Purdue vs University of Illinois

Ever since I was in grade school I have been hounded by my family (uncles and Aunts) to go to the University of Illinois.  My family has a very strong background at the University of Illinois and in fact my great great grandpa was one of the first people to graduate there.  The school even has a plague for him in the Agriculture library.  Until I toured Purdue I was confident I was going to go there.  I knew I wanted to go into an agriculture field so I applied to the three best schools for my major (Iowa State, U of I, and Purdue).  Once I knew I was accepted into all three it became decision time.  Although U of I suppose ably runs in my blood I chose Purdue. Why Purdue?  Although it is more expensive since I am out of state I believe it will be worth it.  The campus at Purdue is more convenient, it isn’t to close to home, and it is a fantastic school.  The campus is closed unlike U of I’s which is more urbanized.  Although it is about the same size of Illinois it has a considerably smaller feel which I like.  The campus is set up to where the farthest walk you would have to do to get to class is 10 minutes tops.  Unlike U of I where you might have to travel a mile or two to get somewhere you need to.  The campus is beautiful at Purdue as well with a magnificent watch tower and fountains scattered on it.  Purdue is far enough from home to where I can come home on weekends if I had to but it is not to close to where my parents might surprise me.  According to Purdue, they have a 98 % of kids finding jobs right after college in my degree with a starting salary between 42-50 thousand dollars a year.  Although I can not wait to experience college I still need to plan for my future after college and I feel Purdue is a great academic school that can give me a promising future.      

2009 Farm and Rural life Poll

I agree with Gordon Arbuckle’s view that a lot of farmer’s are getting older with no replacements because, as recent research has shown in Iowa, 42 percent of farmers plan to retire in the next five years.  Also, only about 50 percent of the retire farmers have a know successor.  That is close to a fourth of  Iowa ‘s farmers with out a successor.  These ideas support my argument that young adults need to start farming.  This problem is not only in Iowa but is nationwide as well.  Farming is a very important job that is essential to our growing population.  I do not understand why people would not want to farm.  It might be hard labor at times but you are your own boss and can work around your schedule making you somewhat flexible.  Also since you cannot farm during the winter, you get long breaks off.  Farming also gives many benefits with it as well as a fun and enjoyable lifestyle.  Even though farmers do not have a fixed income with hard work it can be very financially rewarding.   I hate when people (my city slicker cousins) try to make fun of me because they think there is nothing in the country to do other than eat corn in bib overalls.  But really I can do just about everything they can.  So people should not rule out farming because of it’s location.  Yes, farming is not for everyone but with hard work and dedication you can make a very comfortable life for you and your family.     

Are Potatoes Vegetables?

Through out my senior year in high school my class was divided between people who thought potatoes were vegetables and people who thought they weren’t.  It might be a silly thing to argue over, but it is still a good question to ask.  I am sure there is science behind it arguing for one side or the other but right now my mind is made up that it is defiantly not a vegetable.  Yes, like probably every other vegetable it is nutritious but there are many other things that are nutritious that are not vegetables as well.  Vegetables are very noticeable by there colors of mostly green as well as orange, yellow, etc.  I have never seen or heard of a vegetable with such a boring dark color as brown.  They seem more of roots to me with their spores and everything.  Plus, when you go to McDonalds and get a large fry can you really say you’re eating a vegetable?  I thought vegetables were suppose increase your dietary health not worsen it.  When you go to nicer restaurants as well don’t they usually give you sides of some sort of potato and a vegetable?  Notice how they do not give you the choice of a potato as a vegetable.  To add to my argument I am almost positive they belong to another food group on the food pyramid.  From the food pyramids I have seen they are in the grain and starches group rather than the vegetable group.  Potatoes are so much different from every other vegetable in to many ways for it to actually be one. 

How ICC has Changed my Life

ICC has changed my life around in a very positive way.  Since I got in trouble with my school for violating the drug and alcohol policy twice I was kicked out of all clubs and sports. Clubs and sports were my life in high school and since I could not be in any there was no point for me to stay there Also, Delavan High School is very small which limited my class choices.  Being third in my class I did not want to take blow off classes and instead decided to graduate early to try to get college credits before I go off to a big university.  Because of ICC I should be ahead of the game before I step foot on A big universities campus and it has also gave more confidence going to a big school.  I have some what knowledge how much work and effort you must put into school now.  The point of this topic is the ICC has turned my life around and will help me better transition into a big college than my high school could which in the end could hopefully make me more successful in the near future.  Hard work and determination is the felt sense I get when thinking of this topic.  Although by graduating early and losing my senior year I have put myself in a situation that requires more effort out of me, it should come back and help me further in the end.  By taking all of my transferable classes at ICC I should be saving some money on school, get a head start at Purdue, and be more prepared for the rigors that Purdue has to offer.   

Where are all the Young Farmers?

There are less and less young farmers coming back to take over today’s farmers jobs. Today’s farmers can not feed the world forever.  This might be because of the hard labor involved with the job or even the fact that most kids do not know the benefits to farming especially kids from urban areas who have not grown up on a farm or rural community. This topic is interesting to me for many reasons.  First of all I have a farm/agriculture related background and have helped a farmer (my dad) for just about my whole life.  Farming is a very possible career choice for me.  It is important to know that although farming is a risky business that anyone can be successful at it with a good work ethic and good decision making no matter what your background is.  Also, farming is not an all year round job.  There are periods of time where you work long hours constantly but only for a short while which makes the job very bearable.  The heart of this issue is to get young farmers to step up and take the place of the farmers ready to retire.  Hard work is all that comes into mind when I think of farming.  You only get as much out of it as you put into it.  This may be confusing to some people but if you do not have a hardworking attitude in this business chances are you probably won’t be successful in it.  I feel this “felt sense” all through my body as I remember the long hours I have put into farming by helping my dad and remember that feeling of accomplishment after the end of every hard worked day.  The point I am trying to make is that more people should get involved in farming.  It might be hard work at times but it pays off in the end.  The feeling of accomplishment from this job is indescribable and that anyone can do it not only people with ag backgrounds.

Paying for College

Going to college is very expensive but that should not be a reason to miss out on an amazing experience.  I hate when people say, “I cannot go to college because it costs too much.”  If you put your mind to it no matter your financial situation through scholarships, savings and loans you can pay for just about any school you want to go to.  Recently, I have been applying for scholarships to help me pay for my fall admission into Purdue University.  I had no idea how much money is actually out there until I started looking for it.  The hardest part of scholarships is filling them out, not finding them.  Yes, some of them might be hard to fill out but think of like this, if it takes you 4 hours to fill out something that is will give you a thousand dollars in the future that is like you are making $250 an hour.  Most highschoolers nowadays have jobs as well.  Why not save some of the money you earn for your future?  You would probably spend that money going out to fast food or something stupid you do not need anyways if you’re a teen.  Instead, use it for something important and useful in your near future. Saving is something my dad has taught me and everyone should learn to do.  The sooner you can save and manage your money the better you will be when it comes to living on your own.  Also, every college that I am aware of has financial aid and student loans which help many students pay for the expenses of college as well.  You might have to pay more with student loans in the long run but it could be very worth it when you score a career job after college and not something that’s only paying minimum wage.  Paying for college is not easy but with the right mind set and work ethic anyone can do it.     

Torture

In his essay “Is There a

Torturous Road

to Justice”, Alan M. Dershowitz writes about torture and proposes for a torture warrant.  Although he is not exactly arguing for torture in this essay, if you read a little after it you find out he has been accused for supporting torture.  However, I believe that torture is inhumane and should not be used.  Yes, it might be effective and possibly faster then other ways, but my mom always taught me to treat others how I would treat myself.  If an American solider got caught by some enemy, would the government, military, his family want him to be tortured?  It goes both ways.  If we torture people, people will torture us.  Where is the good in that?  I am sure there are other ways to extract information without causing pain to the person with holding the information.  It is immoral and in my mind should be considered a sin.  Only under one circumstance should it be considered.  If it will save thousands of lives from a bomb or some other danger should it be used as last resort.  I am not stating I agreed with it, I am only saying harsh times call for harsh measures sometimes if no other option is possible.  Even torturing isn’t a 100% effective though.  I am sure there are people out there who have high enough pain tolerances or loyal to something enough to where they will die before they say a word.  Plus what would make them not tell you false information to stop torturing them before it is to late and the bomb they planted somewhere exploded.  In, conclusion torturing should not be used because it is immoral, not 100% effective, and it is not the only way to retrieve information.  We have other options here people so lets use them.