Maxed Out

I believe sometimes humans take for granted all that life has to offer. The amount of adventures and places to explore on Earth are nearly endless. It is easy for us to get in situations where we feel overly content with where we are and forget that we can go anywhere. I am very grateful to have explored several unique locations such as the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. As I continue to get older, I realize that visiting these types of places more frequently can become a reality if you can set up a plan to do so. There is also so much to be seen outside of the United States. I have never been able to visit Europe or Mexico but these two places are on my highest priority to explore. Out of all the countries in Europe, Spain strikes me as the most interesting place due to the unique culture of the Spanish. From the Running of the Bulls to experiencing their cultural dishes, I feel like this would be a very overwhelming experience that I would benefit from. European countrie...

Pinterest is a social media platform that I believe is greatly unused. The platform allows users to create and share "pins" which are most commonly an image, video, or link to another source. Users have the opportunity to save these pins and organize them into a "board." Founded in 2009 by a group of college friends, Pinterest was originally created as a platform for people to showcase a collection of things they were interested in. It is fascinating to see the versatility that Pinterest has for businesses that want to market their goods on. A business can create a business account and then create their first Pinterest board which should cater to their desired demographic. A key component when creating a board is to include keywords in the titles so that users will see the board more often. The business user than should include visually appealing pins to the board which reflect what the business does. The final touch is for them to select a cover pin that will be se...

It seems that time has continued to go by faster these past few weeks. One day my phone shows that it is Monday and the next time I check it it shows that it is Saturday. This can be beneficial in some scenarios, especially if you have a hard week to get through or if you have an anticipated trip coming up. Personally, I find that it makes life a lot more stressful as assignments continue to stack on top of each other. This stretch of the school year is always a grind as it is placed right before final exams. The whole month of November tends to feel like it is blended into the final two weeks of the semester, which increases stress on students. I am not taking an exceedingly difficult course schedule this semester and I still feel that my assignments have began to stack. I have sympathy for those on campus that are taking five to six classes and are getting flooded with work. Luckily, there is a reward at the end of this grind and that is the five weeks of winter break. I am ecstatic ...

After this weekend, the students of Ohio Northern will be approaching the final stretch until finals. We have approximately four weeks until Thanksgiving break. Once Thanksgiving break is over, we will only have two more weeks of schoolwork before finals. While this still seems like a lot of time, it has already been two weeks since our fall break. Personally, these past two weeks have gone by faster than usual and I feel these final weeks will only go by faster. Although we will still have to deal with projects and essays, I think it is important for students to remember we are only in college for a finite amount of time. We should try and make the most of these final weeks by whatever means we find necessary.  What are some fun events that will take place at Ohio Northern over the next few weeks? There is only one more home football game and the team will be facing against Wilmington. I encourage all students to experience at least one of these games because they are a lot of fun...

This weekend I was able to witness Ohio Northern's homecoming weekend. This homecoming weekend began Saturday with the annual homecoming parade. Right after the parade was the tailgate for the football game at Dial-Roberson Stadium. My friends and I had a very fun time playing cornhole and also making predictions for college football games. It was a cool experience to see a community of alumni and students interact with each other. I was able to meet a few alumni and they all shared cool stories of their time at Ohio Northern. After a good amount of time spent tailgating, it was time for the big game. Ohio Northern was playing against Muskingum and the polar bears were ready to get a victory. I had the opportunity to live tweet throughout the football game to share my experience with others on Twitter. The weather was perfect for the game and the atmosphere made the game exciting. The beginning of the game was disappointing due to myself finding out that I had lacked service for th...

Social media platforms were created in the hopes of it being a vital tool for humans. In the early stages of the use of social media, users were using the platforms to connect with friends and family easier. Throughout this past decade, social media platforms have created a life of its own and has shifted from becoming a tool to becoming a weapon. It has become a weapon against the majority of users as it now controls much of their lives without them even noticing. In the docudrama "Social Dilemma" this unconscious takeover of the user is effectively shown. The two main characters, Ben and Isla, go through a challenge of having to undergo time without their phone. They both find out that they are unable to complete the challenge, with Ben being able to go almost four days without it. They show how social media takes up much of Ben's time in life and how he is drawn to it through every notification. He misses soccer practices to catch up on social media without seeing a pr...

This past Saturday might have been one of the best days in recent years for sports fans. It began with a slate of six college football games where each team was ranked. These were followed by two intense playoff Major League Baseball games. The premier matchup of the week was the Tennessee Volunteers who faced the Alabama Crimson Tide. Tennessee was ranked sixth and Alabama was ranked third nationally. My favorite team, the Penn State Nittany Lions, were ranked tenth and were facing the fifth ranked Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. My team played horrible throughout the first half but still managed to hold a lead within the final minutes. They went into halftime only down 16-14 and we needed to play perfect to have a chance at pulling off the upset. We unfortunately did the very opposite and Michigan ran away in the third quarter by scoring whenever they touched the ball. We ended up losing the game 41-17 and it looks like the beginning of the end for our season. We play Minnesota nex...