Majors Unfair

We had a hing during core where we would go around to the different tables and learn about the different majors that we have at D U.  Most of the stations had tri-folds and some papers to take. The representative would talk to you for a few minutes give you papers then you'd move on to the next one.  My major happened to be the one with the thirty minute presentation in the presidents dinning room. It was a presentation on things freshman should know, like study abroad and things. It was also nice to learn about some of the other classes I might take if I have some free hours. If I did have a year where I wasn't already overloading I would choose to take some business classes to maybe minor in business if it is possible. Im already taking one class in the spring that starts the business minor but also completes other requirements. It will also be fun, I enjoy classes like that and I always do well in them because i like it.

ALICE Training

The ALICE Training speech given by the Springfield Police Officer informed us on the way to react when an active shooter is in progress somewhere near us. His advice was much different from what we learned in school. Starting in elementary school we would have "code red" drills where we would turn of the lights, lock the doors, and hide in the back of the room. He told us that we were doing the worst thing possible and making ourselves to be the best targets. He gave us a new protocol for when an active shooter warning is given. The first thing we should try to do if we can is run from the scene and call the police. The Second best way to avoid the bad situation is to hide, but not to hide the old way he advises us to barricade the doors and be ready to fight back if the intruder do get in. He showed us examples from the past and illustrated how some did the wrong thing and how some did the correct thing. His speech made some points that made me think what would I have done in the past if that happend at my school. I think I might have done what other victims did. Nothing. He made one point hat I thought was really interesting. He said that we have been conditioned to act the way we did and we cant be blamed for what we did. I experienced something like that recently. Me and some friends were in a movie theater alone during a movie. For some reason we started whispering about what happend in the movie. I then noticed the comical quality of the situation. In any other setting where it was just us I would talk plenty loud for every one to here me easily. But because were in a theater I whispered without thinking. The talk has made me think twice about all the things that I "naturally" do.

YOU: How have you changed this year

How have I changed this year? I dont feel like I have changed very much this year. If I was to of had a change it would be how I see my future. This year in architecture classes I learned much more than I used to about the carrer and what an architects job is. I learned that they are much more of artists than I thought coming into the year. Art is not my favorite subject and I'm not very good at pretending that things look like something that they are not. Most of my leaning and growth this year was probably done outside of the classroom. If there was any growth it would mostly be in my time management and perseverance. College days seem a lot shorter than they were back home. In high school I never lost any sleep because I was doing homework or a project. It used to be that there was time for tv and reading for fun. But now the tv is only on if its the super bowl, March Madness or the police tracked down a domestic terrorist, and reading is only if you are forced to for class which makes it impossible to enjoy. This year I learned what it was like to try to be creative and "designy" while not sleeping for a few days. I now understand why when I would tell them I was an architecture major I would get concerned looks like I said I was joining a nocturnal colt where we play with knives, make purposeless mounds of cardboard, and worship structures make hundreds or thousands of years ago. I still remember years ago back in August when I had my first studio class and how disappointed, disillusioned and dishappy I was when the teacher said where were going to make a painting of a painting of and artist born before 1500.  Obviously I am a much different person than I was at the beginning of this year.

Financial Wellness

This blog post is about financial wellness. According to the first point in Matt Battaglia's blog (http://andreabcreative.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/the-core-of-financial-wellness/) I am making the number one financial mistake a college student can make: nothing. I havent ever wanted to educate myself on finances. I do know some about this from my mom and from watching the Clark Howard show sometimes. In the future I dont see myself taking the time to read any financial blogs.
The second point is knowing the importance of having good credit.  I have learned the importance of having good credit from the commercials for "Free Credit Report.com". I have asked people when I was wondering what it was and got the basic run down of what credit is.
The next point was to get a credit card and learn how to use it wisely. My math teacher in fifth grade told my class to never get credit cards and that they will make you lose all your money. If that is true then why does everyone have one? I see the usefulness of them and how they speed up checking out at Hobby Lobby or quickly leaving BWs at half-time to make it home for the rest of the game. On most other occasions I prefer to use other ways to pay. 

Physical Activity

In class we took a test that judged us in our """"life choices"""". The test included many questions from many different categories. According to the test I am best in Physical Activity. I can say that I expected that to be the one but this is only because I run year round on the XC and track team. If it were not for that I would not be that good at physical activity. I do not think that it was an accurate test of my """life choices""" because I dont make the choice to workout, my coach does. If I was going to try to help someone be better in this category, the one way I could help them would be to tell them to become good enough at a sport that you play at a competitive level where you are forced to be in great shape. If this person didn't have the determination or was just really bad at sports I would tell them to find an activity that they love and can keep loving it after doing it everyday, sometimes twice a day, for hours. If I were not on the team I would have a score in that category of two. Which would be one of my lowest and creativity and self expression would be the highest. This an interesting name for this category it looks more like a Are you depressed? test. Who would say no to "I want to live to be at least 80+ years old" or any of the other weird ones.

Diversity & Inclusion

I believe that it is good to have a diverse selection of people around you in life. They can give you a broader knowledge of the world and may make you more accepting to other people. If you are accustomed to encountering people that seem weird, they wont scare you away. I like to meet and get to know people that seem weird from the outside. I've noticed that once you understand the person better you start to realize how why they are that way. A lot of times they only seem weird to us because they are different then what we are used to, but where they come from they are just fitting in. When you include someone that has been pushed out or doesn’t want to be included you are adding a new perspective to the group. When a group alienates a person, sometimes unintentionally, they reduce the number to minds working together. This can happen when everyone is agreeing except one person who doesn’t want to speak up because they know they will be out numbered, but just because everyone has the same opinion doesn’t mean it is the correct one. By adding the other side of the discussion a better solution can be made where angles have been said and heard. Also it is nice.

Housing and financial aid

Housing to me is the places on campus where students can choose to survive or thrive in during their final academic years. From what I've heard from friends going to other schools dorms are typically small, stinking, and small. Maybe its just the cleanliness of me and my roommate but I havent had any problems with the stank of the dorms themselves. Also as much as they complain about the smell they wine about the size. I wouldn't mind having more space for activities, but dont think I wouldn't be able to survive with a little less. I did have a little let down when I found out where I would end up living. Leading up to orientation I was getting information saying I would live in north wallace, my first choice. However when I got to the check in to move in my belongings they gave me a key and told me I was in south wallace. I almost cried. My first choice for housing next yea would be living in Parsonage, the old honors house with some people from the track team. We caught wind that they were changing the function of it from honors to normal campus housing. I am so excited about this prospect because of the legends Ive heard of coming from the old track house. This house was immediately beside the stadium which would be very convient for everyone due to its proximity. However, I missed the opportunity to live here by a few years. Only one student still on the team ever lived in it. When alumni come back, to see the team and Coach, we always get to here the antics and Krazy stories that could involve rotting carcasses or finding strangers and then needles in the basement. Apparently over the years the house has been too neglected to allow students to live there. They say they were going to knock it down. That would be to bad. When I heard they were renovating the Rose O'Neill House it made me think there was a possibility for the track house to get he same treatment. This seems unlikely
That is plan A, but because there is a lot that has to go right first. We are looking to live in Summit next.

Civic Engagment

Meaningful involvement means doing things in your community that have an impact. It is important for a person to be engaged because it takes many inspired people to make a productive and safe environment. A student at Drury has many groups and clubs offered to them where they could become meaningfully involved. I am not involved in any groups or clubs at Drury. I have not made a conscious decision to be uninvolved. I just have not yet. Some times I think that I should fit being involved in something into my schedule. But then I get a studio assignment  and then I dont have the time to walk to class. my main personal consumers are architecture and track. They take energy in different ways. Architecture projects are usually worked on late in the night making me go to bed late. Whereas track is typically in the early morning dragging me out of bed early. I think the trick to being busy is having your priorities in order. Architecture is my biggest priority because it is something that is harder to catch up on. If the teacher assigns something it isn't completed on time they expect it plus the next big assignment at the next deadline. Next is track, it is a high priority also because it is something that I enjoy. It can relax me as well as give me enjoyment from exercising with the friends on the team. Eating and sleeping can change there place in priority depending on jow much I have been able to get in the last few days. I am not going to mention where my other classes like onthe priority scale. Both architecture and track tax me enough to make me think that I couldn't meaningfully involve myself in any other engagement. Its not that I dont like being busy. I get bored easily and being forced to schedule my time, be efficient and productive at the same time is fun. If I did some how get enough time to be meaningfully involved I would first probably attend some American Institue of Architecture Students meetings.