black Stone Cherry - Maybe Someday
via FoxyTunes

Hiding

2009-03-23T11:25:00.001-04:00

Hiding
Sometimes you can't help but to laugh at a certain person and his or her actions. There are sometimes however when a person's actions can have an adverse effect on how you are viewed or perceived. It's times such as these when what could start off as something to chuckle about, turns into something that has you blushing and feeling quite awkward.
John Houvener, now this is one person that I can say I've found myself laughing at on more than one occasion. It's not that John has the funniest of personalities, believe me he doesn't, it's the little things that I notice John doing from time to time that bring tears of laughter to my eyes.
You see, I work for John at Garland Golf Course. He is a good boss and I do enjoy working for him, especially when I find him hiding from certain guests. You can often find him hiding anywhere from the kitchen, his office, or even taking a trip down the elevator to avoid them.
Part of my job is to greet people as they come into the restaurant. In doing this for a good summer and a half, I've noticed one particular couple that has that special ability to bring out John's "Houdini Act". They come in often and always asks for John. Of course, being the great employee that I am, I would kindly excuse myself and go hunt down John and tell him he had guests wishing to speak with him.
During one of these occasions, John was walking towards the couple, noticed who they were and quickly turned around. This took me by surprise. When I asked him what the problem was, John said, "Just tell them I am not in today Zac."
"Okay, will do," I said.
I then went to the couple and explained that John was not in today. They of course wondered why I just said minutes earlier that he was and that I would go find him. I explained that I was mistaken. They seemed to believe that lie. So I continued doing my job as usual. After the couple had ordered their meal, I noticed one of them heading towards the public bathroom, and I knew that John was in the same bathroom. "Here we go," I thought to myself. I could hear the chatter.
"I thought you weren't in today John."
"Why would you think that?"
"When we asked Zac to see you, he said you weren't here today."
"Nope, I've been here all day."
I knew this wasn't good. Once they came out of the bathroom the guest said to me, "Next time we ask to see John, I suggest you look at little harder for him."
"Yes, I will."
This of course was something I had to ask John about. He explained that the couple always asks to talk to him and tell John about all the things they feel needs to be changed at Garland. I understood how he could get easily annoyed by this; I just wish I knew about it ahead of time.
To this day, when I see the couple approaching the main entrance, John appreciates a quick call to his office so that he can conveniently become unavailable for the day. I must say, it bugs me to have to lie to the couple, but at least I get to watch John hide like a little kid playing hide-n-seek. I also make sure my co-workers get a laugh out of the whole situation.
I suppose that one might imagine the advantage in having the ability to make his or her boss disappear whenever they see fit.
Of course, being the great employee I am, I would never think to do such a thing. Or would I?

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Listening to: Vines - Dope Train
via FoxyTunes

Great Times

2009-03-23T11:22:00.001-04:00

To this day, I can still remember the great times I had as a child at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The smell of the coffee roasting early in the morning, the sound of the logs crackling as they burned in the fireplace, the music of John Denver's "County Roads" being played on the old fashioned radio, the smell of Grandpa's smoking pipe being lit. Yes, these are some of the great things I got to experience while visiting my Grandparents.

It always brought me joy when my Dad said, "Zac, we are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house, so get ready." Every morning I woke up there I would find my Grandpa sitting at the old wooden kitchen table enjoying his morning coffee, a paperback novel and an old smoking pipe. I could often take a glance out the large kitchen window and find a group of deer feasting upon the corn that Grandpa had laid out for them. I would often hear the sound of the birds as they sat upon the bird feeder and stared into the kitchen window chirping songs of happiness. It's almost as if they were saying good morning to us.

In the front yard of the house, there were several trees that had been planted for each of the grandchildren. The trees were planted the year of the grandchild's birth. Mine happened to be a Kwanza cherry tree and it was planted in 1983. The tree was planted right of the winding driveway about thirty feet from the front of the house. Every year, the leaves of the tree would cycle through three or four colors. If it was early in the spring, the leaves would likely have a green color to it. In the summer months they would usually be yellow or orange. In the late fall they would have a nice copper-colored tint to it. It was great to be able to watch the tree grow and the leaves change over the years, and for a young boy, that was something I looked forward to each time I visited. To this day, I can still create a vivid picture of that tree and all of its colors.

If there is one thing that can trigger the memories I've had over the years at my Grandparent's house, it's the smell of matches being lit. The sulfuric smell and the odor they generate once blown out will initiate the memory of Grandpa sitting at the kitchen table and lighting his tobacco pipe.

The memories I have from Grandma and Grandpa's house will forever live on with me and they are some of my childhood. I hope that everyone gets to experience some of the things I did while visiting my grandparents.

Higher Education

2009-02-18T23:34:00.001-05:00

As I reached my senior year in high school I often dreaded going to class. More often than not I found myself slacking on my homework assignments and not putting forth the effort I felt I needed in out of class studying. My attitude towards my educational future was lackluster.

Fast forward to the present time and I can honestly say that I have a new found appreciation for higher education. Not only have I found a way to attend college with having no money, but I have also set goals for myself. One of my main goals is to get a well rounded education; not only make me a better candidate for a future job, but also to become a better person.

In recent years, I have debated going to college. I often pondered what career path I should choose, what institution I should choose, and ways to pay for college. Some programs that interested me included computer networking, home and business security, and echo cardiology.

Computers also seemed to be at the top of my list. My Father was a Computer Teacher since I was about four years old and I have seen him work his way from Computer Teacher to the Financial Director and Technology Coordinator for Mio AuSable Schools. Having seen the success my Dad has experienced due to his hard work, determination, and continued college education has had a positive effect in my decision to join college. It also helped me chose computers as my path for the future.

As I think back to my days in high school and some of the people I graduated with, I often find myself comparing what they have accomplished in their further education to what I have not. Looking at it now, I know that had I started college after I graduated I could have earned a Bachelor's Degree in just about any field I chose. I guess you might say that is a negative way of looking at my situation, but as I see it, it gives me added determination to accomplish some of the same things my old classmates have, even if I will be much older in doing so.

I do often fear that once I do receive a degree that I will be battling younger candidates for jobs and that could have a negative impact on my career. I know that if I had the positive view on college education in high school as I do now, that maybe it would be me battling the older candidates for a job. I've even found a positive way to look at being that older candidate. My theory is, wouldn't somebody rather hire an older and more mature candidate for their job opening rather than the younger, more inexperienced candidate? While this might not be a realistic view of any potential employer, it at least makes me feel better!

I am not sure why I had such a negative view on higher education after leaving high school, but I sure am happy that it has changed to a positive one. With this new positive view, I know that I will become a better person in life, as well as an educated and productive member of society.