Research Papers /:

The hardest part about research for me has been whether or not a source is reliable and citing my sources the correct way. Library Research I think focused a lot on plagiarism to the point where I am a mixture of both being afraid to plagiarize and I've become more cautious about the stuff I’ve found for my research papers. The class was pretty helpful but sometimes I think that it was hard for the class to determine the difference in some of the situations because they were so tricky. I guess if you have any doubt about whether or not a source is reliable you probably shouldn't use it. Plagiarism has been such a huge issue now and I think that it is important that we all take a class at my age or even a younger age because once you get to college they do not mess around and your entire college career and future is down the drain. I am still pretty confused common knowledge stuff because the example was something about George Washington's birthday being common knowledge but I didn't even know his birthday. I am also confused because if we have to cite everything that we learn then am I supposed to cite all of my teachers or even my Kindergarten teacher that taught me how to write. I do understand the point of giving credit to the person that deserves it but I believe that their idea probably originally came from something someone said that's how opinions are formed.  

Technology

I believe that we I am a part of a generation that depends on technology, we have progressed so much, but I wonder at what cost. I contribute to this problem, it's so much easier for me to text my family and friends or to Facebook them rather than go visit or sit down and have a conversation with them. I live during an era that has become quite lazy in the sense that the obesity rate is increasing and the fact that most teenagers spend majority of their time on the Internet. In reply to the comment, "Since everything is on the Internet, I don't need books . . . right?" I disagree, books are filled with knowledge. I think that research is easier when going through books because you don't have to constantly worry about whether or not the source is credible. People are allowed to put whatever they want on the Internet, with books there is a publishing process and many people have probably reviewed the book thousands of times. I think that books will always be around because we need them to study and we need them to research different subjects. There are even books on the internet but there are ways like on Wikipedia where people are allowed to change things, and something could be a really good story but one minor detail and it ruins all of your research and you are unable to use that source. I love technology but I wish we didn't rely on it so heavily.
               

Librarians and the future

I think that librarians are resources. Librarians are very vise and smart, they know where everything is and the really good ones have summaries of a book you're looking for. They have to remember where the book is shelved and they have to follow that really weird system. They can measure your reading level and can tell you if a certain book is going to be too difficult. Librarians are in the library to maintain peace, so that everyone can further their knowledge. Whenever I think of librarians I remember my own school library from elementary school she taught me that reading was like exercise for the brain and that reading wasn't only for school, it was a part of everyday life. It's crazy to think that we would be completely lost if we didn't know how to read, we wouldn't know when to cross certain streets or take certain exits, it would be impossible. It would be cool if librarians started to enjoy their job a little bit more, librarians are the first people we see when we walk into a library and they will give us our lasting impression whether or not to come back or not. In the future I think that the library will be electronic. I believe that we are becoming a generation that solely depends on technology. I don't think technology can really replace people so I know that there will always be librarians. I think librarians will start communicating with people through computers, I know that there already some librarians that offer help if someone just e-mails them.

What I hope to study when I go to college

When I go to college I hope to study something in the medical field. Although I do not really know what I want to study and I'm as undecided as they come, there's something absolutely fascinating to me about the medical field. I have a thirst for knowledge when it comes to stuff like finding a cure for cancer and HIV/AIDS and different infectious diseases. I like knowing why things happen the way that they do. I want to change lives or even just one. The pre-collegiate program is helping me out because I’m so unsure about the future and when I first came into this program I wasn’t even sure if I wanted a future in the healthcare but overtime I’ve realized that I do want something in the medical field. The pre-collegiate so far has been hard because it’s nothing like high school. I get to see first-hand what college life is like. I hope that this program will help me choose one of the many parts throughout the medical field. What I really want from this program is to become more prepared for what the future has in store for me whether it’s the medical field or if it’s just college.  My ultimate goal is to be happy with whatever career path that I choose. I believe there are too many unhappy people out there and their jobs have lost meaning. I’m going to be spending valuable time, it might as well be something that I enjoy doing.