i like your reasoning. also i think having a company that allows for unions is better. people with higher degrees often get paid more so that is why i want to go for my doctorate degree. i hate it when people think my life or career is “cursed” b/c i decide to go to a community college to get the intro courses out of the way. i know community colleges have smaller classes and less course selections and most people don’t think they are good academically so they think that will ruin your career. yet transfers of two year colleges have a higher chance of acceptance and have a better understanding of college life after being at a community college. there are people who judge the person whose on the outside and think that i’m a stupid person b/c i’m taking the first two years at a community college. yet since i’m in the top 15% of my class and i have a lot of school activities i get a free tuition at community college. i know whatever happens in my life, it doesn’t matter what the critics think since the more they think something, the more i want to antagonize them and do the opposite of what they want. i won’t be told what career i can’t go into or what i can and can’t be b/c i’ll do what makes me happy. does it matter that i’m not very mechanical minded or that i’m not the best test taker? i have other talents and i will make them work for me. “let this earth angel unfurl her wings, awaken the fire in her heart and light up the world with her authentic voice. for as long as i’m still breathing and my mind keeps thinking, this earth angel is going to follow her heart home.”

Benefits of Community College:
Affordability: In 2008-2009 year, the average annual tuition for community college was $2,402 which is about $4,000 less than a four-year college.
Location: nearby your home so you can commute back and forth
Flexibility: There may be multiple sections of the same or similar course offered at different points of the day to accommodate a busy schedule. At four year colleges, most classes are offered during the day with a few night classes.
Generally Smaller Class, So Better Teacher Interaction: You can have greater interaction and discussions with the teacher helping you to learn better than at a four-year college which has lots of students.
A Time to Adjust: You can live at home and be a part-time or full-time student. Community colleges give students a chance to adjust to being independent without being too far from home.
A Second Chance: If you do well at a community college, it shows that you have work ethic and increases your acceptance as a transfer to four-year schools. Even if your grades weren’t optimal in high school, you can have a second chance at community college.
Possible Disadvantages
Make sure the credits you take are transferrable to the four-year college.
The lack of on-campus housing makes playing sports and extracurriculars challenging.
There may be a lack of resources for in depth research since they have smaller libraries than regular universities which receive more funding.
I know I’ve heard people say community colleges don’t show academic potential since anyone can get in, but they also give a chance to get the intro courses out of the way. Also if you have a good gpa and class rank, there is a good chance that you will get a tuition scholarship. At community colleges, they can explain certain topics more clearly since they have a smaller class so the students may be better equipped for a four-year university when they transfer.

Also a chemist Theresa Dankovich (at Carnegie Mellon has created a “Drinkable Book” which has copper and silver particles to filter out bacteria in water. It will give those in say South Africa who don’t have access to clean water, a chance to have safe water to drink. Each page can filter 100 L of water and the book could last for a year. I’m totally impressed. Also David Whitlock (chemical engineer and MIT grad) hasn’t showered for 12 years and uses Mother Dirt AO+ Mist on his skin. He has a company called AOBiome in Cambridge, MA. The company has created a product called Mother Dirt that sprays live bacteria on skin twice a day, it has no odor and feels like water. There are probiotics (good bacteria) that are found in foods like yogurt. There are also ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AO bacteria) that are naturally found in dirt and this bacteria converts sweat’s ammonia and urea into good bacteria with anti-inflammatory properties.

“Drinkable Book” was mentioned in Coffee News and also in Washington Post. Mother Dirt was also mentioned in Coffee News and Medical Daily (explains the future of modern medical technologies and science, they have also figured out Soft robots that mimic human behavior). Coffee News is a thin front and back page news that comes around every 3 or so weeks and they tell of some cool news, have fun jokes and also have a cool trivia.

A company in San Francisco called Elysium Space (Coffee News) is providing a final resting place on the moon for those who can spare $12,000. This company was founded by NASA engineer Thomas Civeit and they expect to be able to transport someone’s ashes to the moon in 2017. I think this is pretty cool, but I think the ashes will also cause some pollution in space if it is possible and we don’t need to pollute the environment.

All of these experiments make me want to become a chemist now. I was interested in theoretical physics b/c einstein’s theory of space-time and stephen hawking’s theory on black holes amazes me, but it seems a bit complicated. but i will probably be a biochemist and combine both the fields and at the same time i will keep a watch on skies as well as an ear out for any new innovative inventions coming out. i’m not the most mechanical-minded so physics isn’t the right science for me, but i think it is still cool. Currently I have been reading stories about psychology (including LGBT and other identities and their personalities) and also about bullying and they are quite inspirational and intriguing. i am also reading many philosophical books that question “who am i?” and also i plan to read a book on rocks and minerals since i’m always finding different rocks and minerals upon which i want to identify. my curiosity on how the world came together and who people truly are is insatiable, i keep finding new things that pull me. i have friends who want me to go into computer science and some who want me to be an athlete and i have others who think i’ll be a scientist, all of them are pulling me in many directions since i have so many interests, but science and spirituality will likely be where i go.

here is a fun trivia that will help your mind be less boggled about the science advancements (i got an 80%, got the last question wrong) answers in russian, tried to translate them to latin, but it didn’t work:

1. Who wrote The Fountainhead?
2. What is the term given for the study of codes?
b. What about the study of handwriting?
3. What part of the plant produces pollen?
4. A doubling cube can be found in backgammon. True or False?
5. Used in soups, stews or sauces, what is a bouquet garni?

Answers:

1. Айн рэнд
2. коды: криптография или криптологии
b. Почерк: графологии
3. тычинка
4. правда
5. пучок трав

thanks anita for posting norit’s post here:) i just looked at the #LikeAGirl campaign and I think it is quite inspirational. I agree that fairytales are a bit annoying b/c the princess always get saved by the prince when they are strong enough to save themselves. i also find romance videos and books a bit annoying b/c i think they are a bit sappy and also real-life isn’t really like a fairytale or a romantic comedy. i’m a bit like Holden Caulfield in “The Catcher in the Rye” when it comes to movies. I don’t like violent movies b/c there is enough violence in the world instead of making a movie about it. the media often annoys me with its views of things. people have portrayed ghosts as bad, but i think of them as lost souls who have crossed over, but they don’t know where they are. also i have always liked clowns as a kid, but the media makes clowns seem evil. there is a quote in The Catcher in the Rye” that appeals to me “About the movies, don’t even mention them to me, they’re all fakes.” I think books are better b/c the writer spent time with his/her thoughts and wrote the book.

also i have 3.5 projects to finish for java and a test tomorrow along with the ap calc test. i think i understand most of the word problems for ap calc, i may bring a angel figurine with me to relax me. currently i’m a bit nervous b/c i left my notebook with my ap calc notes in it in ap biology since my ap biology teacher needed to grade me notes. i still have question 4d on the free response that is due tomorrow and i need help so i will ask the ap calc teacher tomorrow first thing. i have ap calc as my first block. i took a u.s history 2 test and i think i received at least an 80 on it. on friday, my inner bully wa raving at me saying how i would never get anything done, that i am worthless, see how far behind i am in java. it annoyed me so much that i had a headache and then the next day, i caught a slight cold. it has become better today esp. after talking on tinybuddha. the slight cold took my mind away from the inner bully and more onto my physical health. physical health and mental health are connected. so the slight cold made me realize how the inner bully was affecting me and i realized i was going to have to work on healing my past to heal my present. i realize that physical pain is easier to deal than emotional pain. it’s like the song by staind “never surrender” which has the lyrics “do you know what it’s like to hear that voice in me? do you know what’s it’s like to be your own worst enemy? who sees the things in me that i can’t hide.” the inner bully picks at the flaws that i have and since it’s within, i sees the things i can’t hide. but i will work on radiating my inner angel and not my inner bully. i like to imagine me as an angel of golden light burning up the inner bully hawk that tries to grab me. if i get time to compose my “soul fire” poem i will probably write about setting the inner bully aflame and being able to rise upon my wings of golden light into a fiery flight of strong, dignified might.

I like your advice anita about not waiting to be picked, but picking actively by your own choice and not societal standards. when you mentioned the family tree and picking the apples of the values that mattered and then leaving the rest of the tree behind, that made me smile. i now have a vision of an apple tree and me picking the values that suit me and not the ones that society values. i will not be like one of the apples on the tree waiting to be picked by others and subject to societal standards, but i’ll be the light that shines upon the tree instead. i agree that true strength isn’t about looks or waiting to be picked, but having the courage to go out there and pick on your own. there is a quote i found on tinybuddha a while ago that says “be strong enough to stand alone, be smart enough to know when you need help and be brave enough to ask for it.” i think it takes courage to be your own person when society tries to push you in different directions, so you must be strong enough to stand alone when you need to, smart enough not to seek help if you feel you are falling into your inner bully and brave enough to speak out what you feel.

thanks a lot anita and inky;) anita, may i ask, how you got over the view of women as being weaker and thinking in biologically terms between them? i like that idea and i want to work toward it. i like your humor, inky. thanks for sharing that some of the warriors were female

thanks a lot anita. i have six more days of november before thanksgiving break, but so much work to do. i am freaking out.
i realize i’m not the best with word problems that deal with how much area you need to minimize a cost or something like that. it’s only been two days of learning it and it seemed relatively simple until there were complex problems thrown in. the classmates in java are as loud and annoying as ever and i still need to catch up on four programs. i feel like an idiot currently when it comes to logic problems for ap calc. i need to have around 11 pages for mitosis,meiosis and cancer (which isn’t too bad) done for ap biology possibly around thurs. when i have another 2 hour exam (that is if the teacher decides to keep the date or move it back). my ap calc teacher also said i have ap questions 1-20 and 2 open-ended questions due sometimes next week, i’m thinking possibly wednesday. also for thanksgiving break, i will probably work on completing college applications and studying for sats

about the revenge part, i mean actual revenge if someone hurt another person, but the revenge should just and merciful. american prisons have been found to be inhumane to their prisoners and 90% of the prisoners released are sent back within a year or two. but in norway, they have counseling for prisoners to figure out what went wrong with their life, they have schools where the prisoners can learn how to become part of society again and when the prisoners are released their is a 20% chance they will go back to prison in the next year or two. darkness is not bad or evil as some may think. in fact if none of the colors were reflected back to our eyes (in other words all the colors were absorbed), we would see that object as black. the dark things often feel hot in the summer b/c they are absorbing light. so we don’t need to fear the dark, we need to think of it as “the color which absorbs all light and tries to make itself radiate warmth by absorbing that light.” in fact, in the ancient times esp. in egypt many shamans believed in wearing white to a funeral b/c they could see that a person who had crossed over had a white aura since all the color had been reflected as their soul left their body. in the old days, black used to represent the universe before it was born and light came around. about the marshmallow disguised as a cactus thing, i was thinking that everyone is like that. we are all afraid of being hurt so we try to make ourselves unapproachable by putting spines on ourselves. i even threw a picture of a marshmallow with spines for fun. we often don’t see our similarities on the inside. people are often being defensive covering themselves up with spines to protect the marshmallow within them. also anger when it doesn’t go out of control is okay. most of the time when i’m angry, i want to be alone so i don’t do something i regret. i’ll burn off steam by running, dancing, working out or writing poetry. i don’t lash out in anger at other people. i think b/c i’ve been bullied and had a hard life, i know how pain affects people so when i’m angry i don’t want to hurt anyone so i isolate myself from them. being bullied has taught me about compassion and how not to inflict pain on others and to be merciful when dealing out justice. i am not like my parents who when they are angry, they hold grudges and keep going on and on trying to make the flame go higher. when the flame within me ignites, i throw water and let the smoke of forgiveness rise. from the ashes of my troubles i rise again. i think these words could be another poem. possibly called “Soul Fire.” it will be about strength without aggression, being able to rise from the flames a better person instead of being caught up in them and being burned every time. i am a healer and i carry the sadness and fear of others which i will work on letting go. in this way, i act like an earth angel. for as long as my heart is beating, my wings keep fluttering and i fly above this world watching for anyone who needs my help.