Towson University

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I am constantly seeing commercials and ads on TV for schools. They aren't the typical commercials either. They are advertising computer training from your home (which is different than the usual university ads). But since I am currently a college student (full-time at a university) I really haven't paid much attention to them before.

I was watching one though today and it was all about (and focused towards) people who have either not gone to college at all or they dropped out for some reason (usually a financial or family situation). But they really emphasized their schools CBT (computer based training) program. They talked about how many credited courses they offer that you can take from your own home on your computer.

There are several upsides (at least according to the commercial) to using CBT to get your degree. If you are currently employed (you are either getting the degree to get a new or better job or you are trying to advance in your current job like using it to get you're a+ certification) you are able to take the classes after your work your regular job on your own time.

Also, you don't have to spend the time or the money getting to and from a school or university. You can spend that commuting time with your family, at your current job, relaxing or even studying for your CBT course.

You can even get financial help in a lot of cases with CBT courses. People think that just because they are older and either didn't go right away or they dropped out, that they can't go back and do something about it.

Another common worry is that you are all on your own when you take a computer training course. This isn't true at all. You have so many resources including the company or school that it is through.

But this commercial definitely made it clear that people can go back to school (at their convenience) in an affordable fashion and also spend time with their families and continue on with their jobs and learn in the comfort of their own home (and use their resources as well). It is important to know that you always have options. Thankfully with the technology that we have now, we are able to do so many things that weren't available even ten years ago and we need to definitely be taking advantage of them.

Summer is fast approaching as I am sure many of your have already realized. We have been having those random days where it will be completely beautiful but just a few degrees too cold. Before you know it we will all be wishing it were like this because we'll be baking inside our cars and frying in the sun. I am looking foreword to it anyway though.

I am one of the lucky few that don't get a summer vacation. That would make life much too easy for me. No I have more than a full schedule for the summer and it is going to test my will and my strength I think to stay inside all summer long in classes and then to go outside only to be strapped down to my notebooks and laptop to get homework done.

Since I have this great opportunity I have also been given a work study job for the summer at a local school. I will be doing my experiential hours for education in a middle school teaching English as a Second Language to foreign students who are in high school. I think that it is going to be a whole lot of fun because they have put me in charge of thinking about the lessons regarding technology and I am a huge proponent of e-learning. I am actually doing a technology minor so I will be able to use that within the context of my career later. I have been doing correspondence lessons through the enterprise learning library and hope to get my a+ certification sometime before I graduate. It may sound like a lot of work to many of you who feel overwhelmed by your current course load, but I am personally very excited to be able to have this opportunity. My belief is that college is the time for honing in on what really matter for you in life as well as in your future career goals. Because of this belief I have devoted myself fully to my education and my professional development as a teacher. This I do with the intention of being the best I can be for my students who will be the final judge on my performance in the things they do after leaving my classroom.

These days, it may seem vain but now more than ever looks do matter. You may not think that they do, but then in all fairness you are not looking at yourself. As we age, it becomes more and more difficult to hide our age and make ourselves appear younger. And with the job market expanding, older applicants need to look younger, or frankly they probably won't get the job over their younger, more energetic counterparts. This is just the reality and that is why I have been reading more about looking younger, including the one article I read which was a wrinkle cream review. Honestly, after reading the article, I decided to go out and purchase the best wrinkle cream off the list, and it really worked well. In the past I had always just tried to cover up my bad skin and wrinkles with a good foundation, but had always found that foundation did even out my skin tone, but it doesn't work well to hide wrinkles. And it seems like everyday, more of them appear. No, I am not eighty, but I can already see new lines forming on my face, and it really does change your opinion.

Now, you may think that wrinkle cream is just for the old, but it also works really well to hide other lines that show up on your face and these start to show up around your mid twenties. At first they are hardly noticeable, but then they seem to become more noticeable over time.

I just think that it is important to look your best no matter what your age, and when you are heading into the job market or returning to school, then you really need to look as young as possible without overdoing it. I think that it is really important to keep the playing field level. Being young doesn't last forever, but by using the right skin care products, wrinkle cream and make up, you will be the only one who has to know your real age. There is nothing wrong with looking younger while still having the benefit of your years of wisdom and experience, this is actually the best of both worlds especially to potential employers.

A friend of mine is getting married in the summer and her and her fiancé are also building a home! It's really exciting but I also think that it is extremely stressful for her to be planning a wedding, starting a new job (yay for her!) and worrying about building the house and when it will be ready and decorating it and making it a home.

She does have a wedding planner (and her crazy mom) to help her. But I think the fact that she just graduated a year ago and got engaged and is now starting her dream job is a little overwhelming. I can't imagine what it would be like to be on your own, go to class at random times and hang out with your friends and then be thrown into a 8-5 job an hour away and be engaged with responsibilities (that clearly come with perks) but still it can be stressful and exciting in an exhausting way I can imagine. Thankfully though she is using Schumacher homes to do her house. She told me and almost everyone else I know that Schumacher homes has been so great and helpful and really been straight up with her about everything including reality with the building and pricing (which is something that you don't hear very often with home building and estimates). So it really is a relief to her that she can just tell them what she likes and wants and they are open and honest with her about how the whole process works and is going (and she said she even hangs out with the guys and that they're really nice and friendly).

I think her favorite part about the house is that she gets to start all new with decorating (as opposed to buying a home from someone else) and make everything her own. They are buying all new furniture and framing black and white pictures of them, family and friends for the living room and hallways which is so cool.

Hearing her talk about the whole process is really cool. It kind of makes me excited to grow up (even though I'm really in no hurry ha). But just to hear that it isn't just bad after graduation and people don't always miss the going out every night and drinking and having little responsibility and that being a grownup can be fun too.

One of my best friends from college is getting married this summer! On one hand it really scares me because she is only 3 years older than me and she totally has her life together and she is obviously at that stage where she is ready to get married (or at least I would hope so since she is ha). But I am a junior and still have so much time left in school (my major is pharmacy) and I definitely don't think I will be ready to get married in the next few years (even like ten years) ha. Even if I found the right guy I want to do so many things on my own first. So I definitely envy Claire.

On the other hand though, I get to help with wedding stuff so it's so much fun! She is having Ghirardelli chocolate as her wedding candy for the favors which is super cute because the candy comes in these little Tiffany blue boxes with a ribbon around it to match her colors.

I also got to help plan the bachelorette party (my favorite part) and the bridal shower (not so fun ha). The bachelorette party is going to have a ton of cool favors (sort of naughty ha) and we are going downtown to the bars and got a suite for 2 nights (that's right, 2 nights). I think when I get married I'm going to skip the bridal shower, it seems boring to me for some reason. But I do know for sure when I get married I will definitely have an open bar (I think if I had to chose between and open bar and a GROOM I would chose the open bar ha-ha).

But overall helping with the wedding was such a fun experience. By us helping, Claire was less stressed out and when we tried on our bridesmaid dresses we had such a great time. We got to see her wedding dress and had mimosas and just relaxed because the wedding is so close and basically everything is taken care of already except for tiny details.

I do however think that as much fun as this was, I want to have a wedding planner when I get married. I know that sounds snotty, but I definitely don't think I could see the big picture and put it all together myself.