So you’re a high school junior or senior looking to join the college ranks in a year or so. If you are like most 17/18 year olds then you probably have little idea of what you want to do with your lives but you do know college is necessary. You want that “college experience”, you know the parties, random sex partners, freedom to do what you want when you want while juggling a full 12-15 credits course load. The aforementioned is all good and dandy but who’s going to pay for your “college experience”? A lot of parents and college students brush the costs associated with college under the rug or have a “I’ll worry about it post graduation,” attitude. This is probably the wrong attitude to have regarding college costs.
Today’s economy is full of employed and unemployed college educated graduates with mounds of student loan debt because we all assume we’ll go to college, get a good paying job and pay off our student loan debt with no hiccups. This is the “American Scheme (I mean Dream)” uninformed college students have been sold but this is not how things in the real world function as many have come to realize. Now it’s time to be smart about college and replace assumptions with sound game plans.
1. Seek out scholarships: There are a plethora of scholarships for undergraduate students if you do your research you will find organizations, companies, programs willing to assist you with your educational expenses.
2. Go to a credible community college: Take courses that transfer to a four year state school. This will cut your college costs an half because community college [click to continue…]
The recent events surrounding the Trayvon Martin case has again brought to light the topics of racism and stereotypes in America. In the case of Trayvon Martin, at first glance, it seems as if this teen was unfairly stereotyped as a hoodlum who was “up to no good” in the neighborhood. It may have been viewed this way because because he had his hoodie up and looked suspicious. At a closer glance, he was merely an unarmed teen leaving the corner store with a pack of skittles and iced tea in hand who was headed to father’s girlfriend’s home. The gunman who was a neighborhood watch captain at the time, followed him “strangely” as described by Trayvon. Words were then exchanged and all of a sudden he is shot to death?? Did I miss something? Why does it seem that such harmless, senseless events lead to these types of tragedies?
As a Asian America male growing up, I have been unfairly stereotyped, and have been on the receiving end of racist remarks at various points in my life. On the other hand, I also have made stereotypes as well when I didn’t know any better; I can’t lie. I do believe racism and stereotypes is alive and well, but it is more of a taboo of topics that is swept under the rug. It seems as if America pretends that all is well, because it is a sensitive topic that no one wants to discuss or confront. Even as recently on my trip to South Carolina, I was unfairly followed back to my room by a hotel security guard that felt like I did not belong in the hotel. I truly felt I was stereotyped because of the way I was dressed. In Georgia, in a town outside of Atlanta, while waiting for a table at a restaurant with friends, I felt like a group wanted to start trouble with us solely because of our race, and because we were perceived as different. [click to continue…]
That awkward moment when you realize you are the lowest paid (or underpaid) at your company when you thought your salary was comparable to some of your colleagues. Initially, you’re probably infuriated then you more than likely fall into a mini-state of depression and your production declines. After the realization that you are underpaid/undervalued you need to take the appropriate actions to ensure you are fairly compensated. YPs you have choices, I believe in being grateful for employment but whether you’re stocking shelves or a mid level manager its not cool to feel like you’re not being fairly compensated for your work. What do you do to ensure you are fairly compensated?
Step One: First you perform a self evaluation. Make sure you are performing your job and job duties adequately. Then take a good look at your current position in the big scheme of things in regards to your company. How vital is your current position? Be honest with yourself because no position is created equally. Some positions are held in a higher regard than others so look at your position in comparison to other positions within your company. If your position is not vital then you may want to seek a promotion if your work ethic warrants a promotion. If your position is pretty important then proceed to the next step.
Step Two: Take a look at your job description to assess how accurately it reflects what you actually do. Most people do more or less or different tasks from what their job descriptions say they do in their positions. Ask your [click to continue…]
YPs, I have been a fan of the Audi R8 since I first laid eyes on it during a Super Bowl commercial, some years ago. Who knew it was 5 years ago, when the Audi R8 was first realeased. I am still in love and I still cannot afford one, lol. Today, as we are showing tribute to the ‘finer’ things in life on YPBlogSpot, peep the video above. Audi, is celebrating the R8′s fifth anniversary. Aspire to get the things you want in life!!!
Yps, these are just a few ‘Dos and Don’ts.’ There are many steps that need to be taken, in order to make the most out of your time and to be successful. Put your all into everything and I am sure you will yield results!!! Do: Make sure you have a plan. Nothing can [...]
YPs, Monday night while trying to catch the T.I. reality show, I caught the last 3 min of Basketball Wives. In doing so, I was able to catch a conversation between Ochocinco and Evelyn. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least. Evelyn pretty much said to Ocho, [...]
YPs, I know we are all on the same journey to Successville. Sometimes however, we let weakness inside of ourselves and slow our progress down. The weaknesses I’m talking about are EXCUSES. We have all made them and unfortunately, are not done making them. We need to identify our excuses and rid ourselves [...]
YPs, it’s time for us to get grown for a minute. I’m coming to you today with one of the many aspects of a relationship, SEX. More importantly, being in tune to your mate and how he/she wants it. Sex can be a great positive force in a relationship. It can also be [...]
In all my years of being an avid sports fan, I have never felt as connected to any other athlete, than I do to Jeremy Lin today. Yes, he is Asian American. Yes, he is an underdog; but I believe the story goes much more deeper than that. It starts with him not being recruited by [...]
Resilience The topic that I would like to blog about is that of resiliency! Webster’s definition of resilience is an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. I have really come to admire this term because of what it stands for and represents. I think that I have [...]
YPBlogSpot debuts YP Next featuring American Dreaming Magazine’s very own, co-founder and freelance videographer Kris (@ADMagazine_kris) is making a name for himself in the filming industry. An American dreamer, doing what he loves (literally) from his point of view. Kris is the man behind the camera of all of the American Dreaming Magazine’s videos, whether he’s filming his Don’t [...]
Greetings YPs. I heard about the concept of paying it forward while listening to Michael Baisden’s show a while ago as I do during my commute home from work. Michael Baisden is one of my favorite radio personalities whom I admire and consider a role model for being a philanthropist, and an open minded individual. [...]
PPD: Pull Ups, Push Ups & Dips YPs this is a blog/workout for all you young professionals that consider yourselves workout buffs. I do a total of 100 pull-ups, 300 push-ups, and 200 dips in 10 supersets. I have a love hate relationship with this workout because it is so grueling but once [...]
YPs there’s a saying, “Closed mouths don’t get fed,” I don’t know who said it but it holds true in so many instances. I’ve recently had to use what I know to get what I needed and wanted regarding two credit issues in which I had to ask/negotiate and was successful in doing so. [...]
Keep Going: T-Pain Like T-Pain or not this short, simple song speaks volumes. I bet when T-Pain started pursuing his dream of being an artist in the fashion in which he went about it (auto-tune), he probably had a handful of supporters and triple the doubters and naysayers. But he kept going [...]
