For my object that I "took out of the trash" I actually recycled my roommates old computer speakers. I know it is not terribly creative, but it is very practical and it really benefited me.
When we first got to school back in June, my roommate wanted to go out and buy new speakers because the ones he had were getting old and the bass in them was gone. I was actually planning on going out and getting some new speakers as well because I did not bring any from my house. But I decided to save a little bit of cash and just re-use my roommates. Even though they weren't that new and weren't in perfect condition, they still worked perfectly find. Not only did they work perfectly, but they also saved me however much new speakers cost, which I am sure were quite a bit of money. To this day I still use the speakers and probably continue to use them when I move out of my dorm room and move into my new apartment for next year.
Like I said previously this wasn't the most creative route in doing this blog, but I think it is very practical and I believe it was a very green decision on my part. If I did not take up my roommates offer and just let it rot in the trash I would have bought into the Hedonistic Treadmill that Colin Beaven wrote about and we have talked about in class. I would have passed over a perfectly usable item and instead opted to buy new speakers that undoubtedly traveled hundreds if not thousands of miles from factory to factory until I finally would have purchased it at the local Best Buy. Also if I did not use the old speakers they would have been put in the trash and just added to all of the trash that make up our landfills in America.
So even though I didn't necessarily recycle an old item into a new one I believe I still did my part in "rescuing" the abandoned speakers, and I even saved some money in the process.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Describing Everyday Life at Elon
My name is Dennis Wagner and I am a freshman here at Elon. I also play football here, so I will have a different perspective on every day life on the Elon campus.
I guess I will begin from the beginning, so on June 15th I began my journey living the life of a college student-athlete. I was here all summer and took two summer courses, before beginning our three week long summer training camp. We had to take these classes so we could not only get a jump start on our academics but also so we could get somewhat adjusted to college life and playing football at the next level. This was also a great bonding experience for those of us who were here because there wasn't many other people other than athletes here during the summer sessions. Compared to my workload now, both academically and athletically, the summer was a piece of cake. But it was still a pretty big culture shock, moving away from my parents, siblings, friends and significant other, to a different state, with people who I had only previously met once or twice. Not to mention the added pressure of now being a division 1 scholarship athletes, and all the responsibilities that came with that title. There were some tough times in the early going but it ended up being a great experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and really helped me adjust to the life of being a college athlete.
In early September the day all of us football players were wishing for finally came, the first day of school and the beginning of real college life,. This also meant the end of dreaded camp. With camp finally over we could look forward to real college life including; real classes, 5,000 new people, parties, and most importantly girls. Even though we had been there for two months we haven't experienced true college life until this first week that the freshman arrived. This is when all of the lexus's, BMW's, Mercedes's, and etc. pulled up with the Gucci, Lui Vuitton, and polo suite cases. Then we all realized that this was actually a 35k+ school, and not all of us are here on scholarship. Of course the same can not be said for everyone here, but I would say the majority of the students here come from a good bit of money and aren't afraid to flaunt it. Now I am not saying that I am poor, because I am not, but I have a relatively modest wardrobe and I drive an 03 Hyundai. At first glance a typical Elon student seems a little sheltered and spoiled, but once you get to know them this can be proved to be very wrong...or unfortunately it can be proved right. As far as my personal schedule, now I had to juggle 17 credit hours of class, with football taking up my day from 2 to 7, with 6 hours of study hall a week and of course a social life. It was a tough transition but I think I adjusted quite nicely.
After the season my schedule relaxed significantly, for the most part it has been just lifting with no practices, and until this semester no running either. But so far this semester I have had to get up by 6 am everyday because on Tuesdays and Thursdays we have "morning runs" and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have to lift at 6:30 am. But I am enjoying myself here at Elon and I think we have an interesting mix of people here.
I guess I will begin from the beginning, so on June 15th I began my journey living the life of a college student-athlete. I was here all summer and took two summer courses, before beginning our three week long summer training camp. We had to take these classes so we could not only get a jump start on our academics but also so we could get somewhat adjusted to college life and playing football at the next level. This was also a great bonding experience for those of us who were here because there wasn't many other people other than athletes here during the summer sessions. Compared to my workload now, both academically and athletically, the summer was a piece of cake. But it was still a pretty big culture shock, moving away from my parents, siblings, friends and significant other, to a different state, with people who I had only previously met once or twice. Not to mention the added pressure of now being a division 1 scholarship athletes, and all the responsibilities that came with that title. There were some tough times in the early going but it ended up being a great experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and really helped me adjust to the life of being a college athlete.
In early September the day all of us football players were wishing for finally came, the first day of school and the beginning of real college life,. This also meant the end of dreaded camp. With camp finally over we could look forward to real college life including; real classes, 5,000 new people, parties, and most importantly girls. Even though we had been there for two months we haven't experienced true college life until this first week that the freshman arrived. This is when all of the lexus's, BMW's, Mercedes's, and etc. pulled up with the Gucci, Lui Vuitton, and polo suite cases. Then we all realized that this was actually a 35k+ school, and not all of us are here on scholarship. Of course the same can not be said for everyone here, but I would say the majority of the students here come from a good bit of money and aren't afraid to flaunt it. Now I am not saying that I am poor, because I am not, but I have a relatively modest wardrobe and I drive an 03 Hyundai. At first glance a typical Elon student seems a little sheltered and spoiled, but once you get to know them this can be proved to be very wrong...or unfortunately it can be proved right. As far as my personal schedule, now I had to juggle 17 credit hours of class, with football taking up my day from 2 to 7, with 6 hours of study hall a week and of course a social life. It was a tough transition but I think I adjusted quite nicely.
After the season my schedule relaxed significantly, for the most part it has been just lifting with no practices, and until this semester no running either. But so far this semester I have had to get up by 6 am everyday because on Tuesdays and Thursdays we have "morning runs" and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have to lift at 6:30 am. But I am enjoying myself here at Elon and I think we have an interesting mix of people here.
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