Nickel and Dimed

The novel Nickel and Dimed depicts the trials and tribulations the author, Barbara Ehrenreich encounters as she attempts to experience life as a woman living on a minimum wage salary. My first impression of the novel, since I have not yet finished it, is one of frustration. I feel that although she places herself in predicments that may be accurate representations of experiences poor people go through, she will never truly experience the emotions people have as they struggle to make ends meet. The emotional pain that a person who struggles with day to day life in probably the most hurtful aspect of being poor. The fact that Barbara was unable to experience the same emotions makes her experiment somewhat unsuccessful. Yes, she is able to reinact the experiences a poor person goes through but she will never be able to feel similar emotions to them because she has a life to go home to. When the experiment was complete she went home to her house and back to life as a writer. She does not have to deal with the same reality as the people she is emmulating.

Work

My father has been an insurance litigation and trial attorney in the state of NJ for over twenty-five years. Although he does not regret achieving his law degree, being a lawyer is definitely not a career choice he would choose again. Looking back on the time in which he was deciding his career path, he realizes that he probably chose his career for the wrong reasons. It has become apparent to him that he was trying to impress his father as well as outshine his brothers who are not college graduates. He was trying to prove to himself and others that he could be better than those before him, his parents, and his brothers. Instead of following in the footsteps of his father and taking over the family business, he wanted to blaze his own trail and become what he hoped would be a "hot-shot", a rich attorney. However, after twenty-five years of attempting to make this vision a reality, my dad has finally realized his idea is unrealistic and that law is not his calling. Instead, his many miserable years as a lawyer have amounted to nothing but problems and stress. He now works at a guitar center after realizing that people should do what they love, and he loves music. My dad finally loves his job after realizing that it is more important to love what you do than for others to love what you do.
After watching my dad's misery as a lawyer I know that one's career does not define them, neither does it become their identity. Your career does become a part of you but it definitely does not affect the person you are inside. If your job hides the person you are or stifles your happiness, you will one day realize it and your true calling will eventually become apparent.

Tv Series Critique

A fairly current TV series that centers around work is Home Improvement, featuring Tim Allen. The plot of the show is based upon the difficulties a young family encounters while trying to balance the demands of work and home-life. In this case, Tim Allen is the co-founder of a TV series, "Tool Time" with a co-host who he finds often hinders the success of the show rather than helps it. However, since the two are long time friends, Tim is never capable of severing their work partnership. Tim occasionally struggles with managing the stress of the tv series and having to help raise three teenage boys at home. This gives rise to conflict between Tim and his wife and sometimes he and the boys. After an argument between he and his sons or wife, Tim often seeks out advice from his "friend from over the fence" who always seems to have helpful words of wisdom that can usually help to resolve the issue. While this tv series represents an unlikely family situation for many American families, it is an entertaining family show that many people enjoy.
Although the show is entertaining, it is flawed because the setting is difficult for others to relate too. Shows that have a similar plot to the lives of American families are very successful due to the fact that others can easily relate to the situation. Fortunately for Home Improvement, people were able to enjoy the show despite this factor. I think that the plot of the series represents a fantasy lifestyle that many families enjoy being a part of when they watch the show. This could be why the show was and is still so successful. I did not however, enjoy the large amount of conflict that seemed to be consistently present in each show. I feel that constant arguing sets a poor example for children to watch and can make others think that it is normal and acceptable to argue with your spouse and children on a regular basis. Despite these few flaws, the show is enjoyable ad entertaining to watch overall.

Evaluating Use of Time

The first couple of weeks at college have been a time of great adjustment for me. I have begun to adjust to living by myself, the workload, and the immense amount of reading that is required, but I have yet to find the perfect balance of studying and activities. I have found it difficult to decide whether to go out with friends or study when presented with a spur the moment opportunity to go out. I don't want my grades to suffer because of decisions that must be made as frequently as this. Therefore, I realize that I must be able to better evaluate the situation and be able to easily deny an invitation if I need to be studying.
Aside from this difficulty I seem to be having, I feel that I have managed my time properly so far. It is definitely important to study and do homework every day, even if I only review notes or read a few chapters in my textbook. This is a good technique because it prevents immense amounts of studying or homework building up into an unmanageable and overwhelming amount. If I work a little each day I don't feel overwhelmed. Each day, I set aside at least an hour to devote to reviewing each subject area and spend a little time going over my agenda. By doing this, I always know when assignments are due and can contemplate when the best time to complete them is. I think that if I stay on this track of organization and continue to manage my time well, I will eventually learn to manage school and friends equally as successfully.

Reaction to Learning Style Assessment

I was not surprised my scores showed that I was an emotional learner. After reviewing the characteristics of the typical emotional learner, I feel that this label suits me well. I feel that the results were accurate because I am typically very sympathetic, similar to most emotional learners. I almost always consider others' feelings before doing something. If I think that a situation may compromise another person's well-being, I will not participate in that activity. Occasionally, I will even sacrifice my own wishes in order to make sure another person is happy. I realize that if most members of a party are satisfied, even if I am not, it is better for a majority to be content rather than one person. This circumstance often occurs in a group setting. I usually will compromise on a topic even if I disagree with a conclusion that many group members make in order to avoid conflict. This way of constantly seeking harmony in a group is a strong characteristic of an emotional learner. In addition, sometimes I will consider what others may possibly think if I complete a certain task before completing it. This "social consciousness" is another commonality between emotional people. Since I hold many characteristics of the typical emotional learner, i feel that the results of the learning assessment are indeed accurate.
This learning test has also made me learn something about my personality. I now realize that it would be difficult for me to be a part of a jury since I am often so subjective. My decision could easily be swayed by someone crying or a heartfelt story. I never thought of this situation before.

My first Week at Stockton

Throughout my first full week of college I have noticed many differences between the college and high school experiences. The first thing that became apparent immediately to me is the great amount of freedom I have at college. As a high school student I felt that my every movement was being monitored. I needed a hall-pass to leave the classroom and had to stay in the building from 7:20 in the morning until 2:12 in the afternoon. If I had accidentally left a notebook in my car, I needed to be escorted to the parking lot by a security guard. Here, going to class is my responsibility but not a requirement. Here, if I was absent from class, my professor would not make sure that I wasn't skipping class, make sure I received the notes from lecture that day, or even worry about my whereabouts. I feel that since college is not required, professor's think students are here because we want to be, not because it is required. Success is in the hands of each individual student. It is each student's responsibility to attend class, complete assignments, and make every effort to do well. There is much less coaching and encouragement here. It is up to me to prioritize and do what it takes in order to succeed.
The work at college is also very different from high school assignments. In high school, most assignments were completed during class time and completed for homework. At college, class time is used for lecture. The professor summarizes chapters and explains key concepts, while practice is done after class. If a student needs extra practice in order to understand a topic, they must find examples and and almost teach themselves the material in a way that they are better able to understand. At highschool, the teacher used class time to make sure each student understood the concepts. If someone didn't understand, the test would be moved to a later date and extra class time would be spent on practice problems. This, perhaps is the most important difference I have found thus far.
Another difference between high school and college is the syllabi. In high school, students were unaware of the each day's assignments until the class period of each subject each day. In college, every student is provided a copy of the class schedule. This way, if a student wants to complete an assignment in advance he is able to. Also, everyone is aware of the chapters that will be covered in class and are is therefore able to preread the chapter and better understand the lesson in class. I think that it is because of the differences between high school and college that I enjoy college much better.

Reading

Reading is an essential skill not only necessary to succeed in school, but also in day to day life. It is nearly impossible to go through a single day without being required to read something. Whether it is a sign, a newspaper, a letter, or a magazine, I find myself reading daily. Now that I am a college freshman, however, reading has switched roles from a leisurely activity to a requirement. Unfortunately, I now find myself reading things because I am required to, rather than because I want to relax. This is because after my reading assignments are completed, I usually have little interest in reading another sentence whether it be from "Glamour" or my Psychology textbook. In addition, reading a magazine and reading a textbook require very different methods. I find it is more difficult for me to retain information from an article written by Einstein than an article written by Britney Spears, simply because I am more interested in Britney Spear's life than physics.
Since I am less interested in textbook reading, I am often less focused on the content. However, if I find myself unable to remember content from a paragraph, I will go back and either reread the notes I took on that topic or reread the section. Note-taking is a very helpful tool I use both as a review technique and as a close-reading method. When I jot down quick notes about a section I am not required to remember important facts. This allows me to focus on reading the next section, not on attempting to remember something from the previous paragraph.
Note-taking while reading not only helps me understand what I am reading, while doing so, but helps refresh my memory about what I have read in the past. This makes note-taking an excellent review method. Another method of reading with a similar purpose is highlighting and flagging. I often keep a highlighter or set of flags by my reading area so that I can mark key words and facts that I predict will either be related to test questions or necessary to understanding the work as a whole. The fact that these techniques are necessary for me to understand writing in a textbook, make academic reading a very different process from leisurely reading.
When I read in my spare time, for fun, I often do not need any methods to help me retain information. I feel that this is because when I read in my extra time, I read works that are of interest to me and do so for pure enjoyment, solely. When I read a magazine article I often skip sentences to reach the "guts" of the article that holds the most interesting and important information needed to understand the point of the article as a whole. Once I reach the section of the article that interests me, I often feel that I have a grasp of the entire section and usually move to the next article. Unfortunately, textbook reading requires much more concentration and effort in order to understand a topic.
Whether it be a textbook or magazine, reading is definetely a requirement for life in 2009. I am hopeful that I will continue to reap the benefits of thethe reading techniques I developed in the past. If I find that using the highlighter, flagging, notetaking, and rereading techniques are still not enabling me to comprehend what I am reading, I will need to develop additional techniques. I know that with the help of my professors I will be able to succeed no matter how much I seem to struggle with reading comprehension.

Expectations of Myself here, at Stockton College

Here at Stockton, I have high expectations of myself to succeed. Despite the challenges I foresee in some classes, I am determined not to become discouraged. I know that school will require what may seem like endless hours of studying, reading, and concentration, but I will try to remain optimistic, knowing that I will be working toward an exciting goal of academic excellence. In order to achieve this goal, I am willing to sacrifice activities, clubs, and unfortunately fun. I realize that I am here to work hard and succeed.
While the social aspects of dorm life are perks, they are certainly not necessities. After I feel adequately prepared to do well in class, I may then relax and visit friends. I feel one of the most important things to remember here at college, is to prioritize. If one's priorities become disorganized and out of order, their downfall is sure to follow. Fortunately, it is easy to get back on track if this happens. If I ever find myself struggling to manage the Stockton social scene with academics, I must only pause and reorganize.
Another common characteristic of success is positivity. Students must remain optimistic in order to formulate creative ideas, and be in a good mind-set for the rigorous requirements college presents. I feel remaining an optimistic student is also not difficult. If I ever feel discouraged I may take a short break to relax and focus on something that brings me happiness. This break will refuel my mind and enable me to continue working on assignments. I feel with these two key characteristics of success, I will certainly be able to do well here at Stockton College.