My Education

 

I was fortunate enough to attend the same school district through all of my education.  I attended Wilson Area High School, one of the smallest schools in the Lehigh Valley. With a small school came the drama of knowing everything about everyone. Besides the drama Wilson has an exceptional reputation in it educational standards. It has become one of the valley’s top school, always scoring in the top 3 in standardized testing. Class mattered in Wilson, the kids from Williams Township were considered as the rich, snobby students, and the students from West Easton and Wilson were considered as poor or ghetto. As you got older you seemed to get away from the class issues, because you picked your classes and you made friends who were in the same classes as you. It segregated students based on their educational performance rather than social class. Bullying and other negative things didn’t really exists in Wilson, simple because students were only ever around kids of the same academic level. I feel this method of schooling was very effective in helping students learn in a safe environment. This made my core group of friends very intelligent and hardworking people, who so far are very successful people. Wilson is one of the most elite school when you talk about safety and academic performance and I am very fortunate that I got to attend this great school.

The Way of LIfe

“Do NOT play with that!” a key phrase every kid hears from their parents growing up. Weather boy or girl there is always social expectations on how we should act, who we should be friends with, and what we should play with. Young girls are expected to play with baby dolls and my little pony figures and young boys are told to play with action figures like Spiderman and Batman.  Growing up as one of the few boys in my family I was always surrounded by my cousins, who were girls. We were raised to always be active and be outside. I believe this was to keep us close and not get mixed up with playing with toys that “were not” acceptable by society. Growing up people picked on my cousin for being too manly because they were girls that love to be outside and playing sports or hiking. As for me, I like most people got picked on because I was small. I got called things like “weak, sissy, baby, chicken, etc.” and in today’s society kids expect to get picked on and that is not okay. Bullying in this day in age is something that everyone is embracing, adapting to and that is far from okay. As a nation, created on the idea of freedom how can we stand by and let children be oppressed and bullied by other kids and even adults. As a kids there no worse feeling then that of not being accepted. As a society we have just conformed to these ideals. Men, women, and children cannot express themselves in today’s world because how we have structured our believes on masculinity and feminism.

 

"No Easy Day"

No Easy Day by Mark Owen is my favorite book because it influenced my life inside and outside the military. Most people would say “the book is only about killing Osama Bin Laden.” when in fact it describes, in detail, the personal accounts of an ex-navy seals life and missions leading up to the death of the worlds most wanted man. The book not only describes the events that took place on the day Bin Laden was killed but also previous mission and encounters in Mark Owen’s career leading up to this mission. No Easy Day influenced my life because it showed that hard work and determination will always pay off. Within my military career it showed how there are factors that change the course of the mission. For example, in this book the mission was changed when one of the helicopters crashed on the wall of the compound causing a loud commotion, shortening the time to accomplish the mission and eliminating the element of surprise. Being in the military allowed me to relate to this book in different ways then someone who is not in the military, although it relates to me on a non-military level as well. This book describes one of the most infamous people in American history and people around America were affected by the actions of this infamous terrorist. No easy Day by Mark Owen is a great read for not only people who enjoy non-fiction but also people who enjoy military process and how certain objectives are reached within our military. I would definitely suggest this book for many years to come.

Getting to Know Emma Werner

Over the past week English has been about getting to know our classmates and trying to step outside our comfort zone. This week I am given the opportunity to sit down and talk to a classmate and learn that there is more to a person then one could imagine. I interviewed Emma. She is not only enrolled at Northampton Community College, but is also attending Nazareth High School. Emma and I asked each other questions in an effort to get to know each other and share with others what we learned. Emma’s education won’t stop at Northampton, she intends on attending the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) to purse a degree in nursing. However, outside of classes Emma is an extremely interesting person. She is the youngest of her family, having three older sisters. Two of her sisters still live locally and the other sister has moved to the sunshine state, Florida. Being that she is the youngest, she has three nieces and a nephew. Spending time with family is only part of Emma’s everyday life. Like myself, Emma enjoys playing sports and being outdoors. She played recreational softball for seven years but stopped for the past few years. She intends to start playing again this upcoming season. Aside from soft ball, she enjoys other outdoor activities such as hiking and hunting with her father. One of her favorite trips was a hunting trip to Maine with her father where she came across a moose which is now one of her favorite animals. She is an overall major animal lover. One of her greatest accomplishments happened when her sister’s husband was deployed and was unable to be present at his child’s birth. She then was the one who cut the umbilical cord to the baby. I asked Emma how she would like to be remembered and she stated simple, “a genuinely good person.”

 

Hello, my name is Aaron Bratkovics. I am creating this blog for my English course at Northampton Community College. I graduated from Wilson Area High School in 2014, some two years ago. This is my first semester as a college student, and it is defiantly one of the most never racking experiences of my life. The two years between high school and college weren’t spend wasted. Within those two years I have accomplished some of life greatest endeavors. Straight out of high school I enlisted in the United State Marine Corps Reserves. Through that monumental stage of life I met many people and gained more knowledge then I ever thought I would. I am currently a reserve marine station with HMH-772 which is a CH-53E Super Stallion Helicopter squadron. I am currently enrolled in Northampton Community College to pursue my child hood dream of becoming a police officer. The major that I am currently pursuing is criminal justice. I have been described by many as a very kind hearted person who has a bit of a temper, so it’s best to say on my good side.  When I’m not working, drilling with the reserves, or a school I mostly enjoy spending time with family and friends. I love to be outdoor, weather running, hiking, or even just the occasional walk around the neighborhood. Everyone should experience lives adventures, happiness is the key to life and a key to success.