Top Opinion

Well, you made it. For a lot of you, this was the successful completion of your first semester away at college.

Along the way, I’m sure that you discovered new ways books can torture and doubtlessly discovered some professor who seemed to conspire to make your life miserable, but none of that matters. In a few days, you’ll be whisked away to your real homes and the family you gleefully left to come to college. Wonderful, right?

With the increase of technology and online classes in universities come the benefits of convenience and organization, but also the dangers of plagiarism and lack of time off.

I have personally taken a plethora of online classes during my college career and through my experience I have formed a few thoughts concerning the value of online learning.

More than 77 percent of college presidents report their institutions offer online courses, according to the Pew Research Center.

The streets of Lower Manhattan have been filled with brave Americans voicing their dissatisfaction with corporations for the past three weeks.

The catchphrase they have adopted is quite simple: “We are the 99 percent. We are occupying Wall Street. We will not be moved.”

These simply formed, point-blank statements expressing an unmovable vigor captured my heart as I sifted through the numerous photos, videos, and brief, heart-felt paragraphs adorning occupywallst.org, the official website for the Occupy Wall Street protest.

Let’s rewind, say to 1996.

This was only a year prior to a massive shift in American culture: an even more intensified crackdown on the acceptance of cigarette smoking.

The year 1997 pointed the U.S in the direction of massive tobacco litigation settlements, which spiraled into the decline of support for tobacco farming.

Suddenly, cities and sates began enacting fairly hefty public smoking restrictions.

This concoction provided for a steady decrease in the number of smokers nation wide.

Iam a “Millennial.”

Millennials are people who were born in the 1980s and 1990s whose behavior seems to contrast that of previous generations, according to several surveys.

We are confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change. We are more ethnically and racially diverse than older adults.

I get high almost every day. It’s usually a result of procrastination. I wait until the last minute to do a giant amount of work and become absurdly stressed out.

I usually finish the work just in time to turn in it in, and I get this incredible rush — a stress high.

Businesses’ exploitation of romance could possibly be one of the biggest debacles of society today. Their exploitation for profits dictates the public to spend money on loved ones for every holiday and special occasion with Valentine’s Day being the big kahuna of all.

Currently, the wares these retailers peddle range from exotic trips and fine jewelry to chocolate candies. Sorry, Hershey, but your cheap chocolate does not scream romance.

Countdown: only two more days until Thanksgiving and 32 days until Christmas.

This is my favorite time of year, and like most of you, I can hardly wait.

Each Thanksgiving and Christmas, my entire family gathers together at my sister Beckie’s house where we revel in our camaraderie. We delight in irreverent buffoonery and are constantly trying to top the last one’s good-humored insults.

I watched a lot of TV as a child, especially during the summer when I had nothing else to do. The mother I am today is a direct result of countless hours of exposure to the various motherly influences I encountered via our TV set. One such mother was Mrs. Cleaver from the sitcom “Leave it to Beaver.” Actually, I knew two “Mrs. Cleavers.”