Saturday, September 26, 2015

Traveling

Greece:
Oh my how I want to travel to Greece... Ive wanted to go forever. I guess a big part of it is that my nationality is Greek, and look how beautiful that it.  Ive heard stories about how I have long lost family over there, it would be cool to go searching for them... even though I don't know the language.  I wish I can learn the language, but I've always had trouble learning a second language. I took Spanish for YEARS and still cant understand or speak it.  I would also love to go to Spain, I had a chance to go with my Spanish class but it was too expensive.  
There's so much history in Greece to see; Acropolis, the temple of Poseidon, and temple of Olympian Zeus.  The sculptures the museums not to mention the beautiful beaches with crystal clear water and white sand. There's archaeological sights and historical sights and even castles!
If you're into the nature side of things then you can see caves, waterfalls, mountains, lakes and rivers. The climate can be quite mild so that makes for easy travel. I would love to go and see these beautiful islands and wild life. I love to experience different cultures and places.  Not to mention the food would be AMAZING. My grandma cooks Greek food from time to time and I love it.  Lemon soup, gyro, lots and lots of sea food (that I cant eat because I'm allergic *sad face*) souvlaki etc.  And since there are many mountainous regions, the food differs from region to region.   
You can even hike a volcanoes, watch for dolphins and turtles and bicycle through forests.
While I was reading up on it, I found some essential information to know:
The best time to go is April- June, in the spring time. Their electricity is different, and they use euros for money.
Although, I heard the government is in quite a pickle right now so I'm not sure if any time soon is a good time to go, but I'm saving up now so eventually I can go and maybe find some of my family!

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece#ixzz3mtBZkrsJ

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

My college geography class:

So as I am sitting in my class, which has 300 people in it, I realize I need to blog about this class. I have a great teacher, really he is very nice, but man this class is ridiculous.  He requires a book for the class (that we haven't used yet) that is over $150. Also he requires this online program that cost us $24.00 for a couple months.  And I want to talk about this program, because it has caused nothing but problems in this class.  
In our Edu 106 class, we talk about new technologies and all about using new websites hat help us create our projects and our class activities; none of which cost me a penny.  This program (I will not name) is useless really.  We all bring our laptops to class, sign into the program, then the teacher comes in and tries to get into the program as well.  He takes almost 20 min to get into the program, with problems signing in and with southerns Internet not working, plus students going to talk to him etc.  NOW, 20/30 min into this class, students are sill asking questions about this program (like why are we using this program) taking up even more time! 

Now this program that cost a bunch that I can only use for a couple months, is really only good for him to take attendance.  For the first couple weeks that's all he was using it for.  Next he puts some power point slides out, which was good... but we can only see it when he puts it up. We cant see it while we are at home. How are we supposed to study? He gives a speech at the beginning of class about how he has been working with the people at this program and now with the IT people at the school and etc etc whatever. I find it ridiculous that I paid for this program and I CANT EVEN USE IT AT HOME for some copyright reasons.  The only time I get to see the slide, one at a time, is when I come and sit in class with the book we haven't used.  

I almost feel bad writing this but some teachers do this and maybe if someone reads my blog post, they will realize that students aren't made of money, and we really do use the materials at home to study.  
Then I go back to my New Literacy class where we have used like 10 different sights already to do multiple projects and assignments that I haven't had to pay for and these sights are actually there to help me learn. 
Okay... end rant. 

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Stress

Ive been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life.  College makes you decide what you want to do before you even get there. I find it pretty stressful that I had to declare a major, even though Ive changed it so many times.  Now that I changed my majors so many times, Im "behind".  Ive already done 3 years of college before transferring to Southern, now I have another 5 years to go! I could be have been a Doctor if I went 8 years of school. But all ill have to show for my 8 years is a masters degree.  Don't get me wrong, thats great an all, but I could have been done sooner, working earlier, paying back money that I owe etc.  
There's so much pressure on getting your life together as soon as you're out of high school. I have one word for that... stressful.  Anyways, now that i'm going to school and taking all these classes, i'm starting to doubt myself. I took a Philosophy class a while ago, and there was one Philosopher we read about who said that it was important to do every type of job to really know about anything. (Sorry I cant remember who said it) I feel like that is SUCH an IMPORTANT idea. As students we get a little taste of what jobs are out there in high school. We see what our teachers do, maybe we want to become a psychologist because that class was cool. Or some people saw that criminal justice was an interesting class so thats what they pursue... I think it should be mandatory for kids to get out there and really see what is out there. Do all types of jobs or intern somewhere to get a feel for it. By the time we are done with high school we should have a decent idea of what we want to go for in college. It would save people money, time, and get them into a field they are interested in earlier. All students need more experience and I believe this would help greatly.
Thanks for reading my thoughts today!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Its Complicated Chapter 2

In It's Complicated chapter 2 "Why do youth share so publicly?" There is a quote that says "There’s a big difference between being in public and being public" and I knew as soon as I read that, this was what I wanted to talk about.  Im not sure why, I just feel like its such a correct quote. 
I guess it goes back to the other idea that is mentioned about teens wanting to fit in. Doesn't everyone want to fit in? The internet is such a good place for this because you can literally find anyone who has the same interest as you. You can find any information on things that you like.  You can do almost anything.  But there are times where you think you are being in the public when really you are being too public, and that can be bad, or vice versa.  
Lets be honest, we have all done a little too much sharing but thats okay. We just have to keep in mind that anyone can see what we have out there. I like to think everything I have is private but who am I kidding, nothing is private. I just hope that I do a good job with engaging the right audience... I guess. 
It seems I have a lot of conflicting thoughts... theres just so many pros and cons to the internet. I cant make up my mind about it.
I confused myself writing this post. 

It's Complicated Chapter 1

So in our reading from its complicated, the first chapter "why do teens seem strange online?" was pretty impactful for me.  The story about the application to an Ivy league school from a teen who was coming from such a horrible background and how impressed they were but then.. they find his online profiles. When they were talking about how maybe he was doing it to keep himself safe, it brought up many feelings for me. Its awful that a child would need to do something like that to keep himself safe, but the fact that someone was trying to justify his actions was, in a way, comforting. All we hear is "be careful what you put online, nothing is private, its on the web FOREVER." And this is all true. BUT, finally someone who is thinking something besides "oh this silly teen didn't think he would get caught in a lie".  
I think we all have to be a little more honest with ourselves because everyone is going to say something that might not be completely true to get themselves in a better position. Im not saying this is right or wrong, I'm just saying that its going to happen.  
Everything is online now. EVERYTHING!  It's a learning process for people. We can be someone completely different then who we are in real life. We can find people who have exactly the same interest and hobbies and dislikes as us. How cool? But like I said earlier, its always about "be careful what you put online, nothing is private, its on the web FOREVER." We get it, I mean at least most of us do.  
I think its still a learning process on the do's and dont's of the interweb still.  
I don't know if anyone else does this but I get updates from Facebook that show me what I posted like 5 years ago on a certain day, and sometimes its quite embarrassing. Im sure in 5 more years I will think the same thing about what I am posting now. But like I said, Im learning.  We all are.  

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Me, Myself & I

Hey everyone:
Figured I would try out this blog thing!
I have no idea how to blog or what to write about... So the easiest topic is myself.
My name is Amanda. I am 21 years old and studying Communication disorders at Southern Conn. State University.  I am a dance teacher, if anyone wants to come take some classes.  I teach tap, ballet, jazz and Acrobatics.  Ive danced for 18 years and did gymnastics for 10 years. I love working with people and children. Im not sure what else to say about myself. I hope this is a good start to a blog! {Cant wait to improve}