Com 101, Spring 2018

Priorities is a tough thing for me to describe because I have so many different priorities for all the different areas of my life. I place myself as a pretty low priority, my physical and mental health that is. I tend to place my pets, finances, school, work, boyfriend, family, and friends all above myself. It is something I definitely need to work on, since I have been getting sick very frequently lately, and I let my mental health go down pretty bad last year as an engineer. I think I need to learn to prioritize myself sometimes, because if I feel better, I am less likely to flounder in school and work, and I will probably have a better relationship with my boyfriend and friends. While I will still probably never prioritize myself over my finances, I would like to at least get to a point where I will call off of work or stay home from classes if I feel sick or under the weather.

My goals for the future are honestly just to be financially secure and happy. Once I feel comfortable in my finances, likely by pursuing a CPA and attaining a well paying job, I'd really like to try to do something with animals. I have not figured out yet what exactly I want to do, be it starting a small rescue and rehabilitation for smaller animals/reptiles, or donating to an existing rescue, or going somewhere to help with bigger problems (poaching or animal abuse at large). While I am not sure what exactly I plan to do, I know I wont be happy if it does not somehow involve animals in my free time. Besides that, I would just like to own my own house and have pets of my own, as well as enough money to support the reasonable material belongings I might want.

Every time I hear the arguments against millennials, I just want to roll my eyes. In my opinion, every generation is honestly the same. Every generation says the same stuff about the generation before and after them. The younger generation is lazy and entitled, the older generation is selfish and behind the times. It's just the cycle of life and the only thing that truly changes is the technology each generation is raised with, and the economy they're left with. Every person is different, there are millennials that ARE lazy and entitled, but there are also millennials that are hardworking and selfless. Summing up an entire generation of people into one set of adjectives is irrational. However I do agree with what the speaker said about phone addiction, though I think plenty of people from every generation suffer from it, not just millennials. I disagree strongly with his idea that "okay" is an acceptable way for everyone to live. Some people are absolutely content wit

One topic I am extremely passionate about is animals. There are plenty of other things I enjoy doing or learning about, but by far, animals top the list. I worked at Petsmart for a year before I had to quit because I kept amassing animals that I fell in love with or felt sorry for. They mean so much to me, they give me a reason to wake up and go to work and go to class, then to come home and clean and sort out all of their vegetables and various other foods. I'd go hungry if I had to choose between feeding myself and all of them. I dedicate a lot of time every week to cage cleaning, feeding, vet visits, and grooming, and I'm happy to do it. It can be massively overwhelming when I have a bad day to have so many lives depending on me, but also it's a motivator to actually do at least one thing every day. I'd pursue a career with animals if I thought I could handle the emotional burden that comes with working with animals in a world like this, but I know I can't, so I&

This week, Wilkes University's newspaper published an article about the Rally for Gun Control that was held in downtown Wilkes Barre. Though the article doesn't really state an opinion of its own and is instead just covers the event and the views of those gathering at the event, I find myself strongly agreeing with nearly everything they're saying. It hurts me a little bit that there are children scared of going to school, and parents scared of sending their kids to school. The shootings lately have been a cause for so much debate that it's easy to forget that this is actually about children and teachers that died. So many news stations dehumanize the victims entirely, or just use them to push their own message. This article gives a voice to how frightened these school shootings make students, teachers, and parents. I find it so disheartening how many can oppose stronger gun restrictions after hearing the fear from others. Everyone should feel safe in a school. Everyone

The weather lately has honestly been giving me whiplash. The warmth the past few days has been nice, it makes me feel happier and more productive, especially compared to the horrible weather we've been having. It's a really nice middle ground between too hot and too cold, and when I'm happy to not step outside and feel like the cold went straight through all my clothes. Also though I'm a little bitter because I know it won't stay around and we're still likely in for more cold and probably more snow. So while I'm happy to enjoy it while it's here, I'm also annoyed that I have to check the temperatures every day before I pick out an outfit.