“College Is For Everyone”

By Terrence Cain

As I edge closer and closer to being twenty-nine, that's the thirteenth of March just in case you're all wondering, I have begun to look around me and I have noticed that there is an increasing number of people over twenty-five that are attending college, some people that are attending are even well over forty. That makes me very happy to see that people are willing to do whatever they can for themselves in order to survive this recession. You really shouldn't be scared to go to college because regardless of what you hear in the news about college graduates having a hard time finding work it is extremely important to have a college education. The majority of jobs out there are requiring a college degree, some with a bachelors degree.

Now I know this is going to come off like an advertisement, but trust me when I say that I am speaking honestly and from the heart. Howard College is probably the best junior college to attend. I know it's the best in all of West Texas because I've tried to get signed up with a few other junior colleges in the area in the past and I've ran into quite a few problems and no one was around to assist. I've also noticed that Howard really tries to help you succeed, they don't discriminate against you based on prior academic failures either, and the professors here are very knowledgeable.

So if you're a non-student reading this, or a student here who is unsure whether to complete their education, I highly recommend you that you do attend, and if you are attending already I recommend you staying and completing your tenure at Howard. When you have your degree in your hands it's going to make it that much easier to get a job when you're out there looking.

I used to think I was the most dim-witted, ill-fated, going nowhere person in the world. I would work myself to the bone and math would still beat my brain to a pulp every single day while I was in school in my youth. Here I am now at Howard College, in my fourth semester, and I'm making As and Bs in math when I used to make Ds & Fs. I discovered that the teachers I had in school in my youth didn't seem to know how to teach to me and the professors at Howard College do. So if you feel like I used to, give Howard College a try because I guarantee you that you're way more intelligent than you realize and as long as you put forth real effort you can get the degree you want.

Well I hope I've been helpful to all of you this week. Keep pushing forward and don't give up on your dreams. To paraphrase from the classic film, Terminator II: “The future's not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.” Thanks for reading and have a great weekend everyone! This is Howard College's blogging machine, over and out!

 “Ritual De Lo Habitual”

By Terrence Cain

This week has been absolutely nuts, at least as far as weather is concerned. You can deny it all you want, but climate change—or “Global Warming” as it was once referred to—is happening. Never in my life have I seen it go from one day in the low thirties to the next day being in the high sixties; one day full of snow and the next spring season looks like it has arrived. The even stranger thing is that it has happened numerous times this winter season here in West Texas. I had someone even tell me that we got more snow than New York this winter. Anyone who knows about the North East knows that area gets a ton of snow every winter, so it seems rather odd to me that it didn't snow much up in the Northern part of the United States. If you want to keep denying there is a drastic change in weather patterns, well you can do that all you like, but the reality is that things are changing. Whether we caused it or not, well that's still up for debate, but things are changing for sure.

There has been something gnawing at my thoughts for quite some time now and I feel it's something that needs to be addressed. If you have a cell phone, and in this modern age who doesn't, it would suit your intellect and those who surround you to put it away for the duration of your time in class. I know a lot of you probably don't care if you get a proper education or not but for those of us who do it has become quite distracting and very annoying to see you with your hands under the desk looking down at your cell phone thinking you're so clever getting away with disrespecting the professors and your fellow classmates when you do this.

I try my best to ignore the majority of you who do this, but it's getting extremely annoying and it's beginning to get my protest side all riled up and ready to start a petition going to ban cell phones in the classroom. They already have this policy in the STEPS Lab when you take a test in there that you have to give them your cell phone and turn it off, so maybe just maybe that's what needs to be done to resolve this problem that seems to be an epidemic in every single classroom.

So do us all one of two favors. Either stop using your cell phone for the hour, I promise it won't hurt you one bit to do so, or just stop coming to class all together and go look for a job if you don't think you need an education. I don't mean to sound rude, but its very rude of you to treat your professors and fellow students with total disregard and disrespect when you do what you do in class. It's just as bad as the students who fall asleep in class. I know the professors usually don't say anything, so that makes you think it's okay, but it's not. The professors have been dealing with it for so long that they've just simply given up and are only teaching to those who really want to learn and ignoring the rest of you who play with your cell phone or sleep in class. Okay, enough ranting about the annoying habits of others. I have an essay, a ton of math, and a visit to my family back in Odessa over the weekend, so I wish you all a great weekend as well. This is Howard College's blogging machine, over & out!

“Much To Say About Nothing”

By Terrence Cain

There really isn't much to say this week. In English II We finished talking about “A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner and will discus “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson next week. The week after next we'll have a one to two page essay to write about either one of those two stories. I got an 80 on my first algebra test. In U.S. Government we talked about all the compromises to get the constitution off the table and into law. In my Cinema class we talked a little about the controversial Detroit car ad with Clint Eastwood and talked about movie icons of the golden age of cinema and the modern age of cinema and their differences as to why they're considered icons. Well until next week, this Howard College's blogging machine, over and out!

“Groundhog Day”

by Terrence Cain

Indeed the day is Groundhog Day! Well yesterday actually since Friday is usually when I get this blog officially posted, but since I am writing this on February 2^nd that's what I will be writing this in the manner of. Anyway, I think I need to pay this groundhog a visit this weekend and let it know I don't appreciate it forecasting six more weeks of winter weather. I do love spring, and the weather here in Big Spring has been very nice for the last couple of weeks so I hope that groundhog is wrong or else I might just have to give it a piece of my mind. Okay, enough sarcasm from this college student.

This week has been great because we have finally gotten into doing what our classes were designed to do, and that's to learn and grow. In my Cinema class we talked about how basically Universal, MGM, and Warner Bros. had this monopoly on film making prior to 1969 and how a movie distributed by Columbia Pictures called “Easy Rider” broke the mould of how movies could and would be made in the future. I'm a movie buff just as I am a music buff, so this class just has me tickled pink in all the information that Prof. Davidson is sharing with us. Makes me feel like I could write about movies now too if the mood ever struck me to go in that direction.

In English II with Prof. Neal we're still talking about William Faulkner's short story “A Rose For Emily”. In Thursday's class we talked more in-depth about the symbolism of his story and the overall direction. I've always liked Faulkner's stories, but I will have to admit he was one strange writer. We'll finish up next week and then move on to another story I will reveal in next week's post.

In my U.S. Government class with Prof. Hamby we're delving a bit deeper again into the Articles Of Confederation and how the Federalists and Non-Federalists compare to the Republicans and Democrats of today. Very interesting discussions and comparisons in today's class. Well that's all I really have to say today about this week's classes. Have a great weekend everyone. This is Howard College's blogging machine, over and out!