Scholarships

Scholarships are very important tools that we as students need to learn to take advantage of. First of all, college does help greatly with financial aid. College is a lot more expensive now than it used to be, and scholarships are a great way to earn some of that cost. The amount of money that families can afford to contribute to their student's college has declined. $5,000 is found to be the most that some families can contribute to their child's education outside of school, which is barely enough to cover textbooks for four years. The cost of apartments, food, books and supplies has also risen to very expensive prices. Many states have made large cuts in public funding, like higher education. This is one of the reasons that collages have increased tuition, which increases the amount of money that students now have to spend. The last reason, and maybe the most important reason, is that college debt is not something that students should go into. One quarter of the US population owes a total of $700 billion in student loan debt. Debt is a very bad thing to have, emotionally, physically and relationship wise. If people have student debt, then they are going to feel trapped to work off the debt at a job which is going to put stress on them both physically and emotionally. Also, if people are being forced to work than they cannot settle down and have a family which will effect their relationships. Scholarships will help to eliminate some of this debt.

Reflection Blog

1.)The things that I have left to do in order to complete high school are to;

• Complete my last year of High school. (I must obtain all of my required credits in order to move on to college.) {2015-2016}
• Take my ACT {Summer of 2015}
• Obtain recommendation letters for the colleges that I wish to attend {2016}
• Write a required essay with a provided prompt {2016}

2.) I am academically where I need to be. My GPA and class rank are satisfactory and will allow me to get in to a good college. I take all AP and Pre-AP classes, except for English and History which I take Dual Credit for.

3.) I feel as though these colleges are really the ones for me. I could change the last one, I would rather not go there, but I feel as if it's a good option right now. I suppose that I could modify my search if needed, and I probably will. I have put a fair amount of research into all of these colleges, as well as visited them all.

School Systems of America and Iceland

The United States has it's residents attend school for a longer amount of time than Iceland does. America's students attend grade school from the ages of 5 to 18. Iceland has their residents attend school from ages 6 to 16. America's students have a better knowledge of many things in general, but Iceland had many people who specialize in their field of work. They graduate early from their form of "high school" so that they can start schooling for exactly what they want to do. Iceland offers their students more time in order to become really good at a certain job. However, they have to know immediately what they want to do at the age of 16. America offers a wider range of job opportunities. For instance, they provide more time for students to decide on a career and they allow for career changes. There is an infinitely larger number of  universities in the U.S. than there are in Iceland, which provides more career opportunities for America's residents. I think that there are pros and cons to both school systems, and I think that  both systems are satisfyingly effective. 

Is College Worth It?

I do think that college is worth the time and money that many people spend in order to obtain a degree and knowledge. Many jobs in modern times will hire someone who has a college degree over someone who has more experience. You can acquire higher-level jobs, hence higher-paying jobs, when you have a college degree. The time and energy that you put into college will eventually be repaid through your job. College is a very vast place where people are constantly learning more about the world around them. You learn how to live on your own in college. For most people, learning how to balance classes and a job is a difficult experience that makes you stronger and you eventually reap the benefits. If you acquire a high paying job for your high paying degree, than all of the money that you put into your degree will be paid back to you. If you want to pursue a career in which it does not provide a lot of money, than it should be worth it to you to pay for the schooling in order to do what you love. It is becoming increasingly difficult in today's society to get a job without obtaining a college degree beforehand. There are schools that you can go to that offer the same education as well known schools that are for cheaper. There are ways to go through college without debt if that is a concern. College graduates generally have better interpersonal skills, have a longer lifespan, and have healthier children, physically and mentally. If a child is born into a family in which both of him/her parents are both college graduates, they have a better likelihood of also attending college and obtaining a degree. I do think that a college degree is worth it both economically and socially. People who have college degrees have proven their ability to achieve major milestones and experience success.

Spring Break

Over spring break, I mainly just enjoyed relaxing and enjoying my freedom, even though I had homework. I went to two different malls and my sister and I took care of our family friend's animals because they were out of town. They have two rabbits, a pony, chickens, a fish, and a dog. I went to grapevine to spend the night at a friends house and went to the movies. On the last days of spring break, I went to church, took the SAT and worked on homework.

Influential Leader

Cabraile Cooksey is the one of the most influential leaders that I have ever had. She continues to strive for the best, and her mindset is that she aspires higher, "because she can." Ever since I have known her she has taught me and pushed me to be the best that I could be, academically, socially, physically, and spiritually. She has surpassed everybody's expectations and continues to rise higher.
I think that he means what he says he means. Mr. Keating thinks that the things the human race lives for are beauty, romance and love, and that is why we write poetry, because poetry is about those things. He was trying to teach the boys that even though they were all studying to become doctors, layers, engineers, and businessmen those were not the only things to live for. I agree with him to a certain extent, that those are not the things that we live for but I do not think that we just live for beauty, romance, and love. I think that poetry is really cool and it can be clever. It is like telling a story but in a different, unique way.
I think that it is very important to look at things from another perspective so that you can get a better understanding of a situation. I believe that Mr. Keating's point is a very valid one. One time my twin sister got a bee sting and was crying and I had had a bee sting before and it hadn't hurt that badly to me, so I did not understand why she was crying. Instead of questioning her about her tears, instead I comforted her and helped her take out the bee sting, because I put myself in her shoes.
I do not know the "verse" that I will leave behind when I die, none of us know, but I hope that my verse has something to do with spreading the gospel of Christ and the good news that his name represents.

Influential Leader

I do not think that Neil was changed in any way because of Mr.Keating. He was depressed because of the choke hold that his father had on him, and I think that Neil would have killed himself otherwise. If anything, Mr.Keating prolonged his life by teaching him to live for what he truly wanted to do.
I think that Todd was the bravest of the Dead Poets boys because he overcame his fear of public speaking, and he was nice to Mr.Keating when nobody else was. He also stayed strong when Neil died. I think that Neil was the coward. Even though his father was pressuring him to do things that he did not want to do, he could have tried telling his father. I think that committing suicide is one of the most cowardly things that you could do.
I think that Neil somehow commandeered the poetry book, because Mr. Keating's passion was to teach the boys at school and I don't think that he would have done anything to jeopardize his career. I do not think that Mr. Keating gave the book to Neil. Neil showed traits of rebelliousness and I think that taking the poetry book from somewhere is something that he would do.