The Six Week Blues

Hello All, The last six weeks were hectic weeks for me. I was under a lot of stress. I had many different things coming at me from all directions personally. As you may already know I have two teenage sons. My oldest son is in school pursuing a degree and wants to become a Graphics Designer. My youngest son is getting ready to start high school in August. Things have been a little stressful for me because I am in school and I find that I have to have enough strength to help keep my son encouraged while keeping myself encouraged to do well. As for my youngest son, I am having to deal with the ego that comes along with the out of control hormones that teenagers have at age 15. LOL I have also been dealing with some stress on the job. As with any job you have to adjust to the many different personalities from people you work with. It can sometimes be a challenge dealing with different personalities over the phone. My job requires me to have a pleasant demeanor because I handle lots of phone calls. Although I do a very good job at not becoming upset, not being to release what I really feel causes stress as well. I am human and I have feelings but I am also very professional. Last but certainly not least is the balance between dating and school. It is obvious that there is no choice to be made between the two. School is my priority. There is no way I would give up my dreams and fall behind in school just to have a dating life. lol It can get difficult though. I divorced 3 years ago and I now have a friend. I want to take things to the next level but I want to be sure that I am ready. I also feel that I want to have something I have never had before becoming seriously involved with someone, and that is my dream career. My friend is the best. He is very supportive and encourages me to do well. I have no doubt that when the timing is right that we will have a beautiful relationship. Even though it has been a rough six weeks, a lot of faith, positive thinking, and a whole lot of prayer has helped me overcome stress and I am at peace with my life and the direction I am headed in.

College Life At 39

Hello All, I must say that being in school has had a great influence on my life. When I first began school last year I was very nervous. I was 38 years old and had been out of high school for twenty years. I did not know if I would be familiar with any of the lessons I was about to be taught. It was tough in the beginning but I think that school has had a positive influence on my life. It made me feel good as an individual. There are single parents such as myself out there that want to go back to school, but feel that it may be too much for them to handle with the responsibilities of already being a parent. There are also people that start but are not able to manage stress or their time well and they usually just give up and quit. The fact that I'm still doing it makes me feel proud and my sons and other family members are proud of me as well. I have been able to take some of the things that I have learned and applied them to my life. My speech has changed and I speak more intelligently. I even have a different stride when I walk. lol I walk with my head held high and I'm more confident. There are times when I get frustrated or tired but I know that I've come to far to give up. In my opinion the influence that school has depends on what the individual wants to get out of being back in school. If a individual has goals and dreams school can be a positive influence towards working to achieve those dreams and goals.

Plagiarism Pirates

Based on what I have read I think that it is very important to cite sources. The most important reason is because you do not want to take credit for ideas that are not yours. Plagiarism is just another form of theft. There are people in the world that steal people identities and live their lives based on a lie. They use the stolen identity to make purchases with credit that is not theirs, use money that is not theirs, and use the stolen identity for their own selfish, dishonest purposes. Plagiarism can be viewed in the same way. If you do not want anyone stealing your identity, surely you would not want anyone stealing your ideas. Furthermore, writing a paper that consists of ideas that you have not properly cited or writing a paper with too many quotes can take away from the paper. The reader does not get an opportunity to read a paper that has the writer's original ideas.

Being An Online Student

Wow, this is something new to me! I'm not used to blogging this way. I used to blog all of the time on myspace but noone blogs anymore and noone is reading blogs anymore. I think that being an online student has its advantages and it also has disadvantages. As far as anonymity and flexibility goes, being an online student is an advantage. I enjoy the fact that I'm in the comfort of my home and can grab my laptop or get in front of my desktop in my slippers to log into class. If I'm hungry I have the option to eat while I'm working. Another advantage to being an online student is that I can save money and gas because I'm attending class at home. A single mother such as myself can appreciate not having to burn gas and drive to school on campus after working an eight hour day on the job. On the other hand,being an online student requires good time management skills and organization skills and self discipline. It's easy to get so relaxed with the fact that work is being done at home online that you may forget about an assignment or project that is due. During my first semester at Kaplan I experienced this. I had to rearrange things and say "no" to many phone calls, dates, and activities that I used to do before becoming a student. I learned that when I didn't say "no" there was a huge price to pay. My assignments ended up being turned in late and I was retaining little or none of the information that was being taught in class. I basically had to make a decision. Were my activities and dates more important than my dreams? No, they were not. Once I made that decision I learned to manage my time. I created a schedule for my activities and my school work. Things that I could eliminate I did. I also learned how to manage stress. If I felt overwhelmed I would take a walk, or just watch a little t.v. to give my brain some rest. I don't have a problem with interaction with students online. However, there are times that I wish I could actually see and communicate with the Professor. Overall,I'm pleased with being an online student with Kaplan University.