The Perfect Plan
I had the perfect plan when it came to college. All throughout my childhood I had dreamed about playing soccer at the college level, and rooming with someone I knew well. It was important to me, that I make sure whatever decision I made, I was the happiest I could possibly be. It was now all coming into place, or so I thought. The only thing that I had to wait for was the acceptance letter. Before I get too ahead of myself though, let me explain. I had just finished a weekend at a premier soccer college showcase. College coaches from everywhere came to see the best of the best play. I was there, showing off my skills for all to see. I only wanted one coach to recognize me, and sure enough he did. The Penn State Altoona soccer coach came up to me after I had scored the game-winning goal, and told me if I wanted to play for him, I could.
To make matters even better, my best friend told me she wanted to attend Penn State Altoona too. It was perfect. All my worries about leaving home, my family, and my boyfriend seemed to be pushed to the back of my mind. I wouldn’t be alone in college, and that‘s all that mattered. My biggest fear was being a long distance away from home, and I thought that by having my best friend there, I wouldn’t miss the things at home so much. I thought I would keep myself busy with sports and my college material, and I could go back to my dorm where my best friend would always be. I wouldn’t have time to worry about my home life, the life I wasn‘t convinced I was ready to leave behind.
Perhaps I should explain to you why I was going to room with my best friend. She had been living at my house for six months because her house was being built, and she didn’t have anywhere to stay. So we spent six months of our lives together, sharing everything. We became inseparable, and truly acted like sisters. I thought I would be happy if we roomed together. This is why rooming with her became so exciting to me. We had already done that, and it didn’t seem like a problem at my house. We received our acceptance letters, and quickly replied stating we wanted to be roommates with each other.
HSPD-5 is shortened for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5. This directive states that the United States should be able to operate under a singular national incident management system. Its’ objectives ensure “… that all levels of government have the capability to work effeciently and effectively together…coordination with private and non-governmental sectors for adequete planning, equipment, training, and exercise activitites and to promote partnerships…the gathering of appropriate information and providing it to the public, the private sector, State and local authorities, Federal departments and agencies…” ( Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 2003).
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease. It is a fairly common disease that affects a large population causing abdominal pain, frequent bloody stools, and fatigue
As I reflect on my college life, I wonder about the choices I have made that have led me to where I am today and that will guide me into shaping who I long to become. The things I have had to sacrifice, the support and experiences I have had with family, friends, strangers and work colleagues. I don’t know what I will be doing three months or thirty years from now but I do know that I want to have new experiences. When I graduated from high school, I knew I didn’t want to be that person that moved back to the same town and stayed there for the rest of my life. I even contemplate leaving the United States in my adult life. Who really knows, maybe those cards are still in the deck. For now, I know my immediate goals include focusing on completing my college education the best I can, and moving away from my comfort zone, broadening my horizons and taken risks.
The cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, but researchers believe it is the result of an abnormal reaction by the body’s immune system. Normally, the immune system protects people from infection by identifying and destroying bacteria, viruses, or other potentially harmful foreign substances. Researchers believe that in Crohn’s disease the immune system attacks bacteria, foods, and other substances...
As soon as I started high school, my goal was to play college baseball. I played baseball for a very competitive select club that traveled out of town every week from Thursday through Sun as well as practicing every Tuesday and Wednesday. All through high school, I sacrificed my free time in the summer to prepare myself for college baseball. After receiving offers from four year universities as well as junior colleges, I decided that a junior college would provide me the best opportunity to continue to develop as a player. Even though I decided I wanted to play at a junior college, I wanted the experience of going away to college and living in a dorm so I decided to attend a junior college in Iowa where they had dorms for student athletes. Being ecstatic to be able to go off to college and play baseball was short lived. During the first month of baseball practice, I injured my arm, spent two months in physical therapy with no improvement, and then finally receiving the bad news that I would need surgery to improve. Surgery was performed over Thanksgiving break, but I was now faced with months of physical therapy, which meant
Crohn’s disease is a disease that causes inflammation, swelling, and irritation to any part of the digestive tract which is also known as the gastrointestinal tract or GI tract. The disease most commonly targets the ileum which is a part in the small intestine. The digestive tract is organs that connect your mouth to your anus and it releases hormones and enzymes for the digestion in food. The inflammation caused by the disease goes deep into the lining of the digestive tract. It creates a stricture in the small intestine which is a narrowing of the pathway that can slow the movement of food through the intestine. The stricture can then move to large intestine which can cause many problems for absorption. When the disease causes the intestine to swell it can also be very problematic because the large intestine wouldn’t be able to function properly. Crohn’s disease is considered as an inflammatory bowel disease.
There are quite a few differences between Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Both of which have symptoms ranging in severity, which vary widely from person to person. In Crohn’s Disease, these symptoms and complications can include abdominal pain and cramping. Others include frequent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, feeling of need to move bowels, and constipation.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
Then, three years ago, I broke through those walls. My conscious urged me against it, ran through all the “what ifs” of the situation, as usual, but this time I couldn’t help it. How can one ever truly test his abilities if one is too afraid to even take any initial risk? So, one cloudy, brisk Saturday morning, and joined the football team. Immediately after the first practice, the option of quitting crept its way into my mind. But how could I ever reach my goals if I couldn’t take on a high school sport? There will be thousands of students in college competing with me, professors looking to make scholars, not dropouts. If I couldn’t face this, I couldn’t face them. So, I endured practice after practice, game after game. Every day, I had to rebuild the courage I had to walk out on the field that first day to step out on the field. I was weaker, smaller, and less apt at the game than man of the guys on that team, but I the constant threat of fear couldn’t hold me back anymore.
Lifting my heavy head with eyes half asleep off of my comfortable and plush pillow I see 7:20am with the date of August 25th on my phone screen. The second day of classes is now upon me, trying to adjust not only to a new semester at school but also to living away from home, with strangers now known as roommates, and as a transfer student. Starting school has never felt this way, living in a brand new environment with my mom not being there to make me breakfast and to encourage me saying “Have a great first day, I know you’ll do great!” I was now one among the thousands of people that have worked so hard towards attending this prestigious University and some that were thousands of miles away from their homes and families.
In my interview I had the pleasure of conversing with an individual that was not only an adult learner but now also operates as an adjunct professor for adult learners at a university. Some might not realize the parallels of adult learners and yet still there are vast differences that impact both. It was refreshing to find an individual that was able to succeed as a professional, a student and most recently a professor at the same time. My goal is to introduce you my amazing interviewee and paint a vivid picture of his journey, his growth and through his challenges along the way. Surprisingly this interaction was able to take a lot of excuses and reasons of why a person would be to busy to go back to school.
Before coming to college I had many people tell me that I would make my best friends in college. Whenever I told anyone that I was going to Kansas State University in the fall they would rant and rave about how much fun I would have. Everyone I talked to told me it would be fun for many different reasons but the one thing that everyone mentioned was the friendships I would form. I became really excited to get to Manhattan and have a bunch of great friends. I had some really good high school friends and they will always be important to me but, I was ready to find out what was so special about college friends. I started to become a little nervous. What if I got to college and I didn’t form any of these incredible friendships? What if it just
To whomever, it may concern, I would like to introduce myself, I’m Kelly Agurto, a college student who’s currently attending at Essex County College who’s finishing this Fall Semester 2015 and had started in the fall of 2012. I am the youngest child from my mother’s side of the family of both parents. Since both my parents been separated ever since I was six years old. I was fortunate enough to have gotten an opportunity to play soccer both my Freshman and Sophomore year at Essex County College. Soccer has become a medicine, to be able to cope and gained the confidence; also the power to be my own self again. It all started when I was given a chance to play soccer ever since my Junior year in West Orange High School, as a Midfielder. And I’m
As the end of my senior year in high school approached, I had to make an important decision. What school was I going to spend the next few years of my life at? When the financial aid packages arrived, I was torn between two colleges. After sitting down with my mother and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of both schools, I came to my final decision. It seemed like a year ago I was imagining what college life would be like and suddenly before my eyes, I would be a college student in a matter of four months.
Ever wonder what to do when you are in a situation that most people react in violence? Ever think that violence is the only way out? Mahatma Gandhi is a very inspirational role model who not only reacted to violence without violence but overcame it and (for the most part) succeeded in life without violence. He was a victim of bullying and segregation and looked past the odds and was inspirational for many people.