What Are they thinking

Recently, the topics of shooting have been all over the news. Seattle residents just experienced a shooting at Seattle Pacific University. The perpetrator is a 26-year-old man who has a history of mental illness, the gunman killed the student Brian Lee in the science and engineer building and the perpetrator  was stopped by a volunteer, who is also a student at the university, who pepper sprayed the him and the other students came and jumped on the gunman.  

A few weeks ago, a 22-year -old man stabbed three roommates and went on a rampage in Santa Barbara, killing three other people, two being a senority member and a UCSB student in front of a deli.  The gunman also suffered a mental illness since childhood and his parents were active in helping him and letting him to meet with health care professionals.  Before the killing rampage, he wrote a manifesto telling his killing plan and the reason behind his act. He hated the fact girls, he emphasized "blonde" girls, fall in love with other men and not him, his anger is plain and obvious in the writing and he makes no intention to hide it.  

The common theme between the two gunmen is their commonality of having a mental illness.  Their physical illness blinds them from seeing the reality and created an invincible attitude where they believe they have the right to kill anyone.  During my undergraduate years, my study of mental illnesses has given me more empathy toward those who are afflicted with the condition. Sometimes, it is not the person's fault for having it, the condition may results from traumatic events such as depression, parents' divorce, molestation, raping, etc. The key to stopping a mentally illed person from committing another killing rampage is to implement a strict law on getting medical help for them. Instead of giving the patients the option to see a therapist, they should be enforced by law to see a therapist; the professionals have to do a check-up to see if their clients are endangered to the community or not.  Treating mental illness like treating a person  with a criminal conviction should be sufficient.  We do not need to lock up the mentally illed, but we need to make sure they are safe to the community. In addition, the mentally illed should be monitored if they choose to buy guns.  Everyone has the right to bear arms but the mentlally illed should be an exception. We do not know what they are capable of when the weapons are in the hands.  Being extra careful will never hurt anyone.  

Work in the Real World

Working is completely different than school. School requires more discipline in term of study habits and time management, work is a different beast.  Work requires discipline, time management skills, people skills, social skills, dealing-with-the-boss and coworker skills, fake-it-till-you-make-it skills, etc. Too many skills school fails to teach and emphasize and learning them on my own has been a rocky road with full of frustration and regrets. I have been working full-time for the past two years and everyday I meet new faces and encounter numerous situations that test my temper and my problem solving skills.  There are days where it's hard to get out of bed because of all the stress that work entails but what keeps me going is knowing this experience is pruning and shaping me into a better person; I am a stronger woman and much more disciplined before, I can meet deadlines and follow directions and deal with people in a professional manner.  Fear engrosses me when it comes to dealing with supervisors and difficult clients but my ability to handle problems in a calm and logical manner is improving every day.  My emotions do not get in the way as much as it used to.  Logic dominates my thinking as I learn to solve problems.

One biggest lesson I learned from my current job is how to deal with people. In school, most people are ,for the most part, friendly and easy to get along, it never occurs to me that there exists people who would take advantage of my innocence. In the working world, you will never know who you will run into.  Your coworkers and supervisors are not the only people you deal with, you have to deal with people who work in the same building and, this I will never forget, the clients. My clients come in all shape and form, some are easy going, some are strict, some are plain brutal beyond words, some are just a pain to talk to.  Professionalism and problem solving skills are the two skills I learned from my interaction with my coworkers, it wasn't simple to learn at first but it became easier as I keep holding onto it.

All in all, work is better than school because I am earning an income and best of all, I am actually applying what I learned in lectures and the skills that I accumulated so far will only bring me further in my future career choice.  Everyone has to start somewhere, and my current job is a time to prune me into a grown adult.

Anger

I used to think anger only does more harm than not. However, I am beginning to see the benefits of it.  First of all, being angry is a way for the body to signal there is something wrong. There is something wrong with my mental state and maybe even my surrounding.  It's not just a feeling but an alarm telling the body to do something, to run away, to avoid certain things, to hide, to be cautious.  I used to despise every part of it, it's only a sign something is wrong with me and brings no good since I only blow up and throw tantrum like a five year old and feel horrible after the occurance.  As a grown adult, I experience the feeling countless times (hey, I am not perfect) and it has helped me to resolve problems. When I get angry, I have a tendency to solve problems and even get motivated to come up with strategies to solve the predicaments since the feeling is very sour and bittered in me and the best option is to do something with it so I can let it go.   Anger is not just a feeling, it's a way for the body to help a person to take action.

What is your favorite apps?

As an undergraduate student, I was never into gadgets let alone apps.  My friends use them to navigate and aid them in their daily tasks and study  but since I didn't have a smart it never occurs to me to give much of my attention to them.  I knew deep down smart phones are useful but since being a student with no money (I had government grant which was used to cover gas and textbooks and phone bills), it never hold my attention and enthusiasm.  Today almost every popular online link has an app and they are available free as well, for instance, big online giants such as Youtube, CNN, MeetUp, Facebook, and etc use apps to gain viewers and increase the number of users.  Millions of American have smart phone now so downloading apps is no longer a problem or a mystery.  Phone companies even provide affordable cell phone plans where a family can pay as much as a little more than $100 for four or five phones.  So no wonder Americans use apps today since smart phones are prevalent through out the nation and it is easy as a touch of a button to download the apps, it takes only seconds and the easy access to them is worth all the mention.

My favorite apps is GoogleMap. I have been driving a lot lately and traveling around Southern California to areas that are unfamiliar and the apps has helped me get to my destination and relieved occasional stress.  It's not a perfect apps (it has given me a wrong direction) but having it is like having another sense that guides me.  Human senses are sharp and can take me to many places but the apps helped me to see and prepare for the unknown.  It is a friend I can depend and put my trust on.  I do not know all the curves and blocks in South California and knowing a gadget will direct me the right place is comforting.  The only complain I have is the apps uses my battery quickly so having a charger handy is always a plus.  GoogleMap shows all the streets and even reroute if the driver gets lost; the voice of the navigator is clear and to the point and it offers specific directions to the destination.  On the bottom of the map, it shows what streets to go and turn onto.  Talking about convenience! 

I am very satisfy with the GoogleMap, it is my to-go apps and as a part of the online giant Google known for their invention, the apps will only get better.  

I am inspired to write something new each day.  The article "10 Reasons You Should Write Somethign Each Day" provided ten logical reason on why we should write each day.

Here is the link to the website: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-reasons-you-should-write-something-each-day.html

1. Remove stress form the mind, place on paper
2. Sweep your mind
3. Keep your writing skills sharp
4. Make some pocket money
5. Turn the Noise off
6. Enhance your communication skills
7. Know what you want
8. Develop your analytical skills
9. Get away form technology
10. Meet yourself all over again

My main reasons to write are to improve my communication skills, develop my analytical sills, and to keep my writing skills sharp. Yay to having purposes!



More links on why we should write:
http://www.scilearn.com/blog/5-reasons-students-should-write-every-day.php

1. Writing improves communication skills.
2.  Writing helps students review and remember recently learned material.
3. Writer helps educations assess student learning
4. Writing encourages creativity and exploration.

On this day in 1896 the radio was patented. This new technological development meant that people could communicate in a new way. What forms of communication do you think we may use some day in the future?

This is the year 2014 and many technological developments have occurred and revolutionized the way humans use technology.  The radio is still being used by many individuals today but it is replacing by numerous technological advances that brings in millions of dollars to the founding corporations.  The internet allows companies to invent and rev up the way humans communicate; big name companies such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google hold users' attention by coming up with social media applications that make people glue --and maybe addicted--to them. For instance, 1 billion internet users log onto Facebook and use it on a regular  basis and the company FB constantly comes up with ways to grab hold of its users.  

Recently, FB bought Whatsapp, an instant message service for $19 billion ;though Facebook has not revealed what its plans for the applications but their plan well much connects to how much revenue the company hopes to receive and they expect only profit.  All in all, the social media companies altered and paved the ways for better and convenient communication in this fast pacing world.  Other large technological companies such as Apples invented smart phones that communicate and function just like humans.  The Iphones, for one thing, contain applications that make its users life much easier.  Googlemaps, Yelps, photo applications, etc save times for millions of people whose lives are too hectic to do their own research.  

Despite the fact big name companies have came up with ways to communicate better, there is more room for more invention and improvement.  MIT, Standford University, and other research universities enrolled hundreds of students who are creative and have passion for invention and technology.  These top notched students enjoy thinking out of the box and coming up with inventions that bring in praises and money.  There are talks about robots lately at many coporations. NASA flew a robot to Mars to explore the Red Planet.  Robots are doing surgeries in hospitals, who knows may robots will be your friend and take care of you like a mother would to child.  Robots can replace all the Iphones, computers, online search engines, and etc.  Robots will hold all that is needed for people to communicate.  

It's been a while since I last visited. The urge to continue and write is still alive. It's time to put the words in text.

My life has changed for the better for the past two years.  I started working full-time in October 2012 and it has been the highlight of my life.  I learned how to be someone's employees, how to manage time, how to get the work done, how to interact with people, etc. It was a big shock at first since I was not used to be around so many strangers. At school, I see the same people but at work people come and go and new faces are seen every single day.  I am able to acclimate quickly to each person's personality and the confidence to know that I can do it has helped me grow as a person. My professional life has gotten better. I learned how to interact with coworkers whom I have never met and I even came to people's cubicle to begin a conversation.  I am 26 and life has gotten better in the past few weeks.