1. Is it better to be a full-time student or to work part-time and go to school part-time?

I’m full time student and full time worker. Huh! I know… That’s a lot. I don’t recommend be full time in both parts but I think that student should not only go to school but also work. It gives opportunity to be more mature, because when you finish school you have around 25 years old (?) and then you have to find your first job. You graduated collage but you have no experience, and this is necessary to work well and to feel good at work and to hire you at first. When I was in Poland this was requirement to have experience, nobody wanted people straight after college. Beside that, you can start to use your skills at work which you are learning at school.

And I don’t want offend anyone, but when you are in college you are not a child anymore with asking about every dollar from your parents. You should try to learn how to be responsible for your life because after few years you will not live with your parents anymore.

I really don’t understand people who are saying that they didn’t have time to do the homework and they are ONLY students. Come on… how you don’t have time if you are going to school only 12 or 15 hours a week? Right before Harold Washington College I used to go to Zarem Golde ORT Technical Institute, taking English classes, and it was 25 (!) hours a week- 5 hours every day.

In conclusion, it is better to work and go to school in the same time, just because people get more responsibility, and learn how to arrange your time to have it for everything

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Will or should computers replace teachers?

The computers shouldn’t replace teachers from many reasons. One of them that is easier to ask for help a person who is next to you that than a computer. I believe that people are concentrate more when they are listening to another person that to the computer.

But in another side I think that finally computers will take over teachers place. Even now we can take classes online, make degree online. In my old college in Poland we had one class that on the projector through the computer and internet was presenting the lecture. I didn’t like it too much. They are making so many changes in schools that soon the teachers will have to be afraid that they will loose their jobs. I’m not sure if it was in Korea but somewhere in Asian country, I saw that students are sitting at home and teacher at home and they are communicate through video. I think this will happen soon. One teacher can teach hundreds student all over the world through the computer. There is no cost for building in which they have to stay, furniture/computers and other stuff in the class and in one time much more student can be taught.

I don’t want school to change for computers only. And I don’t want in the future my kids to not have opportunity meeting other students in the class, or get help person to person from the teacher. But as more as technology grows the education will be more and more computerized.
In a conclusion, the small classes which include only few to 20 students are the best, because each person can take from class what he really need and want but it is a possibility that students will sit at home and just turn on the computer and listen to the lecture from their bed in comforted pajamas.

1. What is one piece of technology that you could not live without?

The piece of technology that is the most important in my life is computer, of course. I think that many people will post a journal how they can’t live without a computer. But that’s true. We use the computer now for everything. We use it for homework at school, paying our bills, check the weather for next day or train/bus schedule, for, shopping, pleasure, for everything. I don’t want even imagine that I have project to do for school about some artist and I have to spend hundred hours in a library doing research. Problem would be paying every single bill in a different place, especially in America where the distances are huge. We are like a technology-slaves, we are used to it so much that we can’t imagine out life without it. As long as I’m writing is there comes new and new ideas why I use the computer. Another is for e-mails (example from yesterday at 3am- I was trying to reach one professor from my school in Poland, I had to wait up to morning to call him – because of 7 hours difference and one lady told me that he will be later. Later! I send e-mail, and when I woke up today I got the answer). Using computer for video conferences are very useful as well, specially when your part of family, or friends are on the another side of Globe and you want have an opportunity to see them.

The computer is a necessity because it helps in our life a lot. In this fast, without time for nothing time every new technology which saves even 5 minutes is couth by the people very quickly. People are used to the computer and they need it so much that companies are making smaller, thinner and with weight almost like nothing to allow taking computer with them all the time.

Not always computer was a necessity. One hundred years ago people didn’t know computer, or 50 years ago people didn’t use computer too much. And they could life! The life was slower, with less stress. People had time to do everything without technology-helpers. They were spending hours in the libraries, or sending letters. And I believe that they were enjoying doing that, because for example idea of sending romantic letters or even postcard are disappearing just because it is easier to send e-mail in 2 minutes with no cost.

The power of family love

The most value in my life is love, and especially family love. This love hives strength to do everything what we want in life. It shows how much other people cares about you, how they don’t want nothing bad to happen to you. The parents have the most influence in our life. They show from the first days what is good and what is bad. They try to form the right way for us without any stones that can be obstacles for us. Many times we, as kids are arguing about much stuff thinking that we already knows everything.
Imagine how many night our mom didn’t sleep when we were newborn, and how much she cared to nothing bad happened.
Besides taking care, there is many joyful moments when we spend with our parents. Going to the trips, playing in different games, walking, riding a bike, or just sitting and talking.
I god this luck that mom is my best friend. All the time in my life I knew that if something is wrong I can easily go and tell her, if a had something what I was happy from I went to her as well. We spend many evening just sitting and talking. My dad is similar person too. He never got mad at me. I was this “Daddy’s daughter” a little bit spoil from him. Now he is in Poland and I miss him a lot even though we talk many times on the video conferences but still it will never be the same like it was, that we were sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea and just talking.

Everybody what to know where are they from and who they are and it doesn’t matter if you are Polish, Filipino, Iranian, or any other nationality. While we are growing up we discover many things about ourselves. The most discover age is teenager, when people try to figure out what they like, how they want to look like, to which group belong. As a young girl I tried to listen different types of music, and what comes after that meet different people from any social groups. The same was with clothing, and with my behavior. It took many years to figure out who I am, what I rally like and how I want my future to look like. I figured out my priorities in life, my goals and slowly I’m going this specific way, to rich it.
Some people are searching for “them” all theirs life. They are trying new stuff, failing, trying something new. It easily- seen how people want belong anywhere, to not be by them self in life. In “Funny in Farsi” Firoozeh learned how to be Iranian in America. Her parents and other members of family thought her about her culture and history and about that being a decent person is more important than any rule (example with father’s ham, when he said that no matter what people eat , the important is how theirs behavior).
Immigrants have all the time more difficult to find their identity. They are born in another country with another history, culture, habits and language and they are living with country where another laws should be obeyed. I meet few people who told me that they are Polish and they even don’t speak polish and even never visited Poland. My friend from Indie was there only for 2 weeks for vacation but when he is asked about his nationality he doesn’t say that he is American, every time he is saying that he is Indian.

Funny in Farsi- experience

The book “Funny in Farsi” showed me that I can read whole English book. Before I started to read few English books but after few chapters a threw it away because I wag getting upset that I read so slow. Yesterday I started another English book, another memoir of growing up Iranian in America and American in Iran. “Funny in Farsi” gave me strength that I can do it if I want to.
I was reading this book especially in the train, since I spend there one hour every day. Some chapters I marked and highlighted but not every time. Parts when she talked about stories I just read without marking. I liked to complete the book activities because it gave me another opportunity to study. The first what I had done was vocabulary map, where I placed 10 new vocabulary with definition and picture. Another book activity was chapter poster for chapter about Disneyland. The third activity was a movie poster. I wanted to make movie trailer but since I work a lot and I don’t have too much time I dropped that idea. The last one was review for a newsletter.
I really put attention to the chapter in which I was a student expert. I read it twice and I made notes on the margins. The other chapters I just read for pleasure.
I’m glad that one of our assignments was to read whole book not only one or two parts from it because it showed how to look at one piece together, from the first to the last page. It gives the opportunity to have opinion about a full sized page book not only 10 or 15 pages.

Personal Symbol

I made a mistake and I wrote 3 journals from the 5 topic from:”Practice with Descriptive Writing” and the last one was about something in my bag or purse instead of Personal Symbol. But I thought about it and the wallet is exactly the item that symbolizes me, because it shows who I am and what is important for me that I carry every day. It shows that I like to have everything important all the time with me.
I have really big purses, because every day I carry a lot of items with me. The most important in my purse is of course a wallet. I bought this wallet recently. All the time I had large wallets but this is the biggest. His color is black; from one side has a packet with silver buckle and from another zipper. Beside place for money, there is a lot of pockets for credit cards, where I keep all my cards, ID (American and Polish), student ID and some rewards cards (Jewel, CVS , Things remembered- because I like a gift which I buy for my friends to be special, and Pet Shop- where I buy food, and other supplies for my cat and blue fish). There is also place for small calculator. In another side is place for check book, but since I don’t like and don’t use too much check I use this in another purpose- I have there CCC card for the copier and printer. On the middle is space for business cards. I have there some business cards, preferred customer card to Blick store with art materials (because of my art classes), a little paper that I completed CPR training and card to the public library. Beside that in my wallet you can find many small papers with important information, and since I think that everything can be finally useful you can imagine how many papers it is. There is one more small packet on the from where I keep the CTA u- pass. In the packet with money I keep the flash drive. I keep in my wallet 2 small pictures- one of my Brother, and one of my best friend Martha. They are in Poland.
When I forget my wallet its mean that I basically forget everything. But in another side I like big wallets because I like to have everything together.

The place where you study.

I have two places where I study. One of them is my bed, when I feel comfortable and when I read the materials from the book but not writing the journals or essays. Next to my bed al the time you can find materials to school and unfortunately the first what I’m doing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday when I open my eyes is get the materials and see what I need to have done for each day. Since I work seven days a week, every free time I spend on studying. My bed is size Quinn, with two big pillows, but I won’t describe this one more time, since we had this task in the class. I will take more time to tell about my other place, this where I’m sitting right now. This is small, black, wooden desk with computer. This desk stands in living room, because when I’m not at home my mom uses it. This computer is desktop, with silver monitor and a little computer, smaller three times than regular. Next to the computer, on the lower shelf stands silver printer by the same brand. On the middle shelf stands modem. On my desk I put usually a lot of items, like papers, glasses with drinks, pens and pencils, lipstick, two candles, and business cards, but for the picture I will try to get rid of this stuff J On the right side of my desk hangs a noise cancelling head phones. They are always near the computer because I like to listen to the music loud. On the top of monitor sits a round camera, which I use when I talk to people from Poland, especially with my Dad, Brother, and Nephew, who has 4 years old, and he wants to fly to his aunt to Chicago but he “is afraid of flying by the biiiig airplane”. This computer is very important in my life, because I have everything there- pictures, my movies, homework for school. It makes the opportunity to see my relatives even though they are so far away. I understood how strongly affected me when my computer broke down and I lost everything what I had there. Since that time I try to save my stuff in two places.

Someone you see all the time.

I want to introduce someone who right now is sitting on my laps. This is Afera- my cat who I brought from Poland. I got her on my 19th birthday from my best friend Martha, and when I knew that I’m staying in Chicago, and my Mom was moving here she took her. So my cat is the first cat which I know about hat was flying on the airplane for 10 hours. Everybody was looking at her, kids wanted to play. Now, she is around 4 years old, but she is still small. When my friend brought her the first day, it was in my work- Travel Agency. She sat her on my desk. She looked like a bundle. She was so little that we could hold her in one hand. Her fur is color grey with darker and lighter parts. She had white moustache and snub, pink nose. Hers eyes are brown, and she is very sweet. She has very original character. She knows when somebody is coming to house and waiting like a dog next to the door. When I sit next to the computer or watching TV she comes all the time and slip on my laps. When she is hungry she let us know that she needs something to eat, but she is very picky, she won’t eat everything. You can find her in many different, weird places: sleeping in the closet on the highest shelf, or in the kitchen on the window. She likes to look throw the window on people or squirrels. When she gets mad she scratches a lot and bites, to throw from the shelves small stuff and her ears are standing. She can sit on the back of TV stand for few hours when she is offended. Sometimes she just runs all over the house without any sense. But when she sleeps she is the sweetest cat ever with a little smile on her snout. She likes to sleep on the TV or on the desk near the monitor and she doesn’t care that then I don’t see anything what I’m doing on the computer.
Her fur is very soft. She doesn’t go outside so she doesn’t have any dirt inside. I don’t smell any bad or good smell, like from other cats. I think that I’m just so used to her.
I see her every day, sometimes even when I don’t want see her or she bothers me. But one time when she ran away and I couldn’t find her for almost 2 days I was very upset. She is just part of my life, or a little part of my family.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog where I will put all my great journals assined by great Denise. Enjoy the reading!

Kasia