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By Rancid
#15052122
Politics_Observer wrote:I agree based on my research. Just because a school is private, doesn't necessarily mean it's better. It can mean that it is better than some but not all public schools. And it can be worse than some but not all public schools. Private schools can be the old boy network as you say based on the data. I do feel better prepared for the computer profession from my private school university versus my public school university education. However, my public school university I attended is not known for it's computer science programs. Rather, it is known for it's education department and producing teachers. Whereas my private school university is known for business and cyber-security. Thus it would make sense that I feel I am getting a better education for the computer profession at the private school I am currently attending. That doesn't mean that private school has a better overall education than public university according to the data.


Yea, that's fine. No problems with these statements.
User avatar
By Rancid
#15052124
@Politics_Observer.

Anyway, "better" is going to have a different definition for each person. For you, clearly, the private institution you are going to, is the better choice for what you want to do, what you can afford, the willingness of the institution to accept you as a student, and what your experience has been. However, that doesn't mean it would be better for me (...back when I was in college).

Hence why I jumped hard on "let's not generalize that private is always better than public" schtick.

Edit:
If you look at Florida, the best engineering school overall is at the University of Florida, a public institution. It is not at the University of Miami, a private institution. As poor inner city kid with limited money. What would be the best place to go study engineering? Florida, or Miami? This is where teh assumption that private is better would break down.
Last edited by Rancid on 01 Dec 2019 21:18, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
By MistyTiger
#15052125
I agree with the OP to get rid of school sports. Athletes can be mean and stupid. Some think they should graduate because they are awesome and their dad is buds with the dean. Without sports, students would have more time for their studies. There would be a lot less travelling to games too. It is about time management. Smart people manage their time well.

I agree about national standards. Schools should get their students to reach those standards, urge them to study hard, keep them busy.

My alma mater is the University of New Hampshire, known for its marine biology department and life science department. A few life science companies recruit from UNH. And the local Army National Guard recruits from UNH. It is a decent midsize public university. It might not be the best, but I feel like attending UNH was worthwhile. It changed my perspective on life and it did help me land jobs, not well paid jobs, but jobs that were character building. The business school is respected in the region too.
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By Politics_Observer
#15052127
@Rancid

I would attend University of Florida over University of Miami if I wanted to study engineering. If I wanted to study Computer Science, I would want to get accepted into MIT though that would be really really hard. When I was younger, I wasn't mature enough to really carefully choose a school. All I wanted to do was serve in the military like my parents did but my parents would twist my arm to go to college. I still ended up serving anyway regardless because that's what I really wanted to do.

I was one of the first person's in my family to graduate with a Bachelor's degree, so I thought that was an accomplishment (but now that I see the accomplishments of others, it pales in comparison). Now that I have learned "the game" of getting a college education the first time around from attending a public school and Uncle Sam being my Daddy Warbucks this time around (given I am a war time veteran), I have access to a private university without going into debt.

I didn't choose this university because it was private, I chose it because it was properly credentialed (Regional Accreditation) and was known for it's Cyber-security programs. First time going through college I had to work my ass off doing part time jobs and an overseas deployment and learning the business of going to college was learned through hard way, through hard experience and how the business of education works. But in this case, I feel I am getting an excellent cyber-security education and I am applying lessons learned from the first time around. They are pretty hard on us but I also have very small classroom sizes. Most professors are very good while one or two are not that great. I do my best to maintain good relations with my professors though because they have the grade book :) .
Last edited by Politics_Observer on 01 Dec 2019 21:28, edited 1 time in total.
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By Rancid
#15052129
Politics_Observer wrote:I would want to get accepted into MIT though that would be really really hard.


Assuming you can afford it, and/or willing to take on a debt load.

As for everything else you said, yea, that's good.
User avatar
By Politics_Observer
#15052130
@Rancid

That's right, assuming I can afford it. I had to attend at a public university the first time around because that's all I could afford plus I didn't carefully choose my school the first time around like I should have. But I learned from my mistakes the first time around and chose more carefully the second time around.
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By Tainari88
#15052154
Rancid wrote:@Politics_Observer.

Anyway, "better" is going to have a different definition for each person. For you, clearly, the private institution you are going to, is the better choice for what you want to do, what you can afford, the willingness of the institution to accept you as a student, and what your experience has been. However, that doesn't mean it would be better for me (...back when I was in college).

Hence why I jumped hard on "let's not generalize that private is always better than public" schtick.

Edit:
If you look at Florida, the best engineering school overall is at the University of Florida, a public institution. It is not at the University of Miami, a private institution. As poor inner city kid with limited money. What would be the best place to go study engineering? Florida, or Miami? This is where teh assumption that private is better would break down.


Got to keep college affordable Rancid for most people. Otherwise it becomes a burden that most families can't afford.

Who can afford the University of Denver? $50k a year for a BA or a BS degree. Plus another $21k a year for books, fees, dorm, food card, etc. Horror. You can't afford that! Who can?
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By Politics_Observer
#15052162
@Rancid

So, I am curious, are you a graduate from University of Florida? It does seem like a really good school. I have seen some University of Florida graduates at the local military installation in my area brought on as engineers in the past.

@Tainari88

if you don't mind me asking, are you a college graduate? If so, what have you studied? I am just curious about others educational experiences.
User avatar
By Rancid
#15052168
Tainari88 wrote:Got to keep college affordable Rancid for most people. Otherwise it becomes a burden that most families can't afford.


Agree 100%. As I noted in an earlier post. The only real problem in my opinion is cost.

Politics_Observer wrote:are you a graduate from University of Florida?

Yes, go Gators!
User avatar
By Politics_Observer
#15052174
@Rancid
@Tainari88

So, as far as ROI, you get a better ROI attending public universities. You will make more money attending private university, but that doesn't necessary translate over to getting a better ROI by attending private university. Making more money and getting a better ROI are two different things. University of Florida gets you very good value for your money as you get a much better ROI than most schools in the country. That and Georgia Institute of Technology. I had a friend who graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology as a chemical engineer and he says it was a pretty rough school. Anyway, here are two charts showing ROI on public versus private universities:


Image
(LexingtonLaw, 2018)



Image
(LexingtonLaw, 2018)


@Rancid

So, it would seem that you were educated as engineer at the University of Florida and then was hired on as a computer programmer where you self taught yourself to be a computer programmer and to use Linux, correct? I see that a lot where they hire on engineers and then make them computer programmers.

@MistyTiger

Where I take classes online with the private university I am attending, you can attend it in person and they have a very nice campus. Sports doesn't seem to be much of a thing at all for the university I am attending. The focus seems to be primarily on academics and they have activities where the students can partake in community service in the local area of the university.

Reference-

LexingtonLaw. (2018, September 6). Public vs. Private College ROI. Retrieved December 1, 2019, from https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/blog/loans ... e-roi.html
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By Rancid
#15052178
Politics_Observer wrote:...


That's interesting.

Politics_Observer wrote:So, it would seem that you were educated as engineer at the University of Florida and then was hired on as a computer programmer where you self taught yourself to be a computer programmer and to use Linux, correct? I see that a lot where they hire on engineers and then make them computer programmers.


I would say that any sort of hardware engineer has to know how to code these days. Even if the job is hardware design and verification, you will likely need to write some sort of code to test your hardware. We fired one guy because he couldn't code (and couldn't seem to learn to code), another guy was about to get fired for the same reason, but quit before he was fired. Last I heard, he isn't doing well at his current company (it's becoming harder to find HW jobs where you can get away without knowing how to code). That said, I think it's horrible to write RTL like it's code though, so we can't get too carried away with that point. :lol:

Yes, it's common for non-programmer engineers to learn how to code these days. Overall, I think "jacks of all trades" are valued more across the industry than master/specialists. People with diverse backgrounds and provide a lot of cross pollination of ideas and solutions. I've intentionally setup my career to allow me to learn all sorts of shit. From antenna design, to coding, to computer architecture, to compilers, to OS, to networking ,etc. etc. At every company I've worked at to date, all the high performers were guys that could "do it all". Startups in particular look for these kinds of people as well.
User avatar
By Politics_Observer
#15052194
@Rancid

Yup, when you go out on the market, most private sector employers don't want to invest any money in training you. You better know it all and know how to perform miracles when you get hired on as a computer professional right off the bat in my opinion or you are fired. You better know how to code in SQL, C, C++, Python, Java, Bash Shell and PowerShell and C# these days. In addition, it's important to be knowledgeable in TCP/IP and cyber-security.

But employers want it all and they want miracles out of their computer professionals. If you can't code or perform miracles, you are fired. It's as simple as that. In many cases, you could be coding in Java for example but in order to write that web application, you also need to know how to code in SQL too in addition to Java.

Having taken a class in Assembly Language is also good to better understand how high level languages like C++ and C are compiled down to machine code. It really is important to have real passion for coding and computers these days and to be willing to use your spare time to read up and learn these things on your own outside of the classroom and outside of the job.

The classroom can only do so much and just like any profession, being a computer professional is a lot of hard work but can be fun and rewarding as well as fascinating. You have to be focused and disciplined both on the job and off the job when learning new skills as technology evolves and develops. You never stop learning.

BTW, what's your favorite Linux distribution? I am assuming many large companies would probably use Red Hat Linux Enterprise given their support guarantee if they don't want to spend the money on Windows Server Active Directory licenses. However, smaller companies with less money might also use Linux Ubuntu LTS instead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
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By Rancid
#15052214
Politics_Observer wrote:BTW, what's your favorite Linux distribution?

I don't have a favorite. For my work and home computers I use Ubuntu. Just out of habit. I only really care about the kernel itself and a handful of user space apps. On most systems, I just SSH into them, at the that point, the differences are fairly small.

You have a preference?

Politics_Observer wrote:Having taken a class in Assembly Language is also good to better understand how high level languages like C++ and C are compiled down to machine code

I agree. Part of what we do is to look at how compilers generate assembly, and to make sure the generated code is optimal. Personally, In this area of the job, I've mostly dealt with looking at how well compilers can auto-vectorize code.

Lucky for me, the part I like about engineering is the learning you have to do along the way. The part I don't like is the potential misuse and the isolating nature of many technological advances. I'm conflicted. :lol: I like to work on and make cool shit, but I also hate how we are just slaves to tech now.
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By Tainari88
#15052217
Politics_Observer wrote:@Rancid

So, I am curious, are you a graduate from University of Florida? It does seem like a really good school. I have seen some University of Florida graduates at the local military installation in my area brought on as engineers in the past.

@Tainari88

if you don't mind me asking, are you a college graduate? If so, what have you studied? I am just curious about others educational experiences.



Politics Observer, yes I am a college graduate. I started out in 1984 at the University of Puerto Rico--Rio Piedras campus and studied for two years there. I wanted to study journalism at the time (I loved writing and reporting the news), so I wanted to do that. Unfortunately the UPR journalism school only accepted two students a year for journalism because they had a very small amount of space in their major. I then applied for a scholarship to other universities in various places and various nations. One of the ones who accepted me and gave me a full ride scholarship was the University of Colorado Boulder. So that is where I went. I almost finished in journalism but I found it a sellout and nasty business full of propaganda and not real reporting. And that was way back in the 1980's. So I went and started a new major in Anthropology. I graduated in Anthropology at the University of Colorado, and went to Mexican unis, (ancient Mexican civvies), to do some field work as well as in other Southwestern Unis like the University of New Mexico. I finished by BA there in anthropology and then later on did a Master's in Anthro I also took courses in a private university that is a Jesuit Catholic uni in Denver called Regis University that is private. Ironically it is a very expensive school for undergraduate studies but incredibly reasonable for Master's programs. That is the reason I studied a second masters in Individually Structured Studies. Something I designed myself. The private university was demanding but also great. But it was INEXPENSIVE for my major and my interests at a graduate level. It pays to do your research. If you went there (Regis University) for a BA? It is expensive as hell. But for a master's two year accelerated program? Not expensive at all. Boulder is a very pretty little university town. With a lot of cultural activity.

It pays to do your research.

I also had internships at the Universidad Autonoma del Yucatan (UADY) in Mexico and also an internship a long time ago in archaeology with the Institute for Puerto Rican Culture. There is a school there that does Caribbean studies and also Cornell University from Ithaca, New York has internships with the Puerto Rican unis.

It is interesting. Do your research and a lot of possibilities are good.

The USA is ignorant about curricula from other countries. Don't allow yourself to be railroaded and forced to take classes over again because they want to make money. I had to take a Spanish test at the University of Colorado Boulder because they did not see a Spanish course in my high school record or my University of Puerto Rico record. I had to explain ALL THE CLASSES ARE IN SPANISH except the English lit classes. They were stupid. How else are you going to pass the classes not knowing how to speak, read and write Spanish like a native I said? They insisted. I passed the Spanish test and did not need to take a third foreign language requirement in college. But I took one anyway out of fun.

Got to be true to one's path in life.

My entire college career was mostly free. I worked full time and paid and only used scholarships and grants. In the end? I owed $1000 dollars in student loans and paid it off fast. My advice is don't get into deep debt in college. If you are struggling and know you can't do the work? Drop out. Pay off the debt fast and only go back if it is affordable. Otherwise it is a waste of your time and money. And that is the truth.

And for my case? Speaking with perfection fluency more than one language pays off BIG TIME. For the rest of your life. That is what I taught my kids. And that is what I think is the future. Flexible people who can run in and out of various nations and do the work that is hard to do.
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By Politics_Observer
#15052231
@Rancid

My personal preference for desktop I would go with Debian based Linux Mint version 19.2 that is supported until 2023. If I am going to set up a server, I would go with Linux Ubuntu 18.04.3 with long term support as well, but I would not download and install the desktop version if I am setting up a server. I would simply keep each server on a separate old laptop computer with no other server installed on it. Keeping each server type without a desktop guy on it's own old laptop withotu sharing it with other server daemons on the computer reduces the attack surface of that server.

I would also customize and hardened it's kernel too in order to protect it from attack. We had to learn how to customize our own kernel in the Implementing Linux Security class. That was a tough assignment but I learned how to do it. It can be a pain when it comes to updating a kernel you have customized and hardened yourself to defend against network attack rather than going with the vanilla kernel or the one that already comes installed in the download. I also like Red Hat based Centos. They recently released Centos 8. I had to install and run a bunch of the various different Linux distributions as part of one my classes.

@Tainari88

I definitely can see where being fluent in two languages is a huge plus. Wish I was fluent in two languages. I would probably want to learn Spanish as a second language. Chinese is a good language to learn but that looks really really hard to learn. I would be intimidated to learn Chinese. China is one of the major powers in the world and they do a lot of business so it's good to know that particular language if you are able to.

I personally would prefer Spanish given we share a border with Mexico and we get a lot of migrants from Mexico plus we have Puerto Rico too. We had a few Puerto Ricans in my unit. Good people and loved serving with them. I still keep in contact with one of them and give him rides to the Veterans Administration hospital. He's in bad health from his deployment from Afghanistan and lives in the state of Georgia not too far from me.

I didn't realize that journalism was filled with such propaganda with the exception of Fox News. But I guess some of the other news stations can be regarded as propaganda too. It's good to hear from somebody who has the inside view of that particular business. A lot of people I talked with from different countries tell me don't believe what you see on TV. The news seemed to report things pretty accurately where I was deployed in Afghanistan when we had big spectacular things that happened.

I haven't earned a Master's degree yet, but I am hoping too. However, to get my skills back up to date I have been pursuing various certifications first and then I will go after my Master's degree. I want to be sure my computer skills are back up to date and solid first and foremost before going after my Masters. The private university I attend is VERY demanding. It's tough. They take no prisoners. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to hand working and going to school full time and even though I don't work at all and take 12 hours a semester the private university royally kicks my ass big time. Very demanding. But I am doing well in school too. Just very demanding studies where your studies is pretty much your life. Sometimes it's hard to find free time.
User avatar
By Rancid
#15052233
Politics_Observer wrote:My personal preference for desktop I would go with Debian based Linux Mint version 19.2 that is supported until 2023. If I am going to set up a server, I would go with Linux Ubuntu 18.04.3 with long term support as well, but I would not download and install the desktop version if I am setting up a server. I would simply keep each server on a separate old laptop computer with no other server installed on it. Keeping each server type without a desktop guy on it's own old laptop withotu sharing it with other server daemons on the computer reduces the attack surface of that server.

I would also customize and hardened it's kernel too in order to protect it from attack. We had to learn how to customize our own kernel in the Implementing Linux Security class. That was a tough assignment but I learned how to do it. It can be a pain when it comes to updating a kernel you have customized and hardened yourself to defend against network attack rather than going with the vanilla kernel or the one that already comes installed in the download. I also like Red Hat based Centos. They recently released Centos 8. I had to install and run a bunch of the various different Linux distributions as part of one my classes.


I don't know too much about security features. I know there's SELinux and AppArmor, I wouldn't know how to configure them properly. We have guys that are more expert at that sort of thing.
User avatar
By Politics_Observer
#15052237
@Rancid

Yup, I have had to configure AppArmor. I prefer AppArmor over SELinux beacuse I distrust Big Brother :lol: . NSA created SELinux. I am sure it's pretty effective but I also don't trust the NSA to respect privacy either. I realize SELinux is open source, but still, I am a little wary of anything created by the NSA given their Big Brother reputation.
User avatar
By Tainari88
#15052239
@Tainari88

I definitely can see where being fluent in two languages is a huge plus. Wish I was fluent in two languages. I would probably want to learn Spanish as a second language. Chinese is a good language to learn but that looks really really hard to learn. I would be intimidated to learn Chinese. China is one of the major powers in the world and they do a lot of business so it's good to know that particular language if you are able to.

I personally would prefer Spanish given we share a border with Mexico and we get a lot of migrants from Mexico plus we have Puerto Rico too. We had a few Puerto Ricans in my unit. Good people and loved serving with them. I still keep in contact with one of them and give him rides to the Veterans Administration hospital. He's in bad health from his deployment from Afghanistan and lives in the state of Georgia not too far from me.

I didn't realize that journalism was filled with such propaganda with the exception of Fox News. But I guess some of the other news stations can be regarded as propaganda too. It's good to hear from somebody who has the inside view of that particular business. A lot of people I talked with from different countries tell me don't believe what you see on TV. The news seemed to report things pretty accurately where I was deployed in Afghanistan when we had big spectacular things that happened.

I haven't earned a Master's degree yet, but I am hoping too. However, to get my skills back up to date I have been pursuing various certifications first and then I will go after my Master's degree. I want to be sure my computer skills are back up to date and solid first and foremost before going after my Masters. The private university I attend is VERY demanding. It's tough. They take no prisoners. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to hand working and going to school full time and even though I don't work at all and take 12 hours a semester the private university royally kicks my ass big time. Very demanding. But I am doing well in school too. Just very demanding studies where your studies is pretty much your life. Sometimes it's hard to find free time.


Politics Observer, most students underestimate how much planning and work it is to work and study at the same time. I had to work almost all the way through college and commute half an hour to Boulder and another half an hour back everyday I had classes. The reason was that back then Denver was far cheaper in rents than Boulder and was far more affordable. I wasn't a college student with a rich mom or dad paying for everything. It was all my husband and I working and paying bills on our own. So? Had to commute. I cut expenses drastically even decided not to have a car and not have a phone in the house and there were no cell phones happening in the mid eighties. Everything with bare bones. Just study and work. Focus.

And don't eat out and live it up. Very modest standard of living. I think many college students make the mistake of wanting to live a certain standard of living that is unrealistic on a tight single person's budget.

I find the USA's lack of bilingualism and multilingualism a real disadvantage when competing globally for work. Spanish is a great language to learn in the USA. It is a growing market. I found a bunch of Chinese families here in the immigration office in Mexico applying for Mexican citizenship. They love their businesses here and want to settle down with roots. The Chinese are interesting. You can find them doing small businesses in a lot of nations all over the world. They teach them basics in the native language of the nation they will be doing business with in China.

Flexibility is the name of the game! @Rancid knows this. He is right wanting his kids to remain highly adaptable and always looking for opportunities. I think that is best for the coming generations. The ones who are stuck too hard on a single paradigm don't have the options others do.

It is strange but Rancid and I both believe in jack-of-all-trades stuff. It is good. You know a little of this and a lot of that...and you keep acquiring new skills. Never stop learning and acquiring. It is important.

Never be a narrow thinker.
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By MistyTiger
#15052343
@Politics_Observer Wow, U of WA placed 10 according to your source. If I were still in WA, that would have been my alma mater. My parents just did not like crossing the pontoon bridge to commute there. Otherwise, it is a great school. But I am content. There is a reason we moved to the northeast and I have had a bit of luck throughout my life thus far. Life is as it should be.

I only know bits of Chinese because it is my parents' primary language. I understand everyday basic conversation. I have plans to become fluent.

@Tainari88 @Rancid I enjoy the Spanish language. I learned in high school. One day my mom told me that when she was working as a nurse in Taiwan, she got called a Spanish nurse. She really does look Spanish. She has one of those tall, slightly hooked noses, a European feature. I like to think that this tie to Spanish is why I love the Spanish-speaking cultures so much. I like the flavors, dances, customs, art, literature...todo.

My mom also encouraged me to be versatile, to believe in the jack of all trades stuff. She taught me to embrace creativity, innovation, life, change...simply amazing!
User avatar
By Tainari88
#15052397
MistyTiger wrote:@Politics_Observer Wow, U of WA placed 10 according to your source. If I were still in WA, that would have been my alma mater. My parents just did not like crossing the pontoon bridge to commute there. Otherwise, it is a great school. But I am content. There is a reason we moved to the northeast and I have had a bit of luck throughout my life thus far. Life is as it should be.

I only know bits of Chinese because it is my parents' primary language. I understand everyday basic conversation. I have plans to become fluent.

@Tainari88

@MistyTiger @Rancid I enjoy the Spanish language. I learned in high school. One day my mom told me that when she was working as a nurse in Taiwan, she got called a Spanish nurse. She really does look Spanish. She has one of those tall, slightly hooked noses, a European feature. I like to think that this tie to Spanish is why I love the Spanish-speaking cultures so much. I like the flavors, dances, customs, art, literature...todo.

My mom also encouraged me to be versatile, to believe in the jack of all trades stuff. She taught me to embrace creativity, innovation, life, change...simply amazing!



@MistyTiger I think it is very very important for you to be completely fluent in the dialect of Chinese your parent or parent(s) might speak. It is incredibly important. English is not enough nowadays, and frankly if you are not an Anglo in background? It is a colonial language imposed by others and with it comes with racist stuff. I always say that if the English speaking nations would be truly accepting of other groups who only speak English? And have been in the USA for many generations? And are Protestants? Who only respect Western paradigms? If being an American were only about having American values and truly saw the ones assimilating to their culture as their equals? All would be fine. BUT THEY DON'T Misty. They won't do that. They don't accept African Americans as full Americans in the sense of them not accepting them as white. What these fools really believe Misty is that if you are not white you are not really American. They refuse to realize that African American are the first truly dedicated Americans. They had to assimilate or die. Period. Culturally in many ways that are not about class consciousness, and being descendants of ex-slaves--African Americans are about as American as you can get! For me American culture is embedded in African American life. From many centuries.

Any African nation person like a Senegalese, or a Mali or a Cote d Ivoire African continent immigrant (Ivory Coast, etc African ethnic person)--doesn't have much in common at all culturally with African Americans except the discrimination and the color of their skin. And that is proof that American society has a long, long way to go to get to the category of a culture that is healthy to assimilate into. Because otherwise you are vulnerable to these negative messages Misty--of being told you are not acceptable as an American because you don't look Anglo or 'white'. That is the issue your sister has, I know she is not a balanced person, but she got the message that being Asian is not acceptable at all. She wants to be acceptable. Blond, blue eyed and European. But her father and mother are not those people. It is not her. Neither is it YOU.

Instead you have two people whom are admirable as parents. Your father despite many obstacles got his PhD and worked very hard for a stable home for you and his other daughter. Your mother works hard everyday to make a pleasant home for you and your sister. She loves her children. She has sound values.

If she is of Filipino descent your mother? She most probably does have Spanish background in her bloodline. The Spaniards were an Empire but they mixed racially all the time. No problem do they have with that :D . And they are always accepting of change in every level with new societies they interact with. The WASP of North America is a lot less open. They talk a lot of stuff about how accepting American society is? But they keep seeing 'foreignness' as Asian, or Native American, African or Latin American. I don't know why they do that? The USA is a hodgepodge of mixed heritages and none are pure. All four groups have been in the USA since its inception as a nation. But they have had negative acceptances of all four groups from the very beginning. It is racist and class based. No doubt about it. They need to change that crap or they will have a horribly violent confrontation in the near future. The demographics of the USA has changed completely and if you take the non European people who are USA citizens? They will be the majority in a few generations. If you don't accept them as the BASE of the USA? You have no country in the future. None. The one single type of American is no longer valid. The values have to change too. They need to stop with the myths of exceptionalism and work on inclusive and dedicated efforts to excellence in intellect and science and expand language arts and critical thinking skills.

Misty, you have to be aware of who you are at all times. A very beautiful young woman with a lot to bring to the world. You are living in a society that dismisses Asian people off hand. They do. They either want to stereotype them or they place labels that are false on them. For my way of thinking? Being a person who is not racist consists of letting people be HUMANS. Let them fail or have defects, be different and be an individual, let them be FREE to be themselves. Don't pen them in, or tell them what they are supposed to think or be or have....and don't tell them that the people that gave them life and gave them love (their families) should have to shed their languages, history or values in order to become 'real' Americans. That is SHIT. You forget where your roots are and you are weak and ripe for some horrible message of inferiority by these fools who want to impose an identity on others while not having a strong identity themselves. The blind leading the blind. They make horrible mistakes based on excluding people and being anti social and discriminatory. The untold suffering they cause for their lack of generosity of spirit is astounding!

And the first thing one has to do is study one's family history. Speak the language of one's ancestors, and become familiar with your own family's struggle to make a life in a new land. In the USA.

Don't you ever let some fool in the USA tell you Misty that you are less than the next woman or man. You are not. You are MORE.

You are a bright, beautiful girl. And full of love to give and a great sense of service. Don't let anyone step on your feminine dignity Misty. Not today, not tomorrow or ever.

Hold that head high darling one! I will cheer you on always!

Get that degree and have FUN!!

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