In 2009 when the American economy was on its knees,  according to a New York Times opinion piece, a pitiful 19% of all students that graduated that year with a bachelor’s degree were able to find employment. Let’s not forget that education is big business in the United States, and to some degree, Canada. The message was heard loud and clear: Need a job, get a Master’s. So hundreds of thousands of students, already burdened with significant debt, filled the halls of universities across the country in hopes of gaining employment at the end of it all. There is no simple formula for attaining the job of dreams, but going after a Master’s isn’t always the answer.

It really depends on what field you’re going into. If you are going into the sciences, or business, a Master’s degree can mean the difference between a job and being homeless. Good luck walking into Goldman Sachs without an MBA at minimum. However, if you’re in the arts, unless you’re going into a field like Anthropology, or Psychology, a Master’s won’t necessarily make or break your career path.  What a Master’s or MBA does allow, is a student who has studied general subjects to narrow their interests down to specific subject matter and participate in pertinent research projects.

A Master’s degree is a valuable part of your education, but it’s important to know what the ramifications might be, whether it will cause considerable financial stress, or if it means the difference between a corner office or the mailroom. Do your research, pick the right school and program, and remember that more education is always psychologically beneficial, it just depends on whether your wallet can handle it.

I talked last week about the possibility that Manning was making the same mistake as other legends. No one associates Joe Montana with the Kansas City Chiefs and it is unlikely that anyone will associate Manning with the Broncos. Peyton started out this week with a tremendous amount of energy, being the first players to report to voluntary workouts with his new team. One thing is certain however. If Peyton calls too many downs this season he will certainly be spending time with the Broncos medical assistants. Only one year will have passed between the time Manning had cervical fusion surgery, which was his second in less than a year. Peyton´s father, Archie, played for three different teams and many people say that he made the same mistake. After playing for the Saints for 11 years and suffering injuries, he moved on to inglorious years with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings.

Peyton Manning will certainly join the ranks of the NFL´s greatest quarterbacks. He has received 17 different NFL awards, including 4 MVP awards and 1 Super Bowl ring and a Super Bowl MVP. The fact is that if he had never been injured the level of play in the NFL would take its toll on a 36 year old body. I spent 12 years as a US Army Ranger. In the late 1980´s I had the privilege of being allowed to try out for the Houston Oilers during the strike season. Despite my extreme physical fitness at the time I was handled on the field like a child and still feel the hits I took and I was only 30 years old. Age slows our reactions as well as our ability to heal. Assuming that Peyton is a competent money manager he certainly is not playing, and risking himself like this, for the money. Keeping his name is the spotlight, maybe even trying to catch his brother, would be as silly as Archie joining another team to challenge his sons on the field.

First of all, regardless of what you thought of Peyton Manning as a person, no one who knows football can deny that he could easily be included in a list of the top 10 quarterbacks of all time. When Peyton joined the Colts he was able to not only break a nearly 30 year Championship drought, but to keep the team at the top of the AFC for nearly a decade. But this type of performance should not surprise anyone familiar with the Manning family. Peyton´s father, Archie Manning, was the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints and his younger brother, Eli Manning, has now lead his New York Giants to more Superbowl Championship games than Peyton managed for the Colts. But while Eli usually wins the game when it really matters, Peyton was surely the statistics hog, breaking dozens of records during his career, including Superbowl records and flashiness usually stays in our memories more than mundane Superbowl games. Now Peyton will be joining the Denver Broncos, following the questionable footsteps of players like Joe Montana and Brett Favre, who did not know when to quit.

It does not take and FBI Special Agent to know that something is very wrong in the New Orleans Saints locker room. The New York Times reported last month that an extensive investigation by the NFL has discovered that several members of the teams defense, players, were pooling their money and paying bounties with it when players injured members of the other team. The players were supposedly led in this effort by the teams former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams. According to investigators the largest bounties were paid, nearly $50,000 worth, during the 2009 season, which put New Orleans into the Superbowl. This type of behavior should not be shocking. The only shocking part is that more teams have not been caught at this. Ex-Oakland Raiders safety Jake Tatum wrote a book in the 1970´s entitled “They Call Me Assassin” in which he told the full story of players injuring other players intentionally. It has not been too many years that the Philadelphia Eagles were found to be doing the exact same thing and many other teams, the Dallas Cowboys during the Landry years for instance, that have been suspected of this behavior. In 2007 Patriots Coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team another $250,000 for illegally videotaping other teams signals.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. (See QuotationPage.Com.)

This is actually a follow-up thought to last weeks article “Is There Absolute Truth?” This article is an answer and exposition on the answer to the first question, “The objective of PC is to make the attempt to please everyone, which at least to some extent is an attempt to not offending anyone. Is that possible?” Absolutely not! So why try?

Why Try?
I can only speculate. I do not have a psychology degree, but here goes. In casual conversation, there is often great effort to keep the conversation cordial; and to some extent that is admirable. But it can be taken to an absurd extreme, which is exactly what PC does.

Political expediency is another possible reason. Keeping the rhetoric safe to avoid offending anyone is an easy way to either stretch the truth or avoid it altogether. “I do not support raising taxes.” may be preferable to “I will never vote to raise your taxes.” Although, this type of politics is complex; so even the converse could be said, depending on the candidate and the situation. Saying what a particular audience wants to hear, as opposed to what is actually believed or believed to be the truth or the truth itself, is another example of political expediency.

Another reason could be the need or desire to be accepted or associated with those who believe in a particular ideology, political party or philosophy. The truth is that both democrats and republicans, liberals and conservatives, creationists and evolutionists and many others engage in this to some degree or another. Being bias toward republicans, conservatives and creationists, I also believe that for any of them to engage in PC is both contrary to definition and logic. However, in the minds of democrats, liberals and evolutionists, I believe PC is consistent with their common practice and with their misguided logic.

Avoidance of the truth is another possible reason. The truth is not always easy to admit or submit to for most people. Often it takes courage, intestinal fortitude and self sacrifice to stand up for truth and what you really believe. However, if it indeed is the truth, in the end right will come out right and the correct outcome will prevail; but it may take time for “all of the people,” or even “some of the people” to realize the truth.

Why Is This Important?
As a college student, you need to believe in something, know why you believe it and be willing to stand up and speak up to support your belief. As you practice this in college, it will serve you extremely well when you venture out into the world and pursue your career. You will gain more respect and credibility than you would otherwise; and this will also be true in both your professional life and your personal life. Think about this. Embrace the tradition of Superman’s “truth, justice and the American way”! This country’s founding fathers did not believe it was fiction!

Thank you for reading!

Here is a truth, ‘one plus one equals two.’ Just because you don’t believe it, does that make it untrue? No, 1 plus 1 still equals 2. If a “professional” make the statement ‘one plus one equals three,’ does that make it untrue? No, it is still 2. It is an absolute truth, ”one plus one equals two.’

Therefore, can this be applied to other truths? Are there other absolute truths? The answer can only be, “Yes.”

The Implications
If there is one absolute truth, there must be others. And, in fact, there are. This is in direct contradiction to those who believe in relativism, which is the belief that there is no such thing as right, wrong, true, false, good, evil, etc. Rather, there are only degrees of each of these; there is no absolute right or wrong, true or false, or good or evil. Is this related to other religious doctrines, philosophies or even political ideologies? Yes, absolutely! (Other than mentioning Christianity in the film title above, this article is going to purposely exclude religious references; but they will be pursued in the same context in other articles.)

Political Correctness (PC). This practice, favored by those on “left” and predominantly by those in the Democratic Party, directly stems from relativism. If someone is wrong, don’t offend them. If they tell a lie, don’t call it a “lie,” because that may offend them. If they say something that is false, don’t call it false; rather, use something less offensive such “misleading,” “white lie,” an “untruth,” or a “falsehood.” Again, the objective of PC is to make the attempt to please everyone, which at least to some extent is an attempt to not offending anyone. Is that possible? You be the judge.

Lawlessness. It is commonly known that a society without laws will be in chaos. However, if there is no absolute right or wrong, then people are only guilty of breaking the law in degrees. Therefore, judges and juries will sentence criminals based on the degree to which they broke the law. To some extend this is unavoidable. But to a significant extent in today’s society there is great disrespect for the law because too many people have been given sentences of leniency, no sentence or not even prosecuted at all because of the lack of belief in absolute truth. Does this have any relevance to the chaos, revolutions and demonstrations in countries all over the world today? You be the judge.

Disintegration of the Family. Clearly, there are many forces at work in society working against the “nuclear family,” one with a dad, mom and children staying together until the children are 18 to 21. If children are not taught right from wrong, true from false, or good from evil, but rather are taught all is relative, are they going to be confused? Are they going to be less confident in their convictions? Are they going to know how to behave in difficult situations? Are they going to be productive members of society? Are they going to respect the authority of parents, teachers or law enforcement? You be the judge.

Conclusions
It is a complex and dangerous world. The college environment in the U.S., and much of the world, has is decidedly moved “left.” Certainly there are exceptions among individual faculty and administrators, but predominantly higher education administrators and faculty believe in relativism and PC with the intent of not offending anyone and making the world a more peaceful place to live. Is it working? You be the judge?

As you attend a college or university, whether in the traditional classroom or online, you will be exposed to this “left” or liberal bias. Actually, in the college or university environment there must be a place for all doctrines, philosophies and ideologies, allowing student expose to all of these. However, you are going to have to choose what to believe. You be the judge! But choose wisely!

Thank you for reading!

The Good
From almost every person you meet, if you get to know them to any extent at all, there will be “something good” you can learn and try out for yourself, study, note, observe, consider, emulate or even adopt into your lifestyle or everyday life. However, make a habit of looking for good traits, characteristics, habits, mannerisms, phraseologies, personalities, facial expressions, reactions, actions and speech. Then, carefully consider them. The object is to note the very best in other people and incorporate those “something goods” into your life.

Examples might include: saying “Yes” instead of “Yup.”; smiling whenever you greet someone for the first time; avoiding glancing at your watch during a speech; showing more emotion and empathy when someone shares some personal bad news; speaking more clearly; not cussing; being more outgoing; being more engaging with people; or just giving a casual “hello” to a total stranger. The list could be endless and will be different for each person. But try it. It will expand your personality, provide you with a greater variety of friends and acquaintances and generally make life more interesting!

Note that there is no suggestion for labeling anyone as “good.”

The Bad
Unfortunately, these are easier to learn and “try out for yourself”! However, if you recognize the elements as “bad,” you have made a great first step. Just as you can be aware of the good, you can also be aware of the bad. This is actually fairly easy to do, unless you frequently associate with people who have the same bad traits, characteristics, habits, etc.; then you will usually, and often involuntarily, pickup the same elements. When you find this happening, it should be a warning sign. Just maybe, these are not the people you should be associating with frequently; but when you do associate with them, note these elements but look for something good. Almost everyone has at least one or a few “something goods,” even though the bad elements may predominate, at least from your perspective.

Note that there is no suggestion for labeling anyone as “bad.”

The Rest
Until you get to know a particular person, most people will fall into “the rest.” As noted above, categorizing people is not the objective. The objective is to take good elements from some, note and avoid the bad elements from others and learn from the rest if, as and when you get to know them.

You are in college to learn, more specifically to learn how to learn. Learn as much as you can about people, consider emulating the good elements in people and consider avoiding emulating the bad elements. Knowing the difference is key. The best guidance for such discernment is, without question, something which only comes from the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, the Bible.

Thank you for reading!

Habits
Every morning without fail, you need to pray. Show the Lord you put him first in all that you do, think and say; and ask Him to help you do that. Then read your Bible. You do have a Bible, right? If not, get One.

The main point here is not to turn you into a religious nut, a Jesus freak, a holy roller or any other religious cliche. The point is to form the habit of putting the Lord first and giving Him the opportunity to work in your life. If you don’t ask, He often is not going to work for you. The exception is intercessory prayer; meaning that somebody else is praying for you. But if that is the case, one of the first things they are going to pray about is for you to ask Christ into you life (if you have not already done so), pray and read your Bible.

Practices
Many books and countless articles have been written on how to live the Christian life. Understandably in today’s society in the U.S., these are often descriptions of “What not to do.” These might include: smoking (eating), drinking (something without alcohol), cussing (thinking, “Does this help me or anyone else?”), dancing (exercising), living with a person of the opposite sex you are not married to (creating and enjoying a family), doing drugs (doing a sport or hobby), living immorally (living righteously), etc. (enjoying life – forever!). In parenthesis I have included simple, obvious, and sometimes innocuous, activities you could do in their place. So read the list again, in light of this intent. The parenthetical suggestions are certainly more healthy, both physically and spiritually.

These practices will provide you with more, closer and longer lasting relationships, more respect from teachers, bosses, relatives and friends, and a more enjoyable life! Will any of these, or even the “habits” above, prevent the trials and tribulations of life? Absolutely not! We all have to go through good times and bad. As Frank Sinatra once said and sang, “That’s Life!” However they will, immeasurably, help you deal with them and lead a more stable life. This means you will be able to “Meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same,” as written in the famous poem “— If —” by Rudyard Kipling.

Following Through
You have enough challenges in college without engaging in blatant sin – missing the mark, activities and contemplations you know are wrong and unrighteous living. Every challenge in college should be met head-on, studied carefully, considered on its merits, analyzed when necessary, and overcome, solved or dismissed as unnecessary. However, none should be ignored.

You are in college to learn, academically, financially, socially and spiritually. So follow through, and learn everything you can!

Thank you for reading!

Humans are social creatures, always have been and always will be. When a person is isolated, for whatever reason, that person will move toward self-centeredness and tend to not only exclude others but also develop a resentment for them. All of us need some social relationships.

How Many?
Some of us, particularly women, may need many social relationships. Some of these will be best friends; others will be close friends and still others friends or just acquaintances. Strive to have not more than one to three best friends and not more than two to four close friends. A person’s number of friends and acquaintances may vary significantly, depending on how social they choose to be or become.

I purposely chose the numbers above based on personal experience, knowing a wide variety of people and guidance from the Lord. Exceed one or two best friends and they may be competing for the position. Exceed two to four close friends and they too may be competing; but you will find yourself falling short of spending sufficient time with each to maintain a close relationship. Moving someone from a friend or acquaintance to a close friend is where the decision can be challenging. However, it is more important to maintain a relationships than to strive for many relationships, especially if the latter is to gain popularity.

Be cordial and friendly to many and perhaps most or all. But only be really close to a few. Then you will find yourself and your friends minimizing such problems as envy, jealousy and unforgiveness – each of which could easily be the subjects for a whole series of articles the size of this one.

Preserving Social Relationships Through Forgiveness
Have you ever been totally in the wrong, yet the person who was hurt the most came to you and forgave you? It’s a great feeling; but it often only comes after many feelings of guilt and consternation, which may last for hours, days or even weeks. Had the person who was hurt the most come to you and forgave you earlier, the time period of guilt and consternation would have been easier to bear, and would have had less chance to turn into bitterness and resentment.

However, repenting (meaning turning 180 degrees away from a wrong, a known sin) and asking for forgiveness, both from God and the wronged person, is always the best course of action. And one of the best parts of doing this, providing you are sincere, is that it does not matter whether the wronged person forgives you or not. You have done your part to make it right. If you need more explanation, reference the Lords Prayer in Mathew 6:12, which admonishes all to “Forgive us our debts, as we for give our debtors.” That says volumes toward attaining and maintain the proper attitude during difficult situations and circumstances.

Helping Others With The Proper Attitude
Do you exercise control over your attitude? You will seldom be able to help others with a “poor attitude” unless you can control your own attitude. Particularly a best friend or a close friend, and sometimes others, may depend on you for stability and reference. It is very difficult, and usually impossible in the short term, to change another person’s poor attitude. A gentle word, a reassurance of friendship or a short word of forgiveness may do much to help another discover the proper attitude.

Life is not fair. And that is a fact. If you believe life must be fair, you will often have an improper attitude toward others. Whatever you believe “fair” to be, treat others that way, but do not always expect them to do the same to you. Except from a best friend or a close friend, it seldom happens; and even they may sometimes not treat you fairly.

I have purposely excluded mentioning girlfriends and boyfriends. You should not have to learn how to be come a social worker to understand that all of the above applies, but dealing the associated emotions and potential complications may be the subject several future articles. However, if you need help right now, reference the website “Everything Intersecting College Life” for more guidance and direction.

Thank you for reading!

At one time or another, we all must ask for help. However, before asking for help from others, we often must try to solve or address our situations, problems or fears by ourselves. I say “often” because sometimes the situation, problem or fear is simply overwhelming; then, ask for help from someone, usually a professional, immediately. You may need a lawyer for a situation, a professional in a particular field for a problem or the police to address a fear. However, these are rare. The very sheltered college or university environment often provides the legal, professional or police help or protection on a constant, 24/7 basis. However, financial, social and spiritual help is often not as easy, available or even known. For this and the next two weeks, we will address these three, starting with financial.

Get a job! Obviously, it should be part-time because you are a full-time student. But you need to earn and manage your own resources; and money is a great resource to learn to manage.

Savings
Just because you earned it does not mean you have to spend it. Or, just because you were given money, by parents, other relatives or through an educational loan or grant, does not mean you have to spend it immediately! Learn the meaning of the phrases discretionary income, reserve funds, miscellaneous funds, contingency funds, emergency funds and rainy day funds. Depending on your exact situation, you may need separate saving accounts for some or all of these. But learn to save. If you are not sure how much, start with 5 or 10 percent of whatever you earn or receive; both are easy to figure and you will be forming a habit with the potential to serve you extremely well for the rest of your life!

Budgeting
Know where you money is being spent! Put your income and expenses in a spreadsheet or financial records program and review or update the data daily, every few days or not more than weekly. Again, you will be forming a habit with the potential to serve you well for the rest of you life!

Tithing
If you are a Christian, you should know that 10 percent of everything you earn belongs to God, even before you earn it. To spend 100 percent of all you earn is actually stealing 10 percent from God Himself! If He is first in your life, and you want Him to help you, never forget to tithe. You can much more easily live off the 90 percent than the 100 percent, because He is there to help. This should be enough said.

If you are not a Christian, saving and budgeting still work. But when you are desperate, people have let you down, your ideas and resources are all exhausted, and do not know where to turn, what are you going to do or to whom are you going to turn for help? Its a good question. To start on the road to a “good” answer, go to the second article on this website, “Stability and Reference for College Students – The Way, The Truth and The Life.”

Thank you for reading!

Where do you go for help? You have an assignment to do research on a given topic for a paper; but the topic is so broad, you are not sure what to choose. You lost the assignment and its due tomorrow. It’s Wednesday, and you’ve got three tests in different subjects next Tuesday! You lost your homework, which you finished last night after three hours of work; and it is due in two hours, but you have another class right now!

College life does not always go smoothly, but then neither will life out in the real world after college. It’s all a learning experience. Even if you have chosen one of the best college majors, sometimes you will have ask for help. But where and who?

First, … Think!
Often, you can work it out yourself. Review the assignment carefully. When did you last remember having the homework? How much studying do you need to do before each of the three tests next Tuesday? Is it possible to “resurrect” the homework with only an hour to do so? In other words, exhaust all possibilities of finding a solution yourself. Find a quiet place where you can think, not a noisy dorm room, a crowded snack bar or a chaotic gymnasium. Try the library, a quiet park bench, an unused lounge area or even an empty classroom. Then, if you still have no answers, ask for help.

Second, … Ask!
So who do you ask? Another student in the same class, a fellow student working on the same project, your academic advisor (There’s a novel idea! Isn’t that why you have one?), a student who took the class last year or last semester and your instructor are all possible sources of information or ideas to help.

So now time is slipping away and you have none left. Ask yourself, “Was this my fault or was I merely a victim of circumstances?” If it was your fault, then you better tell that to someone – your instructor! Hopefully, this is the first time you have had to ask for extra time to complete an assignment. Be honest and tell the instructor about the situation, but be sure to say the words, “I know it was my fault.” Don’t blame it on anyone but yourself, unless you are truly the victim of a circumstance beyond your control.

Third, …Take Action!
If the situation was beyond your control, let the instructor know that also. Almost without exception, unless this or a similar situation has happened before or has happened several times, the instructor will give you an extension with little or no penalty. However, make it clear to the instructor that it was beyond your control and you will do everything possible to assure that this situation does not happen again.

Whatever you do, do not let the assignment due date and time pass without acknowledging it. In this case, inaction may be the worst course of action. When good things happen or work out, give credit where credit is due. When bad things happen or do not work out, take responsibility for your own errors, whether it is your fault or not. Blaming others usually does more harm than good and does little to build your own character and reputation, rather it often destroys both.

Thank you for reading! Your comments and questions are most welcome.