Long Live Summer!

Story by Zachary Hall
Photograph by Kasey Hunt
TA: Christina McAusland

Summer break usually means a three-month release from school and the pressures that accompany it. This is not the case for me. No, this summer will be different than those I have come to know. This summer I have an internship.

Having an internship means instead of going to the pool to hang out with friends, I'll be going to the office to work on sales promotions. Instead of going to a barbeque, I'll be filing papers. This is exactly what I feared...real life.

During this time of relaxation for most college students, I will be bombarded with meetings and paperwork. Having an internship is not horrible; it's a great stepping stone for my career. But it also reveals another scary fact...real life is just around the corner.

I have a plan as to how I'm going to regress into the usual college lifestyle this summer, and that is to spend as much of my free time as possible with my friends. That is what summer break really is--good times with friends you don't see enough of.

Fun will be the release I need to take me away from the robotic process of the daily work life. Long live summer!

Graduating to a New Style of Life

Story by Justin Barreto
Photo by Jonathan Bachmann
TA: Andrell Bower

This is the summer that will end all summers. That's right, I'm graduating. No more pools, no more sleeping 'til noon, but I will spend plenty of time in an exciting cubicle.

I shouldn't be so dramatic. I will be making more money than I do as a student. And with that money I can take better vacations. After paying the bills, that is.

I will miss week-long breaks every two months. I will also miss the structure-lacking lifestyle that is college. But I am excited to experience a new style of life. I guess this summer won't be so bad after all.

Dreams of the Secluded Lake

Story by Allen Wills
Photo by Allen Wills
TA: Valerie Mosley

Going to the lake means traveling home. To most this may mean the Lake of the Ozarks, Truman or another mass of water. The “lake” pictured in my mind is the lake I created and built. The row of million dollar boats and party cove do not interest me. My lake is secluded. Deer and turkey often visit, while ducks and geese call it their home. Frogs croak and crickets chirp along the bank. In the distance, tractors rumble.

This lake is the destination of choice for me and a few close friends. Lined with small newly-planted trees, every feature here has a meaning or memory. All the grass was hand planted by me. All the trees I placed strategically. The homemade dock still in need of repair provides structure for the numerous fish I have stocked. Most of these I transplanted myself in the hopes of producing monsters. No one is allowed to pull fish out of this lake. They are mine, and mine to let grow for another year or two. I am thrilled to see what this two year old lake will be like in another two years. Across the dam I see the side of a future cabin. If only I was through with college.

Some day the cabin will come, the trees will be mature, and at this lake I will be. No crowds. No yachts. Only myself and happiness.

How to Pass AgJ 3210

Story by Emily Duke
Photo by Larry Fagbemi
TA: Kate Hill

Passing AGJ 3210 is very easy when you just apply yourself. The first step is making sure you go to class. This is the easiest thing you can do to help your grade. It may be difficult to motivate yourself to go at times, especially if you take it in the spring and it gets towards the end of the semester. Professor Bill Allen is the instructor and constantly reminds you how nice it is outside and how nice it was that you showed up. It seems as though sometimes maybe he would like everyone to not show up because he himself would rather be outside or watching the Cardinals play baseball.

Another step in passing AgJ 3210 is learning to omit needless words and what Bill calls death words. This simply means that you are no longer allowed to use every word you have ever used to take up space in your paper. You must actually think and read a paper before you turn it in now. Bill feels very strongly about this so be prepared for the day when he takes off his shirt, channeling his inner Chuck Norris (his hero) and tells you to omit needless words.

Wonderful Chaos of Learning Ensues in AgJ 3210

Weigh in with comments on the above four blogs to help me pick the winner!

Here's why:

Today the students of AgJ 3210 learned how to blog. The students in each TA section wrote blog items on a subject they chose as a group. One student took a photo to go along with the subject. A "winner" was chosen from each section, and that's what's posted above.

In the next 24 hours I will decide which of the blogs above is the best. That one will win an extra credit point for each of the students in that TA section. Comments will be judged by quality and quantity.

-Bill Allen, instructor