Growing up in a smaller town in Wisconsin doesn’t really expose you to a lot of diversity.  I want to say in my class we only had two or three African American students and maybe 20 some Asian American students.  I graduated with about 350 people so it’s not like the reason for that was a terribly small school district.  Coming to whitewater however has been a little bit of a change in the diversity aspect.  I shouldn’t say it a huge change because one of the two African American students in my class happened to be one of my best friends through high school but it’s defiantly different to see so much diversity on a regular day to day basis.  I think it’s important for schools and colleges in particular to have a wide range of diversity at their school.  I say that because when trying to prepare students for the future it’s good to have them in a diverse setting, because in today’s world everything is just getting more and more diverse as we progress into the future.  From a marketing stand point it’s extremely important to be aware of the diversity that surrounds us at all times.  Especially when it comes to advertising, you need to know what people are interested in and what they’re not in order to successfully market your product to them.

My favorite brand by far would have to be Under Armor.  To me under armor has always been very appealing due to its product reliability and good advertising.  They really know how to grab the attention of their target markets.  For example all the football commercials during this time of year with players like Adrian Peterson and LT.  I mean what kid isn’t going to go buy something that the best two running backs in the world are using.  Under Armor wants you to believe that they specialize in athletic apparel and they really back up there advertisements by having top quality products and being flexible when it comes to replacing any item that hasn’t helped up like it was supposed to.  To me that’s one reason why people keep choosing Under Armor, because not only do they have great products but the stand behind their products and take responsibility for them.  Another brand that I find appealing is North Face.  They tend to have pricier products but the items that they do sell tend to hold up longer and do what they’re supposed to, which sounds stupid because everything should do what it’s supposed to but that’s not always the case and both of these brands I guess tend to stand above the competition in quality and image.

-Brewskies Dugout because living in wisconsin people take sports very seriously and baseball season is a long. 

-our service consist of our food, entertainment, and home made products.

-target market: men and women 16-29, and families, of all incomes and races within 50 miles of our location.

Now that college is closing in on its halfway mark of the first semester I’m beginning to become a little more relaxed with my surroundings and my school work.  My classes for the most part have all been going very well.  Looking back I realize that taking more challenging classes in high school really paid off.  A couple of my classes like math and English seem awfully easy to start and I feel as if I can succeed as long as I put forward an effort to do so.  However there is one class, World of the Arts that I seem to be struggling in.  Not so much grade wise, but more so having problems with zoning in and really paying attention.  The reason I think I’m struggling with that is because I really dislike learning about art.  I don’t mind art itself but when it comes down to learning about paintings and different ways you can draw something, or which artist was known for this, it really bores me and I find it hard to pay attention.  One thing I still need to master is the ability to sit down and do homework when it needs to be down, even if there’s stuff going that I would rather be doing and is more fun.  College is going to be a challenge in more than one way and while college is only a couple weeks old I have a feeling that if I really apply myself and give it my all, there’s no reason I can’t walk away from here with a diploma in four years.

Drug and alcohol abuse is a growing problem in today’s world.  I don’t want to say it’s only with teens but I would have to guess that they are the majority abusers of these two substances.  To be honest with you I just don’t understand it.  Why someone would want to be taking some type of drug that not only cost them x amount of dollars (which I can only imagine must drive some people broke) but is killing them at the same time, is beyond me.  Obviously people under the age of 21 are going to drink, it just going to happen and just because it’s illegal they’re not going to stop.  To be quite honest with you, as bad as this may seem, if someone wants to have a couple beers throughout the night, big deal, as long as they don’t get behind the wheel of a vehicle they’re more than likely not going to hurt anyone.  It’s when people start to shotgun beers and go crazy with the beer bong that we start to see people really harming themselves and others.  Not to mention that when you do that kind of crap and drink that much in that little bit of time you’re going to not only be throwing up for the rest of the night but more than likely you’ll have one hell of a morning.  Personally I would say that all but one of my friends drink occasionally, like on weekends, and the only reason the one doesn’t is because he’s playing football for the Wisconsin Badgers and Div.1 college football team.  As far as drugs go I would say at least 30 to 40 percent use them occasionally as well, and I would put money on it that more than half of them have tried it.  Obviously abusing either of these substances is terrible for you, and if you can look at yourself in the mirror and be okay with what you see every morning, and look into the eyes of your loved ones and see the pain that your causing them still be using, then you have more issues than just drugs and alcohol.

Honestly it’s hard to believe that the high school years are done with and that I’m already in college.  It just a strange feeling having the same routine for the past four years and suddenly it’s all changed, and you’re trying to adapt to a new atmosphere and trying to meet new people at the same time.  One of my biggest fears is that in high school you have everything set in place for you and you really don’t have to worry about a whole lot, and when you get to college it’s all put on you.  You have to make sure that all your classes are in place, you have to make sure that you have everything ready and completed so you are able to graduate, and my biggest worry is that I’m going to forget to do something important.  College is going to be fun and I’m not worried about that at all. I can’t say that I’m not pumped for college to get underway.  Sure I’m a little worried that things won’t go as planned and the college might not be all fun and games but that’s a challenge that I’ll have to accept in order to experience all the positives that college has to offer.  All I ever hear from people is that “the college years are going to be the best of your life.”  I hope they know what they’re talking about and I can’t wait to make the best of these next four or five years!