Want to send you're children to college?

You might want to think again...

I was reading an article on MSN.com about how much raising a baby for 17 years costs. The link to the article can be found here. As I was reading the article it mentioned how much a college tuition with cost in the year 2020.

After reading the prices, hell I have nothing to complain about now being in college.
The article stated:

Private college cost: $225,000
In-State University cost: $105,000

It didn't specify if this was for all four years or just a year's tuition.

Now-a-days, familes are struggling to send their kids to school (not taking into account the recession) and you can never seem to get enough from financial aide. The university I am currently attending is roughly $47,000 a year. That is not taking into account room/board or meal plans. (It's a private university by the way.)

I hear all the time on the news how America wants to catch up to the rest of the world in the world of academics. The No-Child-Left-Behind bill to ensure kids get a good education in FREE public schools.

Now is it just me or, if prices for college educations continue to climb, less and less high school graduates are likely to go. Which in turn America falls even further behind on the education scale of the world. I mean, in europe, as long as you go to an 'in state' university, its free. Why not here?

I know there is such thing as loans, grants, scholarships...but for the average person they don't come anywhere close to being enough - let alone all the debt you can potentionally be in with loans and their intrest rates.

Do you think the government needs to step in and do something about college/university/secondary education tuition prices? And if prices for tuition really do look like those figures, would you be able to, want to send your child to college?

Whale Wars

I was just surfing the internet like any other night with the tv on in the background. I just so happened to turn my head to watch what was on "Whale Wars". I've watch this show plenty of times before, but I've never actually seen a whale get killed on the show.

I just saw a harpoon ship harpoon a whale right in the head. I watched the poor whale breathing for air and watching blood pour into the water. I didn't know it was possible how red with blood water can become.

Then not only did you harpoon the whale in the head, they shot it with a shotgun six times until it went belly up.

This kills me. I wanted to/ still want to cry it makes me so upset to see this great giant of the ocean, graceful in everyway. So majestic and strong, just died like that at the hands of people.

I'm not a vegitarian, I'm not an animal activists. But man, this hit the heart.

How do you feel about whale hunting or about this show and what it's all about in general?

Which is wiser? Money in the bank or Money in your hands?

I was thinking today, how little money I actually have saved for my upcoming school year at college. Last year it was different because of graduation money. But this year it was all on my own. I still have half of my money from last year leftover, but not much that I actually made this summer.

See, I work at a resturant, getting paid $4 and hour. I get decent tips, about $40 for a 3 1/2 hour shift. I walk out from the resturant that night with the $40 in my hands.

I think that's my problem, I have the money right there. Ready to be handed across a counter to a cashier at some store. I feel like I would have saved more money if i left work and went straight to the bank in the morning, not waiting a few days later.

My question here is, would you rather you get a paycheck, because it goes right into the bank (pretend you have direct deposit). Or would you rather be paided directly with cash in hand?

Technology

Last night my power went out around 7:30p. My mom and dad and I were out in the living room. I can't even begin to explain how bored I became and how quickly. There was no internet, not television, I couldn't call anyone on my phone (because we all know lightning can go through phones, as my mom says) so my only option was laying in the middle of the floor making shaddow puppets on the ceiling. Then I got to thinking...

How do/did people make it without electricity. But not just that, how did my parents make it without television or *gasp* the internet?!

I mean, for the 2 1/2 hours that i was actually laying on the floor staring into the world I call my ceiling, I was close to insanity. I didn't know what to do with myself. There's only so much you can talk about with your parents before you get bored, and there's only so many times you can watch the lighning outside before you get bored even more.

Then I thought, if i never had electricity or the internet to begin with, than I wouldn't know any better anyway. But really, these days, did you ever think how much you rely on the internet, your cellphone (which only became major mainstream about 10 years ago maybe.) or the television. I mean, we take it all for granted so much.

Its pretty scary when I feel so disconnected from the world because i can't get on facebook and 'creep' on what's going on in my friends world. Or I didn't have the television to tell me who's power was out as well and how long it would be, or if the storm would ever stop.

This can also go towards the younger kids of the day. I mean, when i was younger (see i'm only 19 so it wasn't so long ago for me) I didn't know how to work the internet, and the only cell phones i saw where as big as your forearm. So i went outside and played with my cousins pretending we were village people running for a t-rex that was trying to eat us (good ol' imagination). Or i was sitting in my room playing with my barbies. I didn't know how to control a video game until I discovered the original nintendo game system, but the darn thing you have to smack a few times or blow air into the game to get it to work for more than five minutes, so i quickly stopped playing and went back to my imaginary world.

But these days, as you hear all too much on the news, kids are glued to the tv watching cartoons that have no relevance to them, (because I had some pretty awesome cartoons in my day with the original nick jr. ha) or are causing early onset of arthritis in their thumbs playing excessive amounts of video games. I go for a ride in my car during the day, and i rarely see kids outside playing. The park right across the street from me has turned more into a  "watch where you're walking because there's needles on the ground" than a place where i see kids playing.

Then if you're at work, or anywhere for that matter, a computer crashes, the whole company is down until the problem is fixed. Or your cell phone dies and it's another 6 hours until you can get home and charge it. What are you going to do? Some people almost have panic attacks because their cell phone is on its last bar of power.

Don't worry, just because your cell phone dies, doesn't mean the world is going to end. Just because my power went out for a total of 7 1/2 hours doesn't mean I'm not going to make it to morning to start a new day, I know.

But man, technology really is a great thing..

People, whats wrong with them.