Back to School

       I did not go to college right out of high school, I decided to get a full time job, and think about my options. I was young, and I was thinking I have my whole life to go to college. Well, I ended up getting married and having two kids, so college got put on the back burner. I worked as a laborer in the freezer at Kemp's stacking and loading ice cream into trucks, then I got hired at Federal Mogul. I took the position at Federal Mogul just because my body could not take any more of that work in -30 degree temps, and working 16 hour days. I was constantly sick with pneumonia, and my body could not physically take that job anymore. When I took the job at Federal Mogul, I thought it was just going to be a temporary job as a machine operator until I could figure out what I wanted to do. I ended up being a machine operator, and then being promoted to a Utility, then I was promoted to a Lead Man, and finally they hired me as a Supervisor. Never in a million years did I think I was going to be a Supervisor in this place. I love my job, and everything that goes along with running a company. It intrigues me, and I learn something new everyday. I decided to go back to school last fall, just to be able to further my career with Federal Mogul, and because they are requiring all Supervisors to have a degree. I am the only Supervisor without a degree, and I have worked my way up the ladder fair and square with just plain hard work and patience. Going back to school has been a challenge for me, I have been out of high school for 12 years now, so it's like learning all over again. I feel like Adam Sandler from the movie Billy Madison. In fact, my wife occasionally sings me the song from the movie "back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool, I got my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight". Yes that's how I feel in a nutshell, although on the other hand I am excited finish my degree and see how far it can take me in the career world. Also to show my boys how important a college degree is and that you can do anything you put your mind to .

                                                   Research Paper Writing
     When I seen the assignment for an argumentive research paper. I thought to myself, “This could be interesting”. I have not written a research paper since I was in high school, 13 years ago…….um, yes that is a long time ago. I was thinking also what a challenge this is going to be because my wife and I are in the process of buying a house, so we are very busy juggling, kids, jobs, packing, and all the new challenges that go with buying a new home. My plate is overflowing with responsibility right now and it’s a little tough to handle at times. I know all of this will pass, and I will get through it, but right now I wish it was all over and that it was summer break, and my summer vacation away from work for 2 weeks………cannot wait. I struggled with coming up with a topic to write about, I thought about it for days. One night my wife said why you don’t write about ADHD, I thought to myself “no  that wouldn’t be interesting”. Then I thought about it some more and decided to do some research about it, and pinpoint what about ADHD exactly going to write about. The more I researched the topic, the more I loved the topic. I am very familiar with what ADHD entails, because my wife was diagnosed with it a couple of years ago. What amazes me is that she went all her life knowing something was wrong, and remembers not being able to concentrate even as far back as elementary school. Finally after the birth of our second son she felt extremely overwhelmed; she was rarely able to finish a task she started. At times she would start 5 projects at once, and not finish them. She just could not concentrate, and has a very impulsive behavior, for example we would have plans to go somewhere and she would be getting ready to go, and then she would start to clean out the pantry in the kitchen, and have everything tore apart then we would end up late to where we were going in the first place. She was also very forgetful, always losing her keys, cellphone, sometimes even her purse. She is a super neat freak with the house, and an over the top germ-a-phob, so she is constantly cleaning, which is good for me cause my clothes are always clean and ironed, and my truck is always spotless thanks to her. She  is also the nicest person you will ever meet and can talk to anyone. She has a lot of friends, and she is known as the fun one in the group. This is one thing that first attracted me to my wife 15 years ago, I loved that she was outgoing, sometimes crazy, and a fly by the seat of your pants kind of girl. I am going to admit, sometimes the ADHD gets in the way, but it’s not her fault.  I wanted to write this research paper on ADHD to get a better understanding of this disorder, so I can be more understanding to my wife with what she struggles with on a daily basis.  

     I am a Christian; I gave my life to Christ when I was nine years old. Yes, I know I was young, but that was when I knew that Jesus was my Lord and Savior. Since then I have tried to do my best to be a faithful follower and servant. I read my Bible, pray, and try to follow His will for my life on a daily basis. I’m not going to lie, I am not perfect, but I give it my best. God did not make us perfect, so even being an avid believer; we all sin on a daily basis.

       With this being said, I am a firm believer that God should be a part of public school. I do not think we should have stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance because it says, "One nation under God", or I don’t think they should ban prayer in public school either. I know many people have their opinions, but I am seeing our nation turning away from God and moving closer to socialism. When I say this I mean that the people of the United States have come to believe that government is there to take care of us, when we should be able to take care of ourselves, government is supposed to be there to protect us. We are getting so wrapped up in debt; the government cannot even afford to pay our schools to give our children education, or even keep our kids safe in school. With all the school shootings, and bulling going on in the schools this day in age, I think if they put the principles of God back in public school , some of this stuff would stop. Since the courts started banning prayer, and references to God, even going as far as to taking down the 10 Commandments out of public places, the nation including our school systems, have gone downhill. Even on our currency it says "In God we trust", why can’t we go back to our nation and schools trusting in God. I am also a firm believer in the power of prayer, and I think that all of us who do believe need to pray for all the people in this world that don’t know God, and we also need to pray for our government, and the men and women that we voted in office. God has a plan for each and every one of us, we need to believe, study His word, and pray so we will follow His will for our own life.

                                                         The Glass Castle

     In my college English course we were to read the book “The Glass Castle”, by Jeannette Walls. This book is a story of the trials and tribulations of her life. It was actually a really good book. Me being a guy, I don’t read much unless it has to do with hunting, fishing, or sports. I found this book to be very intriguing and keeps the reader interested; actually I had a hard time putting it down.

     Before I began the book, I stared at it for a few weeks, thinking “I should really start reading this book”, but never picked it up. When it came down to crunch time, I started it on a Sunday afternoon, thinking I was just going to read a couple chapters. I honestly thought the book was going to be like reading a text book…..boring. Much to my surprise the book was very interesting and the first day I read 150 pages. I had a hard time putting it down, it kept me wondering “what could possibly happen next”. Jeannette Walls did a great job describing all the situations she was put in as a child, in fact she did such a great job you could paint a picture in your head, and almost imaging yourself there. It had a great balance of being enjoyable to read and also having a meaning.

     I would definitely recommend this book to others. It has great meaning, and I think all high schools should have it in their curriculum for the students read. If teenagers read this book, maybe some of the bullying would stop, and make them think twice of making fun of another less fortunate student.