Which type of water

    You would think, water is water, what is the difference between different brands? You would be in for a world of suprises if you thought that. I know people in my life that refuse to drink different types of water and certain brands, and would rather die of dehydration than drink spring water over purified water. This leads me into the different varities of water. I really did not know that there were so many until I started working in retails. They range from Mineral Water, to Distilled Water, to Alkaline Water. There is flavored water. spring water, sparkling water. Nine different types in fact. 

    Now what exactly are the differences? Most of the time, it is obvious what is inside of them. Mineral water has exactly that, minerals. Spring water is water that comes from an underground source that rises to the surface, aka a spring. Sparkling water is just carbonated water, which "sparkles". Distilled water is just water that has everything stripped from it. It is just simply water, with no additives. Purified water is virtually the same thing as the latter, except it does have some minerals in it. Flavored water, is exactly that, flavored water. Lastly, there is alkaline water, which has a higher purity level than any other water and "can neutralize acid in your bloodstream", suppousidly being the healthiest.

    I have had all of these, and they virtually all taste the same, except for flavored and sparkling water, as the carbonation and flavoring change the taste. Sparkling has got to be the absoulte worst kind, as it just drinking bubbles. I love flavored water however. But other than those two, they are replicas, even if they have different components. As mentioned before however, I have friends who refuse to drink Ice Mountain Spring water, and almost throw up thinking about it, just because it is not purified. I really do not know how people think that water is nasty (apart from sparkling of course).

Au Bon Pain

     One of the greatest places known to mankind on North Central College's campus, is a little place called Au Bon Pain. Open Monday through Friday from 7 AM until 5 PM (with the exception of Fridays closing at 4:30 PM). This is one of four spots to get food on campus, and it is arguably the best tasting there is through the meal plan. You can either spend your own money at this spot, through cash or a credit/debit card, or you can use your "Bonus Bucks" as a student. Which is money you obtain through your meal plan that is automatically added to your student ID at the beginning of every semester. Each meal plan has a different amount of Bonus Bucks. I have the one consisting of the most, with $700 worth of bonus bucks to spend not only at Au Bon Pain (ABP), but also at other locations on campus such as the Cage and the Café.
 
    Back to why this is the greatest place on campus. Every morning, I wake up, do my morning routine of taking a while to get out of bed, shower, etc. Then I head over to ABP and get my usual of a Turkey and Cheddar sandwich, with bacon and mayo. Sounds a little odd, but it is one of the best things they got on their menu. I walk in and they say, "Hey Cooper, you want your usual?" because I go there so much. Typically, I only go here for breakfast. Monday through Friday, getting my same sandwich and occasionally an energy drink. Lunch and Dinner I am elsewhere. 

    Right around 9 AM is when the rush starts to come in, so I always get there before that. There is a long line, almost out the door, and the small area becomes packed, like sardines in a can. That is one downside, but the taste of the food combats that. I am glad that this place is staying even with the departure of Chartwell's next year, because I do not know what I would do without it.

What is Matter?

     I have been in a variety of classes over my academic career. From AP History classes, to Finite Mathematics, to my favorite, gym classes. None however, have been as interesting as one that I have enrolled in during my Spring 2023 Semester. It is called, "What is Matter?". Reading the name of the course, I knew that it was a little different from the start. The true reason that I took the class was due to the fact it knocked my science credits out of the way without having to do any labs. It was a very enticing to say the least.

    Me and my roommate decided to take the course together so we could both see what it was like. The course description reads this, "Western ideas of matter proceed from the Pre-Socratics through Aristotle, medieval scholastic-Aristotelianism and alchemy before being reshaped by the views enunciated by Bacon, which herald new practices and ideas (mathematization, experimentation, and mechanism). Through texts, experiments and observations developed from ancient to modern times, we see a shift in fundamental questions, particularly regarding the nature of matter. Through historical accounts of the transition, we come to distinguish between the ancient project to understand the world and the modern project to predict and control it." I really had zero clue what this meant and just went in blind to the first class.

    I walk into the classroom, and its just one table. 12 chairs. In a circle. It was very interesting and I knew what this was going to be like. Every class we talk about a reading that we did before class, regarding the history of science. In addition to this, we also have to write a 250 word reading journal about the reading. It is a very demanding class where you constantly have to read. I thought I would breeze through this, but it is my most difficult class this semester. And not to help, all our readings are primary sources, from the 1st to 18th century. This is a class I would recommend only to those who have a deep interest in the history of science and how it has advanced. But remember, no labs.

Freewriting

     Freewriting is something that is taken advantage of. It is an under rated and under appreciated method of writing that just provides the ability for you to clear your head. If you have no one to talk to about an issue, write it down. That is always a method to release some steam. It is almost as if you are ranting to someone and not just a piece of blank paper. However, I personally struggle with freewriting.

    It is something that is relatively easy to do, in a way. If you have an idea, then it is easy to just write your heart away, but what if you don't? It's difficult when you have nothing in your mind to write about. If you are tasked with a free write, and have nothing to write about, I personally do not see a point in free writing. When my mind is blank, and I attempt to think of ideas, I find that it just becomes blanker and blanker. Filled with less and less ideas, as there was not much to begin with, then I think about how I already wrote about a topic that is in my mind, then have no desire to write about it again. 

     I wonder if there is a way for me to combat this. I guess just not caring and writing about what I don't want to any way. Maybe while doing so, I will find something new. Freewriting is something I hope to continue to do. It has previously been a place to not just let of steam, as mentioned before, but find new ideas that I can bring to light.

     

Florida

    Over spring break, I travled to St. Leo Florida with the North Central College Men's and Women's golf team. As a freshman on the team, it was something I was looking forward to so I could make a name for myself on the team as a solidified starter. Towards the end of our Fall season, I ended up on the starting 6 roster and this gave me this chance to travel to Florida with the team. 

    One of the primary reason's I was excited for this, was just the simple fact that I got to play golf for an entire week and worry about nothing else. Wake up, hit some golf balls, get into a cart, go play 18, come back and just hang out. It made me think about retired life. Is that how retried people in Florida live? Do they just wake up, play golf, and do nothing all day? That is something I am looking forward too. The course we played at was much better than anything in Illinois during this time of year. It was in great shape. It was difficult too, the greans were hard to putt on and the wing was howling most of the time..

    Unfortunatley, I did not perform as well as I wanted to. I was the lowest score on the team one day, however it was still a score I wanted to be much lower. I had the potential to shoot very low but was just unable to execute. Yet this did not hold me back from having a good time, listening to music in my cart, and spending time with my teammates. This is a trip I will not forget soon and hopefully I get to go back next year and improve my game.

Importance of Chipping Away

       Stacking up your work load over weeks and weeks and weeks is never a bright idea. It is similar to holding in emotions so they all burst out at once. You never want to do that with work. You should always work at, or chip away, piece by piece, some of your work load. There are many benefits to it, and it is something that can easily be accomplished by using external tools.

    To start, you should have some version of a planner. It can be a physical planner, or just a document where you outline what you need to do, however you should have one. Write down what you need to do, and just start doing them, once you complete something, cross it off the list and boom, it is over. That work is done. One more thing is off your plate. I always write down something I need to do as soon as I learn I need to get it done, this helps to not procrastinate the subject and have it over with.

    Now why do this? Well of course, it helps get tasks off of your plate and completed so you no longer have to worry about them. However, they give you confidence and productivity. You could be struggling with mental health, and getting a couple items off of your plate can help those struggles and put you onto a better path. Just chipping away a day at a time saves time and stress so you can be more productive throughout your day and it generates a good habit to keep for the rest of your life.

Car Crash

    If you have ever been in a car crash before you know how scary it can be. Even the smallest fender bender can give you some post tramatic stress for a few weeks. I know I had some when I got into my crash last year in feburary. It was almost a year ago. My car was deemed totalled. On the plus side, I got to drive around my dads car for a month while he drove the rental since I am not yet 25 and am unable to drive a rental. 

    It was just another day driving to high school. I take an alternate route than everyone else because I get there much quicker even if it is a little bit of a longer distance. It is a two lane road, one lane traveling in each direction with a yellow lane marker in the middle dividing the two lanes. I got to the intersection where I turn off the street, left onto the road my school is located on, 248th Avenue. I was sitting in the left lane waiting for the light to turn green, once it did I crept up into the middle of the intersection to turn on the solid green light once traffic passed. I looked back in my rearview mirror as I saw a car approaching through my peripheral vision. And boom, they crashed into me just like that.

    They rear ended the back of my car, completely altering the bumper, trunk, and the rear frame. As soon as they crashed into me I told the girl I drove to school to call the police and I got out to check on the driver. He was dead asleep at the wheel. I thought he was knocked unconcious but after yelling at him seeing if he was okay a few times he slowly woke up. He crawled out of his window and admitted that he was sleeping. He was going around 40 mph when he struck the rear of my car. No one was injured though. The police came to write a report and deemed him at fault. On the court date, he did not show up and I learend this was he third crash in a few months. The state put a warrant out for his arrest for failing to appear. 

    Although getting into a crash is never good, it was a good thing to experienece for the better. I am very observent of my surroundings more now, than I was then, and take more precautions. On the bright side of it, I didn't have to pay for my new car, it was his insurance that did. I never thought someone would crash into me because they were asleep.