End of Semester

20 days and counting until...MINNESOTA!

After moving to Boston in late August and only spending a little less than 3 weeks total there in the past 8 months - I definitely miss my state! I'm finalizing my summer plans and JUST LANDED AN INTERNSHIP!! I'm going to one of the interns for Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein, and I'm pretty excited about it. I have yet to intern on the local level, though I have done some interning on the state level. It should be an interesting experience.

Besides the internship I plan on taking a few classes at Normandale Community College, as well as working as a lifeguard at the Bloomington Family Aquatic Center. Yay bfac! Hopefully I'll get a chance to compete in this year's WaveLoch FlowTour when they hit Minnesota at Water Park of America in August!


But until I get to leave - there's a mass amount of work do be done. One of the more interesting things on the long 'to do' list is to write a research paper on something related to media or education. I chose education - focusing in on sex education.

Obama recently approved more money for comprehensive sex education - which is a BIG step. Previously abstinence only education funding was advocated by Bush and Clinton, however, pregnancy and STD rates continue to rise at alarming rates. I think that the most effective way to have teens practice safe sex is through education. Teaching kids about the various methods, but including abstinence, should be done. It is not fair to leave kids in the dark about what could happen. When we tell kids at any age "Don't do ______" - they're going to want to do the opposite and either a)do it or b)explore/experiment with trying it. This is where I see abstinence only failing - if we simply tell kids "Don't have sex" - it may incline them to have sex, or experiment a little bit. If we give a comprehensive curriculum, they will know safe practices, but also be reminded that it is best to wait.


These are just a few of my thoughts on the issue..maybe I'll post my paper later...less than 6 days to write it!! Its going to be crunch time soon!