Ready, set, GO!

Now that many of us have gotten our internship, it is time to show what we are capable of bringing to our company.  What I will bring to my internship is not only my positive attitude but the skills that I have learned from Year Up.  These skills include the basics of how computers are put together and how they function.  Prior to Year Up I didn’t know much but I now feel like I have a decent base of knowledge in which I can expand on.  I believe that I can add a lot not only technically but also with my personality and work ethic.

I must admit that I do have some anxiety when it comes to internship.  This stems from the fact that I like to prepare myself for what might be coming.  In doing this I feel like I am more prepared for what might be.  This also makes me overthink a lot but I am more comfortable with overthinking and stressing out than not caring and not being prepared.

I plan to demonstrate that I am dependable and a key contributor by being a sponge out there with all the information that will be thrown our way.  And when there is something that I am not sure about I will ask around until I have a firm grasp of the concept.  In doing this I will be showing not only how bad I want a position with the company but also show what I could bring to other tech companies.

Internship Tips

So we are all getting ready to go to our internships and some of us may be wondering how it will be.  Here is my list of most important to least. (They are all important nonetheless)

1. Enjoy Yourself - internship will be as good as you are going to make it.  Plus there will not be anymore homework!!!! So enjoy it.
2. Be Optimistic - Having that positive outlook will only bring goods things for you and maybe others.  Law of Attraction is REAL!!
3. Avoid Negativity - There will definitely be some tough and trying times but don't let it be something to hold you back or down.
4. Set Personal Goals - we must do this because if not we will become content and this will lead to a bad experience.  Plus if your not improving on yourself, what are you doing?
5. Take Initiative - by doing this you are making yourself standout above everyone else and are demonstrating your personal value to the company
6. Get as much Exposure as possible - This is basically the same thing as taking initiative and will allow you to acclimate into the culture at your internship. 
7.  Have regular Meetings with your manager - This will help you to figure out growth areas and also develop a work relationship.
8. Network, Network, Network - keep expanding your network because it will benefit you not only at your job but also in future endeavors
9. Never shun an Opportunity - you never know when an opportunity can lead to better experiences in life and in the future

How Can I Help?

I have worked only two jobs in my professional career, one in the retail field and the other as a maintenance technician.  My responsibilities in retail included being in charge of the General Athletics department and writing schedules based on budgets and tasks that needed to get done based on who was working.  I actually enjoyed this job because I love sports and know a lot about them.  I also liked helping people, mainly parents; find the right accessories for their child or themselves.  It is corny but you could always tell when people were appreciative of what I could help them with and that was a nice feeling.

What made the job not as enjoyable was that it was RETAIL!!!  Anyone who has ever worked retail knows what I mean.  There was times were we had nothing to do and they would want us to reorganize sections just to give us something to do.  I learned that when you have a job, it really doesn’t matter what you want to do all that matters is that they are paying you so you have no choice.  I learned a lot about myself because I found myself in certain situations that I had created and had to own up to it.  It actually made me look in the mirror and decide what type of person I want to be from here on out.

Ugh..Do I have to read?

I, like many of my peers, do not like to read.  Every once in a while I find a good book that I can't put down.  When it comes to Freakonomics, I find myself in the middle.  I read it because I have to but there have been times where i couldn't put it down.  When I am reading, there are times where I read a page or two and couldn't tell you what i just read.  When this happens I usually reread the pages and take my time and really try to imagine what is taking place.

  When I read I don't really annotate because, for myself, I feel like it actually takes away from the reading and how much I get into it. Some of these readings have been quick while others have not.  Really depending on the job that I am assigned is where I get my cue on when to start reading.  Example would be being assigned the role of Moderator and having to know the content of the chapter by Wed. in order to give my group decent questions.  I commute an hour both ways and when I can try to use that time to read.  Turns out it’s a great way to forget about Bart!

.

Healthcare

I read an article that talks about how the life expectancy of men and how it has grown and the gap between men and womens life expectancy has gotten closer.  As it stands right now Men averaged a life close to 77 years while women live till 81 years.  This relates to my essay because my topic is about healthcare and part of that is the aspect of life expectancy.  It is definitely a good sign that life expectancy no matter the sex is lengthing.  Surprisingly though when compared to other industrialized nations or up and coming nations the United States ranks right around the middle of the pack.  Reading this leads me to believe that the United States is on its way to enriching itself for the furture. 

 

This may seem weird but since people are going to be living longer we need to have the adequate system in order to take care of them properly.  Everyone knows that when people get older they are going to need more and more care, which means if you do not change our system that we will see more and more debt accumulate.  Hopefully  they are on their way to fixing society problems before society creates problems with no solutions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47466204/ns/health-mens_health/#.T7pjgmu0Kus

White Men Can’t Jump

There are a lot of stigmas that exists in the world and there is one in particular that I deal with pretty often and that is that only African-Americans are good at basketball.  There are definitely stronger stigmas in the world but I love basketball to an endless degree.  Many movies and punch lines insinuate that only black people are good at basketball because they are “more athletic”. This could be due to an overwhelming majority of African-Americans playing in the NBA.  I play basketball and am very good at it or at least I have been told so. Many times I am not picked because of my color even though I have demonstrated that I am worthy of being picked.  This is irritating to me because I can’t explain how much I love basketball and how much it means to me.  I love the competition and every time I step on the court I want everyone to know that no one is better than me.  Of course I have to go out there and prove it but that’s the best part.  I know that those playing against me take one look and think “ha” as in this will be easy and I love that.  That may seem weird but I know by the end of the game, he won’t be thinking that.  I believe when I go out there that I am disproving this stigma each and every time.  It is not something I try to do but rather is something that comes along with the territory.