OT:Dreams & Goals

Everyone has dreams and goals, but how many people have actually had a chance to live them out or accomplish them? Not very many because setting a goal is easy, but doing it may bring about many tribulations. As for dreams, they're easy to think up, but living them out is rather hard.

Have you stopped and thought about your goals lately? How you written them down and carry them with you? If you don't, you should research the benefits of writing them down. How about revisiting what you would like to happen in your wildest dreams? I have and I tend not to forget them thanks to a mentor I met freshman year of college. She told me, "Find a poem or quote that motivates you, makes you think, but above all, makes you feel good after you have finished reading it." This was great advice because I now have a poem I read once every month which helps me to accomplish many goals.

Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

I believe everyone should have a quote or poem that motivates them to succeed. If not one of the two, there needs to be something. So, if you don't have one at the moment, use the poem that motivates me until you can find something else. If you already have something that motivates you, I hope whatever it is has helped you, like mine has helped me.

Florida Has a State Song

Did you know Florida has a state song? I did not and I am a native of Florida. It was not something I learned while in school. I learned Florida had a state song after I read an article discussing the racial lyrics. The title of the song is Old Folks at Home and the lyrics to the song are:

Way down upon de Swanee Ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,
Dere's wha de old folks stay.
All up and down de whole creation,
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for de old plantation,
And for de old folks at home.

Chorus:
All de world am sad and dreary,
Ebry where I roam,
Oh! darkeys, how my heart grows weary,
Far from de old folks at home.
All round de little farm I wandered
When I was young,
Den many happy days I squandered,
Many de songs I sung.
When I was playing wid my brudder
Happy was I
Oh! take me to my kind old mudder,
Dere let me live and die.
One little hut among de bushes,
One dat I love,
Still sadly to my mem'ry rushes,
No matter where I rove
When will I see de bees a humming
All round de comb
When will I hear de banjo tumming
Down in my good old home?

The lyrics in question are part of the chorus referring to "darkeys" longing for "de old plantation." I had to read the song again because I did not catch it the first time. When I did catch it, I could not understand why anyone would consider keeping those lyrics in a state song. Some Florida lawmakers feel the same as I do. They would like the lyrics to be changed to "dear ones" longing for "my childhood's station.”

Once Florida amends the adopted foster song, it will be the second state to remove offensive lyrics from a state song. I believe changing the lyrics of Florida’s state song will not take away from the song. It can only add to it and avoid controversy which may arise later.

The Weatherman Can Be Funny

It is nearing the end of the school semester for me and I am finding a little more time to surf the Internet and watch interesting videos. The latest video I watched was of a Florida weatherman screaming like a female after seeing a cockroach. Take a look and have a laugh.

Now Its Legal To Have A Gun at Work

A few nights ago I had a dream, a dream about me being shot by a person carrying a gun just because they could due to their rights. I woke up frighten because everyday I turn on the television and there is news of someone being murdered by a gun.

Recently a bill passed through the Florida House and Senate to allow employees to carry guns to work. They’re unable to take the gun inside the workplace and the only place they should remain is in their car. The bill is now waiting for the Florida Governor to pass it.

I find it hard to believe that Florida would consider making guns more accessible to any person. Why would a person need to bring a gun to work for protection? To shoot an employee if their being nagged at or maybe someone is looking at them the wrong way. I do not understand if having a gun in a car that you’re not sitting in is protection because the person is far away from the car it an incident was to happen.

After thinking about this bill for a while, I thought about alternative motives people could have for having a gun in their car at work. One motive includes shooting someone who has made that person’s life miserable at work. Question: What if a person snapped because they could not take the stress anymore and took that gun from their car and killed several people and then turned the gun their self? Would it still be okay for employee’s to bring guns to work? I do not think so.

It is hard to understand the reasoning behind allowing guns inside employees’ cars at work, no matter if they’re legal and I don’t understand why they will not allow businesses to set their own rules on their property about guns. I agree with businesses that do not want guns in their employees’ cars. I believe they’re considering the potential problem that may arise in the future.

A Slip and Fall

Surfing the internet, I came across a video of a woman slipping and falling in a Florida Store. I do not know if I should be laughing because of her fall or should I be serious. Watch the video and help me decide.

An Added Step for Abortion

Abortion: the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death.

It is also a word which can yield numerous arguments among people around the world. I myself agree with abortion. Why should a person have a child if they can not care for it? Or why should a person go through with the pregnancy and give the baby up? That is 9 months out of their life for something they did not want. Plus the world has enough poverty and if a person chooses this path then they should not be judged.

For people who do not support abortion, the Senate may pass a bill requiring all people considering an abortion to take an ultrasound. It does not mean they have to look at it, but they’re required to sign a waiver. If the bill passes, the Senate hopes it will intimate candidates of abortion into not going through with it or intimate them into considering alternative options.

Although I agree with abortion, I do feel this bill is needed to stop people from just taking the easy way out. If people who have had more than one abortion and does not take responsible for their actions, maybe numerous steps will make them consider what their doing. For those who are on the fence about terminating a pregnancy, maybe the ultrasound is the deciding factor which will change their life forever. Either way, another step in getting an abortion is needed in order to make sure each person terminating a pregnancy has made the right decision and not a regretful one.

Teen Driving + Cellphones = Dangerous

If you saw a teen on a cellphone flying pass you in a car, what would you think? Would you pay no attention or would you considering not driving close to them? I, myself don’t like anyone on a cellphone unless it is hands free because people have almost hit me while gabbing on the phone.

Last year one Senator attempted to get a bill passed banning all persons from using a cellphone while driving, but the bill was denied. Now there is a bill banning teens from using any cellphones while driving because they’re the most vulnerable to car accidents.

This is a relief considering many teens I see in Florida driving like to multi-task on the road. I mean, they’re on the cellphone, have the music blasting and they have a friend in the car who is talking to them. That is just way too much going on for a person who has been driving less than a year.

The bill has been passed and it is a great idea, but the problem is that officers can not just pull a teen over. Violations could be enforced only as a secondary offense when drivers are pulled over for other infractions. I have a problem with this part of the bill because if a cop is driving next to a teen and they’re on the phone, the cop ca not do anything but watch. What if farther down the road, the same teen caused an accident which could have been prevented?

Florida passes many bills which help to make the roads safer. With this bill, I feel they meant to make the roads safer and did not consider why they were passing the bill. To stop teens from using the cellphone while driving, should not they be pulled over when seen using the cellphone? Would not that make more sense in preventing accidents? I guess not because Senate does not see it that way.

The Talking Menu

Ordering off a menu in some restaurants can be a hassle. The small print and then there is just not enough light. Well a few restaurants in the Miami area have began using talking menus. These type of menus can be described as:

It’s a device about the size of a DVD with lighted, labeled buttons for each menu category — appetizers, sandwiches, salads, entrees, etc. Diners who can’t read the category names or the Braille imprints can tap the button once to hear the category name. Tap the button twice, and the talking menu reads all the menu items for that category. The device comes with a hearing aid-compatible earphone for diners who are hard of hearing or who are self-conscious about the talking menu.

The menu also comes in 8 languages and allows the restaurant to customize any other language. For five units it cost the restaurant $120 a month or to purchase them, it cost $3,500. This is a great idea considering we live in Florida where we get a large amount of tourist and a large amount of retirees. The best part of the menu is that it costs the diner nothing directly to use it.

Nope To A Second Job

Have you been looking for a job recently because you're considering leaving the one you have now? Maybe you don't have a job and you been looking. I currently have a job that I'm happy with, but I have been looking for a second job to earn so extra cash and to help me from becoming a couch potato.

I have looked on every website I know that provides job information. Each had jobs to choose from with the majority being healthcare positions. I didn't major in healthcare, I majored in tourist and now I am finding it hard to find a second job even with my experience. Due to me not being able to find a decent second job, I began researching to find out the state job numbers. What I found was not good and it shows our country is in recession. Tampa Tribune reported:

On Friday, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation said it estimated that the state lost 27,700 nonagricultural jobs between February 2007 and February 2008. That is a loss of 0.3 percent of Florida's nonagricultural jobs. By comparison, the nation grew at a rate of 0.6 percent.

Until early this month, the state thought Florida's labor market was still gaining tens of thousands of jobs. However, revised numbers showed that Florida has been losing jobs since at least August.

After reading the first article, I linked to another article explaining that by the year 2014, 9 out of 10 jobs in Florida will not require a bachelor's degree. This is because employers will find new ways to find the right person for the job and discover new cost efficient ways to train the new person.

It frightens me to know I spent 4 years in school and in 6 years it may mean nothing. For me, getting a degree means I always have something to fall back on when I need it when looking for a job. For right now it looks like my time spend in college getting a Bachelors degree was a waste. In a few years, I hope I will not feel the same way.

A 6 Percent Increase Equals $200

Are you going to be a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior in any Florida college next year? Maybe you’re considering going back to school to get a degree in Florida? Well, if your answer to any one of these questions is ‘Yes,’ then you need to be prepared for a
6 percent increase in your tuition.

Florida has decided to cut $185 million in recurring general revenue funds, and cut all nonrecurring dollars for the fiscal year that begins July 1. To make up for the shortfall, $168 million will come from lottery funding, lowering the cut of regular, ongoing spending from 6 percent to 1.6 percent and adding the tuition increase for higher education will help the state to almost break even.

So how much does a 6 percent increase equal? The increase equals $200 for a full-time student. Money a student could use on gas, food and other necessities. For some $200 may not sound like much, but for people already struggling to pay for college will have to face another set back.

Raising tuition is not going to solve the educational budget problems Florida has. It is only going to stop more people from going to college, or it may prolong how long it takes a person to obtain a degree. Also, raising the tuition will contribute more to student debts in Florida.

Maybe the solution to this budget problem is for the state to examine where they’re actually spending their money and cut from those areas that are less important. For instance, they could cut spending on repairing roads that were fine before they were torn up and replaced or they could cut spending on unnecessary landscaping throughout the state.

Increasing the tuition is not solving a problem, it is only creating one. Education currently is becoming a must have to survive. Without education, many people may not be able to take care of their family, let alone themselves. Why is the Florida government not concerned about this?

Live Blog: Informing myself about the Holocaust at Edison College

4:00P.M. It’s Done: The presentation is over and I felt like it was rushed. Some things I would have enjoyed to read myself from the screen instead of someone speaking them like their talking to save their life. I guess if the presentation would have started on time, I could have enjoyed it much more.

If any of you are interest in the Holocaust or would like to attend on of the presentations, please visit Edison’s website for the Holocaust Memorial Project. Also, there is a Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida located in Naples.

3:52 A Powerful Poem: Jan Klein closes the presentation with the following poem written by Martin Niemöller (1892–1984):

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social
democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a
social democrat.

When they came for the trade
unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not
a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left
to speak out.

Even though I have heard this poem numerous times, I always feel the emotion behind. It makes me feel bad about what has happened and it makes me think about if one group of people had spoken up, the Holocaust may have stopped earlier and many lives could have been saved.

3:47P.M. The Question: She asks us the question she said she began asking at the beginning of the presentation, which I did not hear her say: Given the history of prejudice in the United States, could a holocaust happen here?

Many people answered and to myself I say, “It can happen again.” The other people in the room also agree.

3:41P.M. Facts on Hatred: She begins to discuss hatred crimes in schools across the country. Some include young children saluting a Jew peer like Hitler, wearing KKK to a Spanish club meeting and using the yearbook as a way to be racist. Some facts she states include:

§Every year half a million college students are targets of bias-driven slur or physical assaults.
§ Everyday at least one hate crime happens on a campus.

Blah, blah, blah is all I heard. I would like to hear more facts and take them in, but she is just talking so fast. “Slow Down” is what I want to scream out.

3:37P.M. Close To The End: We’re nearing the end of the video and Hitler engulfs the screen. Come to find out, the video was taped in 1969. Boy was I off because I did not know what 1960’s fashion looks like.

3:24 P.M. Video Time: Jan Klein introduces us to a video of a teacher attempting to get his kids more interested in the Holocaust. The video is title “The Wave – The After School Special.”

The video looks like it takes place in the 1980’s because of the hair and the clothes the actors are wearing. At first I don’t really pay attention, but a few minutes into the video I start to realize the point of the video.

I believe at this point, Ms. Klein wants us in the room to understand how easily young ones can be influenced. I encourage everyone to take a look at the video.

3:15P.M. We Have To Walk Around?: Jan Klein, the presenter tells us we’re doing an experiment. She gives us some rules and then hands us some cards. We can’t look at our own card and can’t tell the other people what type of card they have.

I begin walking around the room with the card stuck to our forehead feeling like a crazy woman. I can tell each person feels the same way because they’re not really moving and we’re laughing at each other. The point of the experiment is to walk up to the person who has a face card or an ace. We must stay away from anyone that has a 2 or 3 cards. I walk around for a few minutes and realize I have a low card because nobody wanted to talk to me. I must admit also that I took a peek after I got finished holding the card up to my forehead. Don’t worry, nobody aw me.

Us low cards are pulled to the side and I felt left out. I begin to think about society and how people are treated.

3:14P.M. It’s Starting: Finally the presentation begins, 14 Minutes late. She introduces herself and states she is a Prevention Specialist for the Lee County Board of Education.

3:08P.M. Let’s Start: I’m still waiting for the workshop to start. The presenter is walking around saying, “Where are all the people. For the ones already in here, move closer.” She is pacing back and fourth between the podium and a table. Glancing up from my computer, I find her wiping her nose with her hand a few times, but then I notice she has a napkin in her hand and she is not using it. I don’t think I will be shaking her hand.

While I wait, I place the yellow paper clip onto my shirt. It represents the 11 Million people who have died due to the Holocaust.

2:46 P.M. I’m Here, But Where Is It?: I have arrived on Edison College Campus and just got finish walking the hall trying to find the room the workshop is being held. I have found the room, but there are people in there. I guess I should wait until the workshop starts at 3:00p.m.

In the mean time, the workshop I am attending is pertaining to the Holocaust Memorial Project which was founded by Edison College in 1996. The presentation will be presented by Jan Klein and it is titled “Can It Happen Again? How easily influenced are young adults today?

A Millstone Marked

Ten years ago, women and African Americans were still working for prominent jobs in government. Today, both woman and African Americans still are fighting. This is sad to say considering the United States is the land of the free. Finally, the land of the free is evolving and beginning to make history.

Recently, Florida has marked a millstone. They have selected their first African-American female chief justice, Peggy Quince. It is not because she is African American and they want to make a statement, it is because she is well qualified with a college degree and ability to keep a court room in order. With her being selected, this makes her the second woman serving on the Supreme Court.

This is great news considering what’s happening with politics today. Today’s politics may mark the first woman or African American voted as President. Justice Quince being selected is great news for Florida. It is marking a millstone in history for Florida and showing that they are ready for change.

I am enthused to see how Florida is changing considering I am a native. I can’t wait to see what else Florida will mark as a millstone.