Travel Courses

I would like to participate in one of the interim travel course. After hearing the students the stories from the students that took the opportunity to travel I became super interested. In order to go one of these trips I would need to take a class in order to learn about the culture of the place I would be visiting. This class would be taken in the fall of the year I would be traveling and I believe I would need to journal while on the trip also. But as opposed to the other travel course opportunities the interim trips are a lot shorter in time, which is a pro for me because I would not want to be gone for say, a whole semester. Also this trip has a lot more relax time and just fun, not as much work and schooling.

Personal Mission Statement Part II

My personal mission statement has not changed nor altered. I still live my life by these missions I have made for myself. I believe I have been successful in performing many of them, and plan to continue doing so all my life, eventually maybe altering or tweaking or even adding some, but they are a good concrete base for me.

I will strive for personal best in all aspects of my life. 

I will be a good role model, for my family, friends and community members.

I will stand for anything and everything I believe in.

I will be remembered for my integrity. 

 In order to fulfill these I will come back to them on a regular basis to remind me of the things that I believe in and stand for. Every time I revisit this Personal Mission Statement it reminds me to keep up what I'm doing and live by whats important to me.

Involvement in the Community 

To get involved in the campus/community service I could be to apply for Americorps. I previously applied and got accepted, I was informed of all of the different volunteering opportunities around the community and on campus. I am aware of the opportunities at the storm lake elementary and middle schools. Now that soccer season is over, I plan on taking part in some of those volunteer options. 

Finance Spending Log

Looking back at my Finance Spending Log, I realize that I spent the most money at Walmart on things that I could essentially live without. Our of the $77 spent that week, $57 of it was spent on items that were not a necessity. The other $30 of it was spent of items such as food or gifts. I feel as if the portion of it was a good way to spend my money, however the first portion of it was not. I realized that I could be a little more cautious when it comes to spending unnecessary amounts of money on material items. Ever since my experience with keeping a finance log I have been more aware of the money I have been spending and what I spend it on.

The 90-10 Rule

My mom taught me how to simply 'pick my battles' early in my pre-teenage years. She noticed that I would get extremely upset over numerous situations that weren't worth getting upset over in the first place. Once this rule was introduced to me, my stress level decreased because I was no longer freaking out over every little thing. I learned to let the little things slide and only make notice out of the big things. This rule applies to me a lot since I have arrived at college. Being at college and on your own you have to learn how to get along with the people you associate with everyday. This would be hard if you were to be up tight about every little thing. So like the book suggests, if I really don't care where me and my friend go to eat that night, I will simply go with the flow. I will do so until something that i really care about comes up and giving that I have gone with everything else up to that point, I am more opt to get my way on that said thing. 

The 90-10 Rule is a great thing and for the most part I believe it works the majority of the time.

A Typical Day In The Life Of Tori Carson 

 Yesterday I started my day off by sleeping in, this made me extremely happy because I really enjoy sleep.(10)

 

Then I got woke up by a phone call from my grandmother which really upset me because as I established earlier.. I ENJOY SLEEP! (2)

 

I then went to brunch with my friends and I ate a lot, this made me really happy because I was around people who I enjoy not to mention I was eating. Eating is my second favorite hobby...next to sleep. (9)

 

After I ate I went to the laundry room to do laundry and work on some homework, it made me feel very productive. (7) 

 

Then I took a nap (10)

 

After my nap I woke up and rearranged my room, it was a lot of hard work but I enjoyed the outcome, so it was worth it. (6)

 

Once my room was rearranged I went to the underground with friends to play a couple games of pool before heading to the grill to get some late night fries (yum yum) (I told you I love food) (10)

Then I went to my best friends room and watched a movie (8)

Afterwards I spent time with my other best friend until bedtime (11) 

Based on my findings.... I am typically happy all throughout my day, but especially when I am A.) sleeping B.) spending time with friends C.) Eating 

To increase my happiness I should spend as much time as possible with the people who make me the happiest ;)

My Future Profession

In the future, I plan on being a criminal investigator. I will answer some questions about this profession below:

1. How is this work important?: This work is important because if criminal behavior happens the case needs to be solved before another act of the same kind is committed by the same person/persons

2. What can I contribute?: (I'm not sure what this question is asking)

3. What excites me?: The challenge of solving a important case, studying all of the details and clues leading up to the crime and finding justice

4. How can this work challenge me in an ongoing way?: I will be challenged by always learning new  techniques of investigation

5. Would I do this work even if I didn't get paid?: YES! 

6. How does this address my passions?: My passion is helping others

7. Would I think about my work even when I'm not working?: yes, I would always be thinking about it, I've heard a saying "Crime Never Sleeps" 

8. Does this work make me feel proud?: yes, finding justice would make me feel proud and accomplished because someones family is out there praying for justice.

9. Can I achieve excellence at this?: yes, one can achieve excellence in everything they do

10. Can i forge a true friendship with the other people who work here?: Yes, we all would know very confidential information that we are not allowed to discuss with anyone outside the work force so that could bind a friendship within itself.

San Louis Vs Cedar Rapids 

 If I could name something that I would like to see change in my hometown it would be the trust issue. After hearing that in San Louis you can trust virtually anybody I feel as if Cedar Rapids would be a much happier place if that was the case. However it is not, one can rarely completely trust their next door neighbor, let alone a stranger they've never met. Also, I really liked the fact that the residents of San Louis do a lot of walking and biking instead of driving in cars. In Cedar Rapids we are known to get into our car and drive to the gas station to get a candy bar that is not even a half of a block away. I feel as if I would be happier if i spent less time driving in a car while home, and more time walking or on my bike.

Happiness in Singapore 

I got "Getting There" for my score on the Happiness quiz. I do not personally agree with this due to the fact that I feel that I am happy. To don't think I need to do anything to improve my happiness because I personally believe that I am as happy as I can be.

Left To Tell

What intrigued me: The power of prayer throughout this book intrigued me the most. Illibagiza was able to survive through a mass murder by sheer belief within the Lord.

What surprised me: It really surprised me that so many hutu's were willing to help the tutsi's knowing that their lives were in jeopardy if they were found to be hiding a tutsi. Pastor Murinizi was brave enough to hide many tutsi women in his home and feed them throughout the genocide. Also the person that had hidden her brother for a while until he had been betrayed.

What disturbed me: The most disturbing thing to me about this book was the fact that they were literally trying to exterminate all tutsi's as if they were animals instead of human beings. The killers laughed, joked and sang songs while slaughtering people of their country because they were different. The taking of innocent lives is disturbing beyond words. 

Happiest Person I Know

My mother is one of the happiest people I know. She is from the NE side of Cedar Rapids Iowa and works as a project engineer specialist at Rockwell Collins as well as a single mother of two daughters. She comes home from work and enjoys the night either sitting at home talking and playing games with her children or at sporting events for their school or club teams. When the kids go to bed she lays in bed and reads her book because she has a passion of reading for pleasure.

My Home Town

I am from the second largest city in Iowa, Cedar Rapids. The people from my city seem to vary in happiness levels. Some people are rather happy, I would say probably 9 out of 10, however there are also many people who are unfortunate when it comes to happiness. I feel as if the basic needs are the contributing factor to happiness in Cedar Rapids. If you have a home in a good neighborhood, have the necessary variety of food, clothes and education then the happiness levels seem to be higher than those who aren't as fortunate.

My Favorite Procrastination Activity

Sleep! I love to sleep. If there is something that needs to get done I put it off by taking a "little cat nap"," unfortunately  my cat naps tend to last 2, 3, or sometimes even 4 hours. Then I wake up, sometimes feeling more tired than before I napped and still never end up getting the task done. If I cut naps out of my daily schedule I would be super woman for ever thing that I need to do.

The one thing that can bring an instant smile to my face, whenever, wherever <3

Proactive Thinking

In order to be proactive, one must first think proactive. In doing so i have set two goals for myself to be more proactive about things and have also stated what I will do in order to achieve these goals.

1.) In the next month I will be proactive about: Improving my math skills/grade

          I will be proactive about this by: Studying more and getting a tutor

               I made this a goal because: I have come to the realization that people are here to help me so I need to take advantage of the opportunities 

2.) In the next month I will be proactive about: Taking care of my wrist while it is healing

          I will be proactive about this by: Doing the necessary physical therapy once my cast is off

               I made this a goal because: I am usually very adamant about doing P.T. stretches but I need to be open to doing whatever will heal my injury

Mate 'Must-Haves'

 After taking the Mate preference quiz online I learned a lot about what I look for in the opposite sex when thinking of pursuing a relationship with that individual.  Some things that were brought up were absolutely necessary traits that one must  possess to maintain a healthy relationship, others were not as important, and some, not at all. 

Top 3 most important qualities to me were:

1. Dependable character

2. Desire for home and children

3. Emotional stability and maturity

Top 3 least important qualities:

1. Chasity

2. Good Looks

3. Similar Political Background

As we grow and mature different qualities have different levels of importance to us. This may change as I age, or they may stay the same. Only time and experience will tell.

 

 

Your Money Or Your Life

Are there ways you are currently spending your money that you value a lot? What are they?

-yes, there are many ways in which I have been spending my money in ways that I value, such as buying gifts for my family and loved ones to see the thankfulness and joy that it brings to them

Are there ways you are spending your money that you could cut back on? What are they and how could you do it?

- yes! shopping is my weakness but I could definitely benefit by cutting back in the amount of clothes that I buy for my personal use. It would save a lot of money and time if I were to reduce the spending on non-worthwhile materials such as clothes, shoes and purses.

Personal Mission Statement

I will strive for personal best in all aspects of my life. 

I will be a good role model, for my family, friends and community members.

I will stand for anything and everything i believe in.

I will be remembered for my integrity.

5 Core Values 

The list below are the top five things that I believe are the most important in my life as well as to why I view them so importantly. The values that I live by and turn to if I am ever in doubt.

1. Honesty. If you are honest, with both yourself as well as others then neither you nor other people will ever need to second guess you nor your actions.

 2. Family. Family acts as ones built-in security blanket, or leaning posts. While being fully supported in whatever I choose to do I know that whether success or failure, my family is behind me 100% and I do the same for each of them. 

 3. Goal Orientation: By having a set goal, whether it be a short term goal or a lifelong goal, it keeps me focused on what needs to be done to eventually fulfill the dream of reaching my goal.

 4.  Trust: I believe trust is the basic concept of life in any given situation. Trust builds relationships of any kind and strengthens bonds. If you are trustworthy you will be associated with people you can trust in return.

5.  Respect: Respect to others as well as yourself is one of the most valued morals to most people. Respectful people earn respect from others a lot easier than those who are not. It tends to be extremely important considering the fact that respect must be earned, it is not given.  

Heyy it's Tori! I'm super excited to start this class it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm a happy person that cant wait to learn about the different perspectives that make up the concept of happiness! Let the learning and fun begin!

 Generation WTF