I was born into a missionary family, so money wasn't a primary concern for my parents when on the mission field. By the time we moved to the States, my dad was already 30, and had no marketable skills other than the missionary training he'd had. I still remember my mom coming home from work late at night to relieve the babysitter who was watching over my 3 young siblings and me. Although we didn't have a lot of money growing up, we still had loads of fun.
Since that time, my dad has gone from telemarketing to insurance, where's he's worked the past 15 years. God has blessed him in his work, allowing him to work from home, and giving my family a comfortable income given my dad's relatively few years in his field.
Growing up in a family where money didn't grow on trees, so to speak, I've learned the importance of being frugal with money.
One of the biggest causes for divorce in America is money problems.[1] Although I've never known of any married couples that have divorced due to money problems (that I know of), I have seen some couple that were headed for engagement/marriage split up due to differing views on money management. A lot of people would likely see this as being a harmless issue. And it may start as such. But if one spouse is more frugal with money, and the other has no problem spending money like it's going out of style and/or going into debt, than can cause some real problems. Some of my best married friends have dealt with this issue over the course of their young marriage. One of them wasn't used to money being scarce during their childhood, and the other was. Over time, they've come to the middle a bit more on the issue (perhaps a bit closer to the frugal side).
Frugality has always played an important part of my life. Ever since working Pennypower when I was a young teen, I've always been fascinated with saving money and seeing my bank account grow. Of course, there's harm in being a miser and not being willing to enjoy life a little too. After several years in the workforce, I splurged and got a new (to me) sports car. I also went on more vacation trips. Over the 13' Christmas break, I was laid off from the job I'd had for 5 years. My earlier frugality played a large part in my ability to not start searching for a new job immediately. Because of that, I was able to make the decision to go back to school and pursue a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, which I'm currently doing. I'm also able to take a lot of credit hours every semester, as I haven't needed to work these past 18 months.
These are just a few of the reasons why being wise with money is important.
[1] https://www.institutedfa.com/Leading-Causes-Divorce/
Monday, June 29, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
The 10 worst things that could happen on the way to school
Here is my list of the 10 worst things that could happen on the way to school:
1. My homework could blow out the window.
2. I could crash my car into my professor's car (particularly if it was my fault).
3. I could encounter a train, which in turn would make me late for class (this has happened several times already this semester).
4. I could get pulled over by a cop for speeding, which would also make me late. (I should probably give myself more leeway in the mornings.)
5. A tire on my car could blow. I've never fixed my own tire before, so I'd be late for sure. Plus, I have subs in the trunk, so the spare would be difficult to reach.
6. I could run out of gas. This has happened to me several times before, although never on the way to school (though on the way to work).
7. My car could catch on fire, which would totally suck! (I'm running out of legitimate ideas now.)
8. There could be a torrential downpour, and my car could get swept away by the water. This would actually be kind of cool.
9. My car could get sucked up in a hurricane. Although this would also be cool, I doubt I'd be the occasional story of the person who was swept up by a hurricane, just to be landed gently miles away.
10. I could crash my car into the classroom in which I was currently running late. Ok, that might be the worst. My mom actually crashed into the Cato's store a few years ago... right through the front glass. Here's a link to the story. Hopefully it's not hereditary!
Based on this list, I should leave for school earlier, not drive during a flood or tornado, keep my windows closed, and most importantly, keep full coverage on my car!
1. My homework could blow out the window.
2. I could crash my car into my professor's car (particularly if it was my fault).
3. I could encounter a train, which in turn would make me late for class (this has happened several times already this semester).
4. I could get pulled over by a cop for speeding, which would also make me late. (I should probably give myself more leeway in the mornings.)
5. A tire on my car could blow. I've never fixed my own tire before, so I'd be late for sure. Plus, I have subs in the trunk, so the spare would be difficult to reach.
6. I could run out of gas. This has happened to me several times before, although never on the way to school (though on the way to work).
7. My car could catch on fire, which would totally suck! (I'm running out of legitimate ideas now.)
8. There could be a torrential downpour, and my car could get swept away by the water. This would actually be kind of cool.
9. My car could get sucked up in a hurricane. Although this would also be cool, I doubt I'd be the occasional story of the person who was swept up by a hurricane, just to be landed gently miles away.
10. I could crash my car into the classroom in which I was currently running late. Ok, that might be the worst. My mom actually crashed into the Cato's store a few years ago... right through the front glass. Here's a link to the story. Hopefully it's not hereditary!
Based on this list, I should leave for school earlier, not drive during a flood or tornado, keep my windows closed, and most importantly, keep full coverage on my car!
Personal Credo
I believe that happiness is a state of mind.
Although not quite the same as any of the "I believe" statements from my previous article, this statement more fully encapsulates an overarching view I have of life.
For me, a positive attitude is sometimes the only difference between feeling depressed and feeling contented. And that positive attitude is something that I choose to feel regardless of what comes my way.
I know plenty of people who have this same attitude about life, and plenty who have the opposite. We all know people who seem to complain about everything that happens to them. It doesn't matter if they encounter things that everyone else encounters as well; they still make it out to be a much bigger deal than necessary.
There are a lot of things that we could choose to be unhappy or impatient about on a daily basis, such as slow/rude traffic, feeling hungry, being misunderstood, etc. But these things are all much easier if we keep a smile and realize that we could always have it worse off. I often break out into the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the Monty Python movie "Life of Brian."
There are some things in my life that I've had to change my attitude about. Among them are my personality, not knowing what career I wanted to go into, as well as several other things. I'll go into more detail on each of these in my personal narrative.
Although not quite the same as any of the "I believe" statements from my previous article, this statement more fully encapsulates an overarching view I have of life.
For me, a positive attitude is sometimes the only difference between feeling depressed and feeling contented. And that positive attitude is something that I choose to feel regardless of what comes my way.
I know plenty of people who have this same attitude about life, and plenty who have the opposite. We all know people who seem to complain about everything that happens to them. It doesn't matter if they encounter things that everyone else encounters as well; they still make it out to be a much bigger deal than necessary.
There are a lot of things that we could choose to be unhappy or impatient about on a daily basis, such as slow/rude traffic, feeling hungry, being misunderstood, etc. But these things are all much easier if we keep a smile and realize that we could always have it worse off. I often break out into the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the Monty Python movie "Life of Brian."
There are some things in my life that I've had to change my attitude about. Among them are my personality, not knowing what career I wanted to go into, as well as several other things. I'll go into more detail on each of these in my personal narrative.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Know Your Audience Analysis
The "Know Your Audience" assignment was enjoyable. Why can't all of the assignments be based off games!? Several of the questions made me do a little research before answering, such as figuring out how colors correlate to attitudes or getting an updated list of who has announced their candidacy for the 2016' Presidential election.
Based on the responses to the "Super-power" and "Pet Peeves" questions, it seems that speed is a fairly common desire for a lot of the students in this class. I never opined on the pet peeves question, but I'd have to agree that slow/inconsiderate drivers are one of my biggest pet peeves. If I could ask a follow-up question for those that seem to have a "need for speed" - are you a punctual person? If the answer would be no, like it is for me, then that could tell a lot about a person.
Although there are definitely young students in this class, it surprised me how many non-traditional students there are. I knew OTC had more non-traditional students than a university like MSU, Evangel, or Drury. But I didn't expect half the class to be old like me! I think it's great that so many people are able to go back to school after years of being in the workforce or being a stay-at-home mom. I'm sure the fact that OTC is so inexpensive is a big part of why there are so many people in their 30's+ that are able to pursue their dreams. Half of the responses to the question why we're attending OTC included affordability.
Not surprisingly, based on the question of where we grew up, most of the students in the class are from the Springfield area, with a few from surrounding states. Then there's poor Linda, who couldn't stay in one place very long. But her 1200-acre country house sounds amazing!
The question about what time period we would visit was insightful. Although on the surface, the answers to the questions could seem pretty trivial, I think they could be very crucial to figuring out what is important to a person. Several people answered that they would have chosen to go back and help with the Civil Rights movement. Equality would appear to be very important to those people. Other people chose answers that would indicate knowledge, adventure, peace, or religious beliefs would be of great important to them. Obviously, no answer is better than any other. It's just interesting to see what each person finds important.
As several others have mentioned in their analysis, the "Know Your Audience" assignment helped humanize the other students in the class. The responses to blog posts and The Heart And The Fist posts had the same effect. All of my other classes have been in the maths or sciences, where there's not a lot of student interaction.
More than anything else, I think knowing more about my audience will help me to be free with my writing. It will feel less like I'm writing to a bunch of strangers, but more to acquaintances.
Based on the responses to the "Super-power" and "Pet Peeves" questions, it seems that speed is a fairly common desire for a lot of the students in this class. I never opined on the pet peeves question, but I'd have to agree that slow/inconsiderate drivers are one of my biggest pet peeves. If I could ask a follow-up question for those that seem to have a "need for speed" - are you a punctual person? If the answer would be no, like it is for me, then that could tell a lot about a person.
Although there are definitely young students in this class, it surprised me how many non-traditional students there are. I knew OTC had more non-traditional students than a university like MSU, Evangel, or Drury. But I didn't expect half the class to be old like me! I think it's great that so many people are able to go back to school after years of being in the workforce or being a stay-at-home mom. I'm sure the fact that OTC is so inexpensive is a big part of why there are so many people in their 30's+ that are able to pursue their dreams. Half of the responses to the question why we're attending OTC included affordability.
Not surprisingly, based on the question of where we grew up, most of the students in the class are from the Springfield area, with a few from surrounding states. Then there's poor Linda, who couldn't stay in one place very long. But her 1200-acre country house sounds amazing!
The question about what time period we would visit was insightful. Although on the surface, the answers to the questions could seem pretty trivial, I think they could be very crucial to figuring out what is important to a person. Several people answered that they would have chosen to go back and help with the Civil Rights movement. Equality would appear to be very important to those people. Other people chose answers that would indicate knowledge, adventure, peace, or religious beliefs would be of great important to them. Obviously, no answer is better than any other. It's just interesting to see what each person finds important.
As several others have mentioned in their analysis, the "Know Your Audience" assignment helped humanize the other students in the class. The responses to blog posts and The Heart And The Fist posts had the same effect. All of my other classes have been in the maths or sciences, where there's not a lot of student interaction.
More than anything else, I think knowing more about my audience will help me to be free with my writing. It will feel less like I'm writing to a bunch of strangers, but more to acquaintances.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
This I believe - Freewrite
I believe Americans know way too little about other countries.
This is more evident to me because I was born in a small country in the north Atlantic, called the Faroe Islands. When I tell people that, they usually don't know where that is. That's not a big deal, and it's not that surprising to me. But what is surprising is that when I tell people that it's part of Denmark, they have no clue what that is. I have to explain where in Europe Denmark is. I know most people over there know way more about the U.S., and perhaps even Missouri, than people here know about Denmark.
Even worse than Americans not knowing about other cultures or countries than our own, is our lack of knowledge of our own country. If you've ever watched YouTube videos of people being questioned on the street about who our Vice President is, or other questions of that nature, you know what I'm talking about. People only ever seem to know who our president, but have no clue who the Speaker of the House is, or other fairly important political things.
Another things Americans don't often know well is our own language. My dad knows half a dozen languages, with English being his third language. And he still speaks and writes better than the vast majority of Americans. I think he's a large part of the reason my siblings and I know the English language well. Of course, part of that means that he loves puns, which drives several of us crazy. He says it probably is because he hears nuances in our language that a lot of us don't hear, having grown up with English.
I wish kids in our school system were taught to appreciate other cultures more. I know foreign languages are often offered in school, but that still doesn't seem to have changes the general lack of knowledge that kids have about the world outside of our country.
In a way, it does make some sense that we in the U.S. would being a bit more selfish about knowing less about other countries, as movies and TV shows are often in English. So people from other countries naturally know our culture better than we'd know theirs, because, apart from England or Australia or a few other countries, most entertainment seems to come out of the U.S.
Anyway, it's still astonishing how little most Americans know. I've always been fascinated by Geography and History, so perhaps my viewpoint is a bit skewed because of that. Naturally, people think others should be more knowledgeable about what their favorite subjects are.
When my dad's mom, brother, and his family came over from the Faroe Islands last year, the kids knew almost everything about our culture. My family is a bit conservative, so in a lot of ways, they knew more about our pop culture than my siblings did.
Yesterday, my dad was trying to tell my younger sister about the electoral process in Denmark, and she asked how they vote for the president over there...
514 Words
This I believe
I believe God created all things.
I believe I was created for a purpose.
I believe someday I will get married.
I believe I'm too picky when it comes to girls.
I believe the Pittsburgh Steelers are the greatest football team ever!
I believe that I've got a great family.
I believe that I'm a great brother.
I believe that I will get my Mechanical Engineering degree.
I believe SW MO should have boy's volleyball in HS.
I believe my right shoulder injury from last fall will never heal properly.
I believe I wasted too much of my early 20's playing sports.
I believe I spend too much time worrying about physical appearance.
I believe I'm great with money.
I believe I'll own my own home, debt-free, 10 years out of college.
I believe I should read more books.
I believe I have mental blocks around writing.
I believe I'm quick at typing, though. :)
I believe that money can't buy happiness.
I believe I should be happy with what I have.
I believe people spend way too much time on their phones instead of being in the present.
I believe that hot weather is the best.
I believe Americans know way too little about other countries.
I believe way too many people eat fast food.
I believe autocorrect makes people too reliant on technology.
I believe during my lifetime flying cars will be commonplace.
I believe I was created for a purpose.
I believe someday I will get married.
I believe I'm too picky when it comes to girls.
I believe the Pittsburgh Steelers are the greatest football team ever!
I believe that I've got a great family.
I believe that I'm a great brother.
I believe that I will get my Mechanical Engineering degree.
I believe SW MO should have boy's volleyball in HS.
I believe my right shoulder injury from last fall will never heal properly.
I believe I wasted too much of my early 20's playing sports.
I believe I spend too much time worrying about physical appearance.
I believe I'm great with money.
I believe I'll own my own home, debt-free, 10 years out of college.
I believe I should read more books.
I believe I have mental blocks around writing.
I believe I'm quick at typing, though. :)
I believe that money can't buy happiness.
I believe I should be happy with what I have.
I believe people spend way too much time on their phones instead of being in the present.
I believe that hot weather is the best.
I believe Americans know way too little about other countries.
I believe way too many people eat fast food.
I believe autocorrect makes people too reliant on technology.
I believe during my lifetime flying cars will be commonplace.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Assignment 2.4
Personality Test Reflection
ResultsI've been exposed to personality and brain typing for quite some time now, and I always get 1 of 2 types: ENTP or ENFP. In this case I got ENFP, with a moderately strong F (50%).
E - The easiest judgement for me to make is between introvert and extrovert. Perhaps it's because of how commonplace the evaluation is in society, in comparison to the other characteristics. As is likely the case with most people, my level of introversion or extroversion depends largely upon both my current mood, as well as the setting (who's present, how well I know them, etc.). When it comes to meeting new people, that seems to come naturally. I also enjoy one on one conversations. But being in large groups can bring out wildly varying sides of me. There are some times, when doing things or playing games that I'm particularly good at, that I can be the life of the party. Then there are times where my extreme self-consciousness keeps me from opening up, because I'm afraid of looking foolish. One way in which my extroversion may affect my writing is that I really enjoy to talk. But my over-analysis of everything I write often curbs that to the point of having very little to say, or at the very least, being unable to expound in a necessary manner (such as when needing to write a certain amount of words or pages).
N - Perhaps it's my lack of familiarity with intuition vs sensing, or the fact that I don't seem strong in one area or the other, but I don't really see how this would affect my writing that much.
F - As I said before, this result oscillates every other time I take the test, so I don't feel very confident in the results. This comparison would seem to greatly affect the way one would write, though. In my case, I seem to have characteristics that go strongly with both. I'm very sensitive, yet analytical. I know that combination isn't very uncommon in people, but it does seem to me to be inconducive when trying to be typed. Perhaps, kind of like with extroversion and introversion, this is another subjective thing for me. Based on a certain writers style or content, I may be more feeling or thinking. Being cognizant of that while reading/writing would be a good habit for me to start.
P - This is another comparison that wouldn't seem to as directly affect one's writing style. There's also a little confusion in my mind as to the overlap of sensing and perceiving. They seem like similar characteristics, while being used in different comparisons in this test. Again, maybe I need to look into this comparison a bit more, especially as I have such a strong preference in this case.
In summary, if I could learn to channel my ability to communicate as an extrovert with tempering my analytical and overly critical nature, I believe it would greatly benefit me as a writer.
Trip to Mexico
The company at which my dad is a partner decided to fund a mission's trip for my family. My parents decided on Mexico. The plan was to fly to Phoenix, drive to San Diego for a friend's wedding, and then drive down the coast to the mission.
The original plan was to be gone for a total of 2 weeks, which wouldn't work for me, as I'm taking 12 hours of classes this summer. But they eventually shortened the trip to 10 days, so I decided to go along as well.
Only a couple weeks before leaving for the trip, I decided to move out of the house in which I was living, and back into my parents' house. It'd been 8 years since I'd moved out, so it was a weird feeling moving back in. I made the move the weekend before summer classes started. The second day of classes, I came down with the fever. That, along with being overwhelmed with the classes I was taking, led me to make the decision not to go to Mexico with my family.
The morning my family left for Mexico, I told my Calculus professor that I wasn't going to be going on the trip after all. But when I went over to study by Professor VanGorden's office, he informed me that he'd allow me to take the first test remotely from Mexico if that would help me go. Missing the first Physics II test had been one of the biggest reasons in my decision not to go on the trip. So, with less than an hour from departure, I hurried back to my parents' house to pack some clothes, which was made all the more difficult due to the recent move. I then drove to the airport to meet my family, minutes before boarding time.
We flew out of Springfield at noon on Thursday, the 4th of June. When we arrived in Phoenix, we were welcomed by an amazing, 85 degree afternoon. Most of us in my family love warm weather! After eating, we made the 5 hour drive to San Diego in a rental van. The lights of San Diego and Tijuana were absolutely beautiful. I'd been to San Francisco years earlier, but that didn't prepare me for the beauty of southern California. The mountains weren't only on the eastern side of California like I'd always thought; they went all the way to the ocean, though there were obviously plains, like where San Diego was located.
The most memorable thing we did was go to the Cabrillo National Monument, where we had an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean, San Diego, Tijuana, and all the mountains in the background. We spent a good 2 hours there, before heading to the rehearsal dinner for the wedding we were there for.
The next day, my little brother and I skipped the wedding to watch the Champion's League final (European soccer final). Our favorite team, Barcelona, won!
Early on Sunday morning, we crossed the border into Mexico and headed down the coastline. Although it took us awhile to find, we eventually arrived at the compound where we would be staying the next 5 days. It had a beautiful courtyard, with facilities not unlike what can be found at campgrounds here in the US.
Shortly after arriving, we headed into the church where we would be ministering. My family sang a couple songs, and then we did VBS with the kids. Only the American long-term missionaries that we were staying with knew both English and Spanish. But the kids didn't take long to warm up to us.
I don't know how long of a journal entry is needed for now. I would like to continue it later. When moving my things to my parents', there were several journals I came across from when I was teen and even pre-teen. It's amazing how many experiences can be forgotten over the years. Although I don't imagine I'll forget this trip anytime soon, I'd love to have the details written for years down the road.
Early on Sunday morning, we crossed the border into Mexico and headed down the coastline. Although it took us awhile to find, we eventually arrived at the compound where we would be staying the next 5 days. It had a beautiful courtyard, with facilities not unlike what can be found at campgrounds here in the US.
Shortly after arriving, we headed into the church where we would be ministering. My family sang a couple songs, and then we did VBS with the kids. Only the American long-term missionaries that we were staying with knew both English and Spanish. But the kids didn't take long to warm up to us.
I don't know how long of a journal entry is needed for now. I would like to continue it later. When moving my things to my parents', there were several journals I came across from when I was teen and even pre-teen. It's amazing how many experiences can be forgotten over the years. Although I don't imagine I'll forget this trip anytime soon, I'd love to have the details written for years down the road.
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