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As I registered to vote a few months ago, I asked my mom if I had to write a party affiliation and was somewhat scared when she looked at me and said “Of course you do.” As I gave it some thought I wrote down democrat, sealed it in its self-addressed envelope, and sent it on its way.

Tuesday November 4th 7:10: I arrive at Bel Aire City Hall to vote and notice the lack of cars. I walk in and realize there were more people than I originally thought. As I find my way towards a table with the label “A-D” on it, I am greeted with a smiling face as I give my name to receive a slip of paper that says whether I will use paper or electronically vote. I choose paper, because its much quicker. I get my ballot and sit down, anxious enough I can barely sit still. After completing my ballot, I slowly rise to my feet and go over to submit my ballot. After the scanner takes it in, I receive my “I Voted” sticker and walk out of City Hall with what now seems to be a quite ridiculous smile.

Then later that night I go to a friend’s house and as we work on homework we keep tabs on how things are starting to shape up. We continued watching until it seemed Obama would win by quite a large margin. At that point I must go home, so I rush home and plop myself right back down in front of the TV and realize Obama has done it!

I listen to Barack Obama give his speech and get chills. Maybe this is the change America really does need to turn things around. As the crowd chants “Yes We Can!” I get really excited and get up and do a little victory dance. I look forward to having Obama as a President. Just by electing him, we have started the change he is constantly talking about.

For most people, $50,000 is an awful lot of money.  In fact, in the United States, the average yearly income of all households is a little over $50,000.  So it can be quite a shock to see that the most expensive colleges and universities in the United States actually cost about $50,000 a year when you figure in tuition, room, and board.

Here are the most outrageously expensive places to go to college in the United States.  These figures include tuition, room, and board.

1. Sarah Lawrence College, Yonkers, NY: $53,166

2. George Washington University, Washington, D.C.:  $50,312

3. New York University , New York City:  $50,182

4. Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.:  $49,689

5. Connecticut College, New London, CT:  $49,385

6. Bates College, Lewiston, ME:  $49,350

7. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD: $49,278

8. Skidmore College, Sarasota Springs, NY:   $49,266

9. Scripps College, Claremont, CA:  $49,236

10. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT: $49,210

So where did the U.S. presidents attend college?  As you might expect, the big name schools have attracted many future Commander in Chiefs. Yale University alumni outnumber Harvard University alumni 7-6 (when counting both undergraduate and law school admission). However, if Barack Obama becomes president, the core will be even, as he graduated from Harvard School of Law.

As for public universities?  Only three presidents actually had undergraduate degrees from state universities — Gerald Ford from the University of Michigan, Lyndon Johnson from Texas State University – San Marcos, and James Polk from the University of North Carolina. Two presidents have degrees from the United States Military Academy (Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower) and one has a degree from the United States Naval Academy (Jimmy Carter — who will be joined by John McCain, if he wins the election).

As for advanced degrees, the presidents have had surprisingly few. Eight former presidents have law degrees — nine, if Obama is elected.  Only one president earned a PhD — Woodrow Wilson. Seven presidents did not go to college.

Here’s a list of the presidents and where they went to college.

1. George Washington — did not attend college but received a surveyor’s license from the College of William and Mary
2. John Adams — Harvard College (which later became a part of Harvard University)
3. Thomas Jefferson —  College of William and Mary
4. James Madison — College of New Jersey (which is now Princeton University)
5. James Monroe — Yale University (more…)

Sarah Palin’s pregnant teenage daughter Bristol has caused renewed discussion in the issue of sex education in schools — especially since Governor Palin opposes all sex education programs that teach anything other than abstinence. (more…)

Apple, Inc. has created quite a stir at Yale University. They’ve managed to snatch away the dean of the prestigious business school, Joel Podolny, to become an executive at a new mysterious endeavor called Apple University.  Podolny will become the first vice president and dean of this new institution.

So what is Apple University?  Here’s the thing: nobody knows. Apple won’t give anyone the specifics — which is either a great ploy to get lots of buzz, or just plain creepy, depending on how you look at it. (more…)

These days, it’s just about everyone’s worst nightmare on a college campus:  a school shooting.  This became reality on October 27 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, where two young students were shot and killed, and a third student was shot in the leg and released.  The campus was locked down, and all Monday classes were canceled. (more…)

Last week, Oprah endorsed the Amazon Kindle as her new favorite thing. She cited the Kindle with “changing her life” and being “the wave of the future.” Oprah’s Favorite Things episodes are somewhat of a legend, she’s given away everything from gas grills and her favorite pajama bottoms, to facial creams and Blackberries. In the hundreds of items Oprah has put her “favorite” stamp on, she’s claiming the Amazon Kindle is her all-time fave. (more…)

This Saturday I will be getting my senior pictures! And as I thought of this, it prompted many ideas to surface in my head and made me wonder if everyone knows how great senior pictures are, but also how important they tend to be. A reason for their importance is simply this may be the only time someone ever gets pictures like this taken. Senior pictures should be a big deal!

One of the key things though when getting pictures taken is to be sure to be yourself in the pictures. Especially when it comes to outfits, where you take your pictures, and the poses in the pictures. You want to make sure everything in the pictures is an accurate portrayal of who you are. (more…)

Think your vote doesn’t count and that politicians don’t listen to you?  This election, perhaps more than any time in history since the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, young voters may make a major impact on this presidential election  And, according to the Harvard Institute of Politics, evidence strongly suggests that the impact that young voters are having is in favor of Barack Obama.

According to a study released by the institute, a whopping 56 percent of young voters are supporting Obama, whereas only 30 percent of young voters have expressed support for John McCain.  Moreover, the study found that young voters are significantly more excited about Obama than they were about John Kerry in 2004, which could translate into more actual votes come election day from students and other young people.

So, students, whether you’re an Obama fan or not, be sure to vote on election day!  There’s a good chance that voter turnout among young people will reach record numbers, which means that the days of politicians ignoring the needs of younger voters may be ending.  Need more convincing?  Here are five reasons why college students need to vote.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been writing about the college records of the presidential candidates, VP candidates, and our current president and VP.  But it seems like the brainiest one out of the whole bunch may be prospective First Lady Michelle Obama.

Check out Michelle Obama’s educational background.  According to the Chicago Sun Times, Obama (whose maiden name was Michelle LaVaughn Robinson) was a brilliant and curious child who pulled herself out of her poverty-stricken childhood through hard work and academic talent.  She could read by the time she was four and skipped the second grade.

After attending a prestigious Chicago magnet school, to which she had been handpicked, Obama was accepted to Princeton University, where she was one of only a few African American students.  At Princeton, she majored in sociology and African American studies.  She found her minority status to be a challenge, and wrote an honor’s thesis about that experience.  Despite the challenge, Obama graduated cum laude from Princeton.  Immediately afterward, she attended and graduated from Harvard University School of Law.

Now that sounds like a role model!

Read more about the college records of Cindy McCain, Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney.