First Multi Draft Conference

My first multi-draft conference with Dr. Sprouls didn't go exactly how I planned. Thinking that I had written a pretty decent essay, I went into class optimistic. She helped to point out to me that my paper was far from perfect. However, I definitely realized after a few minutes that Dr. Sprouls was absolutely right. My paper was very spotty; I strayed from topic to topic far too often. I did like that the negative issues of my essay were brought to my attention. Too often I am too proud of my own work to see errors, which is why proofreading, peer evaluation, and conferences such as these are essential to writing a complete and satisfactory work. I thought that she was fair in her criticisms, pointing out that my thesis had nothing to do with the rest of the essay. It is pretty hard to refute a concrete observation like that. Hopefully when I turn in the final draft I have improved my work so that it stays on one issue, and each component of it contributes to the work as a whole. The conference was very fair, and I have much improving to do.

In Response to Immigration News

The blog post, "Immigrants Gaining Jobs, Native Born Americans Aren't" from http://iirl-immigration-news.blogspot.com/, the article originally from the Christian Science Monitor discusses how over 13 million immigrants both legal and illegal have shown job growth. This is contrary to native born Americans, who have shown job loss in the recent years. I find this to be typical of how our nation works. Although some may shout that there is racial injustice in the workplace, I find this false. Clearly, business owners have found a way to give jobs to immigrants, who will usually accept a position at a lower wage than their white counterparts. These business owners think with their wallets. If it were white, native born Americans accepting lower wages, than they would probably be the ones getting the jobs. One thing I don't like about the information in this article is that as many as six million illegal immigrants have jobs here in the United States. Although this is a low estimate compared with other figures, 6 million people American citizens could have those jobs. It might take a few more years of a bad economy for some Americans to get off their high horses and actually take these "immigrant jobs" that should be done by our own citizens. Fences, invasive laws, and tougher border control may stifle illegal immigration, but a less lazy, picky America would allow us to employ our own tax-paying citizens, possibly contributing to the economy and slowing the major flow of illegal citizens into the country.

Silko's Predicament

In The Border Patrol State, Leslie Marmon Silko recounts an experience of when she and her companion Gus were stopped and harassed by Border Patrol Agents. A person of American Indian descent, Silko feels that the United States Government is today continuing to drive the Indians out of America, and finally fulfill "Manifest Destiny" once and for all. Personally, I see this issue much differently. The United States Government is not an all powerful racist machine that wishes to drive people of color in the American southwest back across the border into Mexico. However, illegal immigration (mostly from south of the border) is a very large financial problem for the United States. While America is the land of opportunity and the only realistic chance for a good life for many people, crossing the border to work under the table robs tax paying citizens all over the nation. Now, is the answer gestapo-like Border Patrol Agents? No. Is the answer full out amnesty? Probably not. But perhaps the system of emigrating to the United States needs a complete reform. Maybe instead of searching "people of color" even though they have documents, the system just requires a valid social security number for each piece of identification, removing any doubt of a suspect not being a citizen. There is much room for debate on this issue, but experiences like that of Silko are clearly unjust.

My Mother: The Accountant

For fifteen years now, my mother has been then owner and operator of Teresa Marron LLC, which is her personal accounting business. She became a Certified Public Accountant in 1994 and worked for several accounting firms before realizing that she could be her own boss and make triple the money. In 1997 she started working from home and purchased her first computer, which was sure to change the accounting industry as nearly all records today are kept electronically. Through this profession she has taught me many lessons over the course of my life, including basic business principles and how to manage money. It was also always nice to have her working at home, because for a long period of time my dad worked the overnight shift at a Newspaper company, and was rarely home himself, unless it was to sleep. Having my mother around the house at all times as well as her doing an excellent job supporting our family really helped make my childhood carefree.
Throughout our whole family, my mom is the one that everyone goes to for advice and counsel. The only one to go to college (besides me) in our entire family, everyone looks up to her. The job of being an accountant brings much respect to her name, especially in the current economic times. As businesses fail, my mom's prospers as she finds clients new ways to save money every day. Her identity as a result of this job is someone strong who can lead the way for others in the most important part of many people's lives; their wallet.

A TV Series that Centers Around Work

One television show that is centered around work is the Discovery Channel hit show, Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe. The premise of the show is to show viewers the most demeaning, filthy, and tedious jobs in the United States. Then the host, Mike Rowe, representing the "average" American must try to perform this jobs tasks for a full day. It is often too much to handle for Rowe, thus bringing a sense of appreciation to these primitive and dignity lacking jobs. Every episode opens with the quote, "we search across America to find the people who make civilized life possible for the rest of us". At times the series does follow the occupations of migrant workers(in many instances the labor is cheap). At times these migrant workers are the proprietors of businesses, and other times they are at the lowest tier of the working class pyramid. However, they do not define the show; they are included nonetheless as Americans who work towards the benefit of themselves and the nation. In my opinion Dirty Jobs does an excellent job of shedding light on the people who work the hardest in our country, and how we could not go about our daily lives the same without the hard work that they put in. It is sometimes important to take a sobering glance into an unfamiliar world that may lie right in our backyard.

Time Management Thus Far

If there is one thing I have learned at college so far, it is that I have to manage my time properly. After a long and relaxing winter break, it has been somewhat hard to adjust to the new "hustle and bustle" routine of a full time student. Reluctant to finish work and assignments until the very last minute, my first two weeks have been fun as well as stressful. I always put off tasks until I absolutely have to take care of them, at which time I wonder why the hell I didn't finish this two or three nights ago. However, as the schedule begins to sink in to my internal clock, I am more conscious of how much time I need to allot to certain things. Going to parties and hanging out with friends can wait until I have completed all of my assignments. After all, I am here to study, not socialize.

My Reaction to the Learning Style Inventory

The learning style inventory exercise was an interesting experience that gave me a new perspective on my personal learning style. The information that I gathered showed me that I learn through memorization and through visual aids. This will certainly be helpful information for me in the future.