A Journey Coming to a End

This semester  I was given the opportunity to learn more about blogging. Before this semester I thought that blogs were just a version of a online diary or journal. A place people wrote about feelings or events that were happening in the world.; things like your first love, break up, job, or family and school. I had no idea that some people actually put research into their blogs. I had no idea that there are bloggers out there who talk about things I am going through right now; things like being a volunteer EMT at a young age and the experiences you gain there.  

My favorite blog that I found  I could relate to the most, was the blog called Probie to Practitioner, this follows a EMT and her journey since she became an EMT when she was younger. In her blog she talks about things that you sacrifice to become a EMT at a young age. Things like:

1. Regular college experiences or stressors
2. Having most of your friends be older than you, so you talk about divorce and kids instead of the cute guy in your class or the latest movie
3. You also are really busy as a EMT, so there is not a whole lot of time to date or to ever fall in love.

She talks about how even though she may have sacrificed some of these experiences above, how she would not trade her family and friends she gained in the firehouse for any experience in the world. I really found that I could relate to many things she talks about going through in her blog, but like her I would not trade my family and friends I gained for any regular teenage experience. So since I began my journey into blogging I learned that blogging was more than what I saw on the surface. I gained a community of bloggers that I will treasure having; a community where I can go to a read their blogs and know that I am not alone in my experiences.



"Probie To Practitioner." Probie To Practitioner. Fashionista Theme on Genesis Framework, 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Failure

"One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself."(Ball)


Life has taught me many things, the first thing I have learned is that if you don't at first achieve then try again. Don't be worried of what others may think or ashamed if it happens. Believe me it happens, in life we will make many mistakes and have to overcome many obstacles; and if you don't believe me then check this picture out.

Where do you think these people would be if they had given up? Would we still know who they are today? When ever I feel as though I can't reach my goal anymore or I feel I can handle my work load I watch this video.

Everyone has hard things they have to go through. You will fail at something, it happens the key is to learn from it and move on. Sometimes it only takes doing something one more time and sometimes you have to keep retrying. If you really want to reach your goal and get past all of your obstacles just keep moving forward. Remember as long as you stay positive then you can do anything and you can achieve anything. Thank you so much for reading my blog; and remember you can do anything you want to do so don't let other people tell you that you can't.

 

Ball, Lucille. "Hard Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

 

"Never Give Up! | Best Success Motivational Video Clips & Speeches." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

 

"Famous Failures." Famous Failure. Bits and Pieces RSS, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

The importants of internships, in this economy

Remember the days where as long as you had a college degree or was the best applicant between two people you had the job? When the economy is like this, we began to learn that it is not like that anymore. We learn that we do need to be the best but we are being compared to a lot more people now then before. I mean look at how many people who are out of work right now and looking for a job. It used to be that as long as you had a college degree and some job experience (no matter where or even what type) that you where qualified and had a good chance for the job. Now that is not the case, you need to know the right people and how may you meet the right people you may ask. The best way is to either join clubs for your career field or internships. For the purpose of this blog, I am just going to focus on internships.

Internships have become difficult to get in this economy, due to the fact that companies are cutting them out to save money or cutting the amount of people they hire. Especially for the internships that pay you or help pay for school, but they are really important to still try to get.

Some internship today still pay the intern and pay for the intern's school as long as they work for them after they graduate. Some are volunteer internships and these are still good internships to get, especially if it is in the field they are interested in joining.

It is very competitive to get a good internship but according to College Recruit “in 2009’s tough job market, 1 in 10 students had some type of job offer upon graduation, whereas 1 in 5 students who held internships had offers waiting." So to have a job already for a college student by the time they graduate would be a lucky thing to have, especially since so many people don't have jobs now.

Now you may wonder other than a possible job, what exactly can an internship do for me? Well not only can a internship open many doors for a person but it also helps give that person experience that they can take an put on their resume and use later in life. Some pay so there for that would add some extra income for a person. They also help you meet the right people.

Now for looking for the best internships the best thing to do is try researching your career or even ask people who work in that field if there is any opportunities of internships. Another great thing is to check out the Career center at Nova and take a assessment test. Figure out what you would be good at doing and if there was any internships in the field you are interested in. Then see if you can apply for those internships.




Admin. "Internship Statistics & Opportunities." Welcome to CollegeRecruit. College Recruit, 30 July 2011 Web. 03 Apr. 2013.

Choosing a Major

Trying to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life could be hard enough, but throwing in how bad our economy is right now. We are forced to decide do we fallow where our passion is or do we go where the jobs are? In a perfect world you would want to do both, by doing what you love and having a job. The worst thing you want to happen though when you get out of college is to have a college degree and no job. So trying to figure out what major you want can be tricky.

Here is a testament of what can happen if you choose a bad major and graduate with no job. This video is called Job Talk: Graduating into a Tough economy found in Youtube.com

They use to say that the only thing you had to worry about with choosing a major, was to find out what you want to do.  Today we are facing many people getting a major by doing that, but then have it be a waste of money in the end. How can we be smart about what we choose in a major? Can we still do what we want?

One thing is I think before you choose a major think about the skills you have and think about what interest you. Try to match your skills with your interest. For example if you have interest in being a singer but can't sing then that is not the career field for you. Then again say you are good at writing papers but you don't want to be a writer because you get bored doing it. Then you know that career is not for you.

If you find a skill you have that you believe you are good at, as well as a interest that matches up with it, then you might of found the right idea for a major. Though where as we use to be able to stop there and just follow that to figure your major out, but that is not the case anymore.

What you would have to do then is research if you got that major would you have a job now? Is there jobs out there or is that job field suppose to grow? If not then you need to start over, re figure out another option.  If it is then you found your major Congratulations!!

Now before I leave you here is a video that will let you know what are some of the worst majors to get in our economy.

This video is called "10 majors w/ Highest unemployment rate" found on youtube.com

Some of these may surprise you as they did for me.  I was surprise to see that psychology majors are not a good major to get. Also the architecture major being a waste of money surprised me but at the same time it made since to me.

How to help you overcome or deal with Stress

In College as well as being a EMT, there are many times where a stressful situation may be put on us. Situations like having a test come up or having a tough call ( whether the call can be tough because you know the person or tough because of what the call itself is for). The key to when we get put into positions like these is to learn how to find a way to keep your stress level down, as well as ways to handle the stress in a healthy way when you have it.

Stress can be very dangerous to your body

"Stress becomes dangerous when it interferes with your ability to live a normal life for an extended period of time. You may feel "out of control" and have no idea of what to do, even if the cause is relatively minor. This in turn, may cause you to feel continually fatigued, unable to concentrate, or irritable in otherwise relaxed situations...." 

"  If the cause of your stress is temporary, the physical effects are usually short-term as well. In one study, the pressure of taking exams led to increased severity of acne among college students, regardless of how they ate or slept. The condition diminished after exams were over. Abdominal pain and irregularity have also been linked to situational stress."

      (  Both of these from American Psychological Association)
 

Now for people under stress and who are old enough to be in college or even older than I am sure they understand what stress feels like. Stress can be short term traffic, test, or even a new job or date. Or stress can be long term like finances, family, and sometimes work too.

The key is to keep your stress level down, as much as you can that is. There are many things that you can do to help you keep their stress level down. According to HelpGaurd which is a non profit organization that helps people resolve health issues. They state that the first thing you need to do to resolve your stress issues is to figure out what exactly is stressing them out. Then if they can try to cut that out of their life, if they can't then just try to reduce the amount they have to deal with it. Now  what is causing their stress is not always the true cause. So identifying what is starting their stress can be difficult.

Once they have figured out what is causing your stress you need to find a way to reduce their stress level. Know most people find ways that may help them temporary, but in the long run it can hurt them. According to help guard  people will most likely treat stress in a unhealthy manner. They will -

• Smoke
• Drink too much
• Overeat or under eat
• Zoning out to your TV or computer for hours
• Separating yourself from your friends or family or things you once did
• using pills or drugs to relax
• sleeping too much
• Procrastinating
• Filling every minute of the day to avoid the problem
• Taking it out on others( lashing out, angry outburst, physical violence)

To deal with stress you want to do the four A's
"Avoid the stress, Alter the stressor, Adapt the stressor, and Change the stressor."( Smith and Segal)

"Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself... Healthy ways to relax and recharge

Go for a walk. Spend time in nature. Call a good friend. Sweat out tension with a good workout. Write in your journal. Take a long bath. Light scented candles.

Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea. Play with a pet. Work in your garden. Get a massage. Curl up with a good book. Listen to music. Watch a comedy.

Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury." ( Smith and Segal)
 

 Stress use to be a big problem for me. To the point I would have to go to the doctors a lot and have to curl up in a ball because my stomach hurt so bad. I still occasionally get my stomach aches but I find that the more I listen to music I like and make time for myself the more relax I become. As well as becoming better at handling stress and keeping my stress level down. Life will always give you stress you just have to find the best way for you to overcome your stress.


 Weiss PHD, Sara, and Nancy Molitor PHD. "Mind/body Health: Stress." American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association, 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Smith MA, Melinda, and Robert Segal MA. "Stress Management." Helpguide.org. Help Guide, Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Saint Baldricks

So on March 8, my department (OWL VFD) hosted a Saint Baldrick's event. It was participated with many other departments in our area, from Dale City, Dumfries, and even a DC department. Some of you who have not heard of Saint Baldrick's, it is an organization that raises money and awareness for kids with cancer as well as cancer research with kids. As their website says "St. Baldrick’s is home of the head-shaving event. It’s an easy and fun way to raise money for a very serious cause—like a walk athon, but without the blisters. "

I have a video to help you get another idea of what exactly Saint Baldrick's does.

My department has sponsored having a Saint Baldricks event for about 8 years. My department started participating in the event, because one of our department member couples, baby Zach was born with having a brain and Spinal Cord tumor. At just a baby this family had to deal with their new born having cancer. Now this is a nightmare to all new parents, hearing that your baby has cancer. Zach is now 19 years old; he was left with many obstacles like having one side of his body weaker than the other as well as a few other things. Zach was able to overcome all of this and is now a Fireman. He has had troubles and has overcome so much. Zach and his family are not only part of our OWL VFD family; he is also going to JMU now. Both his parents are life members in the department meaning they have been with our department for more than 18 years; they still actively participate with in the department and are the nicest people. Below is a Pic of Zach,

We also sponsor some other little boys. Now for my department we try to make it fun and like a party when we are fundraising. There is a live band that plays Irish music and since it is close to Saint Patrick's Day we have it Saint patty's theme. We wear green; have lots of food and drinks there. We usually have an auction going to help raise money. We auction many different things like autograph baseballs to customized mail boxes.  We also sell t-shirts and sweaters and we cut are hair. Typically Girls will not always shave but they will cut their hair. Guys will shave though and we also donate hair if it is long enough and follows the rules for donating. Like non-colored, not layered, and more than a certain length.

My department has not released how much we raised yet, but when I left we were already over $30,000 for children cancer research.

The Childhood Cancer Ripple Effect. The Childhood Cancer Ripple Effect. Saint Baldrick's, 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.

Toastmasters

Growing up with having a history of seizures really caused some problems for me in life.  When I was in Elementary School I had to go through a Speech Therapy program, in till I was in about 5th grade.  I tend to be a really shy person, so between that and having to do the speech therapy, I became extremely nervous when it came to public speaking. It was not in till my mom became the Fire Prevention officer with OWL VFD (Occuquan Woodbridge Lorton Volunteer Fire Department), that we were truly around Public speaking opportunities. My mom, sister, and I would work Pub Ed (Public Education) events, where we would teach fire safety to sometimes ten people and sometimes a couple hundred.  It can be a horrifying thought, but when we were little we did not think about it. We loved it and had fun teaching it.

Once I got older though, and had to present projects or papers. The thought of it started to make me scared. Public speaking after all is one of the top most feared things out there, and I was experiencing that. Then my mom found a club called toastmasters when I was 16. She was brought in to the club by one of her college professors, while she was working to get her master's program. She instantly fell in love with it. She began to drag me to the meetings with her. Even though I was not of age to be a meeting I feel in love with it too.

Just by listening to the meetings I learned so much, so that by the time I was 18 I was ready to join officially. I am still a beginner like in the video below the person who gave the ice breaker.

I truly think that this club has helped me a lot. I believe that though I am continuing to grow from the club. I wanted to share it with people here at the Nova Woodbridge Campus. The Annandale campus I believe it has a toastmasters group, they incorporate it within their communications classes, making their program a specialized communication program. I am right now trying to start a Toastmasters club at the Woodbridge Campus. I have two people right now interested and I need three more to get a room, so that we can start meetings here at the Nova campus.  I am going to have the club open to all Students, Facility, and staff, as well as if people have friends they believe should try toastmasters.

I would like to encourage you to try toastmasters, you learn a lot and it is truly a lot of fun. You learn not only how to be a public speaker without using filler words; you also learn listening and leadership skills as well as evaluating skills.

If you believe Toastmasters can help you too. Then please let me know my email is cee229@email.vccs.edu

I look forward to starting a club here at Nova and I hope you find it just as exciting as I do.



"Welcome To Toastmasters (Full Version)." YouTube. YouTube, 11 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.