Safe Haven

If someone asked you where your home was, how would you answer? There are many different views of what home means, let alone where it is. Some might say home is being around loved ones. Some might say home is where you sleep. Everybody has their own definition of home and they are all right in their own way. To me, home is comfort. Home is where I can relax, de-stress, and have my own space. The place I correlate home with right now is my bedroom.

Sure I could call the whole house home, but that is a bit vague. I do not feel the same comfort in the rest of my house. I'm not saying I am uncomfortable in the rest of my house, I am just saying that my room is mine. The rest of the house is shared amongst roommates and friends. Whenever I need to concentrate, wind down, or recharge I go to my room. While everybody is different, personally, I need somewhere I can be alone every so often. Constant interaction can be very draining for me so I value solitude when I am tired. Other people cannot stand being alone, so obviously my definition of home would not appeal to some people. That is why there are so many different definitions of home. There are countless types of people in this world, each having there own personal definition of home. Ultimately, maybe home does not have a definition. Home is whatever or wherever you make it. It is something that helps you keep moving on through life. It is limitless.

What do you consider home?

My Educational Journey

My journey began many years ago when I attended Central Christian Academy. There I learned the basic building blocks for any education, including how to write in cursive. I was never good at penmanship and I struggled with my sloppy handwriting, still do. I did eventually get through it and moved on to Northeast Middle School in 6th grade. Coming from a Christian school, it took me a little to get up to speed in my science classes. Once I caught up I found I really enjoyed science, as well as math. I liked the clear cut right or wrong type of responses such classes entail. That being said I struggled with English classes, especially when I moved on to Liberty High School. I dread writing papers because there is no right or wrong. Besides the basic outline and formatting, writing is very free and unrestricted. I found this difficult because I work better when I have clear cut guidelines to follow. I graduated from Liberty in 2009, even though my writing skills were still sub par. I took roughly a years worth of automotive classes at NCC before I got a job in the field. Since I had the job I was going to school for, I did not re enroll for the next semester. I now have a good career that allows me to support myself, however over 5 years later I am realizing I do not want to be stuck in this career. It was good to establish myself and stake my claim as an actual adult, but does not have much room for advancement. Two years ago, I decided on a career change to become a RN. With that job, I will have almost limitless ways to branch off and specialize based on what I enjoy. It is also a job that does not fluctuate with the economy so it will be a lot more stable. After a year of saving money to avoid taking loans, coming back to school rekindled my interest in science. My only fear is my writing skills. They were by no means good when I graduated 8 years ago. Not having written a paper in so long, I was quickly reminded of the anxiety that writing papers entails. Am I doing it right? Will it be interesting? Will it be good? Is my format correct? How am I supposed to feel comfortable when the main indication on how I am doing, the grade, is not given until after the paper is written? These questions plague my mind whenever tasked with writing a formal paper, hopefully I will be able to answer some of these questions and have more confidence in my writing by the end of the semester without tanking my GPA.

Interview

Hello all, today's blog is about an opportunity I had to interview one of my fellow classmates, Kyle R. In the allotted time we had to talk, I learned quite a bit about him. For starters, he is a very easy person to talk to. This could be attributed partly to his job, where he handles logistics, scheduling, and customer service. He is currently going to NCC to get his business degree in hopes of advancements with his job. Having a degree could also open up other potential career moves, which is always helpful. Next, let's back up a little to take a look at some of his backstory. He was born in Easton, although shortly after he moved to Philipsburg. It was here that he was raised with his sister(26) and brother(27). He later moved back to Easton, where he lives with his 6 year old daughter, Savannah Rose. From what I've heard, she is a sassy little girl that is very independent. She is currently in Kindergarten. One thing I found very interesting was that she is already learning to type. This really made me realize the large shift towards technology these days. I think it is cool that the kids are being taught about it early on. After all, it is a necessity nowadays to be competent with technology, a fact I am slowly coming to terms with. That being said, I think it's time to talk about what Kyle does in his leisure time. For starters, he likes to keep active. He goes to the gym often and has a basketball team at the YMCA, where he used to play a lot. When not staying active, he likes to watch TV and listen to music. Don't we all? More specifically, he likes to watch WWE, the Pittsburgh Steelers, House of Cards (good show, check it out), Gotham, and pretty much any horror movie. He also really enjoys all the Marvel superheroes, he has an office area in his house with posters and such of all of his favorite heroes decorating it. I thought that was a really good idea. If you need to have a workspace at home, might as well make it as fun and comfy as possible. For his musical preferences, Red Hot Chili Peppers is his favorite band. He likes how they incorporate multiple styles into one beautiful sound. He also had a chance to see B.B. King play live. I am super jealous of him as King is one of my favorite artists, who I unfortunately will never be able to see live in person. He also talked about his interest in making family trees based on Ancestry.com. I never really looked into it too much, but after speaking with Kyle I am very interested in checking it out. He told me how receipts from purchases, amongst other things, are available from many years ago. It seems like a great way to learn more about where you came from. Kyle currently has one tattoo, but would like a few more. He mentioned he wanted the Jersey state with the Puerto Rican flag in it and a rose for his daughter. While quite happy with where he lives now, he would ultimately like to be able to move south to Georgia. Hopefully you now have a general idea of who Kyle is. If you want to know more, just ask him. He is very personable.