Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Academic Day!

Early last week my school gave us a day off. However, we still were given plenty to do instead of going to classes. We were required to attend at least two different sessions of an academic conference. Now, before last week I was not certain to what an academic conference was or what was in store for me. With that said, I still signed up for the conferences that I assumed would be best fit for me. After going to them, I believe I made the right decisions. Out of about the ten or so congruent sessions that were offered I attended two. The first session I went to was called "Doubt: What to do with our Uncertainties". Although, I do wish I got a little more out of this session then I did, I still found it to be wildly worthwhile. The next session I went to, and the one I felt suited me well, was "Success in the Purchase Driven Life". The past year or so, I have been truly trying to limit my spending. Not necessarily to save money, although one could argue that saving money is a great reason to limit spending, but I did it more for myself. I like to think of myself as a low-maintenance person; I don't need all that much to get by. At the same time, I look at all the "stuff" I own and I wonder why I have so much. As a college student there are certain things that I need. I need a cell phone to call home every now and again, I need a laptop to complete homework on time and to email professors, and of course I need a coffee maker so I can have to energy to stay up late and wake up early to finish all that said homework. However, do I need an i-Phone, a Mac Book Pro, and a Keurig coffee maker? No, of course I don't, but I own those things nonetheless. After listening to a lecture about how rich we, as Americans, all really are; it truly makes me think. How lucky are we to be born where we were, to have the life we do now, to be able to go to school, drive in cars, have health care, and be literate? I have been blessed, and it is something I take for granted every single day. I hate myself for it.

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