In a commencement ceremony to the graduating class of 2005 at Stanford University, Steve Jobs, Apple founder and CEO, delivered an immaculate speech. On June 12th, Jobs, 50 years-old at the time, walked up to the podium and shared various stories about his life that included life lessons and words of wisdom that left a lasting impression on the graduates.

Jobs took the stage and was greeted by loud applause and cheer from the graduates and the audience. As he began, all eyes were on him and all ears were listening to one of the most popular technological masterminds in the history of the world. Silence filled the area as Jobs was about to tell his first life story.

Jobs began his speech by discussing his own story, going from being a college dropout at Reed College in Portland, Oregon to inventing the multi-billion dollar company we all know today from his parents’ garage with “Woz” (Steve Wozinak). He was very straight forward with the challenges he faced along the way. One of these challenges included being fired from the company he started by John Sculley, former marketing and sales executive from Pepsi that Apple brought in. He followed his challenges by emphasizing the importance of perseverance and to always follow your passions.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work,” Jobs told the graduates. “And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” 

Based on his past experiences, Jobs encouraged the graduates to not be afraid to fail as it is a stepping stone to success in the real world. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future,” he said.

Throughout his speech, Jobs stressed the importance of following your passions in life. He strongly recommended to the graduates to be bold, don’t be afraid to take risks, and live life to the fullest.  “Stay hungry, stay foolish,” Jobs famously said.  These words are what has said to stick with the graduates to this day.

As the end of his speech approached, Jobs shared one last story about his ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer. Jobs was diagnoised with said cancer that previous year (2004). He spoke about taking advantage of living each day with a purpose. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” he reminded the graduates.

The audience listened as if it was the president talking up on the podium, hanging onto every last word of wisdom he spoke as he concluded his speech. As Jobs said farewell to the graduating class, there was a sense of inspiration in the air. The speech strucl a cord in every single member of the graduating class and their families. It was a true reminder of the powers of perseverance, passion, and purpose. Jobs had forever left an impact on the Stanford University class of 2005.

The Oak Creek High School Bowling Team hosted its annual 9-pin Tap Tournament to raise money for the team’s upcoming season. On Saturday, March 2, at Classic Lanes in Oak Creek, WI, the event took place. Over 200 bowlers signed up to participate and support the Oak Creek High School Bowling team as they begin their season. The money being raised at this event goes directly to the team to help fund equipment and trips to tournaments. Over the past decade, Oak Creek Bowling has been successful, becoming District champions in back-to-back seasons and reaching the state competition for 11 consecutive years. They have also traveled to various parts of the country to compete nationally. “We are proud of our kids and what they have accomplished. That is why we continue to throw events like this” said Michelle Ervin, co-coordinator of the tournament.  

The success of the program is what has allowed this event to consistently happen every year. This is due to the brilliant coaching style of Jeff Wrobleski. Wrobleski has been the head coach of the bowling team for decades. He was first involved in the program when his kids were in the program. His kids are now 40 years old. “I do it because I love to see the progress that these kids make not just in bowling, but also in their lives. Seeing them as toddlers bowling on Saturdays to seeing them grow up and be on my team is something special.”  says Wrobleski when asked about his time with the program. He is proud of his work in the program and how the program has developed to something bigger than when it started. 

The tournament is also supported by a local group known as the “Mothers of Bowling” (M.O.B). The group consists of the moms who support their kids in the program. The head of the group, Holly Sutherland, says “We created this group to support our kids and make sure they get what they can get from the school. The school does not allow much funding for the team, so we support through fundraisers like this.” The M.O.B meets once a month to go over the financials of the team and look for ways to continue to fund the team. 

To conclude, support your local community any way you can. Communities are always looking for support in several ways and you could contribute to their cause. Make the world a better place.

Depression is a common mental illness among college students. According to Statista.com, 41% of college students reported to experience symptoms have depression. I sat down with Amanda Stevens, a sophomore at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who has been diagnosed with depression.

When I asked about how she’s been since being diagnosed, she responded that she doesn’t feel any different. The only real difference since is that she seemingly lost interest in a lot of things that she used to really enjoy. 

I then asked how she knew that she might have depression. Her response consisted of the typical symptoms. She said that she wasn’t eating, kept forgetting to do important things like homework and chores, and kept experiencing drastic mood swings. Her parents recommended that she visit a mental health specialist who diagnosed her with depression.

The next few questions I asked talked about those symptoms; starting with the memory loss. She said “the memory loss isn’t as bad as it used to be. I forgot important things like big projects or tests. Now, I just forget to do every day things like brushing my teeth or putting shoes on before I left my room. It got worse before being diagnosed but the meds that my doctor prescribed has helped a lot”. She also noted this may have also been because she stopped caring about these kinds of things which is why she always forgot about them.

The next symptom I dove into was the weight loss. She said it’s due to the fact that she never wanted to eat. She wouldn’t go out of her way to go get a meal. She said she lost around 20 pounds within two weeks solely by not eating. She wouldn’t eat unless she was in a social setting because she didn’t want her friends thinking something was wrong.

I dove deeper into how her depression affected her interaction with her friends. She said “I was scared. My friends and I don’t really get too personal with each other and I didn’t want to ruin our dynamic. I didn’t want them to look at me or treat me any different either”. She demonstrated the common response to sensitive topics with friends. She said her friends caught on eventually and have been really supportive of her efforts to get better.

The last topic I asked Amanda about was how her depression messed with her insomnia. She’s had insomnia since she was in middle school and was on medication for that as well. She said she stopped taking the medication and stayed up all night almost every night and would sleep during the day. She didn’t have any motivation to attend class anyway and she enjoys being up at night more than during the day. Since the depression diagnosis, she went back on her meds for insomnia and began getting into more of a healthy sleep schedule.

Depression is a common occurance among college students. Thankfully, nowadays students are able to get the resources they need to get through it. Mental health is something that shouldn’t wait. If you or anyone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, get them help. That’s exactly what Amanda’s parents did for her and now she lives a much happier life. Don’t wait and seek help sooner rather than later.

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