College Life

St. Martin's has turned out to be a great decision for me in some ways, I'm doing well in my classes, becoming more independent, and gained more responsibility and self-awareness. There are quite a few things I haven't liked about St. Martin's also. Unfortunately, I was placed with a roommate who didn't enjoy my company to say the least and ultimately ratted me out to the school for violating school policies. Other than being arrested for having less than a gram of marijuana and being kicked out of my room, this semester has gone pretty well. I think I finally found out what I want to major in and more importantly what I wan't to do with my degree. Computer science has always been an interest of mine and now I finally have had the opportunity to learn more in depth from a professor. Although programming isn't my interest within the CS department, I've gained a greater understanding towards how computers function and the fundamental concepts in creating programs. I decided to come to St. Martin's two weeks prior to the first day of class knowing that I would transfer after this year to somewhere more fitting. That's still my plan and I am more than ever right now eager to leave. I don't understand how I could get in so much trouble for having marijuana. I was fully compliant with everyone involved yet I'm still stuck with all these sanctions by the school and even the law enforcement. It would be different in my mind if I was dealing marijuana or even had a large quantity but the fact that I had less than a gram and told them that I used it off campus; it had no deviation in the school's decisions. I just think its unfair that people can be caught drinking up to three times before any real actions are taken but since I smoke I must be punished like a criminal. St. Martin's needs to broaden there awareness when in comes to drugs because I think my situation is a classic example of the stupidity and misconceptions people still have. I was given the same sanctions from the school that a drug dealer was given for his first violation even though I smoked by myself, off campus, and with practically nothing on me. I have no respect for the people involved in what happened especially my ex-roommate who decided to tell the RA's before ever even having a discussion with me about my "problem". Everyone kept asking me if I have problems. What's that supposed to mean? Doesn't everybody have problems? Because I smoke to relief the stress of this shitty environment I now call home I should have the cops called on me? So should I just drink when I'm stressed then? At least i know that I wouldn't be arrested or put on probation by the school if i did that. So to sum it all up, I think it's obvious that this hasn't been the greatest experience for me. I know there are better ways of dealing with stress but i also know what I happened to me wasn't fair. I don't have a problem with drugs its a problem with stress, mainly because I'm somewhere I don't want to be; which is a very bad feeling to have. I came here to further my education, not to cause any trouble (which I still don't believe that I have), and thats what I plan on doing for the rest of my stay here.

Discipline Bridge

I lack discipline in more the one area in my life but I think the most obvious one right now is my education. Going to school has always been difficult for me, not that I struggled academically, but just the whole concept of waking up every morning like a machine and being dragged to school by my mother bothered me. Its discipline that I have lacked from a very young age and thats why I think I still lack it today, its carried with me. I love sports and activities. I don't like hours of homework. I love video games. I'm a procrastinator. It's a combination of things that I lack when it comes to school, yet even being aware of these problems, I still have no motivation to do better. If someone asked me why I would have no explanation, but I do know this. Even though I hate spending 20 hours a week in a classroom and 10 in the library I have an appreciation for it. I appreciate knowledge. If more people were able to get a higher education I think our world could be a lot different and a lot smarter.

Reactions to November 4

Election day was something new and exciting for me. It was the first election that I was involved in and the first election was able to vote so watching television that night was not just exiting it was powerful because I truely felt that I was a part of what was happening. When they announced that Obama won, there was an overwhelming sense of relief and a lot of emotion for me. Before the election I didn't really know how much of an impact it was going to have on me personally but once I saw eveyone around the world celebrating this election, like the people in Kenya, Australia, France, and England I knew the whole world was watching. It made me proud to be an American because I felt that this was democracy at its finest. We showed the world the power of a democracy. We didn't vote Obama because of the color of his skin, we voted because we thought he would be the best President for our struggling nation, but the fact that we could overcome the long battle of racism and sexism, to not only elect a black president but also have no women on the ballots was quite an accomplishment.

VOTE OBAMA!

Obama's campaign for President is built on the principle that democrats must "disagree without being disagreeable" and unit America during our nation's crisis on many fronts. He realized the importance for our government to overcom bipartisanship, to work across the aisle, and to produce effective results. The idea that someone would be able to unite political America and get the government to productively work on important issues might sound naive but Obama represents a new generation coming to the world stage. Understanding people's doubt of unification Obama stresses that Americans must embrace hope. Hope is an irrational belief, a faith in optimism, but hope is also a unifying emotion, one that resonates with people around the world. He has emphasized change from the beginning of his campaign, something that has progressively risen the spirits of the American people. The American people as a whole are depressed right now with how our government is reacting. WE are in two wars, an economic spiral and facing countless other challenges. By emphasizing that we should all believe in the possibility of a new type of politics, Obama has converted many people, including Republicans, to believe that he is the man for the job. Campaigning to replace Bush with a unifying leader, he has struck a chord across the country- as shown by polling, books, crowds, and even retail. In this crucial time in our history as a nation and as a global community, he has the potential to improve how Americans perceive politics, leading to more trust in government and solving some difficult problems that we face. SO VOTE OBAMA if you don't like how our government is being run because he will bring a new generation to the office and a change that we need. 

Last Presidential Debate

Senator McCain went on the offensive quickly, criticising Obama's proposal to raise taxes on Americans who make more than $250000 a year and saying it would hurt small business owners like Joe the plumber. Senator Obama said that his plan would cut taxes for 95% of Americans and raise them only on the most fortunate Americans, while on the flip side McCain proposes to give tax breaks to major oil companies. I think this fundemental difference is what has given Obama the lead in this election and he I think he proved that point in the final debate. Obama won the debate again for the final time and of the three debates I think Obama came across as the winner. Even though I wasn't alive during the Kennedy/ Nixon race this seems to be that race all over again, when it comes to the debates at least. Obama seemed composed at all times during the debate with confidence but at the same time very humbled. On the opposing side I think McCain let his emotions get to him too much. When Obama critized his campaign rally's you could see the anger in McCain's eyes. It's not good for a leader to show emotion like that. People want to see passion not anger and theres a difference. America is in need of a fresh start and new belief and I think Obama is going to bring that to our nation and to the global community as well.

Second Presidential Debate

Tonight's debate wasn't even close unlike the first debate at Ol' Miss. Sen. Obama clearly won this debate with ease particularly when he discussed about the economy and health care problems. When Tom Brokaw asked questions, Obama showed more compassion and looked more like a leader unlike Sen. McCain who was unstable. In debates I think weakness is shown most by those who attack the most because the greatest way of defense is offense when in comes to debating and I think McCain showed that. Sometimes he was too agressive (referring to Obama as "that one") or when he couldn't answer questions (on how he would ask Americans to sacrifice), or just his attemps to crack jokes which were just bad. McCain has one last chance to show America that he should be the next president tonight. I think this is going to be the most entertaining debate of the three to say the least because I think McCain is going to bring everything to the table. He's going to be aggressive as possible to make Obama look like a foolish candidate, but to his dismay its not going to work. One quality of Sen. Obama that stands out it my mind is his stage presence; he never seems to loose his cool under attack and he won't tonight either. That's the kind of president needed in office.

Vice Presidential Debate

Going into the vice presidential debate I think America was curious to how well Palin would present herself as vice president. Before debating Palin had only done around a handful of interviews; for a reason. Palin had shown difficulty to address questions and she didn't even seem like she knew what she was talking about. My primary example would be her interview with Katie Kurric. If that doesn't scare the hell out of people I don't know what does because that interview was a complete disaster and something that should be more recognized. How can somebody be running in a presidential election and only do something like three interviews? It's ridiculous. So to get back to the debate I think a lot of pressure was on Governor Palin and to my surprise I thought she held up her own. It was obvious she made some mistakes and neglected to answer some questions but she didn't do anything dramatic that will jeopardize the campaign which sadly was her goal. Nobody thought she had a chance of winning this debate and how could she of? Senator Biden is a experienced politician who has done countless debates and even more interviews. I think Biden won the actual debate when in comes to addressing the prompters questions and arguing Palin/McCains agenda but sadly that wasn't as important to the public as watching Palin try to hold her own. So in conclusion of the debate I think Biden won when looking at the content but Palin won as well solely on the fact that many thought she wouldn't be able to hold her ground as seem presentable. This brings up my final thought. It's a fact that America loves McCain and Palin because of their family values and traditional American persona, but why should we care? What does family values have to do with running a country or being locked up in Vietnam. I look at candidates and question who would be the best leader and president, someone who could lead our country, someone who was knowlegdable and creditable. Not someone whos a hockey mom that thinks that by being a middle class American she has an edge. People shouldn't care about that. People should care about what really matters, the qualities of a good president.