My feedback: The bucket list

Check out Autumn Hendrick’s blog out here

Check out Ashly Ennis blog out here

When life gives you buckets, kick ‘em

What is on your bucket list and what do you want to be remembered for?

All we truly have are our hopes and dreams – I think a bucket list is great because we hardly ever write about our hopes and dreams and seeing them in front of your eyes is motivating. 

Top 10 things I would like to do in my lifetime-

1. Grow a fruit orchard complete with trees like orange , banana, pomegranate, and several types of apple…

2. Visit the giant stone statues & heads on  Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

3. Create my own recipes for things like rubs, marinades, & BBQ sauce

4. Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef

5. Sail around the coast of Belize with someone special

6. Go to as many music festivals as I can

7. Compulsively buy an insanely expensive piece of jewelry just once

8. Take out a personalized billboard ad whenever I feel like getting something off my chest

9. Graffiti something huge (and tasteful) on the side of a building in the middle of a busy big city… so that everyone can see it

10. Nurture a family

I would like to be remembered as a spontaneous, kind, and generous person. Nothing more nothing less.

If your texting & walking…watch out for those open manhole covers

 I can’t text & drive because my cell phone has a touch screen and its way too difficult to pay attention to the road however I am definitely guilty of texting & walking. I don’t think there are many dangers of texting & walking. Worst case scenario?

1) running into & injuring a fragile senior citizen
2) walk in front of a moving vehicle
3)  fall into an open manhole/ trip over something

If any of these things happen & you get in trouble or are seriously injured… you probably deserve it. Its like “natural selection” of our generation. If you are dumb enough to injure yourself or others by texting & walking, it’s just natural selection’s way of telling you that you probably won’t survive unless you STOP IT -it’s rude.  Besides that, I don’t think there are many dangers… besides embarrassing yourself & getting yelled at by the people you bump into.

Now, how about a public relations tactic that could be used to raise awareness about the problem? If it were up to me, I would team up with cell phone companies like Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, etc and organize an anti- texting & driving/ walking campaign. I suggest putting cell phone companies ‘ sales personnel through a training that would educate them about the dangers of texting & would ask them to brief customers of the dangers. I’ve chosen sales personnel because they directly interact with customers. 

My feedback: Southwest & high school

Check out Michelle Groover here (Comment #51)

I really haven’t changed

 

If I could go back and observe myself in high school and compare to how I am now… I would argue that much hasn’t changed. It is also important to mention the social conditions in which I existed. I went to a private- Catholic high school in Charleston, SC. High school was a screwed up fairy tail, ’nuff said. I was bent on attending an out of state college and ended up at GSU.

I am still best friends with my the people I knew back in high school. We all see each other at concerts and during holidays and we still like to go out and rage. I’ve met a lot of really cool people in Statesboro and I know that these friendships will last forever. I still love the same things that I did back then. Good times, good food, and good music.

Perhaps the only difference is that when I was in high school, is that I had a much more “forward” personality. I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you who I am, where I’m from, and what I’m all about. The transition from laid back coastal life of Charleston to Statesboro was rocky.  I’ve never been more “sketched out” in my life as I was my freshman year.

Freshmen always have to worry about getting along without mom & dad. I think in order for people to get along, there must be a natural balance. Everyone must be tolerant and understanding of each other, yet speak out if an injustice occurs. I’ve come to realize that it is more polite to gradually get to know a person over time than in a matter of hours. It is also much safer.

If I could have a conversation with 17 year old Nikki, I wouldn’t reveal much about the future. I would be more interested in hearing what 17 year old Nikki thinks of me now. I wonder if I would approve of how I am now… It doesn’t matter anyways, because I have a nice future to look forward to. I’m in a relationship with the coolest guy ever, my family is supportive, and soon I will be done with college. I can’t wait for the future.

Teen pregnancy in America

I do not think that MTV is glamorizing teen pregnancy nor do I believe that they fail to show realistic consequences. As far as magazine covers go, it doesn’t take much to land the cover. These girls aren’t stars at all. They’re just teenagers that got pregnant. Lets factor the “baby daddy” out of the equation.  Here are the facts-

1. Your family life
a. Your supportive parents have a high income and will help you out
-They are more than willing to watch the baby/ help pay for daycare.
b. Your parents don’t have the money to help you. Get a job.

2.. Getting a job/ supporting the baby
a. Your parents help pay for the baby’s day care/ put you through college.
b. You consider college but you can’t because
-You are earning minimum wage and working full time.
{You are not earning enough money to save. You can barely pay rent.}
{Your parents are tired of watching the baby, you can’t afford daycare.}
{At least now that your working, your eligible for food stamps.}

3. The outcome
a. Now that you’ve graduated college, you can realistically support your baby.
b. Hopefully, you somehow figure things out. Hopefully, child support  can help you.

I wouldn’t have written this if I hadn’t had some sort of experience with the topic.  After I graduated high school, my two best friends got pregnant within months of each other. One joined the armed forces, the other has been able to get comfortable but has a second child on the way. I think the only solution would be better sex education. We went to a Catholic private school and the sex ed. was severely inaccurate and uninformative. Some say it’s the parents responsibility, others say it’s the school systems. Either way, I’d like to see a better sex education program at my old high school.