 From the beginning of the semester, the dread of the 2,500 word research paper loomed. Needless to say, I'm glad it's over with. My biggest struggle in writing this final paper had to be finding time in my schedule to find valuable sources in my research. Once the preparation for the assignment was over, I didn't find it too difficult to transition into putting together the paper. I'm thankful that assignments over the past month led up to the writing of this paper, because I know I would've waited last minute to do the whole thing. Writing this paper wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I'm glad it's over. This semester has flown bye and I can't believe the research paper has already been turned in. It's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders!
 So far, the process of the research paper has not been too frustrating for me. One thing I have to work on is time management. I have to stop completing assignments last minute. Procrastination is always a struggle for me. One of my main frustrations was finding sources that directly relate to my topic of minimum wage. The process of this research paper is moving along quickly. I am almost done with my notes for my sources. The annotated bibliography helped this process go quickly. Completing the research proposal was easier than I thought it would be. My thesis is beginning to take shape as I finish up my notes for my sources. The assignments haven’t been too difficult and I hope to continue doing well.
Eleanor Bader writes about the struggles homeless college students face. By telling stories of different homeless students, she reveals the lives of those moving from shelters, to trains, to teachers offices. Some of these students are homeless for several reasons. These include single moms who left abusive relationships, students whose parents stopped paying their rent, and those who simply can't afford the cost of living. Some of these students sleep in cars and shower in the gym bathrooms. Others find refuge at friends houses. Homeless students stop being tracked after high school. As shown in this article, the reason there are so many homeless students is because the government does not track the number of homeless students, and in turn, can not put together any programs to aid them. One of the reasons Bader believes colleges are not accustomed to helping poor students is because college used to be a place for the wealthy to continue their education, but with students from all social classes going to college, not all can afford it. This includes nontraditional students, students who are returning to school, and have low incomes. There is inadequate support services. Students living homeless usually drop out because they do not share with people what they are going though and can not keep up with school work without basic life necessities.
 In Torie Bosch’s article, First, Eat All the Lawyers, she
analyzes the reasons for our zombie obsessed nation. She writes about the show The Walking Dead. I, like the author, am guilty of watching this show. With the season premiere this coming Sunday, I’ll definitely be watching with my Dad and brother. Bosch explains that the reason for the current “zombie craze” is because of our economic state. The zombies represent how our nation is suffering fiscally. In The Walking Dead, like many zombie shows or movies, the people who survive the longest are the blue-collar workers. The white-collar workers with few lifesaving skills are the ones who perish. If a zombie apocalypse were to occur, lawyers, bankers, journalists, and those with other white-collar jobs would be obsolete. Their skills would not be needed because of the skills of the blue-collar workers that include farming, auto repair, and electric repair. She writes about how her journalism skills would not useful in the event of an apocalypse and that she would be one of the first to perish. Lastly, Bosch explains that if our economy were to recover, zombies would no longer be a source of entertainment.
| This playlist is perfect for a long car ride. I love country music because it tells a story. Luke Bryan is my favorite country artist and his songs "Crash my Party" and "That's my Kind of Night" are a few of his newest songs that soon became my favorites. I had "That's my Kind of Night" on repeat for about a week. It's like not like any song I've heard before. It mixes country with hip hop and makes for a great song. Florida Georgia Line is my favorite new country duo, so I chose their song "Round Here". Blake Shelton has come out with some of my favorite songs in the past few months. "Boys Round Here" has a catchy beat that I love because it's unique. Another one of his songs that I love is "Sure Be Cool If you Did". Its lyrics are very sentimental and relatable. There's never a bad time to listen to country music! | |
| T-Mobile hits the mark with its new commercial. It features a man whose fingers are cut by his broken phone screen. Too many of us have had that moment when we drop our phones, dreading to pick it up and see if it cracked or not. Like the countless number of cell phone users who have dropped their precious phones, so did I. Unfortunately, it cracked. It wouldn’t bother me if it was the back, but the fact that it’s the screen and back is very irritating. Unlike the commercial, my fingers do not bleed profusely when I use my touch screen. Although there were some shards of glass that shattered off of my screen, they did not cut me. That set aside, this commercial gave me a good laugh. At the beginning, it captures your attention with the blood all over the house. Some would think it is a commercial for some sort of horror show or movie, but it is actually a cell phone company advertisement. This commercial applies to all those who have cracked their screens. It is very relatable. When I saw this commercial, I immediately thought of my phone that looks like it was ran over by a semi. | | This commercial came out just as the new iPhone 5s was released, most likely to persuade potential customers to switch to their company. T-Mobile is advertising their new “Jump” plan where customers can upgrade their phones every six months. With this program, you get to upgrade your phone up to twice a year. Being able to do this, you can upgrade whenever the newest version of your phone comes out. This program is one that I would definitely be interested in. I have AT&T and I have to wait two years to get new phone. With only a ten dollar a month fee, the "Jump" program this sounds like a great investment! I have been jealous of my friends who have been getting the latest new phones while I am stuck with my cracked one. | | In the beginning of the commercial, it conveys its message by writing “day 319 out of 730”. This is referring to the policy of some phone carriers who only allow phone users to upgrade without penalty for
two years. The policy of some cell phone carriers is that when you get a new phone, in order to get the discounted price, you have to sign a two year contract. Many people will not pay the full price for a new phone. This is
because some phones, such as the iPhone can cost upwards of $649 with16GB of storage. I am in the same situation as most with cracked or broken phones. I
need a new one, but have to wait until my contract is up. I have another six months before I’m eligible for a new phone.
| T-Mobile's message was successful. It took an everyday problem that many cell phone users have. The over-dramatic display of how painful it can be to have to live with a broken phone is conveyed to the viewer very well. It captures your attention in the beginning with the horror like scenes and uses humor to entice the viewer. If you want to upgrade your phone every six months without penalty, switch to T-Mobile.
| When coming to class there are a few things I need. Some of these are a pen, paper, books, and last but not least gum. I consider chewing gum a necessity for getting through a long day.I always make sure I have some on
me.As an avid gum chewer, I have always wanted to know which the best to buy is.To test this, I purchased three different types of sugar-free gum.I chose orbit, stride, and trident.All contain less than five calories and 0 grams of fat.I evaluated these products using the criteria of longest lasting, cheapest, and largest portion.I purchased the three packs of gum in spearmint, my favorite flavor. | | How long does the flavor last? Stride gum’s slogan is “ridiculously long lasting gum”, but is it really? I did not find that stride gum was the longest lasting gum of the three I purchased. When beginning to chew the gum it was full of flavor, but after an hour and a half, the flavor was completely gone. Don’t you hate when you are chewing gum and the flavor completely disappears? I do, which is why I would not recommend Stride gum based on how long its flavor lasts.
Trident was the first national brand of sugar free gum. It is one of the few that is accepted by the American Dental Association. This must make you feel good about chewing it, right? While it is the best gum for your teeth out of the ones I have chosen, it does not last the longest. Out of Stride, Orbit, and Trident, Trident lasted the shortest amount of time. It barely lasted an hour before you could not taste anything at all. Like Stride, I would not recommend this gum based in its capability to hold flavor.
“For a good, clean feeling, no matter what”. This is Orbit's claim. Out of Stride, Orbit, and Trident chewing gum, Orbit has the best flavor and lasted the longest. After two hours, I was still chewing it and it still had flavor. Although this type of gum is not known for being the longest lasting like its competitor Stride, it lasts longer than the others I tested. If you want gum that will last you for hours, choose orbit. How much? Top to bottom: Trident, Orbit, Stride |
Of the three packages of gum I purchased, all were similar in price and below $2. I purchased mine at the BP gas station. Stride cost me the most with a price of $1.49. In second came orbit, costing me $1.38. The cheapest gum I purchased was trident, which was only $1.08. As far as which gum I would recommend based on price, I would obviously pick trident. Forty cents is not a lot of money, but who doesn't want a little extra change in their pocket?
| Who gives you the most? When choosing which product to purchase, you want to know which will get you the most for your money. Even though the prices for these products are similar, you get different amounts of gum. While Trident costs the least amount of money, packages contains 18 pieces of gum. Both packages of Stride and orbit contain 14 pieces. Since Trident is the cheapest gum and comes with the most pieces, you may think you’re getting the most for your money. Turns out, the size of a piece of trident gum is drastically smaller than that of Stride and Orbit. | Preferences for how much gum you like to chew at once are individual, but I prefer the larger stick of gum to the smaller. As for Stride and Orbit, their sizes are similar, but orbit is slightly thicker than Stride. In the category of which brand contains the most gum, orbit wins. While Trident contains more individual pieces of gum, Orbit contains larger and thicker sticks of gum that last longer. |
| Results After evaluating these three products from Stride, Orbit, and Trident, I made a
decision as to which I would recommend. In my three categories of price, flavor
longevity, and portions, I chose the best gum for each category. Winning the
price category was Trident. Winning both the flavor and amount categories is
Orbit. Surprisingly, stride did not win any of my categories. With the
advertisements for Stride, I thought that it would be the longest lasting.
Turns out it is just the most expensive. To sum it up, if you are looking for
the cheapest gum out of the three I have chosen, choose Trident. The best
quality gum that I discovered is Orbit. It is an all-around quality chewing gum
that will last you for hours and contain plenty in its package.
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