The Shakedown

Samantha Donisi
Assistant/Opinion Editor
STDONISI@NIACC.EDU

Adios. Arrivederci. Sayonara. Goodbye.

It's been said that Midwesterners say goodbye three different times: once while they are still in the house, once by the front door and once out by the car.

Now it's my turn to bid farewell. I live in Iowa, so it's only right that I dawdle about it.

How do you say goodbye when you aren't done saying hello yet? It's hard to believe that issue 15 is upon us already. I have enjoyed my time on the paper and at NIACC so much that it will be hard to let it all go.

But since this is the last thing that I'll ever write for the paper, it's only fair that I let you in on a little secret:

I really didn't want to attend NIACC. At all. When circumstances dictated that I had to turn down Drake University and go to NIACC, I was crushed.

I was kind of an idiot back then. My two years at NIACC have been the best two years of schooling that I have ever had.

The point I am not doing a very good job of making is that we shouldn't be so quick to judge. That was the message in one of my very first columns and now I am taking that advice full-circle.

I think the stereotype that so many people have about community colleges is that they are somehow inferior to four-year universities. Those are the people who have never attended NIACC.

I'm not trying to suck up to anyone, and I am not trying to advertise for the college. I am just being as honest as I can be.

Looking back on these past two years, not a single event pops into my head as negative.

I fell into journalism almost by accident, but it has worked out better than I could have dreamed. If I could only give one piece of advice to you all, (but lucky for everyone I give many) it would be to try something completely out of the ordinary for you.

You never know where it might lead. You may end up making a career change, finding a new hobby or you may only end up with a fond memory.

That little pearl of wisdom goes right along with the idea of not being so quick to judge. It's really a funny statement, coming from an opinion columnist who has made it her job to judge everything from birth control practices to funny phobias in her one year on the paper.

Being given a forum through which to voice opinions is a double-edged sword. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting the opportunity to attack, (oops, I mean comment on) anything I felt like, and there have been some positive responses to issues I have written about.

On the other hand, there haven't been any negative opinions voiced, and that kind of worries me. I know that not everyone on campus agrees with my side of things, so that must mean that college students don't care enough to speak up.

That can't really be true, but you NIACC students certainly haven't proved me wrong this year. It's time for my last piece of advice: stand up and say what's on your mind. I don't think it matters if the issue is something as minor as not agreeing with something that I write, or something as big as how you feel about a new law. The point is that no one is going to know your opinion if you never say anything.

Speak up, take a stand and you may just get something accomplished.

I don't know what lies ahead for me, but I know that I won't be too quick to judge anything. I will definitely be trying new things and I won't hesitate to speak my mind about whatever is bothering me.

Well that's it. I am officially closing the NIACC chapter of my life, and will shortly be starting the next, as of yet untitled chapter.

Au revoir.

Front Row Seat

Dan Sherman
Feature Editor
DJSHERMAN@NIACC.EDU

Between classes and homework, I decided to take advantage of some beautiful weather and go for a run. It was the first true exercise I've had since my surgery (look back to issue 12), and needless to say, I struggled.

But I'm not about to tell you my out-of-shape story; rather, an interesting metaphor I discovered. My run started off easy enough; a nice, cool breeze helped ease the heat.

The start seemed so easy; I was full of energy, only had to follow one road and knew the path was already paved out for me.

Everything was going great as I paced myself to the music streaming from my iPod, and no, I didn't have the music playing too loudly, so settle down parents of America.

As I continued on my run, I soon realized that I had no idea where I was going. I was still on the same road as I started on, but I had no idea where it led or when it stopped.

It became evident that this road wasn't as clearly drawn as it was when I set out.

Feeling uneasy, I began to look around for something that I might recognize or give me a bearing.

All I discovered was trash strewn about the ditches, dotting the landscape with the debris of others. I even happened upon a toilet.

It started me thinking about how and why the trash was in the ditch. At one point or another, someone had been on the same road as I was, facing the same discoveries and thinking about what to do next.

To ease their journey, these people decided to lose some of their baggage by dumping it on the side of the road in the hopes of reaching the end more easily. Apparently it worked, as nobody else was on the road.

These people wanted to go somewhere and thought this route was the clearest path. However, as they continued their journey, it became evident that they needed to lose some baggage and explore their horizons.

So there I was, running down the path that others had taken, seeing their garbage, and realizing that I needed to do the same.

So I looked to the side, spit with the wind, and kept on going.Eventually I came to the end of the road and looked back.

Then it struck me; I was exactly where I was supposed to be: at the end of the road and past all the trash, just as everyone else had been.

Now I'm not going to explain to you the metaphor, but everyone experiences it in one form or another. Rather, I'll make you do what you go to school to learn: think and discover for yourself.

I will however, leave you with one final thought to remember: Not all those who wander are lost.

Plain and Simple

Brandon K. Watson
News Editor
BKWATSON@NIACC.EDU

My mother and I were frustrated. We stood at the counter of a rental car company in south Minneapolis trying to produce proof of our address with utility bills, the result of not possessing a credit card.

After tons of paperwork, a rude sales clerk and forking out a $250 cash deposit (at my expense) we strapped our seatbelts on in a maroon Ford vehicle, headed for Mason City, Iowa, to a place called North Iowa Area Community College.

The date was August 4, 2004.

Scudding pass Minnesota's green pastures which evolved into prairie landscapes ample with corn, Ma', as I call her, dominated most of our conversation. Entering Mason City, an infinite southward road made us wonder if we were lost. We weren't, but rather close, which we noticed moments later when approaching a massive limestone block.

North Iowa Area Community College was emblazoned on the block. Adjacent to that was an oval placard - NIACC's logo.

We pulled into the parking lot, I entered the Activity Center. She retired to the back seat to catch some z's.

Rummaging through massive sheets of computer paper, striped with mint green bars, I put together my schedule and then went to the business office to register. This was a quick trip and process. I perused the summer scenery of NIACC's campus, and visualized myself strolling through it.

Two weeks later, I was uneasy about going back to college. Prior to NIACC, I attended two other colleges back in my native state of Wisconsin, but never worked up to my full potential academically. Now back in college, I made a pact to myself: To work as hard as I could and earn an associate degree from NIACC.

That pact hasn't always been easy to follow. As any college student, I've run into obstacles whether academic or personal. I've had extensive periods in which I was "broke." And I've learned from these experiences that life is about patience, it's about gradually accomplishing your goals over a period of time.

Relieved, I am to know that next fall when attending Minnesota State University all of my general education requirements will be fulfilled. NIACC has truly prepared me for life. I've found myself at NIACC. Not to say that I was lost when I came here, but I definitely needed some academic rehabilitation.

The numerous courses I've taken-though some didn't turn out as well as expected- have challenged me and demanded that in order for me to pass a test that I study hard. NIACC's faculty is very diverse in the sense of their stances on teaching strategies. I could go on and on about the efficiency of NIACC, but I won't.

In sum, North Iowa Area Community College has truly been helpful in my life.

Thanks, NIACC.

Benjamin J. Buck
Editor
BJBUCK@NIACC.EDU

President John F. Kennedy once said, "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

Boy, how my life is about to change Ð or has it already?

In a span of a little under two months, I will have conquered two feats in life that usually come years apart from each other. In May, I will be a college graduate. In June, I will become a married college graduate.

No longer will I be cramming for tests, working on Logos and dragging myself to night class on Wednesday nights.

No longer will I be working until close at Players Sports Bar and Dance Club until 2:30 in the morning and waking up at 6 a.m. to get ready for class three times a week.

When school ends and I enter the workforce, change will certainly play an important role. That change of not having college and the stress related to it, on my already full plate, is going to be a big one.

But that quote from J.F.K. shows that "who only looks to the past or present are certain to miss the future." Those words give me a little bit of comfort in this difficult situation.

Time can't be spent dwelling on what I could have done or should have done, but what I can do. I sometimes ask myself, "Should I have gone to a four-year college? Should I get married? Could have I done better in school if I didn't work until all hours of the night?"

Even though these are questions of the past, they still occur on a daily basis. And to be honest with you, I am kind of scared of what my life is going to bring.

Will I get on at the sheriff's office? Am I going to be able to provide for my future wife to the best of my ability?

Whether questions dealing with the past or the present, these things can't become a force in my head. It could literally kill a person if that's all the person thought about all day.

I have to let go of these thoughts and questions and just have faith that when I make a decision that will have an impact on my life, it will be in my best interest Ð I mean our interest, and I won't have any regrets making that decision.