Teen pregnancies have affected many lives. Some girls abort their pregnancy while others either keep the child or give him/her up for adoption; nevertheless it is not an easy decision. These hard decision-makings are a result from improper use of contraceptives. It is good that teenagers today use birth control and condoms, but when they are used improper they are no good. Sexual awareness is the key to educate young teenagers and decrease pregnancy rates.

It is safe to say many teenagers are currently sexually active. What is not well known is if they are using protection while having sex. Teenagers are naïve and tend to think they are against the odds of getting pregnant. We are fortunate today to have easy access to contraceptives and should have no reason to not take advantage of that. If teens are sexually active they should be using birth control and/or condoms to not only protect themselves from pregnancy but also from sexually transmitted infection.  Birth control is not as effective if not used correctly. If taking the pill, they need to be taken everyday at the around the same time. Some girls take them everyday but at different times, others make the huge mistake of taking two at a time if they accidentally skipped a day. Condoms could, at times, break without obvious signs. Just because the girl may be taking birth control does not mean the boy should not be using a condom. Birth control can fail at anytime. Using birth control and condoms substantially decreases the risk of getting pregnant Teenagers take for granted the possibility of the consequences of having sexual relations. They live in the moment without thinking what could result from their actions.

This subject is something that I can particularly connect with. On the day of January 8, 2013, I received a picture message from my best friend. It was a picture of a positive pregnancy test. I was in complete shock when I saw it and could not believe it. She was at the local Planned Parenthood and she was texting me that early afternoon. I was the first to know that she was 6 weeks pregnant. From that day forward her life will be completely changed forever. It wasn’t too long before I received the first ultrasound picture of my future godchild. This unplanned pregnancy was a result of improper use of contraceptives. Sexual awareness can decrease the risks that teenagers take everyday and ultimately stop a situation like that of my friends.

In conclusion, sexual awareness is the key to stopping unplanned pregnancies from happening. Although contraceptives have easily accessible, they are not always used properly. Before women get birth control they need to be explained the proper way to use them and what the risks are if used improper. Men should be taught to use condoms whether their partner is on birth control or not. Not only will they be protecting themselves from an unplanned pregnancy but also from sexual transmitted infections.  With the spread of awareness there would be little to no unplanned pregnancies.

Leaving home for the first time ever is a tough time for a lot of teenagers. Then coming to a far away place knowing one or two people, or even no one? That’s a whole different story. You’re left feeling alone, homesick, and unmotivated to do anything that has to do with school.

A few days or even a few weeks into being in college, you’ll meet someone. Then you meet their friends. And meet another person. And their friends. You start to build up a new friends group, which is exciting! All you want to do is get to know them and hang out with them. Maybe they’ll invite you to a party. Why would you say no? You’ve drank before, and you’ve always wondered what a college party is like anyways. You attend the party and have the time of your life. Each weekend after that, you go to more parties all while becoming closer with your new friends.

This is the start of a never ending circle. Yeah, you’ll attend class on most occasions. There’s probably some assignments in those classes that you know you can do later. You’ll probably hit up the library or study lounge once or twice, lose your focus and leave. What happens when you start getting behind? You all of a sudden don’t know what the professor is talking about. You find yourself slipping under the radar and doing the bare minimum of studying in order to get by. When the weekend comes, you’re full of life again! You can let loose, have no stress, and surround yourself with your friends without worrying about the exam you have on Wednesday.

This is the problem a lot of college students face. They live for the weekend, and forget they have priorities to tend to. You come to college to get a degree so you can start a career and provide for a family. Or to make lots of money – whatever you choose. So why get caught up in having such a fantastic social life? Some choose to go party because they’ve gone to class all week and want to relax and go have fun. Some because it makes them forget about their worries and stresses. Some because they came for the experience. Some students go out to fill a void.

When you get behind in school, it’s easy to feel like there’s no way out of it. It’s easy to just put it in the back of your mind and go hang out with your friends instead of doing the homework or studying that you know you should probably do. There is help out there though. Everyone knows that professors offer office hours, as well as TAs. That can sometimes be intimidating, though. If that’s not for you, there are residence halls that hold tutoring spaces for so many different courses, there’s no reason to not get help. Tutors are here for you. If you don’t ask them for help, they’re just getting paid to sit at a table and do nothing. Why not take advantage of that? 

Partying is a normal part of college life. Not everyone does it, but many students do take part in it. There’s nothing wrong with having fun and letting loose! It does become a problem, though, when you neglect homework and studying to socialize. Students should know that it’s not worth while to just GET BY in college. What happens when you leave college with your degree (if you make it that far), and you can’t get a job or get fired because you didn’t study hard enough in your field? Do you really want to waste $100,000 solely for the purpose of having a good time?

Take this as a wake up call… Whether it means you give all the fun up in turn for studying, or just learning how to balance it all, it’s up to you. What do you want for your future?

In doing research about college students and their social lives, I want to find out how many students really struggle with this problem. Is it a common struggle? Or do most college students know how to balance going out and having fun with their schoolwork?

In order to understand this phenomenon, I need to dig deep into what makes students even decide to choose to party before they work. Or, do they in fact work hard before they play hard? I will be reading articles about college parties and the impact they have on student grades. I will hopefully find surveys and polls that have been taken by college students about these issues. I think the best way I’ll be able to come to a conclusion on these questions is getting feedback from real students.

Personally, I can very much relate to this subject. I find it hard to peel away from my friends and go do my work. I always end up doing it, but that leads me to procrastinate for as long as I possibly can. Procrastination obviously plays a huge role in a lot of college students’ lives, but we all deal with it differently. Maybe if I learn that others are in my same situation, it’ll make it easier to get back on track? I haven’t found a passion for school yet. I put all that into the relationships I have with my friends and meeting new people. But who wants to give up their friends for hard work? No one. There are risks you have to take, though, sometimes. Even if they mean giving up the best parts in your life.

Energy drinks: Have you ever thought about what they could potentially do to your health?

Well, if you drink energy drinks there are actually many health problems that are linked to them. Some of these problems include: heart problems, the risk of miscarriage, an increased risk of alcohol injury, anxiety attacks, insomnia, jitteriness, weight gain and many more.

Many students drink energy drinks…but why? First of all, they aren’t called “energy drinks” for no reason. I mean it is clearly noticeable that it is a drink that gives you energy. They make all your senses on high alert and rev up your body. Energy drinks are supposed to provide people with an increased energy level that will keep them active and alert. If a student is working on homework late at night they will end up drinking an energy drink to help them stay up. But what happens after that energy boost is gone? They will then drink another energy drink until that boost is gone. Drinking energy drinks late at night will become a habit and sooner or later the person will drink them for any reason. The caffeine in the energy drink leads to dependence and withdrawal symptoms.

Now that I’m talking about students and energy drinks, I wonder what energy drink is the most popular. In order of popularity, the top three energy drinks that people drink are Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar.

Some people even drink energy drinks before working out because they think it will power up their workout. If anything, this is even worse for your body. When you’re sweating and drinking an energy drink, the energy drink will cause you to become more dehydrated. Drinking an energy drink before you workout could also “increase your blood pressure, over stimulate your heart or nervous system, resulting in a number of potential side effects on your body.”

As much as people enjoy drinking energy drinks, there aren’t many positive outcomes. The only positive outcome I can come up with is the energy boost, which doesn’t even last that long. Other people also claim the flavors are good, but really all those flavors are just made up of sugar and other ingredients that all have their own side affects that aren’t controlled substances, and are potentially harmful in large amounts. If you think about all the negative effects that energy drinks have on you, why keep drinking them? The caffeine in the energy drink is just like the sodium in soda, it makes you want to drink more.  

I think there are other healthy ways for us to stay energized. One easy way is to get plenty of rest. We need to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep every night to stay healthy. As well as stay hydrated and drink plenty of water everyday. Working out on a regular basis, and prioritizing your time so you don’t end up cramming and needing to stay up late. Its like a chain affect, if you procrastinate then you have to stay up late at night and finish your work. When people stay up late, they feel as if they need more energy to get them through the long night. They then go get an energy drink and that’s where all these bad things about those drinks come in. This all comes together in one huge circle, so the way to avoid all of this is to stay healthy, prioritize your time efficiently, and stay away from energy drinks.

Interviews, surveys, observations, and analysis these are all types of primary research. In my ted talk about how technology is making people lazy which in turn is making people obese. I would have to go with observations if I had to choose a primary research. I would chose this one because most people when given a survey that asked how many hours spent on electronics would probably lie. This also goes for interviews, I have learned that even when face to face with a person people are still willing to lie. I could along with observation use analysis because that involves collecting data and finding connections between two things. By observing the people around us and their everyday actions can tell us a lot about how technology influences their day. We can also observe how much the obesity rate has rose simply by just looking out your window and looking at people that pass by.  But to make this even better we could look at facts by analysis. We can collect data from the past 10 years on obesity and how technology has changed and we can compare these two things side by side. I think that surveys and interviews would not work at all for this research just due to that fact that people are willing to lie in any circumstance and the only way to catch the true nature of people is by them not even knowing they are being observed or researched. This is what I think about primary researches and what kind I would do for my topic.

How many of you love to listen to music? We use music as a way to express our emotions. Take Taylor Swift for example. She loves to write her songs about her ex-boyfriends. It’s how she likes to express herself and show others how she is feeling. Musicians are able to express themselves in a similar way, but instead of using lyrics, they use their instruments to show how they feel. They can choose the speed at which they play. If they play a fast paced beat, it may indicate that they are excited, happy, or even angry. If they play a slow paced beat, it may mean that they are sad, upset, or depressed. Music can be used in different ways other than to express our feelings. Music can be used to improve our overall well-being in the form of music therapy. I know a lot of you don’t know what music therapy is or even heard of it and what is done in these therapy sessions, but most of you kind of experienced it without even seeing a music therapist. Have you ever come home from a stressful day and just listened to music to help your body relax? Well, that’s part of what music therapy does. Classical music is especially helpful in relaxing the body. Your heart rate can synchronize to the beat of the song, slow the heart rate, and relax the body in this way.

Listening to music is one activity done in music therapy sessions, but there are more things that are done. Singing is an activity that is done in a session and can help improve an individual’s speech and improve breathing. Playing instruments can help people who can’t really move their arms. Getting movement in their body parts can improve their range of motion. Another activity that benefits individuals who have Alzheimer’s is listening to music. By listening to music, they can connect the song to a time in their past like a song that was played at their wedding reception. Clients can also write their own lyrics to help express what they are feeling like Taylor Swift. Every time Taylor goes through a break up, she writes a song about it. It helps her get her negative feelings out there and helps her cope with the situation better.

There are different types of music that can be used in music therapy sessions, but music cannot be prescribed because the effects of music can vary from person to person. Some effects of upbeat music can include increased brain waves, better concentration, alertness, and better coordination. This type of music can help elders because most of them are usually tired or sleepy. Some effects of low tempo music are slowing the heart beat and relaxing the body. This is helpful with clients who get agitated, restless, or irritated.

Music therapy is commonly used in child and adolescent psychiatry, with patients who have cancer, brain injuries, or are disabled or elderly.  Music therapy is considered an alternative treatment, but when paired with conventional medicine, it can improve health conditions by utilizing different techniques and treatments.

500 words

3 min talking

 

When I first heard that we had to do a ted talk I panicked. I do not like talking in front of people. It just freaks me out. But as I sat at my computer I thought about the two things that mean the most to me, Animal companionship and a the hospital. I know that might sound weird but I love the feeling you get once you an animal. There is no greater feeling of a dog greeting you at the door when you get home from a long trip, or being away at college, or even if your gone for five mins. Now the hospital is important because I planed on being a Vet. Since I have to move and they do not have any physical science classes, I have to change my major. I’m 80% positive that I’m going into nursing. I already have my CNA (certified nursing assistant), first aid, and my CPR card. Either way the hospital is where I plan on obtaining a job. As I started to do research on the two topics I noticed a lot of problems with companion aninamls in the hospital. The hospitals claim that they want to be cleaner, so that means keeping animals out. Another problem is that when animals are allowed in they can only go in certain parts of the hospital like: waiting rooms, and some recovery rooms. I do not get why they cannot go every where. I means within reason, not the surgury room, but all areas where there are patients. Resently one of my aunts was in the hospital and she has a service dog, because she is confined to a wheelchair, to help her around the house. They have been together for a long time now. the staff at the hospital would not allow the dog to come back to her room. This just upset both the Dog and my aunt, That she refused treatment and left the next day. I think the benifits of companion animals in the hospital out weight the bad. There has been plenty of research done that service animals help the sick patients,  like the metaly ill. It gives the patients something to look forward too besides laying in bed all day and being bored. Animals keep your brain active, therefore helping the patients that need it. I believe that service/companion animals could change the world.

During the primary research phase of my ted talk I want to hold some interviews with some of the people close to me because then I can be confident to get real and honest answers. My ted talk is a very deep and thoughtful issue that may be hard to talk to strangers about. I will look first to the people closest to me and find out there opinions about what matters most to them. After I compile a good list I will look it over and create an anonymous survey that I can send out to a few groups of people. Hopefully a multiple choice survey that will not take very long. This will give me a lot of input from all different types of people and will help diversify my project which for a large scale project like this will also make it much more credible.

Primary research is at times the hardest type of research to collect because most of the time you are not experiencing the event yourself. When it comes to primary research I tend to base my facts of newspaper articles, reliable statistics, and journal entries.  It is easier for many to use secondary and tertiary research because they are more accessible and there are almost endless amounts of resources.

My TED talk will be about teen pregnancy and the lack of teenage sexual awareness. I want to make people more aware of the consequences of teenage pregnancies. The glamourized version of what they see on television, like Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2, isn’t close to how reality is for actual teen mothers. My inspiration for this topic was my best friend, who’s like a sister to me, she found out a couple of months ago that she is pregnant. Needless to say we were both shocked, but what bothered me the most was the story of how she thought she got pregnant. It made me realize how unaware most teens are with how to use birth control properly. As my primary research, I plan to look into some statistics concerned with teen pregnancy rates. I plan on conducting interviews with my best friend and other friends that are already in parenthood.  Conducting surveys will not help me much so I do not think I’ll be using that kind of primary research. I already have a list of observations that I noted while I was back at home and spent time with my best friend.

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