Month: November 2022

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Artemis Mission Launches

After four cancelled attempts at a launch, NASA’s Artemis I mission finally successfully launched on November 16th, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 12:47 AM Central Time.

This launch signifies a new era of manned spaceflight, with the ultimate goal to have a base on the moon, as the United States and various other countries attempt to solidify their presence in space.

The Artemis program is a series of ongoing space missions that will be run by NASA in the coming months and years.

Artemis I tested the most powerful rocket ever built, The Space Launch System, which generated over 8 million pounds of thrust during its liftoff. That is over 1.3 million pounds more powerful than the Saturn V rocket that was used for the Apollo missions in the mid 20th century.

The Space Launch System powers the Orion Capsule, which will take a 25 day journey to navigate the moon and surrounding areas. It is meant to test the capsule to its limits, as it will hold precious human lives. The capsule is projected to land somewhere off the coast of San Diego, California in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.

Although it is just a test flight, and an unmanned mission, Artemis I is an extremely serious endeavour. Humans have not been to the moon in over half a century. This new ‘space race’ will bring in billions if not trillions of dollars to economies of countries all over the globe.

NASA used mannequins to simulate the humans that will eventually be on board. They collected crucial data that will be used to ensure the safety of the astronauts when the second and third phases launch.

Artemis mission manager, Michael Sarafin admitted to running into various problems that did not match their predictions in terms of how the equipment has functioned, along with the data they have collected thus far.

An example of this is the Orion capsule’s star tracker, an intricate system that uses a map of the cosmos to tell the engineers of NASA on the ground how the capsule is oriented in space itself. Various data readings were not coming back as the crew had expected. However, NASA officials said it was simply part of the learning curve that comes every time with flying a new type of spacecraft.

“We had an understanding of the system headed into the mission. We had predictions whether it was how much power would we consumed or how much propellant or how hot the vehicle would be — and we’re not exactly matching that. And in most cases it is performing better. We’re seeing things that don’t quite match our predictions. And the team is spending the time to go through that with a fine-tooth comb to make sure that there isn’t something else there that is potentially a latent issue.” Safarin said.

There are three Artemis missions that NASA currently has in progress: Artemis I, an unmanned test flight, that will circle and fly past the Moon, collecting data and pictures simultaneously. Artemis II will be a crewed flight, and will take them beyond the Moon, and will take humans the furthest they’ve ever been in space. Artemis III will be the final leg of the program, in which NASA will land the first female astronaut, and first astronaut of color on the Moon. The crew plans to collect extensive data, and will spend approximately a week performing scientific studies on the lunar surface. Artemis III will be the first manned lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.

NASA’s long-term goals for the Artemis program are even more ambitious. They plan to use the knowledge, technology and research developed during the flights of Artemis to inform their eventual launch of a crewed mission to Mars in the coming decades.

In order to accomplish this grand feat, they plan to establish a long term presence on the moon, and create a lunar base. They will use this base to mine materials from the lunar surface, and transport astronauts as they embark on the journey to the distant planet, as well as to and from the International Space Station. It will serve as a ‘space hotel’ of sorts, and will be a rest stop for space travelers.

This base will also be used to transport large amounts of materials mined in asteroids. This is a ways away, but there is nearly an infinite amount of resources in asteroids just waiting to be mined, humans just merely lack the means to access them. There are certain asteroids that contain quintillions of dollars worth of materials, such as Iron, Nickel, Platinum, and many more.

Some say there is enough money in asteroids to make every person on Earth a billionaire. The base on the moon will make that fantasy slightly more realistic in the decades to come, and it all began on November 16th with the launch of Artemis I.

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State of the Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars schedule 2022: Opponents, release date, strength of schedule, and more

Most things in life don’t come easy. You must work hard and build success through trial and error. Starting an expansion franchise in the NFL is no different. Teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks struggled to get things on the right path when it came to winning football games when they were first established. However, for some team’s things fall into place without really expecting it. The story of the Jacksonville Jaguars is the perfect example of this.
The late 1990s were great for the Jaguars organization. In only their second season of being a franchise, the Jaguars made it to the AFC Championship, where they fell to the eventual Super Bowl runner-up New England Patriots. Led by rising star quarterback Mark Brunel, and the untouchable receiver duo of Kenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith, the Jacksonville Jaguars had the best record in the AFC in 1999, going 14-2 throughout the regular season, losing only to the new-look Tennessee Titans who had just relocated from Houston Texas. The trend would continue as the Jaguars were set to appear in their first Superbowl. Unfortunately, the team they would face in their second AFC Championship birth would be the team that handed them their only two losses all season.
Following the turn of the century, the Jaguars organization really struggled to find an identity in professional football. The team of the 90s would eventually disappear as the years went on, and the replacement players would not continue that same type of success that happened before. The Jaguars would only make the playoffs three times after 1999, reaching yet another AFC Championship in 2017, where they would fall to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. Many thought this was the start of something new in Jacksonville, as their defense was considered one of the league’s best.
Unfortunately, this would be the last time the organization would make the playoffs.
Nowadays, the Jacksonville Jaguars are still one of the bottom-tier teams in the NFL.
Run by owner Shad Khan and general manager Trent Balkie, the Jags have consistently been at the top of the draft board and have really struggled to build a winning culture. There have been a few reasons for this. Unfortunately, the organization’s location is one of these factors, as Jacksonville has never been a huge NFL market. The other main reason they have struggled is poor draft selections.
For most fans, the years of struggling seemed to be over when the team acquired a generational talent in Trevor Lawrence. Since the Mark Brunel years, the Jaguars have only sent one quarterback to the NFL’s version of the all-star game, the pro bowl. This player was former East Carolina product David Gerard, who Jacksonville drafted in the fourth round in 2002. Since then, the Jaguars have gone through a carousel of quarterbacks. Nowadas, the Jaguars have shown flashes of having a star quarterback in Lawrence, but the young QB is still developing.
Going back to Trevor, the Jaguars selected him first overall in the 2020 NFL draft with high hopes of becoming a successful franchise once again. The team also drafted his college teammate and highly touted running back Travis Etn to help give Trevor a running back with which he has strong chemistry. Unfortunately, Etn would get injured in the 2020 preseason, and Trevor would have to play his rookie season alone. This would be a rough start for the rookie QB, as Lawrence’s first season as a Jaguar would be one to forget. By the end of the 2021 season, he would throw only 12 touchdowns to a league-tying 17 interceptions.
After the end of a rough season, the casual Jaguar fan might have given up on Trevor; however, those that followed the team throughout 2021 know that there was more. Before the start of Trevor’s rookie year, the Jaguars hired former Ohio State coach Urban Myer to take the reins of the Jags. This coaching hire failed horribly as Urban could not motivate the team and, more than anything, disrespected the organization. Players didn’t like him, and fans for sure had their own issues. Urban would cause many problems, such as kicking the Jag’s placekicker in the leg before he was let go by the Jaguar’s front office.
While 2021 was a challenging year for the Jags, the team ended 2021 with a win over divisional opponent the Indianapolis Colts knocking them out of playoff contention. Many thought the best was yet to come following multiple free agent picks and, ultimately, the hiring of former super bowl winning coach Doug Peterson. Unfortunately, the losing has continued as the team has only accumulated three wins so far this season. Things seem bleak right now, but there is still time, as Trevor is only 23 years old. While the record doesn’t show it, coaching has been better, and Trevor has shown slight improvement overall as a player, so there is no reason to give up entirely on this team.

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Fate of the Future, Chapter 3

A large shadowy thing broke on the horizon. It looked like an old battleship from my textbook. There is some sort of metal rope that connected my boat to the ship. When I get close enough, a large mechanism grabs my boat and pulls me up. I stumble off the boat, hands and knees on the wooden floor.

On deck, there are many people sitting around, talking to each other. The nearest guy is my age and is holding some sort of controller. “Ah, the lady of the hour arrives, welcome.” He bows jestingly.

He has goggles on his forehead. A black leather vest with a white undershirt adorned his abdomen and he has long pants that have a black, white, and gray pattern I had seen on soldiers in textbook photos with matching black boots as well. His skin is also a different olive color and he looks different than me. I suppose he is a different race? I had read about in the texts but everyone was ‘white’ where I am from.  He had messy apple red hair that look completely different than mine and his eyes are a beautiful acid green. He had many bracelets with metal pins and chains with leathery materials.

He holds his hand out and I take it, having him pull me up. “I’m Mesa, ma’m. Welcome to… uh, well we’ll be on land in… soon.” He scratches the back of his head while I dust myself off. “Mesa? Do you have a number?” I ask. He breaks out into a grin, muttering, “A minute on deck and she already asks for my number…” He then clears his throat, “Right, you are from an oceanic science city, so you were named on a number syste-” Before he could finish another girl runs up from behind him. She smiles when she sees me.

She was also in her twenties, slightly older than me. She had long dandelion yellow hair and bright blue eyes. There were things covering her ears like some sort of earmuffs that were a red color and they had some sort of cord connecting them to something in her pocket. She was also differently skinned. Her’s was darker than Mesa, more of a light sepia color. I found her extremely pretty. She had a white, flowy shirt like mine, but without any straps. She also had form fitting pants of a light blue. Many necklaces adorned her, all varying in lengths.

I look at her, “I’m guessing you picked my outfit?” She smiles, “Yes, and lemme say, you wear it well!” She walks circles around me gleefully, “Oh, you’re so gorgeous!” She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Before I start fangirling, my name is Natalie. We should probably be thinking of a name for you, and make other arrangements, and… ugh! So much to do!” She huffs.

Mesa began laughing, “You’re always stressing, chill!”

I tilt my head, “But my name is 156322, why would I need to change it?” Mesa and Natalie looked at each other for a moment, “Well, you don’t have to, it was more of a suggestion.” Mesa scratches the back of his head, Natalie nods, “Yup. We just thought maybe you’d want a name that better describes you, like Ruby, or maybe someone famous from history. You don’t have to choose right now, either, take your time.”

“Ms. Rosaria! We’re almost there!” One of the other men onboard calls out. Natalie looks at him and smiles in acknowledgement. I had read about this naming system before, but I had not thought about being named that way myself. The character from old novels had names instead of numbers. A sudden thought burst into my head, “Why are you helping me anyway? It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, but you must have a reason.”

Natalie beams. “Well, you see, that’s probably something they neglected to teach you. Do you know how the oceanic cities got there?”

I shake my head. “No matter how many times I asked, either no one would tell me, or they didn’t know themselves.”

Mesa sighs. “Well, a long time ago — say a quarter to half a century or longer — a brilliant scientist came up with a way to make renewable energy that was very cheap and efficient, not to mention that it stopped polluting the environment. He found that our planet actually radiates it as a waste product and found a way to harness it.”

“In other words, he made a miraculous discovery no one thought possible,” Natalie continues as Mesa ran off to watch the ship go into port. Natalie and I walk over there as well, “except when he released this idea, he forgot to take into account the jobs that relied on the previous electric energy. Millions were out of jobs, and so a whole group of people that had worked with the gas and oil industries had nowhere to go and nothing to do.”

“So, the big companies decided to build cities on the old oil rigs and drills and whatever refineries they had. They moved the people there and decided to claim it as an oceanic nation. Up until a couple of years ago, they were peaceful. Then, we discovered from another one of the people that got out of those cities, much like what just happened with you, that they are actually trying to make biological weapons.”

Natalie took a breath, but I put my hand up to stop her, “The people of my facility are not doing such things. Not knowingly, but what the scientists there are doing could be very easily turned into a weapon.” I thought about it, only my father would know such things. He would talk to the rest of the city leaders every so often in a video meeting. It would be smart to have people work on one thing and then turn into something terrible only to have them take the fault as a rebellious city. But I also just met these people, I need validation on what they are saying.

“Anyways, back to the history lesson,” Natalie began again, “the energy is called Jares. Certain areas have more than others, but then the energy can be transmitted wirelessly. The Oceanic Country is upset because the government hasn’t recognized it as an independent country. They want their independence, their logic being that if they can’t become a country, then they will take over this one. We’re part of the army. Our government fell apart a long time ago because of debt, but the one that replaced it is better anyway.” Natalie finished.

“Guys! There’s the mainland!” Mesa called out. “Oh, I can’t wait to be back on land!”

I lean on the railing next to Mesa and look at the beautiful view. Many trees, bushes, different tall grasses, and wildlife filled my vision. “Oh, wow! So many colors!” The way the water lapped over the golden sands was gorgeous, and the little crabs scuttling over the beach. It felt like this was meant to be, like this is my destiny. There were no gods that I grew up with, science dominated religion. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel like something out there was calling me. “Destiny.”

“Sorry, what?” Mesa looks at me questioningly. I look at him and Natalie, “Call me Destiny.” Natalie jumped up and down, “I like that name! Welcome to the mainland, Destiny!”

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Social Media Recipes for College Students

Hi guys, thank you for tuning in for another week of Social Media Recipes for College Students!! I’ve heard from several of you guys in and out of class how you enjoyed the recipes that I’ve shared with you guys and I’m glad you all enjoyed them! This week, I’m going to be sharing recipes from the social media site, TikTok, since it became a fan’s favorite today. Let us jump right into it.

The first recipe I’m going to be sharing with you all is from Tiktok.

Baked Feta Pasta

The ingredients that you’ll need are:

  • dry penne pasta
  • feta cheese
  • grape tomatoes
  • garlic cloves
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • fresh parsley

First, in a baking dish, add grapes tomatoes, and garlic. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the feta block in the middle of the dish, turning it several times to coat it with oil. Next bake at 400°F for 30 minutes in the center of the preheated oven. Increase the temperature to 450°F. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the tomatoes and cheese starts to brown slightly. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a pot of salted water according to the pasta pack instructions until al dente. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Remove the feta cheese mixture from the oven. Gently crush the tomatoes, garlic, oil, and feta mixture. Add the pasta, tossing it along with the basil. Then the mixture gradually with the reserved pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Tiktok Ramen

The next recipe is Tiktok Ramen! The ingredients you’ll need are:

  • Pack of Ramen noodles
  • Egg
  • Crushed red peppers
  • Chives
  • Chopped Garlic
  • Soy Sauce
  • Butter
  • Brown Sugar

First cook your instant ramen. Put the noodles into boiling water, set a timer, use a pair of chopsticks to lose them up, and when the time is up, instantly drain them and set them aside. Next, make the sauce. In a pan, heat the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft. Stir in the crushed red pepper, then the brown sugar and soy sauce. Add the drained noodles to the pan, turn up the heat, and toss to coat. Lastly, cook the egg by pushing the noodles to one side and add an egg to the pan, and scramble until just right. Serve and add everything bagel seasoning to top it off!

Now I know I only shared lunch or dinner recipes with you guys so let’s get into some dessert.

Oreo Mug Cake

The ingredients you’ll need are:

  • Microwave-safe mug (that can hold 1 cup 3/4)
  • 6 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 Oreos lightly crushed, plus extra to top
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tbsp chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

First, pour the milk and oil into your microwave-safe mug and stir until the liquids looked mixed. off to the side mix the cocoa powder, crushed oreo, baking powder, salt, and flour in a small bowl. next, add the mix to the mug and mix until there are no lumps in the mug. sprinkle the chocolate and crushed Oreos on top of the mixture and place in the microwave for a min and 30 secs. Take out and enjoy!

Salmon and Rice Bowl

the iingredients youll need is :

  • Salmon Fillet
  • Rice (any type)
  • Soy Sauce
  • Sriracha
  • Kewpie Mayo
  • Seaweed Sheets
  • Avocado

First, add the salmon fillet to a medium frying pan and cook until well done. Add the rice to a pot or rice cook as well. Next in a bowl, shred the salmon with a fork and place the rice on top of the fillet. Place an ice cube in the middle of the rice. Cover with parchment paper and put in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. When the food is done in the microwave, remove any pieces of ice that might still be in there. Add the soy sauce, sriracha, and mayo to the mixture. Mix until everything is nicely blended. You’re done! you can use the seaweed sheets as a wrap or dipping chips!

Cinnamon roll in a Mug

The ingredients you’ll need are:

    • In a small bowl, melt the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon for about 1 minute. (Depending on how cold your butter is.) Stir well.

      • 1½ tablespoons salted butter, melted (set aside)
      • ½ cup all-purpose flour
      • ½ teaspoon baking powder
      • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
      • 3 tablespoons milk
      • ½ teaspoon vanilla
      • 1 tablespoon butter
      • ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
      • 1 tablespoon milk, (can also use heavy cream)
      • First add the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla, and melted butter to a small bowl and stir until combined. Once the dough is solid, drop onto a clean and slightly floured surface. Lightly hand-flatten the dough into a rectangle with .2 tablespoons brown sugar. Pour the filling over the dough rectangle and then roll it up into a cinnamon roll shape. Place the roll into the mug and make sure your mug is sprayed with non-stick spray or greased. Heat roll in microwave for 90 seconds. If the dough appears wet on top, it may need to heat for a few more seconds. (10 seconds increments.) If the dough appears dry then the cinnamon roll is done. You can also test with a toothpick. Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and stir sugar and milk or heavy cream together in a bowl until smooth. Pour over warm the cinnamon roll in the mug or invert the roll onto a plate and pour glaze over top and enjoy!
 Well, that’s all I have for you guys today !! Thanks for stopping by once again. 
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These Are A No!

There are obviously always going to be products that get popularized for the wrong reasons. In this post I will be talking about products that have been hyped up by the internet but aren’t good for your skin (and throwing in a few alternatives at the end).

Dr. Shah is a dermatology resident who uses his platform to educate people on skincare (doing the lord’s work)

What’s wrong here? Let’s get into it:

Amazon.com : Spascriptions Black Peel-off Mask Blackhead Remover Mask Charcoal Facial Cleansing Mask : Beauty & Personal Care

  1. Black Peel Off Masks: Yes, if you want quick results then go ahead and use these masks because they’ll give you just that. Peel off masks are in fact ripping off the dead skin cells being targeted but are also taking hair follicles and healthy skin cells along with it. Ripping off healthy skin cells is where the problems arise because it starts to mess with the natural barrier that keeps your skin clear and hydrated. Over time your skin starts to get irritated and dry in turn making your skin break out.
  2. “Sensitive Skin” Products: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read the ingredients labels when purchasing a new product. Just because something says “for sensitive skin” doesn’t mean it’s true. Sea Breeze is a perfect example of an unsafe “sensitive skin” brand because it’s an alcohol based product instead of water based. Using alcohol in skincare provides very good and fast results but regular usage dries the skin out and ruins the moisture barrier that keeps your skin safe from environmental factors and helps other products do their job.
  3. Citrus in Skincare: The fact that citrus even exists in skincare is a facepalm to the max. Just like in Dr. Shah’s video, just no. Citrus is an irritant for skin and causes breakouts and sensitivity issues in the skin and provides no actual benefit in the long-term. If there’s one thing you should absolutely stay away from, it’s citrus.

5 Pack St.Ives Naturally Clear Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub 6 Oz Each | eBay

Oh St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I still can’t believe how popular this product became. I can’t lie, I too was bamboozled to buy it, by my best friend, when this product was on its popularity rise. I quickly found out that this is a HELL NO product. Being branded as a physical exfoliant to help clear away the dead skin, you first think “ok awesome, sign me up!” but what you don’t know is that not only is it scrubbing off your dead and healthy skin cells, the shards in the product cause micro tears in your skin. These micro-tears lead to early aging and dark spots and destroy the skins moisture barrier.

Even more brands, are y’all ready?

HOT* $0.99 (Reg $7) Clean & Clear Skincare Products at Kroger | Free Stuff Finder

  1. Clean and Clear: So Clean and Clear is one of those very cheap drugstore skincare brands that has been around forever. Most of us have probably bough a product or two from the brand thinking that this could be the product that fixes whatever I’m having trouble with. It’s not! The entire product line from this brand is formulated with way too much fragrance, which just like citrus irritates the skin, and uses ingredients that are not that great, like sodium laureth sulfate and denatured alcohol. The brand as a whole is going to cause more harm than good for the skin because of the lack of quality ingredients.Grab and Go Travel Set - Mario Badescu | Ulta Beauty

Mario Badescu: Everyone has heard of this brand! If you haven’t you’re either a liar or you live under a rock. This brand was quite popular back in 2016 and 2017 because of their Rose Water Facial Spray. Mario Badescu has been discovered for using terrible ingredients in their products. There are undisclosed steroids, chemicals that can deteriorate the natural skin barrier and make it too thin . Having that much fragrance and using ingredients that lead to long-term negative results all in a single product is absolutely frightening for the skin and can cause serious irritation. On top of that, these products have been known to use denatured alcohol as well, which is seriously dehydrating to the skin’s barrier.

The part that really gets me about these brands is that people STILL USE THEM. It has been repeated by so many estheticians, skincare enthusiasts, and doctors to not use it but people just don’t care. I’m saying this from the bottom of my heart, please if you have any of the brands or products I’ve mentioned on this page, make a switch. 

I know it can be hard to listen to a college student who has to write a blog for his Electronic Writing class, so if you don’t know what to believe, here are a few professionals that can back me up:

Jackie Dymond (Esthetician)

Sources:

Blackhead Peel Off Masks: Ineffective and Harmful to Your Skin

https://incidecoder.com/products/mario-badescu-drying-lotion

Is Mario Badescu Destroying Your Skin? You’re Not Alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Night in Nashville

Have you ever dreamed of going to a city and then went and it was absolutely magical? Let me tell you about the time I went to Nashville and fell in love with the city.

I have dreamed of going to Nashville Tennessee since I was about 15 years old. I love country music, big city lights, and sparkles, but most importantly (as you’ll come to find out later) I love Broadway Street.

In May of this year, I was going through a really bad break up; my heart was broken and all I wanted to do was run away from this tiny college town. Thankfully in June, the travel Gods answered my prayers and southwest airlines was doing a deal for 40% off flights in august. My girlfriends called me, and we immediately booked our flights to Nashville for August 17 – 21. The price was SO great I didn’t even mind waiting two months. Just the thought of knowing I was going was enough to hold me over.

Two weeks before my friends and I leave a couple of our guy friends decided to tag along and were able to get on the same flight as us. The night before our 5 am flight my dad decided to get into a major accident that crushed his pelvis, leaving me to decide whether I was going to catch my flight or go be with him. Thankfully he was able to talk to me into still going to Nashville once I knew he was taken care of. The next day rolled around and by 5 o’clock in the morning we were boarding our plane in Austin soon to be in Tennessee!

Stepping off the plane into the fresh Nashville air was almost electric. We grabbed our bags hopped into an uber and 15 minutes later we had arrived at our hotel. We were all so tired after our morning flight that we passed out for a few hours so we could wake up feeling refreshed.

We were staying on the street right after Broadway so luckily everything was within walking distance. We all got ready in the cutest outfits and took a walk to get some food. While we were walking, we saw a sweet little brunch spot named Milk & Honey. Their food was absolutely amazing, their drinks were so fresh, and their service was great. A couple stores from the restaurant is a boutique named Kittenish and it is a company started by Jesse James Decker a famous country music singer. The girls and I went CRAZY in this store. The quality of product is amazing in not only clothes but accessories as well and the prices are very fair. After that, we took a quick walk to Kristen Cavallari’s jewelry store and let me just say it is stunning in person. Her jewelry ranges from simple and dainty to thick pieces but each item is gorgeous. We then walked around some more and then went back to the hotel to rest before getting ready for dinner.

Our first dinner in Nashville was at the graduate which is a restaurant dedicated to Dolly Parton. It was absolutely magical! There was pink everywhere and it was just so fun and cute inside. The food and drinks were not the best and it was definitely over prices, but at the same time we were paying for the experience, so it wasn’t too bad in our minds.

Once dinner was done, we walked down to a local bar and had some drinks while listening to live music. The music scene is just impeccable there, we saw everything from country to saxophone playing. We then ended up on Broadway and this where you want to be in Nashville.

The night life is unreal, its almost like a bigger cleaner version of Austin. We went to Miranda Lambert’s bar which is all pink at the top and has a fun platform section. Kid Rock has a three-story bar that was absolutely too much fun. My personal favorites are Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean’s bars because they’re right next to each other, but they connect at the top for an ultimate good time! The bartenders are fast, the drinks are good, and the vibe is right there.

Once the bars were closing, we decided to treat ourselves to the Taco Bell Cantina that serves alcohol in their slushies. If you have never had an alcoholic Baja blast freeze, you are truly missing out. It was the best way to end our first night in Nashville.

The next morning, we had a little bit of a late start but not to worry because day two of this trip was probably my favorite. We started out by walking to this place named the Gulch where there’s a bunch of different restaurants and shopping. We decided to get breakfast at this place named Biscuit Love and their name does not disappoint. Their biscuits were better than any homemade ones I’ve ever had. We then did some more shopping and eventually ended up at the country music hall of fame.

The entire trip was a little bit of rinse, wash, and repeat but it was amazing. We went to midtown and listened to some jazz music and even tried local bakeries that were so delicious. This actually led us to the downtown chick fil a which had chicken wings that made my life complete.

Moral of the story, I am in love with Nashville, and I encourage any one and everyone to go!

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Surviving the sick, without mom and dad.

It is officially flu season in Texas and it seems like every corner you turn someone else tests positive. Why don’t we talk about the flu, how it is spread, symptoms, medications to help, places to go for testing, and recovery? As college kids, we find ourselves out in the world living while mom and dad are back home. Therefore, we are in charge of taking care of ourselves and that includes when we get… sick.

The flu, that pesky little three-lettered word packs quite the punch to it. As we get back to a sense of normalcy with covid our immune systems are getting quite the flu shock. The flu is a viral infection that attacks our lungs, nose, and throat and the symptoms include headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, runny nose, coughing, etc. Most people who get the flu also find themselves with a fever as well. While the flu is a very common infection and we hear a lot about it all of the time, that doesn’t mean we can treat it as if it is not dangerous. If we do not properly medicate and care for our bodies while were sick, the flu can become a much larger problem with much greater risks. One of the main ways to know if you have come down with the flu is the way the infection presents itself. The flu slams your body at one time. Meaning, you could be perfectly fine at 7:00 am, but by 9:00 am you could be coughing, sneezing, and the body aches could be in full effect. If you feel like you may have the flu and would like to get tested San Marcos has many different urgent care clinics that you can go to, but be aware that without insurance you could find yourself paying a very costly copay for your visit.

Being college students, we wander around campus all day long, jogging up staircases, and hopping the bus. When we get caught up in the speed of things we don’t think about all of the surfaces we’re touching. The flu is spread through droplets we expel when we cough, sneeze or talk. Ideally, if you have the flu wearing a face mask, as we do for covid, is the most beneficial way to prevent the spread of droplets. Carrying hand sanitizer in your backpack or purse is a need after you get off of the bus, or when you arrive at class. Taking care of your immune system is just as important as it was when the pandemic first began, so remember to be cautious and considerate towards others as we don’t all function the same. For this reason, I highly encourage students to get tested if they feel their symptoms are those of the flu. Now, let’s talk about school. Absences are dangerous in college, you are 100% responsible for all of your actions, including getting your own note and registering it with the school. If you go get that official test, be sure to convey it to your professors. Being sick is not an excuse to let those grades slip!

 

You will want to go get some medicine because medicating it from the start will make the entire thing much easier. Personally, I use Vick’s Dayquill and Nyquil liquid gels, which you can purchase at any grocery store or pharmacy. As an asthmatic, I develop a nasty cough just about any time I get sick, so Delsum cough suppressant is a total lifesaver. Cough drops are always a necessity for me as well. Be very observant of the directions, take the proper dosage, and follow all directions! I know you hear it everywhere but you need to drink your water. Consistently taking fluids such as water, Gatorade, and juices help to break down all of that phlegm. Dealing with body aches is usually the most painful part of the flu. Taking Motrin will help with the body aches, but always make sure to check that you are able to take it with whatever medications you are already taking.

Personally, this is the first time I have gotten genuinely sick while away from my parents as a student.  I can’t lie, I really did not think it would be this difficult. We grow up knowing that when you feel sick, you tell your parents who can then call the doctor and get you all the different medicines you need. Then they ship you to college and suddenly you have to be the one to take yourself to the doctor, you have to go to the store and find the medicine, and you begin to realize that we are now the adults here. The goal was to help inform readers today so that when you are in that situation you are fully prepared.  Please please keep yourself safe and healthy!

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NFL Surprising and Disappointing Teams Through Nine Weeks

We are half way through the 2022 N-F-L season and boy oh boy are the twists and turns still upon us. Through nine weeks, we have a division leader in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that have more losses than wins, every team in the AFC East has more wins than losses, both the New York Jets and Giants have six wins through nine weeks and Geno Smith, the quarterback for the Seattle has them leading the NFC West with a remarkable 6 and 3 record. Now let’s get into two teams that have surprised me the most through nine weeks and teams that have disappointed me the most through nine weeks.

The first team that has surprised me the most so far through nine weeks is none other than the Seattle Seahawks. If you would have told me that the Seattle Seahawks would not only release their franchise linebacker in Bobby Wagner, but would also trade their franchise quarterback in Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos and have a winning after doing so, I would say that you are either a Seahawks fan, or that you are ridiculous for that statement. But the Seattle Seahawks have proven me wrong in every sense of the way. The craziest part is that the quarterback that is leading the Seattle Seahawks to this incredible 6 and 3 start is Geno Smith. The reason why the Seattle Seahawks are playing so well and why I even put them on this surprise list is for the fact the entire team is clicking on all cylinders. The defense is playing fantastic highlighted by great play from free safety Quandary Diggs, Geno Smith is surprisingly playing like a top ten quarterback this season, rookie Kenneth Walker III is coming into his own as the lead running back, and Pete Carrol is in the running for coach of the year. The Seattle Seahawks exemplifying all of this is why they are on my list for surprising team through nine weeks.

The next team that I am going to put on my surprising teams list is the Philadelphia Eagles. I know I put them on my surprising teams list last time through four weeks, but the Eagles have just continued to keep on winning. So far the Philadelphia Eagles are undefeated with an 8 and 0 record and with how the rest of their schedule looks, they could potentially pull off an undefeated record but it will be very hard to do. The Eagles are also a complete team like the Seahawks where everything is clicking on all cylinders, especially with quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver AJ Brown. That is the reason why the Eagles have made the list for my two surprising teams in the N-F-L.

Let’s now move onto the two most disappointing teams in the N-F-L through nine weeks.

One of the most disappointing teams so far through nine weeks has to be none other than the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers started off with such promise through four weeks but ever since week five against the New York Giants, the Packers have completely collapsed losing five straight games and have fallen to a 3 and 6 record and are nearly five games behind the Minnesota Vikings for first in the NFC North. The reason the Packers have been collapsing is everything. Whether that is poor offensive play by the wide receivers or Aaron Rodgers as well as bad play calls from Matt LaFleur, poor special teams play with muffed punts, and poor defense due to injuries and being tired due to a sputtering offense. The Packers at this point in the season have to decide whether they want to strive for a high draft pick or try and push for a wild card spot in a weak NFC conference. Lots of things will have to break the Packers way if they want an opportunity to make the playoffs, but that will all starts with the Green Bay Packers needing a desperate win against a really good 6 and 2 Dallas Cowboys game who look to win at Lambeau for their head coach Mike McCarthy who was a coach for the Green Bay Packers for 13 years.

The last team I want to highlight that has disappointed me the most so far through nine weeks has to be the defending Super Bowl Champion, Los Angeles Rams. The Rams before the season started had a lot of high expectations due to the fact that they won the Super Bowl in February and they brought back their core players like Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Matthew Stafford, and Cooper Kupp while adding players like linebacker Bobby Wagner and Wide Receiver Allen Robinson but it is safe to say looking at their record of only three wins while losing five games is not the kind of start the Rams were expecting. I believe the main reason why the Rams are struggling this season has to be their poor offensive line play and that is due to one thing. That one thing was Andrew Whitworth retiring after the Super Bowl. The rams have failed to address the offensive line, thus resulting in Matthew Stafford struggling finding other weapons besides Cooper Kupp and their running game with Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson being absolutely horrible. The Rams even though they have a bad start still have an opportunity to turn their season around but it will take a lot for the Rams to be back into the playoff hunt and defend their championship.

Overall, this season has been incredible and many things have changed in the N-F-L since the last time I posted after four weeks of the N-F-L season.

 

 

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Delusional era

The past few weeks have been super crazy, I guess to put it lightly. I’ve been anticipating seasonal depression but I didn’t know it was going to hit this hard. The funny thing is though, as soon as I move on with one thing that may have been bringing me down, it’s like I turn the corner and it’s the next obstacle. Now, I don’t know if I’m just viewing things this way because of the looming seasonal depression, but ever since October came and then went and the cold fronts hit it feels like Things have taken a turn. I wouldn’t say that my life has taken a turn for the worse, but it has definitely put me through a lot of nonstop trials.

 

I feel like I could List all everything that has gone wrong over the past two months or a month and some change, but I feel like even explaining everything would just bring that past negativity to life again in some way. It just feels better to act like everything is going well and then maybe in time, it will be. It works for about 3 days at a time. The best and the most disruptive example, I have is when I was finally getting over a two-week period of major stressing with, essay on top of essay due back to back and me being sick all week on top of that. When I had gotten sick for a week, I had virtually no money for food and or cough medicine to help with my symptoms, but as soon as Friday hit so did my paycheck and things started looking up I actually started getting over my symptoms by then, for the most part, I can breathe again and I had ordered groceries for the next few weeks. Then the next obstacle arrived. That evening, on my way back from getting the groceries, I previously ordered, I was in a crash and my front bumper was peeled from my car.  After that week/weekend, a stream of misfortune followed. Mainly to do with the fact of lacking transportation and that being more important to my day-to-day life than I realized. 

 

Now, presently, still dealing with accident claims, the fast approaching final projects and exams, and never failing seasonal depression, I am now in my “delusional”/ fake it till you make era with regulating how I feel and present myself when it comes to emotions. What I mean by this is that I’m choosing to embrace positivity and look forward to the good coming into my life and just trust that I know how to properly handle the obstacles. So I guess in a way what I’m doing could be viewed as ignoring the issue. When I say that a lot of memes come to mind of something’s burning down and the person who owns it ignoring it or just watching it burn, but for me at the moment I view it as compartmentalizing.

Just a week or two ago I was having the worst stress/anxiety episodes. I never wanted to be pushed to the point of sleepless nights and headaches again so I just started slowly addressing the bad in increments I guess you could say. Moreover though I would embrace whatever positive events that were happening or were coming up for the foremost. I remember the day after my accident I had a bad performance that I have been looking forward to four weeks at that point I was on the phone with my friend and we were talking about if I was going to go anymore or not or if I was just gonna focus on what had just happened with my car. Well yes what had just happened was very important to get to I knew  I couldn’t do anything that night or even the next day to solve the issue. I also knew  that it would be good for me to not miss out on this opportunity to perform with my team one last time before the season ended. if I had missed this opportunity, due to the fact that I chose to stay home and dwell on the accident I probably would’ve felt worse overall. At this moment I can say that I’m doing pretty alright,and I believe it’s because I have been compartmentalizing. Another possibility I have considered on why I’m not as stressed as I feel I should be with all of this mishaps arising lately is that I have become desensitized to the negativity and I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. If I “can’t feel the negative effects” of things going wrong then it makes it easier to settle down bravely and figure out how to make them right more efficiently. So in The long drive I guess Im just finally realizing how to regulate my emotions like a typical adult or close to one anyway.