My New Major

I made it!
I finally heard back about my application to the business management program and I made it in. I have been signing up for my classes and I am actually excited for next semester. It has been a little while since I have been excited about going to school. I'm sure it will be hard but from my I understand these classes will actually apply to what I want to do.
I also applied for the strategy program which is a specific emphasis in the business management major. The thing that I wasn't really expecting was the fact that I had to submit more than just my grades and a resume. I had to write an application essay and for the strategy program I had to write an even shoter letter of intent. The thing that was so hard was that I had to be concise and succinct with what I wanted to get across but also tell it in a way that they would remember in order to distinguish me from other candidates. This writing class, in addition to all the other writing I have done this semester, really helped me be able to write this. I attribute the writing to much of the reason why I made it in.

Thanksgiving break

"I am thankful" for Thanksgiving break because it very deceivingly gives me time to make up homework. The problem is the fact that it's already Saturday and I still really don't have that much done. The truth is, it really is a terrible time for homework, especially if you go home for the break. I had such high hopes and yet again procrastination got the best of me.  Your family usually has so much planned and or unplanned for that matter and all you want to do is spend time with them.
I wish I knew how to overcome this but I guess I'll have to wait until next year to try again. Anyway, my thanksgiving break was a great one filled with multiple turkey dinners. I wondered often if it was a bad thing that I couldn't breath after eating so much. It may or may not have happened multiple times.
Every year we usually go around the table and say the things we are grateful for but this year for some reason we did not. I always felt like it was kind of cheesy because somehow I always ended up being one of the last ones and of course by then all the good things to be grateful for had been taken but in all reality I kind of missed it. I felt like I was a little jilted out of a true celebration of Thanksgiving. I guess there is always next year for that one as well.

Black Friday... Becoming Black Thursday

I don't know if any of you have ever taken part in the chaos of black friday but I honestly don't have any desire to go wait in line for hours on end for a "good deal". I mean really, there's always another sale. Maybe someday I'll be converted but for now I think it's a bit much.
The most interesting part to me is how companies are now beginning to stay open on Thursday. They have broken the unwritten rule of treating your employees fair. I have already heard some people say that it's terrible that they make their employees work on a Holiday which I would probably agree with. But for some reason they think it is the "big businesses" fault. I would be careful to lay blame solely with them because when you think about it who are they trying to please? It's you and I, the consumer. If we show them that we are willing and even that we want to shop on Thanksgiving then they are going to stay open to maximize their earning potential. In all reality I think it's kind of sad that many in our nation have completely lost the view of what Thanksgiving is all about. They would rather go out there and find a few really "good deals" than spend time with their family and friends, focusing on the things that are most important in life. Remember that the holiday was made to give thanks not show greed.

Online Education

It seems that today our hope is to make everything fast, easy to use, and accessible everywhere. We have seen this happen in our social life with the developments of Twitter and Facebook. The same goes for work as well. Most people are tied to work no matter where they go. Now we are beginning to see this same trend with education. It could be a good thing but is that what we really want? Do we want our children to have their learning be mostly on a computer without face-to-face interaction. In all reality I don't think it matters what we want because this is something that is going to happen whether we like it or not. The main thing we can do, however, is make sure it evolves in a way that will be most beneficial to the succes of our students. The question is what do we want to have incorporated and how do we want this to evolve?
I believe there are many benefits to online education that we cannot ignore. One of the main things is that it gives students access to so much more than what is offered in their high school alone. For those who want to excel it gives them that challenge. But what about the kids who are struggling. The best part is that it also helps children on the other end of the spectrum as well, those who are falling behind. With the flexibility of online education they can take remedial courses to help them get caught up.
The last main thing that is great about online ed is what I mentioned in the very beginning. It is accessible everywhere. No matter where you are on the planet you can have access to great education.
What do you think? Is online ed a good thing? Are there possible negative effects?

Jetlag... For real this time

"I hear going home is worse than coming here" was what one my colleagues said while we were in China. I thought that was probably true but not in my case because I was supposed to be young and invincible.  
I don't if any of you have ever experienced true jetlag but really I don't recommend it.
I love traveling and I always found it kind of interesting when people would talk about jetlag. I always thought it just meant you were really tired when you got home so you'd just try and stay awake until that night and then have a great night's rest, falling asleep almost instantly. That was until I came home from China. Holy cow! That one hit me pretty much right in the face. Not until then and only then did I realize what the jetlag was all about. I'll probably never complain again when I only have to fly a few hours across the country in the middle of the night.
So on the flight home I got a few hours of sleep which was good because we pretty much flew through the night. We then waited in the airport for a few hours for our connecting flight home on which I slept almost the entire time. I arrived home at 6pm after only leaving Beijing a couple hours before at 4pm. Same day. When I got home it was actually my birthday, making it the longest birthday of my life, some 36 hours. But that's another story. Anyway because of that I stayed up for the party and finally made it to bed a little past midnight. I woke up the next morning around 9 thinking all was well. That was until about 6:30 that night. I could barely keep my eyes open. I fell asleep until 10 and then woke up for a few hours. Same thing happened the next night except I woke up at 2am and could not go back to sleep. I thought I was going crazy. I had things to do but my body wasn't having any of it. My stomach and head also weren't very happy through all this. Finally I knew what to do. The third night home the same thing happened. I fel asleep around 6:30pm but when I woke up at 11pm I took tylenol PM. Best decision I ever made. I woke up at 6:30 the next morning feeling great and haven't looked back since. I actually am on a better sleep schedule than I ever was before, now following the "early to bed, early to rise" adage. After 4 days my body finally figured out what time it was (with a little help).

The Difference Between a Vacation/Trip and an Experience

In the few days back from China I have been reflecting on what made this trip so different from others I have gone on. I have had the opportunity to visit Europe, Canada, Hawaii, and many other states for various reasons. Some for business and others for family vacations, road trips, and education. But this trip was quite different and I think I have finally figured out why. It was different in a way that made it one of the most memorable trips of my life. The main reason is that I felt like I really got to know the people. Usually when we go places it fun and everything because we go sight seeing and eat really good food but you never really get to know the people there. That's because the people of that country or wherever we go to visit don't usually spend their time at the sights. They spend their time doing what we do when we are home, rarely interacting with foreigners.
My experience in China was much different. The first big difference was that we had a local education leader and a couple teachers be our tour guides. They weren't the trained tour guides who tell everyone they meet the same thing. These people spoke to us differently. They wanted us to know what their way of life was really like. It was amazing and they became great friends I continue to keep in contact with.
Sight seeing was great and all but it didn't even compare to the experiences we had in visiting the schools. I already wrote about the children in the schools but visiting the schools was by far everyone's favorite part of our delegation trip. Not even the great wall of 3,000 miles could compare to the fulfillment we felt in the schools. Saying we were treated well is an understatement. Getting to know people in China on a personal level and seeing their education and way of life made my time there a true experience, one I will never forget.

Children in China

I had the great opportunity of visiting China this past couple weeks. It was an amazing opportunity in which I really learned a lot. The most memorable part of this experience was the children. It's interesting to me how we often imagine other cultures and their differences but what I came to find was that are just like the children here. They have hopes and dreams. They are full of enthusiasm. And they love learning, if we let them. The classrooms we visited were full of kids who genuinely seemed to love what they were doing. And just like any kids they could not wait to show us what they had done, whether it was create beautiful painting or sculpture or play or sing a music piece they had worked so hard to prepare. The other thing that really stuck out to me was how dedicated and focused they were on their school work. Much of this probably stemmed from their parents involvement in their education and that is a great thing. Some might say they are too involved but I don't know if that's really possible. If it is then I'd still rather that than parents who take little notice of their kid's school work. Anyway as far as these kids are concerned I think they have a very bright future and we need to make sure ours are prepared for the future.