Blog Post 3 - Get A Job!

 

 

 

 So, upon being tasked to search for a job, I went scouring the world wide web to find that one that was perfect for me, well close enough. I mean, it's a job that pays cash, so it can't be that bad, can it? I searched Jobs for Aggies for about thirty minutes and came across this little gem. I had no idea crossing guards were still a thing! I guess that's what you get when you live out in the country. Since I've never experienced having a crossing guard help me get across the street when I was but a wee one, I wanted some help to see if I grasped the full concept of what this job would entail and I need your help. Below is my letter to the search coordinator of the posting. Thanks in advance for all of the help and wish me luck on the job!?

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

I was very excited to see your job posting on Jobs for Aggies for a school crossing guard for the City of Bryan. I am and always have been very involved with the promotion of safety for the youths. I am a  dependable person who would love the opportunity to help do my part in creating a safer environment for our little ones in the Bryan/College Station area.

 

My greatest strengths match those most essential to being an effective crossing guard:

• Excellent vision and an acute awareness of my surroundings at all times to help promote and maintain a safe environment.
• Proficient conflict management to mitigate any student misconduct.
• Diligent work ethic, and prompt scheduling to assure timeliness.

I have worked with children for years in a multitude of environments; whether it was teaching a lesson plan in school physical education or coaching the boy under 12 soccer team, you had to be quick to respond as well as had to keep the children's safety as your top priority. I am confident that the combination of my past experience as well as my understanding of this community and its drivers from being a student here, will be an invaluable resource to help maintain a safe environment for the children of the community.

 

I hope you consider me as an applicant and I look forward to helping promote a safer environment for our children.

 

Best Regards,

 

William DeMyer

 

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Yes, I understand that my letter to the search coordinator in this case was a little bit of a "mocking" letter and would not be taken seriously in any case, and that was my intention. This job would honestly be a living hell for me. One, I do not wake up early. It is basically impossible for me. And two, I cannot stand young kids. I quickly found that out when I was student teaching for elementary school at 8 in the morning (also its was early which killed me too). But what I quickly learned is that kids are crazy, especially in the morning or at the end of the day. For some reason, this in when they have all their energy and just don't want to listen. I would not be able to deal with this, especially if they were wanting to go home and watch their favorite cartoon or something, they'd probably just try to book it across the street without me looking or something. However, I did learn a lot from writing this cover letter as well as looking at others as an example. This, surprisingly as it may seem, is the first cover letter I have ever had to write. I really did not know what to expect! It taught me something though, you have to know how to sell yourself. Every example I read had this exquisite language and attention grabbing action words that explained their strengths. Yes, when I used them, I did it in a joking manner but it turned what would be suck simple statements into some grand remarks. It made a mountain out of a molehill to speak, something seemingly small and minute into something great! This was an interesting process and I hope you got some laughs out of it in the process. And don't worry, I will not be applying to be a crossing guard anytime soon!

           

Blog Post 2 - You Are What You Eat!

 

We are starting to become a fast food nation. We rely so much on food being fast, easy, and cheap that we forget to stop and read the labels. Or instead of reading labels, we just stop at the healthy buzzwords that we see on the box. I know that I am also guilty of this.  

Take this box of Fruity Pebble Treats for example. What are the first things that you see on the box? Maybe your eyes are drawn to the "90 calories per bar" logo in the top right, or the fact that it is gluten free? But what doe these really mean? These are the buzzwords that I was talking about earlier, healthy buzzwords that companies use to appeal to us as a nation wanting to "eat healthy" without having to try so hard; that fast, easy, cheap concept I was talking about earlier. Through the use of logos and these buzzwords, or words that can mean nothing but actually sound factual, they are making us think this is a healthy snack. Oh, it's only 90 calories, it has to be healthy. But what are those 90 calories comprised of? Is it all trans and saturated fats which can increase your risk of heart disease? Or does it contain  unsaturated fat, the "good" fat? After looking at the label, it just solidified my answer. It was complete comprised of saturated fats, contained no fiber, minimal protein and almost no essential vitamins and minerals. However, another advertisement claims that it's a "good source of vitamin D and 6 other essential vitamins." I guess you only need to contain ten percent of your daily value to be considered a "good source." We also see that it says gluten free on the box but just because it is gluten free, does not automatically make it healthy, you have to take in all the other statistics that I talked about just before. 

Another way it may help to convince you to buy this product is the fact that it teams up with Box Tops for Education. You may be a mother or father grocery shopping and see this product and know that your son or daughter is having a competition for their class to see who can bring in the most box tops, so in essence, you buy this product to help them in their endeavors. In a way, they are using pathos because the more you love your son or daughter, the more you will want them to succeed in their endeavors. Or, if you don't buy me, your don't care about your kids education or education in general. 

All in all, make sure you aren't just buying blindly based on the healthy buzzwords on the box, there is always more than meets the eye.

Blog Post 1 - Tiny Intervention

 

Words, no matter how big or small, can leave a lasting impression. Words can be used to help build or person up, or tear them down. We have all heard the phrase "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," but that is far from the truth. If anything, words are the one thing that can either push a person to rise beyond their wildest dreams, or push them to end it all. That is the power behind what you say and I got to experience that first hand with my roommates and this little "experiment." I decided to leave a sticky note of a joke that was personal to me and each of my roommates on their bathroom mirror so that they would see it first thing in the morning. That morning, each of my roommates texted me something along the lines of "dang, I couldn't stop laughing this morning when I read your post it." It allowed them to start the day with a laugh, rather than worrying about a test that they, or being annoyed that they had work at 8 that morning. Yes, they still had those things on their mind, but at least they were in a better mood when tackling the day rather than being mad at the world because of those things (sounds dramatic, but you haven't met my roommates).  The power of persuasion is a very great entity in this world and we often don't realize it. We don't see what that that smile to a random stranger on the bus does, or maybe how a simple "Howdy" can make all the difference in the world to someone who is having a really bad day. The small things make all the difference.

 

Just by taking that extra second to say "Howdy" to someone, hold open the door, or help a stranger pick up their things can not only brighten their day, but make the world a little bit of a better place.  You really have no idea what someone is going through that day and your actions could make, or break them. "Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well," a quote by Robin Sharma really sums up this lesson that I learned from this experiment. We see and experience the power the words of others can have on us, but often do no stop and think how what we say and do, affect others. We have the power to do great things and help others through our words and actions in our every day lives. Or we can use them to bring a person to their knees, whether we know it or not. So think about, what did you do or say today? Did you help bring a smile to the face of a stranger? Or did you hand them a blade with the words that you said?