Why Write Papers In The Age Of YouTube

 Why Write Papers In The Age Of YouTube

I have been writing papers since I was in grade school. They were horrible. I did not want to write them, and the teachers did not want to read them. No one knew why we had to complete writing assignments. It was in the 1980s, so there was at least no internet to distract us, so there was not an excuse there. Even though no one wanted to read those papers or write them, they continued to be assigned in middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. No one was ever happy to write a paper or read them.

When you read, it is over subjects you enjoy, and probably from people that love to write and have the gift to write. Same with watching TV, you expect a good story and good acting. If the acting and storytelling were on the level of a first-grade written and acted play, you would not watch it. Not unless you were related to someone in that production, of course.

At some point, if you continue writing papers, you figure why you write them. Papers are not some chore that frustrates you, they are to help you put your thoughts in a clear and logical format. People that write papers on their own, yes this does happen, are working to figure out a problem and by writing their thoughts and research in a paper, they learn about that topic. 

This could have been expressed better to me when I was in grade school. I could have understood it. I may still not want to write a paper, however, I could understand why someone would want to learn a topic in that format. Putting your thoughts on paper is a method many people use even outside of writing a paper, many YouTubers make outlines of what they want to cover in their videos. 

With YouTube, do we even need papers? Could a writer just talk out loud about their thoughts live on the web? No. Writing focuses your thoughts. Writing can be challenging and intellectually painful. In some papers, you have to fight out all of your preconceptions to get to the truth. Once you have finished that paper, you feel good. A job well done. The battle is over, now you can rest until the next paper.

I would challenge you to write a paper, for many you have not written a paper since high school or college. You can use YouTube to learn how to write, for me, once I organize a paper, the paper is easy to finish. Pick APA or MLA as style, these will help you in your writing. You do not have to be in school to write academic papers. There is a pandemic going on, by now you have watched everything online. Right? Go write!

Computed

The Short Squeeze

 The Short Squeeze  

The Short Squeeze was all over the news this week. Before this week, if you heard the term 'The Short Squeeze', you would think it had something to do with orange juice. Now we all associate it with hedge funds and those Redditors working the system. 

What most people are failing to see, is that these young people are now learning how the stock market works. They may lose all of their money, however, what they are learning is beyond any book education. This education is hands on, or in the Redditor's talk 'diamond hands' instead of 'paper hands'.

In public education, money, finances, saving, and investing are rarely taught. A student may have an economic class or two, however, those courses do not deal with real life examples. High school students will not relate to some theoretical exercises that they have no way to associate with. 

Hopefully years after 'The Short Squeeze' is but a fading memory, these young people will continue to learn about money. Today, with the internet, any person can learn how to read stock charts and how to look for trends. The most important part for a person that wants to invest, it to just start. At first, you will lose money. That is fine because you are learning. Even if you lose it all, you will learn from your previous errors. 

At first, invest money only that you are willing to lose. Do not use your rent money, food money, car payment money, or any other money that you need. Risk only money that if you lose, you can still pay your bills. Especially at first do not use money that will make you ill at losing. If you drop ten bucks, that is easier than dropping a thousand! 

When a young person learns how to invest, it is like having a superpower. They have money they can access when they need it, have that money grow over time, and will become mindful about spending money foolishly. If they start investing when they are in their early twenties, when they are near retirement, they will have more to make their lives comfortable. Instead of worrying about finances, they have spent time enjoying their lives.

So this 'Short Squeeze' may turn out to be the greatest learning lesson in a generation! Invest in what you understand. Take risk with money you can lose. And think long term. Historically, money invested in the stock market will double every seven to ten years. 

The longer you are in, the more time you will have for that money to double. From age 20 to 70, your money could double five to seven times depending on the interest rate of the market.  If you start with $1000 the first year, the next seven years you would have $2000, then $4000, then $8000, then $16,000, $32,000, $64,000, $128,000! That is the power of investing! 

Computed!

  

The End Of 2020

 The End Of 2020 

Well folks, it is all over. 2020 is a mere few hours away. When 2020 started, all of us had such big hopes for the new year. None of us could have predicted what would happen this year. 2020 has been a roller coaster for all of us.

I have lived long enough do you realize how time is perceived differently. When a tragedy happens, time moves differently than when happiness occurs. During 2020, of course, there were more tragedies than happiness.

So will the new year bring us better luck? I know all of us hope so. With my life experience, action has a bigger influence than hope.

The people I know that are successful, take chances, take risks, and are willing to make mistakes. It is okay to not understand something. Today, you have little excuse to say that you do not have the skills to learn something that will improve your life.

Time and time in my life, I worked on things that have been difficult. Learning how to compose music, playing the piano and guitar, acting, filmmaking, fixing computers, and learning how to conduct educational research, have all been challenges. When I fail, I embrace it. I never feel sorry for myself, pick myself up, acknowledge my mistakes or errors, then move on with my life.

I really hope 2021 brings you great tidings! However, it really is up to you to improve your life. I believe in you, you know what you need to make your life fulfilled. Never use the excuse somebody is keeping me down. As a matter of fact, never use any excuses. When you can state things that are difficult, then you can solve them. 

Happy New Year everyone! May 2021 bring us all happiness and joy. Computed. 

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Computed!

Keep on Rockin'!

A long time ago I gave myself permission to make mistakes.

 

A long time ago I gave myself permission to make mistakes. My life has been a lot better since this epiphany. Living a contented life is always the better choice. Be happy for what you have, while striving to improve yourself. 

There is often a feeling to be perfect with everything in your life. 'Make no mistakes in life' is a motto for many today. Not being the best or perfect, for many, means that you are a failure. And there is no place for failure in today's perfect world.

What if I told you that it is ok to fail? That your life would be enriched through failing. Every time that you fail, it is an opportunity to learn. 

People often forget that learning is an amazing gift. Having the opportunity to learn, means that you can become a better person. Learning is not over once you 'finish school'. Learning can only begin once you are done with your formal education. Life is learning. If you stop learning, your life, or at least your productive life, is over. 

Give yourself time to grow as a human being. Work hard, however, if you need time to learn a task, take the time. Improve on that in which you need. Take pleasure that you are having new learning experiences. And if you fail, that is fine. You will find many things in the world that you are good at during this journey of life. Embrace those and look for those that you need to improve. 

In life, you need resistance. If everything is easy, nothing is worth doing. Seek out things and events that will challenge you as a person. When something is hard, that is great! And when you achieve in those difficult tasks, you know that you have accomplished something in your life.  

A long time ago I gave myself permission to make mistakes, so that one day I can improve myself as a human being.

Computed