It’s Not Worth The Trouble To Shop On Black Friday
Today is Black Friday. It is a day when Americans are out shopping early in the morning time to get merchandises that is on sale for a cheaper price. Many would stand outside the stores in the cold for an average of 5 hours until the stores open to get that particular merchandise before someone else does.
Crazy things happen on that day. An example would be someone pepper spraying another person in order to get in the front of the line or fighting another customer in order to get that particular merchandise. During this time over the years, many people have been arrested for fighting over a product. A few have been trampled by an onslaught of customers trying to get that particular thing that is important to them.
Personally, I think that it is ridiculous that people would wait out in the cold hours before the store opens in order to get a specific merchandise. I understand that it is on sale for that specific weekend, but that same particular product will be on sale either before Christmas or the week after. It is not worth it to get into fights or even go to jail just to get that specific product because it will follow you for the rest of your life.
Celebrating Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a holiday that is celebrated in the United States and Canada. It is a time when families come together to give thanks for all of the blessings that was bestowed upon them.
In the United States, the history of thanksgiving began in 1621 when the English arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They prepared a feast and celebrated by thanking God for keeping them safe in their journey from England to what is now the United States.
To all my readers, happy thanksgiving and I hope that everyone finishes the year on a high note.
Tailgating at Reliant Stadium
by Cheval John
Houston, Texas- The 86th annual “Battle of the Piney Woods” between Sam Houston State (SHSU)
Bearkats and Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Lumberjacks at Reliant Stadium
was filled with fun, excitement and running back Tim Flanders
flipping into the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Bearkats
momentum in the game and allowed them to demolish SFA 45-10.
The game was played in front of
25,083, the largest crowd in Southland Conference history.
Even
though the game was exciting, the best part for many of the
spectators was tailgating.
They were a sea of orange and purple in
the parking lot at Reliant Stadium. Though they were in separate
parking lots, they were some students and alumnus from SFA among the
crowd of orange.
The series began in 1923 and is the
second longest rivalry in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The
Bearkats have an all-time record of 49-35-2 against the Lumberjacks.
As a result of an agreement that was
reached between Lone Star Sports and Entertainment and the two
universities in 2009, the series was moved to Reliant Stadium in
Houston which started last year and would continue through the
2013 season.
With more than 65,000 alumni that call
Greater Houston their home, tailgating at Reliant allows them to
reconnect with their former classmates and professors, and also, to
meet current students that are attending Sam.
“The rivalry is a huge deal,”
former Bearkat baseball player Alex Pujols said. “I am happy that
they brought it here to Houston and it is getting bigger every year.”
Tailgating also allowed a few SFA’s
alumnus and students to catch up with their friends that attended Sam
Houston and for those that graduated from both SHSU and SFA.
“We do a mutual tailgate that allows
us to mingling with both groups and has worked out for us,” SHSU and SFA alumnus Stewart
Jackson said.
He was one of many people at the Athletic Training
Alumni tent that was near the SFA side of the parking lot.
Different colleges and departments
including the College of Business Administration took part in the
tailgating at Reliant Stadium.
“It is festive here with great music
and weather and everyone is excited about the game,” SHSU alumna
Valerie Muesham, Ph.D. said.
Tailgating at Reliant was fun and will
continue for the next two seasons. Hopefully for many, the annual
rivalry will continue at Reliant for more years after the 2013 season.
Did I mentioned that the Flanders’ flip made it to the top 10 list on ESPN’s SportsCenter at #5? Click here to see for yourself.
Studying Abroad: A Stepping Stone to Change the World
by Cheval John
Everyone has ambitions to change the world, whether it is recycling or making cars that would avoid using carbon emission fuels. But what about doing something that would not only have an impact on the world, but have an impact on a person and changes the direction of their career. That is exactly what happen to Jesse Starkey, Study Abroad Coordinator at the Office of International Programs at Sam Houston State University (SHSU).
During her time as an undergraduate student at Metropolitan State College of Denver, she always wanted to study abroad, but could not afford to do it. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she was looking for alternatives to studying abroad and found out about the Peace Corps.
“I have always been fascinated about cultures outside of the United States,” Starkey said. “When I found out about the Peace Corps, I felt that it would allow me to immerse myself in the culture and learn the language.”
After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in December of 2005, she applied for the Peace Corps and was accepted. Almost a year later, she was in Morocco volunteering as a small business development coordinator. In that role, she worked with a group of women that formed a weaving cooperative and taught them the basic skills to improve their business. During that time, they were able to start a two-year accredited technical school that would allow women in the local area to obtain the skills to succeed.
After her stint with the Peace Corps, she returned to the States and worked at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Spring, Texas for three years.
Then one day, her boyfriend decided to attend graduate school at Sam and so they moved to Huntsville. While she was looking for a new job, she found out about the study abroad coordinator position at SHSU.
According to Starkey, “I stumbled upon the position and I felt that it would allow me to apply the skills that I learned in the Peace Corps.”
After applying for the position, she got hired and started working in July of 2010. In her role, she assists students to find programs that will allow their credits to transfer to SHSU and international students to find housing, register for classes and to integrate in the campus community successfully.
Recently, she coordinated a program that allowed students from SHSU’s sister university, Momoyama Gakuin University in Osaka, Japan to study English here from mid-February to mid-March.
For students who are hesitant about studying abroad, she offers this advice:
“Having international experience will be a huge benefit to those that are looking for jobs and studying abroad will allow a person to acquire that experience and to expand their worldview.”
A Once In A Lifetime Opportunity
As graduation ceremonies are going on around the world, I would like to give my congratulations to all of the graduates who have worked so hard to get to that milestone. They understand that it is very important to get a college degree because they will be set for the rest of their lives.
You might say, “The economy is tough and no one is hiring, so is it still worth it to put four or more years of my life through college to get a degree? Yes, it is absolutely worth it because according to Census Bureau, a person who earns an associate degree will earn over $400,000 more than someone who only have a high school diploma in their lifetime and for someone who earns a bachelor’s degree will earn double that amount.
It gets even better, a person who earns a master’s or a doctorate will earn more than someone who has a bachelor’s degree.
That’s an incentive for anyone to go to college and get a degree, but don’t let that be the only motivation because if that is, then you are missing the point.
When a person go to college, they learn about things that they would not have learned in high school. In my final semester as an undergraduate, I took a class called “Economic History: Industrial Revolution to Present.” Through that class, I learned a lot about economics from a historical standpoint and it allowed me to understand what was going on during the so-called “Great Recession of 2008.”
If you still feel that it is not worth it to go to college, then that is your choice, but I got to warn you, you will be missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
If you agree or disagree with this post, please leave a comment here.
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