Padd Solutions

Normally I would talk about something directly related to Amarillo College, but today I have something different in mind.

Ever watch youtube videos? Or better yet, youtube videos of youtube sensations who have over a million views? Did you know they actually get paid for that kind of stuff?

Yes, up to $300,000 or more a year can be earned for these people.

The fact that they get paid a whole lot is not something I really wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk more about my favorite youtube star Natalie Tran who currently does videos on her youtube channel named communitychannel.

Now, I guess I like this person since my sense my sense of humor is a little odd, but it looks like a million others can say the same thing.


The topics of her videos all pertain to situations we do in real life. Well, most situations we do in real life, some of her videos are just the weird things she does that she thinks we do also. She enjoys, "your mum" jokes, and makes them all the time.

At the end of her video she always does a response to the comments she got in her last video that she made. It can be very entertaining at times.












I never really watch youtube at all very often, but I will go every once in a while just to see the new videos posted by this person. Sometimes I'll get carried away and watch 20 videos, and each video tends to be around 3 minutes. Which leads to an hour of watching videos.

I'm not into other youtube stars, mainly because I don't know any others, and I'm OK with that.

If there is any videos of youtube starts that you watch out there feel free to write them down in the comment section.

Until next time...

What's wrong with this picture? According to my degree plan and transcript, I needed a physical education credit in order to graduate in May. Yoga looked most appealing on the list, so I signed up for a class at the ungodly hour of 7:30 a.m. twice a week.

Now, I don't know if you were able to tell this about me, but I love books.

I tend to read all the time.

And this semester has been no exception to that.

I've been on the common reader team this year, and I've read a whole lot of books. Which means I have a list to make.

1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: It took me forever to finally remember the title and not call it, "Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close." This book is by far one of my favorites in general to all the others I have read. The writing just made me want to read more and more. And there were few pages that only had one word on them that made it feel like a page turner, literally and figuratively. Again I don't like to give summaries, just read it, end of story.
2. Blue Hole Back Home: Just read it.
3. Touching History: Ever just read a book and have a sudden fear overcome you even though you knew you were perfectly safe? Yeah, just read it.

One book that caught my interest was the "9/11 Report." it's a graphic novel, and in all honesty I have never read one of those before. It was different, and made me see more than my imagination could create in a realistic way. It's something that I had to have a certain mindset when I was reading it. I would have to say it was very appealing to the eye. I never considered reading graphic novels until I read this one.

But on another note, I did read a book for fun, "13 Reasons Why" it made me think about life, and if a book does that then I'm happy.

Oh yeah, and I won't talk much about the Hunger Games Trilogy, but I've read that and have to say, "Just read it."

And to leave you with something to look forward too here's a list of upcoming blogs from me:

1. Youtube Sensation
2. R U OK?
3. Restaurants
4. AC Honors Rocks!
5. England!
6. TJCSGA State Convention

They may or may not come in that order.

But other than all this I do have to say that this semester is going pretty great. The weather is getting warmer, outdoor activities are starting, and classes are almost over. Of course if you're returning to AC like me next year then you're in for a treat since a whole Institution Theme will take place called "Reconstructing 9/11."

Can you believe it has already been 10 years?

With spring break sadly behind us, and the rest of the semester and finals left to face, I felt a longing for the way things use to be. I want to officially take back every time I ever said I didn’t want to take a nap in kindergarten. I would like to make amends to all the teachers that I drove crazy when I refused to lay down, by taking a nap every day at school now. It is the only fair thing. I did learn a few years ago that children no longer get naps at kindergarten, which saddens me because when they are adults they will not have fond nap time memories.

This blog post however is not about my love of naps, it’s about nostalgia and things that I remember from being a kid that I wish were applicable to me as an ‘adult’.

• Dunkaroos -These were the most delicious snacks in the world. When ever I would open my lunch box at school and see them nestled between my cheetos and my sandwich I would break out in a little dance. Apparently they were discontinued which saddens me to no end. Speaking of school lunches, do you remember the tables in elementary school where the seats are attached to the table and we had to sit boy girl boy girl?
  





• Lunch Boxes-I still have the first lunchbox that I ever got. Actually it looks a lot like this one. I loved this lunchbox. Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers was my favorite cartoon when I was five. The thing I loved most about lunchboxes was that there was a lunch inside of them. There was no thinking involved. When it was lunch time you were going to eat what your mom had made or you traded with the people seated next to you. There were no lunch plans, worrying about where to go, no you went to the cafeteria opened your lunch box and ate. Bringing your lunch is not so much fun when you have to make it.
  


• Notes from your mom- I want this to be taken as a legit reason for me not being in class. Or work for that matter. I know we are all adults and need to be responsible but sometimes I don't want to get out of bed and be an adult. I want my mom to have power in my life for getting me out of things every once in a while. I also wish that the threat of calling someone's mother still had the same effect. I'm sure there would be no war if mom's had the power that they did when we were children.
  
  


• Toys in meals- I love kids meals, what is not to like about a meal that comes in small portions and includes either crayons, a drawing space or a toy. We need an adult meal. Kind of like a kids meal but with more food and an adult beverage. I loved going out to eat and knowing that there would be something to entertain me while I waited for food.

• Toys and Cartoons- Quick! Think of your favorite cartoon. Chances are if you were a child in the 90's like I was then we thought of many of the same cartoons. I remember when Cartoon Network first started and use to have contest that would let kids vote for what would be the newest show they produced. Such wonders as Courage the Cowardly Dog and Cow and Chicken came from that. Or the shows on Nickelodeon, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of The Dark, and Hidden Temple. Hidden Temple was actually my favorite. That giant stone face made me feel all kinds of smart. You can actually watch episodes of Are You Afraid of The Dark on YouTube. The episode about the house next to the lake where the old man can't sleep because he is haunted still scares me to this day. Speaking of toys I think we should all rebel and make it socially acceptable for us to play. Not build or research or study. Just play, go to the park, swing or go on the slide, anything that lets us be free and just enjoy life. Where we can go out in public with our heads held high after a great game of tag or Red Rover.

This is just a short list of things that I miss from my youth. If I had the time (and if people would read it) I would go on for hours. What are some things that you remember from your childhood? Do you also have a fondness for the same things I do? Do you also miss nap time? Tell me in the comments.

What exactly are these things? Poodles. But not

I think the thing I love most about school is just being on campus. Being surrounded by the people who share a somewhat common goal can be an experience of great Awesomeness.

During the coming week as we all know is Spring Break. And of course it is a time to relax, maybe go somewhere fun and just not think about school work for a whole week. With this in mind I feel like I'm putting my life on hold, which is a good thing, because school has been ruling my life these past couple of months. It'll be the time I get to not worry about anything, not have responsibilities, and not worry about due dates.

Spring break is only a week away. I am in desperate need of some downtime and can't wait.

I want to tell you all a story about how I became who I am.

I remember being 12 years old sitting in class reading a book. The teacher pointed me out and said, “why aren’t you doing your homework?” I answered him by saying it’s already done. He praised me in front of the class, saying she will go far, that was the first time I remember being embarrassed for being praised.
I remember being 13, a freshman in high school and the teacher I looked up to so much telling me I could do so much better. Why was I selling myself short? For the first time I was ashamed for doing just enough to get by.
I remember being 17 and having the only teacher that challenged me that semester praise my poem, when everything else I had worked so hard on had been merely ok.
I remember being 20 and having my advisor tell me I would never be a doctor, why was I even trying.
I remember my teacher’s only goal for class was not to challenge us to teach us something new or to expand our horizons, it was to make me cry. To make me feel so small and stupid so that I felt like I could never succeed. I remember giving up. I remember telling myself that they were right and I couldn’t do this anymore.
I remember being 22 and finally knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember being confident in the things I had been taught and the way I had been raised and knowing that I would succeed.
I remember late nights filled with anxious fidgeting and gallons of caffeine, blood shot eyes and fingers cramped from typing. I remember skipping one class to finish a project for another, and sleeping through a third. Draped over textbooks and manuals in a library.

Every teacher I have ever had has affected my life in some way shape or form. Some for the better and some for the worse. Regardless these people have shaped who I have become. I know that this is a small compensation for all that they have given me but I want to say thank you to everyone who has taught me anything during my life. I hope one day to inspire someone half as much as you all have inspired me.

The thing you're doing right now, right this instant, is... reading.

How did I know that? Well... it kind of makes sense doesn't it?

But yes, we all do it. And if you're like me, you try to read a book a least once a month, and on vacation at least once a week... or less.

I never was much of a reader. Not until I got to college that I decided that I would try to read a book for fun as often as I can.

And the outcome?

I've read at least 40 books since the summer of '09. Which seems kind of a short amount when you think about it, but it's more than the amount I've read in my life before that: 3. Ok... I may be exaggerating a little bit, but I am excluding all those Dr. Seuss books from the list.

So for now, I'm going to talk about books I've read.
I will also not provide pictures of them because as they say, "don't judge a book by it's cover."

Did you miss me?

This being my second year here at AC I feel that I've done more than I could ever have expected. And no, it's not because I took a bunch of classes through out the semester and even in the summer. What I mean is that I've done everything possible on campus that I feel my free time let me accomplish.

I hope by reading this I inspire you as well to get involved on campus.

If not, just take a look at the banner below. I got first hand experience in the process of choosing this person for this years distinguished lecture.


Now, I'm not trying to "show off," because I detest that quality in myself.

But what I want to say is that there is a heck of a lot to do at Amarillo College. And the best part about it is that all the awesome stuff finds you.

When I started AC my whole mindset was to go to class and go straight home to take that daily nap I always looked forward to.

Then I met Heather Atchley.

Dun...Dunn....Dunnn.

Well, she wasn't the only one I met. It was the whole Student Government Association, but she is the adviser, so you got to know her whether you liked it or not. This organization took me in in a way and didn't let go. I helped out with events, and learned there is more to Amarillo College than just classes.

I slowly began to have a reason to come to AC on my own free will as opposed to coming because I didn't want to waste the money I had already paid for classes.

I met great people, and if you read my last blog you got to hear about some of those people.

I could go on explaining the whole process on how I got to where I am now, but that would probably take up a hundred pages or more, so I'll leave that for when I write a novel.

But to end on a positive note, I can honestly say that I am happy with what my college experience became, and it's still not over.

I can walk around campus and almost know everyone I see, at least faculty wise.

Life is great!

I'm not saying you have to get involved, because many of us live very busy lives. But if you happen to have the free time, join an organization, stick with it, and have fun. You only get to do this once.

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 in favor of Westboro Baptist Church. Saying that the First Amendment gives this church the right to protest at soldiers’ funerals. The SCOTUS ruling also reversed a five million dollar judgment given to the father of Matthew Snyder, a marine whose death was protested by the church members.

I am all for the first amendment, it is a right that many other people in the world don’t have. In the United States no one is going to stop us if we say something bad about the president or the legislature or anything about the government. The press is allowed to report what ever the news is, the government does not control them. There are talk radio shows geared directly to either conservatives or liberals that tailor their coverage to what their audience wants to hear.

The first amendment should not extend to protesting a soldier’s funeral. I am very liberal in my political beliefs, I think that George W. Bush was an idiot and we had no right to invade Iraq or Afghanistan. However, it is a tragedy when ever any soldier dies and while our beliefs might not be similar I would never insult them or their families by holding up a sign saying that their loved one is in hell because the US is tolerant of homosexuals.

Which is precisely what the members of Westboro claim, that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are all due to the US’ tolerance of homosexuals. They claim that God is mad at this country for being tolerant of another person’s way of life. Black, White, Latino, Asian, Indian, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Wiccan, Straight or Gay regardless of classification we are all human.

The freedom of speech might protect their right to believe and say what ever they want, but their so-called beliefs should stop them from judging another and damning them to hell. I might not be a super religious person, but what I remember from the bible is “Love thy neighbor, as I have loved you”. I have already had this fight with the super religious and I know that you can find a quote in the bible saying how being gay is a sin. I also know if you look in the bible you can find quotes that defend racism that demean women and every subject in between.

The bible was never meant to be the only absolute truth in the world. It is a road map if you are Christian that is influenced and expanded upon by preachers. This is the 21st century. You would think that we would have stopped being scared of things we didn’t understand a long time ago. And yet it is groups like Westboro and others of that ilk that hold us back.
Whether are beliefs are similar or different can we at least agree to be decent to one another. I know it’s a new and terrifying idea to accept people as they are, but how about we give it a try. Let tolerance and reasonableness dictate our actions instead of crazy antiquated beliefs.