“Farewell To The March”

By Terrence Cain

This month has gone by so fast that it almost feels like a lost month to me. I guess that's what happens when you're having so much fun that time just seems to fly by. I almost feel like I missed some important things in my life. Hopefully next month won't be so fast.

Well the school semester is almost over with, folks. We've got about a month and a week left before we can call for a summer break. It's a shame too because next semester is most likely my final semester at Howard College here in Big Spring. I will be getting my basic associates this year so that I can move on to a university and get my bachelors degree in print journalism by 2014.

That is probably going to be the hardest decision to make for me as well because there are so many great universities out there and so many great cities that I could go to and spend the rest of my life in. Right now the University of Texas at Austin is looking like the best and most logical choice however. It's the closest to home, it's got many great opportunities, and it has the best thriving music scene in all of Texas. There are numerous newspaper and magazine publications in Austin as well, so that would be a great help to me when I graduate.

At the University of Texas at Austin you can also do an internship for their on campus news paper called “Burnt Orange” which would be a great way in helping me to get my career going in the right direction as well, so that's most likely where I will be going to if I can gain acceptance to that university. The other university I've been looking at is all the way across the country in Boston, Massachusetts. U-Mass has some similar qualities to the University of Texas at Austin, but it is much farther away, and since they most likely won't be paying to help get me there I will be doing my best to try and get into the University of Texas at Austin. It's a dreamland city for me anyway. Just a great thriving town for a person like me.

In 2006 I went to Austin a couple of times when I was in an Alternative Rock band called Dead Bang Go. We went there to play in a contest where we won the first round of three to go on to play at some European festival. By the second round, about seven months later, I had quit the band over some personal conflicts. I personally feel that my leaving is what cost them the second round because the drummer they replaced me with wasn't very good.

Now I'm not trying to rub salt into old wounds or anything, but at the time it did make me feel pretty good to see the impact I had on the overall sound of the band. We probably would have won the second round if I had stayed. We may have even went on to play in that European festival too, but that's the past and I don't regret one bit where I am today. Music has and always will be a part of me, so being in Austin will be great for someone like me.

Although I am a bit sad that I will be leaving Howard College and West Texas behind next year, I know that I won't be too far away from home and that I will be carrying my root values with me no matter where I go. I hope that each and everyone of you going on to a university will be realizing your own dreams and aspirations and getting something more out of your education than partying and being part of a fraternity. Remember, life is much longer than a party. Well until next week, this is Howard College's blogging machine, over and out!

“March Of The Pisces”

By Terrence Cain

It feels good to be back this week. We have about a month and a half left before school is out for the semester. I'm quite surprised to see that my grads are pretty high—possibly the highest mid-terms I've ever had—and that definitely makes me feel good inside. I had a pretty good spring break, as I hope everyone else did too.

While on spring break I celebrated my twenty-ninth birthday on the thirteenth and took a trip to Abilene with my roommate to see some of the sights and sounds over there. It does a body good to get away, even if it isn't that far and not for long. Well I'm off to do some homework. Until next time, this is Howard College's blogging machine, over and out!

“Until We Meet Again...”

By Terrence Cain

I'm not going to bore you all to death with a lot of words. I'm not going to talk about school. And I won't even bother you with what I'll be doing on Spring Break, at least not in this post anyhow. I'll just say this; have fun, be safe, come back sober, and don't do anything you'll regret in the future. When I return I'll be a year older, a little wiser, and hopefully just as energized as I am right now. I'm going fishin' ya'll (metaphorically speaking), so I'll be seeing everyone in two weeks! This is Howard College's blogging machine, over and out!

“Stand Up For Education!”

By Terrence Cain

This week has been really light due to test taking and classes being cancelled for unknown reasons, so there really isn't much to say about my classes this week. That's okay though because I feel that I need to discuss something here that may get me into a lot of trouble, but I feel is necessary because I found it extremely offensive and degrading when I heard a particular speech this past Sunday on NBC's “Meet The Press” with David Gregory.

On Sunday former Pennsylvania senator, Rick Santorum, appeared yet again on “Meet The Press” and talked his usual spiel about a whole host of subjects. All of which were extremely inflammatory and offensive to me and probably a lot of others as well. The one thing that got to me the most though was a video clip shown of Mr. Santorum putting down higher education. He referred to President Obama as an “elitist snob” because the president would like to see everyone go to college. The way that Mr. Santorum was talking he made it sound like the president had signed some kind of “educational draft” into law forcing everyone to go to college. He further insulted education by insinuating that all college professors are “liberals” and that they're brainwashing us with the “Obama doctrine.”

By the time the clip ended I was both sick to my stomach and totally outraged by all the inflammatory, incendiary, vulgar, and offensive language that Mr. Santorum was using to tell the people listening to him at this town-hall meeting that people don't need an education. Are you kidding me? Everyone needs an education, Mr. Santorum. Even in the most basic of jobs people need to have an education.

I know many a people who have gone to a junior college just to learn how to weld properly, or how to be a mechanic, or to run an automated machine at the local power plant. There are even programs to teach you how to grow plants properly so that you can run an efficient farm or do landscaping. Has Mr. Santorum met U.S. History professor Tommy Tune here at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas? I surely doubt that he has because I know Prof. Tune would find your statements highly offensive in calling him a “liberal” and insinuating that he's been brainwashing his students on behalf of any president, let alone President Obama.

I think it is downright disgusting for a man who has a law degree, and running for the office of president, to be telling people that the current president is essentially “evil” just because he's made it easier for everyone to go to college and even further nerve-racking to insinuate that the president is trying to “brainwash” people by encouraging them to get a higher education.

Now I'm not trying to tell any of you out there reading this how to vote in the Texas primary on May 29^th, but if you are offended by what Mr. Santorum said about education not being important and that we're all being brainwashed by “liberal professors” then do as I will and vote for one of the other three candidates on May 29^th to send Mr. Santorum the message that his kind of rhetoric towards colleges and universities is not something you will tolerate from your elected officials. This is Howard College's blogging machine, over and out!

 “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!