Motivation/Inspiration

For most new college students freshmen year throws us into a new world where responsibility for our actions is solely ours. In order to achieve our educational goals we have to be determined and find inspiration. When we were at home we had our loved ones to push us to do our work and check on our progress but along with our new freedom comes the need for inspiration. Inspiration can be hard for new students to find when they are without their friends and family so how do they do it? Is one source of inspiration more meaningful than another? Is it better to be inspired by the achievments of others or by someone in your life who believes in you? Is inspiration necessary for success? How have you found inspiration/motivation?

--LM

Teen Pregnancy

When I think of a topic that can typically spark a conversational debate the topic of teen pregnancy comes to mind. I took a little time to research the facts today about teen pregnancy and I found the following quite interesting. Research shows that one in five girls have had sex before the age of fifteen and almost half (forty-six percent) of high school aged teens in the United States have had sexual intercourse at some point. Six in ten teens that have had sex for the first time wish they hadn’t. Approximately one in seven sexually experienced fourteen year old girls report having been pregnant. Half of the pregnancies in the US each year are unplanned, that equals about 3 million each year. I always find the pressure on young teens to have sex interesting. The pressure can create unwanted bad first experiences and could ruin the life of a teenager when he or she must face the consequences. I feel bad for the youth that do have to go through that tough pressure because I can’t imagine being faced with the choices and sacrifices that come with being pregnant as a teen.

-- Anon

Olympics and the Age Rule

I’ve always been a huge fan of the summer Olympics. I could never really get into the winter Olympics because of the excessive amount of figure skating but that’s besides the point. Anyway this year I was watching the women’s gymnastics competition this year and there was alot of talk about the actual ages of the Chinese team. The official rule on age limit to compete in the Olympics as of now is the athlete competing must turn 16 in the year that the Olympics are taking place. So even if the competitor was 15 when it took place if they turned 16 bythe end of the year it’s still legal. What I want to know is if this rule should really be enforced. Personally I think the rule is kind of stupid. The Olympics aresupposed to be a competition between the best athletes in the entire world. Whether or not the athlete is 12, 16, or 40 shouldn’t matter at all. If a 12 year old kid has the ability to compete on a international level and take home the gold why should anyone deny them that opportunity. I am bitter that the US lost to a team that could have illegal members on the team but I still think the rule shouldn’t exist.

--CG

Lowering the Drinking Age--Two Opinions

Recently the dominion post printed an article about lower the drinking age to 18. I personally dont think it would matter because underage drinking happens all the time. I do however think that by lower the drinking age, there will be many more drunk driving accidents because at the age 18, many people believe they are unstoppable and think they can still drive when intoxicated. I'm not saying we shouldnt lower the drinking age, my only question is will it increase drunk driving? What do you think?

HJB


A movement to lower the drinking age to 18 is taking steps in many communities and states across the country. College presidents from about 100 different universities are coming together to ask lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. They believe that the current law is encouraging dangerous binge drinking among college campuses. John M. McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont said, “It does not reduce drinking. It has simply put young adults at greater risk.” I think the age restriction has not eliminated kids under 21 to stop drinking; it has only caused them to hide it. Not allowing people under 21 to buy liquor or drink at bars/ public places, has not stopped them from doing it just raised the drinking behind closed doors. In 1984 the legal drinking age was raised to 21 to stop people under this age from drinking all together. But 23 years later we have to ask ourselves why are people under 21 still drinking?

--AN

College Level Work

College work can sometimes be hard or easy depending on the class you have. Now a days a lot if not all of your classes have work for you to do online. This is ok if its a little bit, but my opinoin is if i wanted to go to college online i would have done besides of living on campus. The reading is what i think can either make or break a student. For example there can be alot pages to read in a chapter and that can take a way from your time to have fun and express youself. What do you think of school work on campus?

-- JC

The Pinch at the Pump

WOW! It is very crazy to me how high the gas prices have become. For awhile it seemed as if everyday I went down the road they were rising. West Virginia seems to be one of the highest states too. Am I right? I know that when I went to Maryland this summer it was .20cents cheaper. Being that I am a communter, the gas prices will definitely be affecting my wallet more than ever this year. The worst part too is that we are all college students so our cash flow is definitely lower than normal. At the rate gas prices are rising, I hate to see how high they will become in a few years, maybe even months. I mean will the price of gasoline ever become lower, or will we be paying this high price for years? I hope something changes.

--Hamilton

Courtesy

Why is it that in like 1950 if you were to see a complete stranger and
say hello and ask them how there day was, it would be completely
acceptable. But if i were to see someone in the elevator or walking
through the hallway of my own dorm hall and say hello, i get looked at
like i am a crazy pedophile? what has this country come too when
someone cannot even be courteous to one another without being
frightened for our lives. it just completely bamboozles me that being
friendly is basically looked down upon. has anyone else ever been
mistreated due to the fact that our world has gone completely nuts?

i heard this story once and whether it be true or not it touched me and
changed me for the rest of my life:

One day this man who had been down on his luck and just couldnt catch a
break and his life was basically going downhill. he couldnt stand it
anymore. he decided to take his life by jumping off a bridge in his
city. in the note he left he had said i will turn around and come home
and put up with everything and live my life if just one person would
smile at me and say hello. well i guess no one had stopped to smile or
say hello or no one would have ever found that note.

people have a set routine for their lives and just keep repeating their
same cycle over and over again and then they die. never going outside
there comfort zones and experiencing this beautiful miracle we have
right in front of us. and believe it or not it is the only thing we can
ever truly control.

-Gina