My Top 10 Best Jobs

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

As a kid, I had many occupations I wanted to be when I grew up.  Some lasted longer than others and some were just week long phases.  Sometimes, I might of had three things I wanted to be and I couldn’t make up my mind so I was going to be all of them.  Unfortunately, I never picked jobs that made a lot of money or it was very unlikely that I’d make a lot of money.  At that time, I didn’t really care; I just wanted to do something I was interested in and would be fun.  Looking back, I hope my younger self had a plan--like marrying rich--but I doubt it.  I abhorred the thought of doing something for the rest of my life that I didn’t love to do.  I’m glad I did and I still think that way.  I want to love my job.

So here are my top ten jobs.  If you’re looking for money making jobs, google it because you won’t find it here.  All of my links are “how to become” links, not definitions.

1.  Cowboy.  Not cowgirl, cowboy.  Sexuality complex, much?  No, not really.  I didn’t want people to think I was a cowgirl and label me as a rhinestone-wearing, pink-loving, spoiled brat.  That was my view on cowgirls back then.  I remember when I was five or so and I had to go to this event where we had to dress as who we wanted to be when we grew up.  I told everyone I was a cowboy. Though everyone tried to explain to me that I was a girl, not a boy, I wouldn’t back down.  I was a cowboy.  I wanted a ranch where I would train horses.  Later, I ended up calling myself a horse trainer; cowboy was a little juvenile.  Even now, I still want to own a few horses and train them, but not as a profession.

2.  Veterinarian.  I wanted to be a vet for a long time until I realized vets did more than just give shots.  I didn’t want to perform surgeries.  Actually, now that I think about it, I think I could probably handle it.  I always expected the worst in the dissections I’ve done in biology and anatomy, but I didn’t really get freaked out by frog, worm, and rabbit guts (don’t tell my pet bunny); deer organs; and cow eyeball.  Next, I’ll be dissecting a mink.  Without the fur, they’re cheaper than cats.  Then again, veterinary school takes a long time and is expensive.

3.  Actress.  I didn’t take this one seriously because I thought actresses were only famous people in movies.  I could never make it.  Now, I still want to be an actress.  On the stage.  I love acting.  I’m also really interested in the backstage aspects of theater like set building, costumes and makeup.

4.  Figure Skater.  I only wanted to be this because of watching the Olympics. I wanted to be Tara Lipinski.  Then I actually tried ice skating and sucked at it.

5.  Gymnast.  Again, only because of watching the Olympics.  The turn off was that gymnasts get hurt a lot.  I didn’t want to kill myself.  Plus, I’m not short.

6.  Tap Dancer.  Instead of letting me watch crappy Disney shows as a kid, my mom sat me down to old musicals.  After watching Singin’ In The Rain, I was positive I was called to be a tap dancer or tap dancing teacher.

7.  Skier.  I started skiing when I was around ten.  Since my mom and my sister both hated skiing, I was my dad’s last chance at a skiing buddy.  At first, my dad had to make me ski because I hated it.  Now I can ski down some mild black diamonds (slopes that are the most difficult), but I’m no where close to a pro.  I own my own skis and I’m content with that.

8.  Hair Stylist.  I loved playing with my mom’s long hair when I was little.  I’d get out all of our clips, bobby pins, hair ties, headbands, ribbons, and bows and try to fit all of them into my mom’s hair.  My mom never wanted to wear my “hair-dos” outside of the house.  After I graduate, I’m going to a cosmetology school.

9.  Singer.  I can't sing.  There went that idea.

10.  Artist.  This one really shouldn’t be here.  Never once did I want to have a job that used my artistic ability.  I wanted to do something without using something that I was good at.  That may sound stupid; why wouldn’t I want to use the gift God gave me?  Well, I wanted to push myself and have to learn something new.  I felt that using an ability I already had was too easy and, in a way, somehow cheating.  Also, everyone that saw my artwork would say, “Well I guess I know what you’re going to do when you’re older.”  Everyone assumed I would go into art, so I rebelled at that.  I didn’t want to do what was expected of me or what everyone else thought I should do.

Now, I want to be an art major at whatever college I go to.  I just need to pick the right one.  As I said, I’m going to a cosmetology school after I graduate.  That way I’ll have something to fall back on if my art thing fails.  Someone will always need their hair cut.


So, that’s my ten “what I want to be when I grow up” jobs.  I probably had others, but they didn’t last long enough for me to remember them.

Successful Blogging

I just started my blog, and to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about it. For the second semester of my high school creative writing class, we’re writing a blog. The assignment is to post once a week and sometimes the topics are assigned too; like this one. I’m learning about how to write a successful blog by using a book called Publishing a Blog with Blogger. I like it; it's uber helpful.

There are two types of people who start a blog: those who want to make money, and those who just want to write.  I’m the latter.  Maybe in the future I might want to monetize my blog; who doesn’t want to make a little cash?  But don’t buy into thinking you can just write a blog and be successful and rich right away.  It’s not that easy.  It takes time, motivation, and research.  It’ll be awhile to write enough content to get regular visitors other than your friends and family.  Writing a blog that’s successful is so different than what I thought.  Right now, I don’t have a “niche” for my blog; one topic that I always write about.  I didn’t want to limit myself in case I have a period of major writer’s block.  I always thought blogging was writing whatever pops into your head.  And that’s exactly what I’m doing right now, writing what pops into my head, (just random things that people can relate to) or whatever I’m assigned.  Right now, I only have time to post once a week.

For my blog, my success is achieving a personal goal: to write consistently.  In fact, I don’t even care if anyone outside family and friends reads this.  It would be cool, but it’s not my priority...for now.  I’m no where close to having a “successful” blog (as in having many readers and earning money from it) so I did a little research on some tips that myself and other fellow bloggers should read. 

Organic Food?

Go Organic!

There’s a lot of information out there on the advantages and disadvantages of organic foods and possible effects of non-organic foods.  I was a little overwhelmed and didn’t know what to believe.  Some people don’t even realize what is organic food.  When they think organic, they think vegetarian.  Organic food is food grown naturally without pesticides, preservatives, hormones, and other additives and chemicals.  In crops, organic farmers focus on enriching the soil by crop rotation and using organic fertilizer.  In meat, animals are pasture fed and live in a comfortable environment.  They’re not fed hormone enriched, processed food, and kept in the stressful, cramped quarters like the conditions of your average meat processing company.

Basically, there hasn’t been enough research on whether or not organic food is better than conventional food.  I would think it would be, but it’s not “scientifically proven.”  The only items proved to be better when they are produced organically are milk and tomatoes.  So, it comes down to personal opinion.  Until more studies have been done to absolutely, without a doubt prove that organic is the best, all we have is opinions.

So here’s my opinion.  It’s just kind of logical that naturally-grown food would be better than food full of preservatives, chemical residues that are possibly toxic, and hormones.  From what I’ve read on the subject, it scares me about what’s going on in the food industry.  I’m sure if people could see how their favorite foods are made, they wouldn’t want to eat them anymore.  Companies only care about production rates and not their customer’s health.  Scientists are experimenting with food trying to make it better, but they haven’t done the studies to make sure it doesn’t make it worse.  So, I’m all for going organic in any way possible. 

Before I list the benefits, there are some disadvantages.  Though organic food industry has grown about 30% in the past 5-6 years, I can see why it hasn’t exploded.

10 Facts About Indiana

Indiana

I live in boring, corn-filled Indiana.  Yep, Indiana.  Recently, I was trying to think about interesting things about my state, but I couldn’t.  I could however think of why I don’t like my state.  Other than an occasional mention of Indiana Jones, no one ever thinks of us!  We don’t have any “est” places to make us special like driest, biggest, deepest, widest, highest, lowest, etc.  In fact, the highest elevation in our leveled, farming state is called “Hoosier Hill.”  So, we don’t even have majestic scenery either.  We have corn and racecars.  So, I decided to find some interesting, arcane facts about Indiana.

Indiana means, “Land of the Indians,” and was the 19th state admitted to the Union on December 11, 1816.  Indiana is ranked #15 in state with highest population which, quite frankly, surprised me since we have a lot of farming land.  Indiana is the smallest state, other than Hawaii, west of the Appalachian Mountains.

The Benefits of Homeschooling

I could write a book on this topic, but I’ll try to restrain myself.  I can already foresee myself failing a little bit so prepare for a long post. Sorry.

I have been homeschooled all my life and I must say I’m very grateful I never went to public or private school.  I’ve even had some of my public schooled friends tell me they’re envious.  Doing school at home and having your parents for teachers hasn’t always been “peachy-keen,” but there’re more advantages with homeschooling than there are with public schooling.  Homeschooling isn’t for everyone.  The parents have to value the quality of their children’s education to make the sacrifice of time and possibly one parent’s income to stay home and make it worth it.

Religion, finance, or having a child with special needs or one who isn’t being challenged enough in school are common reasons for choosing homeschooling, but usually most parents just aren’t satisfied with the school system, and feel they can do a better job.

Educational Benefits

 

One on One Attention

The teacher to student ratio can’t be beat.  One on one teaching has been widely known as the most effective teaching method.  There is no conceivable way a public school teacher can give the full individual attention needed to each of his or her students for whatever difficulties they might have.

Work at Your Own Pace and Time

A lot of time is wasted at public/private schools waiting in lines for lunch and recess, waiting for others to get done with their work, or even waiting for the teacher to finally take control of the unruly class.  Homeschooling allows a quiet, comfortable learning environment where kids can get their work done far before 3 o’clock because they have no distractions.