Our Elders

I'm sure you know an elderly person. A grandparent, a great-aunt or uncle, a godparent. And of course we love our grandparents! They send us money on our birthdays, take us out to eat and maybe you even got to stay with them when you were younger and your parents were out of town. Sure they're old, but they're family! Now imagine your sweet Nana all alone in a nursing home, with no one ever coming to visit her. Not such a happy thought, huh? I've worked in a care facility for 3 years. It's sad to say, but there are situations like this. Residents have asked me, Well, when is my son going to come see me?, or, Could you come after your shift and talk with me? We all need to realize all the wisdom and love that is just sitting there in nursing homes. Maybe you even know someone who lives in a facility. Take time and go visit them. You will be surprised at what you learn from the elderly. They are the individuals who worked so hard to make this a place we all want to live. They paved the way for our futures. Everyone wants to feel as if they belong with someone. Maybe you can visit that lonely elder and make this an extra special holiday season for them.

Community

Community: a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. This is how the dictionary defines community. Everyone is a member of a community whether it is big or small. Everyone is equally responsible being a citzen or member of a community. Sometimes people fail to see the repercussion of being a poor community member because outside your family, your community is where help stems from.

To be a member of a community is more then just abiding by the rules. You must get out and get involved in the community. It may be as simple as picking up litter from the sides of the streets or chatting with your neighbor. Getting involved with volunteer activities and other community services. Watching out for crimes and suspicious behavior would go along way.

But why should a person do all of these things? Should you just do to look go for those around you or should you be a community member because it is right?

Did You Know

Imagine how much information has changed since this video

has been posted. This video reminds me that we are not just

competing against people in our own country. We are

competing with the world in the new global economy. Cs may
get degrees, but do they merit a career?

To read more about the Did You Know? video series, check out:
The Huffington Post 11-24-09 
Dangerously Irrelevant 11-24-09

Hometown Pride

I come from a small community, where I have lived all my life, until I made the transition to a large college town. The culture is so very different from what I've grown up with. In my hometown everybody greets everybody. You can't walk down the sidewalk in the uptown district and not say "Hi" to people you meet. The streets are kept clean and swept. Flowers are planted in the park in the summer. There is a Christmas parade the last weekend in November. The town just radiates "Welcome." When I moved to a college town I was surprised at the change. People look at the ground as they walk around campus, nobody greets anybody. The parking lots and streets are littered with broken glass and fast food wrappers. People make a community. We can work to make where we live more like home.

'Tis the season

Thanksgiving is over. Everyone is full of turkey and stuffing,puddings and pies and every other kind of fixin' you can think of. On to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever holiday you may celebrate. 'Tis the season of giving; time to think of other people. If you see someone struggling with something, anybody that looks like they need help, lend a helping hand. Get into the spirit and help out fellow students-even the ones you don't know. You never know, you could discover that you're made for it. Become a Ten Cent Hero, even if its only for the holidays.

Image Credit: www.questunique.com/au/ HowROQUEHelpsothers.htm

Lately, in order to keep from forgetting the things I need to get through my day, I've been making a list of things that need to be loaded in my car before leaving. For the first time ever, I couldn't fit it all in. Between backpack, food, and assignments, I literally ran out of free space in my 80's luxury car.

So, with feet hanging out my window, cramming something else to the roof, a question came to me. If it won't all fit in my car, why is it in my life? Or, why am I trying to fit it all in my life in the first place? Is there a point at which I've packed too much into my day and car at the same time? Have I finally reached beyond what my Chrysler New Yorker, or free time, will tolerate?

I still don't know. But, tomorrow, I'm cleaning out my car just in case.

Where is it?

November 15-21, 2009

Get Lost in Mapping: Find Your Place in the World

Test your knowledge: geography quiz
GIS Day: November 18, 2009
www.gisday.com/about/

www.gis.iastate.edu/gisday/

 Image credit: National Geographic Society

Random Acts

Students walking around campus with earphones in, music blaring, completely oblivious to their surroundings.

There are some everyday heroes out there. Bus drivers that hit the breaks for people who cross the street and look later, pedestrians that will reach out and stop another pedestrian before they get hit, or the bikers and skaters that sound out "on your left" to let someone know they're coming up behind them.

IRL

It used to be that everyone we knew was someone we had met in real life. At least that's what our parents, and most of our professors and bosses, tell us. Unlike the uphill-both-ways walks to school, though, these stories seem credible. And we certainly still do meet plenty of living, breathing people, and when we meet them we can even confirm the part about the breathing.

We meet people from all sorts of places. Some of them live in our residence hall, or apartment complex, or maybe just down the street. Others are in classes with us, or from work. Once in a while we might meet our best friend ever at a party, and if we have a great memory we will remember them within the next week. Some of them we even originally knew (gasp!) from the internet and have actually bothered to meet for real. The point is, anywhere we go, we can meet someone new.

When we meet people, though, we tend to make a little box in our head for them, remembering what they look like, maybe their favorite music or their sense of humor, and all of the other dirt we have dug up. Then we take this person's life story and put it in a pile with everyone else we met from the same place. One pile for roommates, a few for each class we're in, a small dust-bunny for people we've successfully dated, a landfill for people we've had less success with.

These piles, each a group of friends, tend to resist mixing. Somehow, even though most people do loads of different activities, it's weird to see overlap. The girl from chem lecture at a football game? The guy who shows up late to work every time at my concert? Does this mean they don't just disappear or power off when we're not around?

Even though it may be weird to see someone "out of place," it's good to realize that everyone leads real lives, not just us. And if we haven't had too much to do with each other so far, letting our piles of friends mix is a great way to find people with common interests.

Do you remember the time of rotary phones? What about the U.S. Postal Service? We used to use these services to stay in touch with friends and family, usually to plan times and places to meet up. Cell phones, email, social networking sites, etc. are really convenient ways to keep in contact with important people in our lives, but with these technologies so easily available, the part where we meet up and can actually see living breathing people is becoming a little like the rotary phone.

The reality is, we may have hundreds of contacts in our phone or on our Facebook, but there are hundreds of others right in front of us that we may not be seeing. New technology allows us to communicate more often, but when we're always hurrying through a text or writing a quick email, some of the fun of communicating and catching up with friends is lost.

Imagine how much more fun class would be if, instead of finding our seat and getting our phones out to text, we left it in our bags and talked to the person next to us. Pretty soon we'd have someone to sit by everyday, who we can borrow notes from when we miss class, and who knows, maybe we'll even hang out with them outside of class.

Our "friend list" doesn't have to be defined by who Facebook says is our friend. WE can decide that. Students in our classes don't just have to be other students. They can be our friends if we make it happen. People do actually exist, breathe, and eat outside of the digital realm!

NightOwl

Choices!

Everyday we are faced with hundreds of choices. Whether you realize it or not each choice you make influences what happens to you later that day, week, month, or year. Some choices may be simple like what to eat, what to do this weekend, or when to study. Other choices may affect the rest of your life.

Choosing a major is one of the biggest choices you will make in college. Your major can determine how long you'll be in college and what you'll do afterward.

Another huge choice is whether or not to drink. Once again, you're faced with the task of deciding what is best for you. Drinking is an individual choice that can have community consequences.

Only you can decide what to do or what not to do. We make choices everyday. They've defined our pasts and will determine our futures.

College is an amazing place.

There are a thousand ways to get involved, or not; hundreds of people to talk to, or not. Whether you're an introvert or extrovert your college experience has or will be affected by the people you come in contact with each day.

What so many may not realize until after they graduate is that the people are the memories you'll take from college. It's not the parties every weekend. It's the all-nighters with friends during finals week, your roommate talking you through a breakup, or the 2 am food run after your intramural broomball game.

Having a support system around you can make the road you're traveling a little smoother, a little clearer.

NightOwl

Perspective

I'm back on campus and this summer was an experience I could never have imagined. My expectations were shattered and everything I saw and did has affected me in a way I don't think I even realize yet.

I have spent three short months cleaning habitats, feeding giraffes, scrubbing rhinos, chasing ostriches, scratching tigers, and so much more. In three months I felt more at home than any place I have ever lived. I've learned so much about wildlife, park management, Arizona, and myself. I learned that I work hard and I don't mind getting dirty. I learned that I enjoy 110 degree weather and red rock sunsets. What I learned in those three months I could not have learned in 10 years of school. Even if your major doesn't require an internship or work experience, do it anyway. Go for what you want, because when it's right, the payoff could be more than you can imagine.

Leaving was tough, as will be my last semester at college. But I return to Iowa knowing that I have 20 more lifelong friends, that I was an important part of a team, and that I can handle most anything.

NightOwl

Lessons Learned

As my time interning this summer comes to an end, I'm glad to be able to reflect on what I've learned and what has changed. It can be nerve-racking to enter a situation like an internship, but it really is an invaluable experience.


One of the most important things I've figured out is that if you are willing to do any task, even just try it, you will earn the respect and appreciation of your coworkers and boss. Everyone knows that cleaning habitats - a.k.a. scooping poo - is part of the job description of an animal keeper. I've learned to love the time we clean because it gives me a chance to talk and laugh one-on-one with my coworkers. Complaining doesn't make the poo disappear faster, nor does it make you any friends in the workplace.

Another important thing I learned is to take initiative. The first few days are fine to just follow directions and get your bearings. Once you are comfortable, show them that you know what you're doing! I've received tons of thanks and compliments just by thinking a step ahead and making my coworkers' lives easier.

The most obvious part is simply work hard. Give 100%, 100% of the time. Make an effort to get to know the people you work with outside of the office and be a positive voice. People appreciate a good attitude, and everyone likes to have fun, so there's no reason not to!

NightOwl