Meaning, Happiness, and Money

I would rank meaning being the highest of value.  What is worth living for if my life has no meaning?  There would be no point in my life.  Meaning is everything to me.  I desire to make others happy.  I'm always thinking about what others are thinking, and if they aren't happy I ponder on how I could possibly change that.  Don't get me wrong, I love to be happy too, but seeing others in my life I care about happy makes me happy.  If someone I'm close to isn't happy, I can't bring myself to be happy.  I'm that person that will cry just looking at someone else crying.  It's hurts me to see someone else hurting inside. 
Happiness is next.  Although happiness is very important to me, I strive to find meaning more.  Happiness makes everything better.  When I'm happy, it's as if nothing in this world can bring me down.  I'm on top of the world.  Without happiness, everyone would get depressed.  We need happiness to get through the hard times in life. 
Finally, I would rank money last.  We all love money, but we shouldn't desire it.  Wanting something we necessarily can't have can take away our happiness and make us bitter.  We should be thankful for what we have.  Meaning and happiness means more than money.  Why would I want all the money in the world over happiness.  Money really can't buy us happiness.  People without money learn to find meaning in their life and then learn to be happy without money.  Money isn't everything no matter how nice it sounds.
I know that I don't have a ton of money.  Therefore, I believe I learned to be happy without money.  I know that life is possible without a lot of money.  My dad's family has money, but we didn't get any of that money.  I can't have everything I want.  However, I don't care.   My life would be completely different.  I'm happy without it.  I learned to appreciate everything I have.

What I Have Learned This Semester

This semester I took Chemistry and learned it was hard. This may pursue me to change my major because studying to be a doctor involves a lot of chemistry.  I don't have too bad of a grade in there and even got an A on the first exam.  However, I had to work hard and study to get that A.  Once I get it I guess it's not too bad, but understanding it at first takes some time. This could be a good thing, though, because I was already considering a major change.  Perhaps this is my sign.

The major I was thinking about changing to is an engineer.  That will use a lot of science too, but not nearly as much as someone wanting to become a doctor.  Calculus 2 was hard for me this semester, but I got the hang of it.  I got an A+ on the last 2 exams.  A lot of math is involved in being an engineer, so maybe that is the path I should go.  I don't even mind math that much when I understand it.  I ended up learning a lot in calculus 2.  I learned stuff I should have even learned in calculus 1.  I took that in high school, though, so it wasn't as strict as a college class may be about math.  In calculus 2 I had to learn how to memorize the formulas for the test.  Our teacher didn't like to call it memorizing, though.  He said we needed to know the formulas to the point where we understood them.  If we just memorized them, we would soon forget them.  This was hard for me because my high school teacher let us put the formulas on an index card for the tests. So I guess I could also say I learned to know formulas and how to prove that they were true.

NFL Player Leaving

I think what he did was courageous.  He didn’t think about what everyone else was going to think of him before he did it.  He thought about his own happiness.  Not many people can do that. If he was getting injured, I think it was right that he left.  Money isn’t worth the pain he had to endure. 

I couldn’t really imagine anyone I know doing that, though.  No one in my family really has a job that they have to endure pain through.  My dad comes home unhappy from work sometimes, but he would never quit without the security of another job waiting for him. 

The only way I would leave a high paying job that I prepared my whole life for is if I was damaging my body upon no repair.  I probably might consider leaving if I came home consistently unhappy every day.  A job that really stressed me out might make me quit as well.  I rather be paid not as much for being happy than being paid a lot for being unhappy.

Overcoming Obstacles

When I think of obstacles in school two come to mind.  One of my obstacles is failing to study.  In high school I could go without studying and still get good grades.  So, I'm in that habit now.  College is a lot more work and has harder material than high school.  Compared to college, high school was a breeze for me.  I actually need to study for college to do well on my exams now.  It's hard for me to do, though.  Studying isn't particularly a fun pass time.  I get distracted and zone out when I start to study.
To overcome this, I'm going to try and study a little at a time.  I'm thinking a little reading everyday won't be so bad.  I mean, I can read over a hundred pages in a book I like in a day.  Reading 10 or 15 pages should be a piece of cake.  I have not brought myself to doing this yet, but I'm hoping I will soon learn.
The second obstacle is procrastination.  This is a big one.  I have always procrastinated in school.  In fact, I can remember being up until midnight in 5th grade doing my book report.  I thought I would break this habit upon coming to college, but I was wrong.  If anything, it has only got worse.  Last week I started my eight page paper the day it was due.  Fortunately I had done the research for it already and just had to write the paper out.  Procrastination has caused me to lose a lot of sleep over the years.
As for breaking this habit, I can only suggest I just quit.  I'm not sure how else I could break myself of the habit.  This is one I would surely love to quit, though.  I always tell myself I wouldn't have to stay up so late if I would just do it ahead of time, but the deadline creeps up on me quickly.  I think I have all the time in the world to do it, but in reality I don't.  It is very important that I overcome these two obstacles now that I am a college student.

Pre-college

     In my pre-college schooling, I can't really recall any bad teachers.  I never considered teachers bad if I didn't get what they were teaching.  I figured that I just didn't get the subject and needed more studying, and that's what I would do.Thinking back, I don't even remember considering any of my teachers excellent.  I just looked at school as learning.  I didn't judge a teacher on their teacher.  No matter what, I just paid attention and learned.
     As for teaching as a profession, I would never want to do it.  I don't know how teachers can teach the same stuff over and over again each year and not get bored with it.  Also, kids can sometimes be a pain.  I give kudos to teachers for dealing with all those kids they teach.
     If my friend was considering teaching as a job, I would tell her that she should pick a subject she really likes so she won't get bored with it.  Also, I would tell her that from what I have observed at school, kids like it when their teachers talks to them as if they were a teenager and understand as well.  All the popular teachers in my school distinguished by students were so well liked because they would talk to their kids and make them feel welcome.  They would sort of make class fun.  However, I don't remember learning much from these teachers, so iw ould recommend a mixture of the two.  Have fun with your kids, but also teach them the subject well while doing so.
    My fourth grade teacher had a teaching style like this.  I had so much fun in his class, but we still got work done.  I can still remember the fun times along with the learning times.  In fact, it was in his class that I grew to love math.  He taught us long division and challenged us by saying that at the end of the year a few of us could probably do a long division problem as long as the board with no problem.  I could have done it, I loved it so much.  If I considered any teacher excellent, it would be him.

Painkillers

I think the article is a debate between the FDA and the patient.  The FDA believes in putting restrictions on higher painkillers that can cause addiction.  However, the patient disagrees due to the fact that they would have to spend money and make a doctor's visit.
As for my opinion in this, I don't think it's such a bad idea to put some restrictions on painkillers.  So many people out there abuse pain medication.  Some even end in death.  Sure it would cost the patient more money and be a "burden" to them, but I don't think that's a valid argument.  A lot of people have insurance to cover the cost of medical care.  People shouldn't be getting all these painkillers if they no longer need them.  They are only harming them in their hands.  Painkillers can be addicting and for this reason, they are easy to sell off.  Kids are buying these pill not knowing the damage they are doing to their bodies.  They have many side effects and can cause overdoses if too many are taken. It's not going to hurt people to make a check up at the doctor after 3 months of being prescribed medicine.  I think they are only trying to help us with this restriction.  It's a valid argument on their part.
In doing this, I think drug abuse will really go down.  It probably won't go completely down, but it should be a place to start.  Eventually, I believe drug abuse numbers will get really low and maybe even become nonexistent.  The next generation could possibly never know what drug abuse is.  Well, maybe this  won't happen, but one can always dream.

College

     This article pretty much states the obvious.  Of course adults with a college degree are going to make more money than high school graduates or even someone without any diploma.  College gives us the education and experience to get a higher paying job than one who did not go to college and receive the education needed for that particular job.
      However, like the article said, I don't think college needs to be as expensive as it is.  I think colleges are taking for granted the fact that to get a good job or the job of your dreams, you most likely need a college degree.  They know that no matter what the price is, you're still going to pay for an education.  I believe there are many ways to cut the costs of higher education.
     Going back to higher education, I think too much education can be a bad thing.  There are people out there that have all kinds of masters degrees but still no job.  Why would companies pay for someone overqualified and expecting a lot of pay when they can get someone not as qualified and would take less pay just to have a job?  Higher education is important, but I don't think it's necessary to keep getting masters degrees until you are no longer unemployed.  I say get the degree you want and wait for a job to come.  More school means more money lost.  Graduating college with a degree is a big accomplishment.  Even if you don't get the job you want upon graduation, I think a job will come to you with time.  One could gain experience at a lower job until the degree they graduated with comes in handy for a higher paying job.  Patience is key.  With a small paying job to start off, though, you can start paying off your student loans and keep looking for that dream job.

New York Times Football Article

I don't think anyone could really eliminate football.  American's love to watch football.  We could live without football, but no one would be happy about it.
However, I think that equipment to prevent the neurological damage should be made.  No sport is as important as the care of one's brain.  Once the brain is damaged, there's no going back. 
Also, football players should only be allowed to play football if their grades are high Cs or  low Bs.  Education is very important because most football players don't make a career of the sport.  With all the practicing football players do, it doesn't leave much time to study.  That's where many sports players mess up.  They start to get overwhelmed with their school work and some don't even graduate because of it.
As for the problem with pain killer abuse, I think everyone should know their body's limit.  Football players and even the coaches sometimes will over play the players.  The players just don't know when to stop.  A lot of us do it.  We get injured, but we seem to be in denial about it.  We put it off as if it's nothing.  However, playing on an injury will only make it worse.  I think if football players knew their limit their would be less pain killer abuse.  They wouldn't need the pain killers because they could sit out a game or two as their injury healed on its own.
The article said that Obama would be skeptical of his son playing football if he had one.  I think all parents are a bit nervous putting their kid into football, but I don't think that's the way to live.  If you're always afraid to take risks, are you really living?  It's okay to play it on the safe side, but I don't think people should play it too safe.  No one can be completely safe, something could always happen.  Accidents happen.  Any sport can be dangerous.  Football shouldn't be singled out.

Story in the Place I Feel Most at Home

It's a couple days before a big competition.  Still so much needs to be done.  The last 8 counts of our dance still are not complete.  We also need to finish cleaning up the dance and making it perfect.  Our technique and concentration needs to be on point.  What are we going to do?
We decide to have a sleepover at the studio to get extra time in over the weekend.  It's a flawless  plan.  We can dance until we get tired and get up early to dance some more.  Nothing could possibly go wrong.
As we all arrive at dance, we start stretching.  All the dancers start talking about how fun the night will be.  Our dance teacher instructs us to start dancing.  We do so.  As the night rolls on the dance starts to look great.  We don't want to overdo it though, so we call it a night at eleven.
The dance teacher finally falls asleep at about midnight.  The dancers start bringing out their junk food and begin talking laughing quietly just having a good time.  Three in the morning approached and we decided it was time to get our rest for dance in the morning.  Little did we know that our dance teacher was going to get us up at 6 in the morning for a short breakfast and then start dance  right away.
The dancers hadn't got much sleep at all.  The rehearsal that morning went absolutely terrible.  The lack of sleep and junk food kicked in.  Since the dance teacher didn't know what had went on the night before, she assumed people were just lacking concentration.  So, she kept making the dancers dance over and over again until we got it right.
With a few food and water breaks in there, it started to get late again.  We had to quit dancing and go home to get some rest before the big competition.
Morning had arrived.  The big competition was finally here.  Most of the dancers still felt pretty awful from that night.  It was their turn to dance on stage for the judges.  Would they be happy with their performance of disappointed?
They entered stage right.  The music started.  We actually started out great.  However, as the middle of the dance hit, some dancers started to get extremely tired.  They wanted to do the dance to the best of their ability, but their body just wouldn't allow them to.  The song ended.  Many of the dancers came off stage breathing heavily and were unhappy with their performance.
As usual, the dance teacher praised them on their performance shrugging off the weak points.  However, the judges didn't hold back.  Many comments were made about the laziness of the dance towards the end stating that this dance needs a lot more work.
All the dancers went hope with the look of disappointment on their faces.  They all vowed to never do that again.  They had really learned their lesson that day.

The Place I Feel at Home

I would say the place where I feel most myself is at the dance studio dancing.  I get lost in my dancing and let my emotions out through my dancing.  It allows me to be myself because it's like no one there is judging me.  We're all just alike.  We're dancers all working together to get to the same goal.  I've become close with my fellow dancers and even become friends with many of them.
I'm not afraid to let my inner self run free at the dance studio.  A dancer can be good just carrying out the technique and moves taught, but a great dancer is one puts their self into the routine.  We can't hold back.  Being myself is a whole part of the dance.  Without the emotion, most dances would come off as boring and monotone.
Also, there's no one at the dance studio really to impress.  Maybe on stage there is, but not at home in the studio.  If I don't let loose, I'd be an uptight dancer and that's not good.  If we don't let the studio know who we really are, we wouldn't like the dance choreographed for us.  We have to show what moves we like or don't like because if we don't like the moves we won't do them to our full potential.
At the dance studio, being myself lets me forget the stress of life.  I can just let go of everything for that moment because at the moment all that matters is my dancing.  I have to reach deep down inside and bring my true self out.  While focusing on that, I can forget everything else.  Dancing helps me feel better about myself because it's something I'm good at, which then helps me to be myself there.

Greatest Writer

     If I was named the greatest writer on earth, I would probably just continue on with my novels.  However, knowing that I was the greatest writer, I think I would create a few series of books.  I wouldn't have to worry about them selling because if I was really that good, someone would pick up my book and instantly fall in love.
     I enjoy reading.  Books of a series are my favorite because it doesn't have to end after just one book.  I like different genres of books, but my favorite have been kind of science fiction stuff with a twisted love story in it.  Therefore, I would write my series based on this genre.
      Also, I would like to gear my books more towards a young adult audience.  There are a lot of adult and child books, but I don't feel there are enough good written young adult books out in the world.  I find that some of them are too young for me, or too old for me.  Going on further with this, I might make my series into movies or a television series.  I love to read books and then go see the movie or follow along in the television series after I have read it.  I already know what is going to happen, but it's cool to see it played out.  To do this, I would have to write the script as close to my books as possible while still keeping the film short.  Since I am the greatest writer, though, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem.  Seeing my audience enjoy the books and films so much would inspire me to keep on going in my writing career and write many more books.  I would keep the books going for as long as I could adding more series and more books into the series.
      I think I would still make time to read other authors books, though.  I wouldn't act too good to read their work.  It would be boring to read my own books because I would know the books inside and out.  So, aside from writing, I would still enjoy reading.  Other authors could probably inspire some of my work as well.

Success in Life

As I think about the success in my life, not much comes to mind.  However, I think I was successful as a competitive dancer.  Many people have joined dance when they were little, but not as many go through with it.  It is a big commitment.
As a competitive dancer, one must qualify for Nationals at the Regional level.  Every year I have danced, I have went to Nationals as well.  Over the years I have been to Chicago, Niagara Falls, Ohio, and Tennessee, quite a few times.  I am very proud of my accomplishments as a dancer.  I have brought home many gold winning trophies.  Also, I have received high point a few times.  High point is the overall top 5 or 10 in your category.  That is pretty great considering there are over a thousand dance numbers at a competition.
At my dance studio, I was the oldest one the last few years.  Many of the younger dancers looked up to me and allowed me to demonstrate harder moves for them to learn.  It inspired me to be the best I could.  My dance teacher would throw harder dance moves at me, but I had trouble learning them because I had no one older to look up to.  I didn't get to see the dance moves put into action all the time.  However, I still managed to learn a lot of the harder moves.  As an older dancer, flexibility is harder to achieve because the muscles don't learn as easily as a younger dancers' muscles would.  That is one thing I would have changed as a dancer.  I would have stretched more when I was younger if I could go back in time.  It really hurt me as a dancer because I could do all the moves on my right side, but found it harder on my left side because one side was more flexible than the other side.
Last year was my last year as a dancer.  I miss it, though. Aside from dance, I wouldn't say I have much success anywhere else in life except school.  Lately, I have been considering returning this year.  My dance teacher even wants me to return.  However, I have to keep school in mind when making this decision.  Would I have enough time to dedicate to school and dance?  Is my body physically and mentally able to handle both?  When it comes down to it, school is more important than anything.  So, right now I am just doing school.  I don't want to start dance until I know I can commit.  Maybe my body will get used to this schedule of being at school a lot and will allow me to dance again.  I will have to play it by ear.

Difficulties in Education

     Currently, I am struggling with picking a major.  I had it all planned out for years to  go into the medical field and go to medical school and the whole 9 yards.  I've always thought I wanted to be some kind of doctor. However, I've been looking into a Bio Medical Engineering.
     It sounds interesting and it still has to do with the medical field technically.  I'm good at math, so I want to make those skills useful in someway.  I know that engineers use math and I also recently found out from a friend that a bio medical engineer helps the medical field out.  Two aspects of what I want to do.  It seems perfect for me to do.
     The struggle I am having, though, is giving up my long dream of being a pediatrician.  How can I give up something that I have wanted for so long? But how can I pass up a major of engineering that I may love?
It is all so confusing to me right now. So, I have decided to keep my Health Policy Studies major right now and think about engineering over the year.  I will make the decision my sophomore year.
     Although, then comes to mind, is it too late to switch at that point of my college career?  I know it's never too late, but I want to graduate on time.  Extra semesters would mean a bigger tuition. The next step I plan to take before the semester ends is to look up the recommended classes for each major.  Maybe for this year I can take common classes of the two majors. There's no way I could get behind then if I decide to switch majors.
     Switching majors is a big decision because it could affect what my career will be for the rest of my life. I don't want to prematurely change my major.  I have to put a lot of thought into this decision.  That comes to another block in my path, though.  For some reason I have always had trouble making decisions on my own. This will be a big problem as I continue my college career.  I am now treated as an adult and therefore need to make decisions on my own.  No one can really make the right decision for me, only I can do that.