How to pick a college

Picking a college can be stressful for some and easy for others. It was stressful for me and it didn't have to be. In this blog, I am going to tell you the important things to look at when looking for a college.

First of all, for me its location. I am a family man and want to be able to come home anytime I can but I also want the feeling of separation being free so I decided to pick a school that was an hour and a half away which is perfect. I am far enough away from home to feel like I am free, but also if I need anything getting home will not be a problem at all.

Second of all the people and community, when looking for a college on each visit I would walk around and look around the town and observe the people. Remember, you have to be living here and with them for 4 years,so make one you feel most comfortable with. Get to know the people and pick where you would fit the best.

Third of all I would have to say if you have a degree in mind, go to the college that has the best program. This can be hard if all your friends are going to another college and you feel left out... Yes ,this is natural, but think about it in the long run would you rather go to a school with all your friends and get a degree you don't want because they do not have yours. YOU WILL MAKE NEW FRIENDS

Fourth of all size of the college, depending on the person you are, you might fit better in a smaller college or larger. For me, I want a smaller college because I want to be able to get to know more people. I do not just want to be a number on a campus with 20k plus people. The bonus of going to a smaller school is also class size. In most large colleges some classes can have up to 900 people in one class. This can make it impossible to ask a question, let alone the teacher has no idea who you are. In a smaller school you can get, the more needed attention and your teacher will actually know you by name and want to help. But do not let me talk you out of big colleges, just do what fits your personality and you will do great.

Last but not least, do not let this stress you out like I did. If you ever did pick a college you do not like you can change you are not stuck there. It took me over a year to decide I could not make up my mind and it was driving me insane. But you have this feeling when you visit a college you know you are going to. It just feels right and you could see yourself being there and being successful. College is meant to be fun and you should be excited about where you are going. The final thing I am leaving you with is leaving your options open don't just look at one college look at as many as you can because you never know when you are going to come across the college that you will love and that will become your home for the next four years.

HOW TO WRITE A RESUME

HOW TO WRITE A RESUME


A resume is a document that contains a summary of your work and achievements that you can show to your employer. Like stated by (Shelly Wier) "a resume is a first impression." It is the first thing that they will see before they meet you so you need to make it good. Also make sure that your grammar and punctuation is good because employers who look at a bad resume with bad grammar will immediately send you to the bottom of the pile. (https://theinterviewguys.com/how-to-make-a-resume-101/)


Another thing about making a resume is creating a lot of white space so that you can draw in the readers eyes. Another thing is to only use information that is relevant to the job so jobs that are like the one you are trying to apply for. (http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-write-the-perfect-resume-2012-11#use-bullet-points-to-list-responsibilities-and-accomplishments-9) Last but not least don't reveal everything a resume is just a taste of what you have done. Save the others for when you get the job and can show off your real talent.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzLLkaynLetTWmQwWEo0QkhPNmM

Close Reading

Close Reading
By: Carter Davis


Close reading is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text's form, craft, meanings, etc. It is a key requirement of the Common Core State Standards and directs the reader's attention to the text itself.

Going into this project I did not have a single idea what close reading was. Annotation to me was just something that teachers gave as busy work for us to do. Throughout the years I would just scribble down information and not pay attention to it. When I first saw the paper by Swift I had no idea what to do. I read through the article fast and did not grasp it so I decided to try it again. This time I took my time and actually looked up words and tried to find things that were important to the story line. Finally it hit me why close reading is so important.

After taking my time to read through the article I picked up on things that I passed over when I was reading through it fast. This made the annotation a breeze and gave me a lot to write about. It also gave me more insight on the article and I was more knowledgeable. The reap strategy helped me a lot. Reap meaning (R-read text in own words, E-encode the text by using your own words, A-annotated by writing down the meaning of phrases and content in them, and P-ponder what you read.) Even though to some these might sound basic and not worth your time it is incredible how it helped me. Writing down the content of a section would help me find my place and pick back up and also give me an idea of what content was in that section.

One thing that I never thought about when annotating was pondering, actually sitting back and thinking about what you just read. I believe that close reading is very important to me in this way. It taught me to stop for a minute contrary to my usual skimming of the content and writing down the easiest and most basic response. When I actually took the time to think about what I had just read it made more sense to me (a light bulb went off in my head.) What I would suggest to anyone scared of annotating would to use the reap method. Coming from someone who is not very experienced in annotation it helped me a lot. For example, when reading this article pick out the main points of it and mark it. You will find that further down in your annotation, you can look up and see a brief explanation of the content and it will help you. 

If you do not take anything away from this blog post I would suggest two things. First of all slow down, it's not a race to see who can finish first take your time and really soak in the text. Second of all and the most IMPORTANT write notes off in the side.  If you just underline and circle it you will not get anything from it you always need notes that will help you understand why this information is important and why it will help benefit you