So occasionally I come across difficulty in selecting a topic for my Sunday evening blog post, often due to my absence of brain power (however much was there from the start remains unknown). As a solution, I ask my girlfriend at times to suggest a few topics for me to cover. The other day I asked her to look at my blog to read one of my posts, and of course she complained about the absence of color and life! To me this is a funny generalization between males and females. We guys generally don’t care what the damn thing looks like, as long as the content is there. But many women will spend excessive (in my eyes) amounts of time and effort to the detail of things, like a blog. A bit unrelated to what I’m going to talk about next, but I just found it somewhat humorous.
Anyway, more importantly, there are eight days left of class. Eight! I cannot believe how quickly this semester has gone by, let alone this year. I feel that I have changed quite a bit since August, and reflecting on that is interesting. When I first came here to UNC, I was all about the “I love college” attitude. I had no real desire to actually work hard to earn my grades. I mean, I was still a good student and did my work, but I definitely procrastinated a lot. I cared about my grades and put effort, but I never gave myself time to put my best effort into things. Plus, it was often painful to sit down in the library on a beautiful day and work. It was almost unnatural for me to look at my weekends as time for studying and preparing for the week ahead. I mean, who honestly had to do that in high school? I know I didn’t. I was accustomed to tests and papers that required minimal analysis and application, with much more regurgitation than anything. So you can only imagine what I thought of my initial tests and papers here at Carolina.
Time management is what really killed me and my study habits were poor. I got caught in a cycle that is not easy to avoid. I would stay up late trying to finish work due the next day, and would be tired during class the following morning. This would leave me restricted on my learning and would cause me to go to my room to nap or relax instead of reviewing or completing work ahead of time. This is a vicious cycle and it is really difficult to get out once you are in it. I would relate it to quicksand.
Also, coming to an environment with an incredibly large student population, most of which are among the brightest in the world, was intimidating at first. Walking by the library on a Friday night and seeing students working away made me feel guilty and questioning of whether I was working as hard as I should be. Confidence is a huge factor in academic performance that I lacked last semester. As a result of my cycle I got a lower-than-expected grade in Chemistry (shocking right?). I let this get to my head and it made me want to avoid the subject altogether. This lack of practice and the mental intimidation produced a bad result, but ultimately taught me a lot.
Following the Fall semester, I realized that while I’m at school I should be doing everything I can for my classes. Lengthy breaks will follow and reward my hard work. Practice makes perfect, and without the proper time to sit down and practice, success will be limited. The number of people who can sit through a class without paying attention or working hard and still receive good grades is rare, extremely rare. Those people always pissed me off.
I’m still learning as the semester winds down, but I feel that I have come a long way from last semester in terms of balance and managing my collegiate lifestyle. Fortunately, as cliché as some may find it, I have really taken to heart the concept that no matter what you do, just be happy and that is the best thing you could ever ask for. With this in mind, I will still strive for my goals, but I’m going to enjoy my ride in life as well.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Your Weed Payed for My Child's Education!
First off, let me make it clear that I do not engage in the consumption or sale of marijuana. I am proud to say that despite peer pressure and other situations, I have never smoked weed. However, its legal status is a national interest to many, and I think it is an interesting topic. I am not an expert on the issue itself, so bear with me. I will just give my opinion on what this country should do concerning marijuana and its legal status.
If I remember correctly, there are a shocking number of people in jail for non-violent marijuana crimes. The figure is something like one out of every six people in jail is there for these non-violent crimes. To me, prison is a place for violent and dangerous people. The people that go to jail for breaking the controlled substance laws with marijuana are generally non-violent, or at least do not have a history of violence. So why are they going to jail, other than because it is simply against the law? Their imprisonment is contributing to the overcrowding of jails, and allowing many violent criminals to stay on the streets.
In my opinion, marijuana should be a personal choice, like alcohol or cigarettes. Some may argue that it alters the mind and decision-making of the user. However, so does alcohol. I remember reading that people who consume alcohol are more likely to act violent than those under the influence of marijuana. Prohibition and the 18th amendment show that we clearly could not live without alcohol and it is almost inevitable that marijuana will be an aspect of society regardless of legalization or not. So why not legalize it? Why not tax it and use the money for other things? After all, this is a free country, and if these people want to risk their health with marijuana why can’t they?
The laws against marijuana have created an underground society that often does involve violence in terms of smuggling and transporting the drug into the United States. If it were legalized, this trend could be eliminated with production occurring within designated parts of the country, and becoming self-sustaining. This would likely eliminate most of the incoming smuggling, and the violence associated with its transportation. By taxing the substance and incorporating regulations, it could be just as efficient as the alcohol business. The money received from the taxes would stay inside the country, rather than venture to the drug lords of third-world nations. We could enhance infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Although it sounds like a simple and easy process, it is not.
Should marijuana be legalized, it would not be surprising if other drugs such as heroin or cocaine were pushed for legalization by its users. Also, health issues would be inevitable no matter what people say. Putting smoke into your lungs is simply not good for you, whether it is tobacco, tea, or marijuana. Also, with legalization marijuana could potentially become more accessible to children and secondhand smoke would also become a health issue.
Ultimately, I think there is a lot of potential for legalizing marijuana for the good of our people. So much money is spent on it today that often leaves the country when it should be staying. Also, like alcohol, people are going to continue to use this substance regardless of regulation, so we might as well utilize the habit of some to benefit all. It is already making advances in California with medicine, so it is not out of sight for future legal changes to occur.
If I remember correctly, there are a shocking number of people in jail for non-violent marijuana crimes. The figure is something like one out of every six people in jail is there for these non-violent crimes. To me, prison is a place for violent and dangerous people. The people that go to jail for breaking the controlled substance laws with marijuana are generally non-violent, or at least do not have a history of violence. So why are they going to jail, other than because it is simply against the law? Their imprisonment is contributing to the overcrowding of jails, and allowing many violent criminals to stay on the streets.
In my opinion, marijuana should be a personal choice, like alcohol or cigarettes. Some may argue that it alters the mind and decision-making of the user. However, so does alcohol. I remember reading that people who consume alcohol are more likely to act violent than those under the influence of marijuana. Prohibition and the 18th amendment show that we clearly could not live without alcohol and it is almost inevitable that marijuana will be an aspect of society regardless of legalization or not. So why not legalize it? Why not tax it and use the money for other things? After all, this is a free country, and if these people want to risk their health with marijuana why can’t they?
The laws against marijuana have created an underground society that often does involve violence in terms of smuggling and transporting the drug into the United States. If it were legalized, this trend could be eliminated with production occurring within designated parts of the country, and becoming self-sustaining. This would likely eliminate most of the incoming smuggling, and the violence associated with its transportation. By taxing the substance and incorporating regulations, it could be just as efficient as the alcohol business. The money received from the taxes would stay inside the country, rather than venture to the drug lords of third-world nations. We could enhance infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Although it sounds like a simple and easy process, it is not.
Should marijuana be legalized, it would not be surprising if other drugs such as heroin or cocaine were pushed for legalization by its users. Also, health issues would be inevitable no matter what people say. Putting smoke into your lungs is simply not good for you, whether it is tobacco, tea, or marijuana. Also, with legalization marijuana could potentially become more accessible to children and secondhand smoke would also become a health issue.
Ultimately, I think there is a lot of potential for legalizing marijuana for the good of our people. So much money is spent on it today that often leaves the country when it should be staying. Also, like alcohol, people are going to continue to use this substance regardless of regulation, so we might as well utilize the habit of some to benefit all. It is already making advances in California with medicine, so it is not out of sight for future legal changes to occur.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Controvercial Futbol
It is Saturday afternoon and I just finished watching Manchester United clash with Chelsea. If you are unaware of what I am talking about, these are two of the premier clubs in the EPL (English Premier League). This league is hailed as one of, if not the, best leagues in the world. In case you are not aware, I am an avid futbol (soccer) fan, and a proud fan of Manchester United. Unfortunately today, Manchester United fell behind 2-1 to Chelsea, leaving them two points behind the now current leaders, Chelsea. I would normally be upset only because of poor performance or lack of effort from my team. However, I am furious, and for different reasons.
Along with my passion for playing and watching futbol, I am a referee as well. So while I watch the players, I also watch the referees to learn from them. These leagues feature the best players in the world, along with the best referees in the world. Now, I know that as humans we are not all perfect, but at this level it is safe to say that near perfection is expected. To my awe, Chelsea scored their second goal of the match after clearly being in an offside position. This means that the attacker was past the second to last defender at the precise moment that the ball was played to him. This is the primary concern of the assistant referee. Yet, today the assistant referee got it all wrong and cost the match for Manchester United, who was already the loss of injured Wayne Rooney, arguably their most potent goal scorer. This brings me to pose the question of whether instant replay and review should be implemented in modern day futbol, including the world cup.
With modern technology, instant replay and review can be seen in many of the world’s large-scale sports. Football, basketball, tennis, baseball, hockey, and NASCAR all utilize this technology. It has been of long debate whether this technology should be implemented in the world’s game or not. I personally am against it. Think about it. Futbol is played all over the world, often in venues that do not have access to such potentially expensive equipment. Also, futbol has been revered for its beautiful play and the unexpected variations in results due to weather, location, player’s health, and even officials. Futbol is a game that is characterized by these variables and allows for spectacular results all around. A team may have a tendency to be dominant in a league, but any team could potentially seize an opportunity to upset the other. Also, from the perspective of an official, this type of error correction could lead to loss of credibility and ultimately game control. People may begin to doubt the officials, who are doing their best to call what they see, and this would tarnish the sport as a whole. So, despite my anger and disappointment for a missed offside call that lead to my team’s loss, I am still in favor of keeping futbol free of instant replay and review.
Along with my passion for playing and watching futbol, I am a referee as well. So while I watch the players, I also watch the referees to learn from them. These leagues feature the best players in the world, along with the best referees in the world. Now, I know that as humans we are not all perfect, but at this level it is safe to say that near perfection is expected. To my awe, Chelsea scored their second goal of the match after clearly being in an offside position. This means that the attacker was past the second to last defender at the precise moment that the ball was played to him. This is the primary concern of the assistant referee. Yet, today the assistant referee got it all wrong and cost the match for Manchester United, who was already the loss of injured Wayne Rooney, arguably their most potent goal scorer. This brings me to pose the question of whether instant replay and review should be implemented in modern day futbol, including the world cup.
With modern technology, instant replay and review can be seen in many of the world’s large-scale sports. Football, basketball, tennis, baseball, hockey, and NASCAR all utilize this technology. It has been of long debate whether this technology should be implemented in the world’s game or not. I personally am against it. Think about it. Futbol is played all over the world, often in venues that do not have access to such potentially expensive equipment. Also, futbol has been revered for its beautiful play and the unexpected variations in results due to weather, location, player’s health, and even officials. Futbol is a game that is characterized by these variables and allows for spectacular results all around. A team may have a tendency to be dominant in a league, but any team could potentially seize an opportunity to upset the other. Also, from the perspective of an official, this type of error correction could lead to loss of credibility and ultimately game control. People may begin to doubt the officials, who are doing their best to call what they see, and this would tarnish the sport as a whole. So, despite my anger and disappointment for a missed offside call that lead to my team’s loss, I am still in favor of keeping futbol free of instant replay and review.
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