The End is Near

So I'm sure everyone is extremely excited that Summer Session 1 is almost over (I know I am). It's not that I don't like the classes I'm taking. I actually really enjoy our Communications course and the other English online class I'm in, but I've discovered that the stress of online classes isn't worth the convenience. Sure, you get to do all of your work at home, and sure, you get to choose when you want to work on assignments, but there are elements of in-person classes that are just missing when you decide to go the online route. As much as I hate waking up to walk a mile to class, and as much as I love being able to determine my own schedule, it's just too easy to get behind online, especially during the summer. Packing full 3 credit courses into six weeks was an awful idea, so whoever came up with it should just go die. And trying to balance two online courses with a job and getting ready to travel was an even worse plan (that was my fault though). I just feel that no matter how much you dedicate to your online course, you can never do as well as in a real classroom. (Maybe I shouldn't generalize and narrow that theory down to my own personal experience). I just feel that I'm missing out on so much by being online. The relationships you build with classmates and professors isn't there, the ability to learn things in a hands-on way and the opportunity to stay on track just isn't available online. No matter what I do, I always miss turning something in. In my other online class, I'm doing horribly, which is a big deal since I've never gotten below a B since I started college. It's not because I'm a lazy student, or because I'm not trying, but it seems no matter what I do, that grade will never be as good as it could've been if I had taken the class online. Maybe I'm just whining too much, but to anyone else who thought taking a summer online class would be a good way to graduate early and earn more credit and who now realizes that made a grave mistake in that assumption, I feel your pain.

(Since this post was a debbie-downer, I'll end with something that hopefully makes you smile).

Star Wars according to a 3 year old



"Don't talk back to Darth Vader because he'll get you" - words to live by.

Charlie Bit Me



I don't think Charlie cares...

Top 60 Ghetto Names



I particularly like Kooladria =]

The Nail Salon



This is exactly what happens...true story.

Weddings, Weddings, and more Weddings

Recently (yesterday in fact) one of my good friends from high school got married. They’re an incredibly down-to-earth and fun-loving couple and I’m sure they’re going to have a beautiful life together, but I couldn’t help thinking throughout the ceremony (and most of the reception) that they were also incredibly young to be starting a life together. My best friend also just got engaged to her high school sweetheart. Again, super happy for them, but seriously, what’s up with this wedding frenzy that’s been going on lately? Now, anytime I turn the TV on, there’s a show on weddings. If I’m browsing the magazines in my local pharmacy, there’s an entire rack dedicated to weddings. If I’m listening to the radio, there’s a song about weddings (thanks Bruno Mars and Train). Weddings, weddings, and more weddings!

I’ve never had the desire to want to get married, and I definitely don’t see that happening anytime in the near future, but I honestly think the cosmos are trying to tell me something. Instead of figuring out what the “divine” message could be, I thought it’d be fun to make fun of weddings…

"Gypsy Weddings"

This is a show on TLC (all the wedding shows are on TLC). It takes a look at the Gypsy culture of Great Britain and Ireland. Apparently, traveling Gypsies LOVE everything big and extravagant. One girls dress weighed over 80 pounds and had lights in it (they had to bring a fire extinguisher to the wedding just in case). The girls get married young at age 16 and become stay at trailer moms since gypsies don't believe in living in actual houses. The show is hilarious but it's kind of sad that the only thing these girls have to look forward to is their wedding day.



Who Let The Bridezilla Loose?

Bridezillas is a funny show on WE TV that follows a bride during the week leading up to her wedding. I'm pretty sure a lot of the women are acting (at least I hope they are) but if even 1/4 of the freakouts that happen on the show are real, it's enough to scare any man away from marriage for the rest of his life.

Be Bye Beaches...

So…it’s summer time, and that inevitably means more and more tourists flocking to the beach, spending loads of money, and ruining life for the locals. Okay, maybe “ruin” is a harsh word, but having lived at the beach for 18 years, and having seen what happens after Memorial Day weekend, it’d say it’s not too far off. While school is in Wilmington, home for me is Emerald Isle, about an hour and a half drive north of UNCW. It’s a great place to grow up and I love spending my summers kayaking, jet-skiing, or just out on the boat. What I don’t love…the hordes of tourists coming to the island and transforming it into a theme park. I totally understand the economical need for tourists, especially during the summer months. Our economy survives and thrives on those people from Ohio who have never seen the ocean before and believe that being on vacation means wearing tropical button downs, sombrero-style hats and globs of sunscreen only on their nose. I also think everyone should have the chance to relax by the ocean, soak up some rays, and enjoy this beautiful creation God has given us. What I don’t agree with is how life for those already living on the beach must change when the weather warms up and school gets out.

Emerald Isle used to be a great beach town. We had tons of surf shops, putt-putt places, tiny amusements parks, local shops and seafood restaurants, and beach bars. And though we still have most of those things, what seems to be growing in demand and decreasing in quantity is waterfront property. Recently, the town decided to start charging people to park at the two (yes I said two) public beach accesses on the island. I know this is already done at Wrightsville beach, but to find out I have to pay $10 a day to go to a place that use to be free is a little upsetting. What’s even worse is the amount of hotels and condominiums popping up along the shore. The town has decided to get rid of any mobile home parks and a few places of business in order to make way for these incredibly oversized buildings which serve to block resident’s access to the beach and crowd the view. I know that with time, everything changes, and of course the Emerald Isle is going to want to be as “tourist-friendly” as possible so they can earn the green, but if you keep building and building these condos, cutting off access to the beach and getting rid of the local flavor of the island, what’s going to be left? People go on vacation to relax but to also experience the local environment of a different city. Nothing of the “local” nature will be left soon, which is something that is sad to think about.