Well, my millions of adoring fans and readers, this shall be my last ever blog .. for ECC.

I obviously learned a lot while being here (this being a school and all), but it's hard to seperate the thought of ECC from my last couple years of life. You would expect somebody to be able to say "I live life and I go to school", but for me it's rather intertwined. And it's not that I was necessarily here all that much. As far as clubs and organizations and events, I wasn't really that involved. I was a bit more this year but definitely not to the extent that some people are. Most of my friends didn't go here, so it wasn't like another two years of high school, like it is for some people I see constantly hanging in the lounge (nothing bad about that).

So, I wasn't really tied to the place. It was just a big part of my life. And though some people say community college is a "watered down"  version of  a "real college", I quite enjoy the time I've spent here. Very few classes have given me the impression that I'd be better off at a university, and though I did regret for awhile the fun atmosphere I missed by not dorming at a school, there's nothing else I truly lacked.

While some people might at this point give a "what I wish I would've done" speech for incoming freshman or whatever, I don't think that really helps anybody. Of course if I went back in time now I could be more productive, healthy, etc. but growth is something gained through your own experience, not through the words of somebody with more experience.

All in all, I enjoyed it here. I'm surely moving on (to UIC), but this place will always reserve a spot in my heart, as cliche as it sounds.

- Keith

Okay, I could tell you that I have so far managed to avoid stress in this last stretch up until finals. I could tell you that I've maintained a healthy study schedule, and all of my grades are precisely where I'd like them to be. I could tell you that at the moment I'm in an extremely positive mood and am completely optimistic concerning the immediate future and the high quality of my teaching throughout the semester.

But I hate to lie.

Hope everybody else is doing well at least! And if not, just repeat to yourself: "Two weeks .. two weeks .. two weeks .."

- Keith

 I was planning to make a post on my site about this later today, and probably still will, but what better place to talk about it than a college's website? The 'eLearning' I'm referring to is the crop of new sites going up over the web that offer completely free education to those that want it. The main concerns about education are generally the validity(does the person teaching it know their stuff?), price, and accessibility. Okay, I don't really know if those are the main concerns, but bear with me.

These new eEducation sites destroy the price category obviously. But with one exception(Udemy), they are all as free as it gets. Accessibility they also score extremely high in, because you can access them from anywhere on the planet, and at anytime that you'd like. Why watch a lecture in person when you can watch it at your leisure and rewind whenever you miss something? The only concern is that you usually can't contact the professor whenever you'd like. This is normally remedied through forums where you can ask other students the same questions. The last category, validity, depends on the site. Some, such as Udacity offer professors from Stanford, UofV, and others.

Here's the main players on the scene right now:

KhanAcademy - If you've never visited this site, I deeply encourage you to do so. This one stands out in that it's not necessarily structured courses, but instead tons of videos on every subject imaginable (just about). They prove to be an amazing complement to a college course, and are even good in and of themselves if you wish to learn the subject.

Udacity - This is my personal favorite since I'm a computer science student. So far, there's only courses concerning comp sci, but they are amazing courses with a great homework/grading system, and awesome professors.

Udemy - I've never personally used this site yet. The drawback is that a lot of the good courses cost money, but there are some good free ones as well. It's said that the professors that teach these teach them in the exact same way as a college course. Take from that what you will.

MITx - Another I haven't used, and also the one most in it's infancy. Only one course is offered at the moment, about circuits, but many more are expected and planned. And you don't get much better than MIT !

I don't remember end-of-school fever hitting this early last year, but it's here now nonetheless. Students everywhere are realizing that summer isn't that far away, and neither is the final days of class for the semester. Of course, we still have a good five weeks or so until that truly comes to fruition,Until then though, everybody will surely be complaining of lack of concentration and procrastination will be rising steadily.

Is there a cure? Is it bad to be putting aside your studies in favor of enjoyment? Yeah, probably. I would usually say at this point that it'd be best to keep your goals in mind, and keep chugging towards them. Afterall, it's only another month we have to get through. However, I won't say that, because I'm among the ones that are afflicted. So, I shall feign ignorance of that advice and bid you farewell!

Have a wonderful week.

This is one of the healthiest things that you can do for yourself. Well, perhaps not, but you're not allowed to delete things when doing this. The concept is that you should keep writing for some number of minutes, constantly spilling out your thoughts and not giving yourself time to rest and think. Right now, my mind is quite foggy. I realize that I haven't truly thought in awhile, and that's reigning over my other thoughts. However, I'd like to share good tidings, or atleast good thoughts, so I'm making myself think of other things. I think one of the most important things at this age is to try new things. I was always told this when I was younger, so the impact of it really dwindled, but I'm finding how much of a catalyst something new can be. For example, right now I'm sitting in the dark typing. Normally, I'd have a light on, and I'd be in the same old boring environment. In that environment, my thoughts would be the same as always. Here, my thoughts are traveling in directions that aren't normal. Yeah, I guess this can be bad if you're naturally negative, but if you have a solid control over your thoughts, every new environment is like an opportunity to find something new. It's like when you were a kid playing pokemon and would find a new area in the game. You'd be exhilarated because you knew somewhere in the grass was likely a pokemon you haven't seen before. Why not treat life the same way? I feel like one of the worst things we can do is fall into thinking that we know a whole lot more than we actually do. I'm extremely guilty of this, as I usually convince myself that I don't need to do new things, because I basically know what will come of it. I feel like although I haven't seen most of the world, I can pretty much figure out what it's like. Don't fall into this hole .. it's a long climb out. I digressed, but that's the point. Have an absolutely fantastic week. Do new things. Change old things. Sit down and truly think. Find yourself. See ya.

It's quite easy to grow bored of life. The daily monotonous grind of school or work isn't something that excites anybody. We constantly find ourselves seeking out entertainment (which there is no lack of nowadays) in order to combat the dull responsibilities of life. I'm included in this majority myself, but I struggle with it, because it seems to leave me unfulfilled.

I know that watching TV, playing games, etc. is unproductive. I know that I'm simply doing them as an escape from work. However, I just can't help but to indulge. A solution? I'm afraid I don't quite have one yet, but there is something that I'm thinking may be the key.

Growth. Progress. Specifically mental. Working out is surely beneficial, and I would never advise against it, unless you're doing it for the wrong reasons. Many do it simply to look better. But that's a superficial intention! Work out because you want your body to be strong and healthy. But, back to mental.

It's tricky to list options for improving your mind & soul. (I use the latter term for lack of a better word) The best I can do is list what's worked for me.

Meditation. A word that incites a different thought from every person you ask it seems. The way I mean it is the act of concentrating on yourself. Sit down somewhere and simply think about yourself from an outside point of view. Think about whether you match what your ideal self is, and if not, concentrate on the ideal self. Also, it proves very helpful to think about what you normally think about in a day. Yes, I know, it rings of Inception - "A thought within a thought!". But you'd be surprised what your thought patterns are like during the day. Personally, I think far too much about my responsibilities.

Reading. This will be difficult to get into for most, but I couple it with exercise so that I'm getting some physical and mental workout. Find some self-help books and see if you can get into them. If you can, you'll definitely find something that will help in your life. It's less about the words and advice of the author, and more about it making you conscious of your own faults.

I suppose that's it. But I'm sure there's many more ways, some are probably even subsets of meditation, and I suggest you try to find your own. Otherwise, you may just feel this way about life forever! 

.. I'm not entirely sure where I was going with that. However, I would like to profess my love for reading in this post, and hopefully (most likely actually) sway you to join me as we frolic in the gardens of literature. 

Now, don't be scared off by the terms "literature", "reading" or "book". I know culture has ingrained it into most of us that these things are terribly dull and generally a waste of time. I also know that perceptions can be changed, and that task is entirely up to you. 

It's hard to 'sell' reading to somebody. "You can gain the vast collective knowledge of our species!". "Adventures await you, shaped entirely be your imagination!". "Gleam personal advice from modern-day experts and teachers of old alike!" Sure, they say, but I'm going to stick to my weekly TV shows and Redbox rentals. 

The problem seems to be that we grow up and we "have to" read in school. The moment we're able to explore the wonders of books, we have some sort of assignment to turn in, detailing the characters and plot and yada yada. No wonder the magic of books is lost on the youth of today. Well, the good news is that if you're reading this you're probably a mature adult. Or close to it at least. Thus, it's time you pushed aside these childish fancies, and try out a good book.

This is where I end, and you begin. What's a good book to start with, you ask? I wish I could say, but everybody is different. There's far more varieties of taste in books than taste in movies. Some of my best friends that read have entirely different tastes than my own, but that's what's so great about it. If you really don't know where to start, I'll give you some suggestions but take them with a grain of salt. 

The Hunger Games trilogy is a great series to start with, as it's light but it engulfs you. I'll forever recommend Harry Potter. Ender's Game (and the sequels which I've yet to read) is good if you enjoy science fiction. Transcendence is a sleeper hit that I'm fond of, set in the future. If you're looking for serious, but deep, books - there's As a Man Thinketh, The Power of Concentration, The Alchemist, and many more. Sherlock Holmes is also good, I was surprised.

So, good luck to you. I hope you find how much reading can benefit you in every facet of life, and I hope you grow to love the art as much as I do myself. Cheers!