Governor Blagojevich

Whether you live in Illinois or not, you most likely have heard about Governor Blagojevich, now former Governor.  What is the nations thoughts about this situation.  We appreciate your comments.

Read more great articles at www.itsourrealitymagazine.com

“College Education” Worth it or Not?

Harvard

Harvard

I have an daughter who will be graduating this year and continuing her education at a top university.  This is a very exciting time for everyone and we look forward to her wonderful success in the future.

I was struck the other night by John Stossel, who does a segment called “Give Me A Break!” on 20/20.  I love this show, because I know he tells it like it is.  This night he talked about the “Value of a College Degree” and considering my daughters nearing days, I was quite interested in what he might say. 

 

Here is what he had to say and I was quite alarmed:

 Increasing numbers of Americans go to college. Many go deep into debt to pay the high cost. Is it worth it? Colleges tell Americans that over a lifetime, a college degree equals a million dollars more income. But that promise is misleading. It includes super-earners like Google’s founders and other billionaires who skew the average. And more importantly, the kind of students who attend college are already more likely to be successful than those who don’t. A recent book by Charles Murray argues that many kids who go to college just aren’t equipped to handle the work. Graduation statistics seem to bear that out. Dr. Marty Nemko, an education consultant and career counselor, says: “If you’re in the bottom 40 percent of your high school class … and today, colleges are recruiting lots of those kids … you have a very small chance of graduating, even if you are given eight and a half years.” Would vocational school be a better choice? What is a college education really worth? 

Well, I would like to know what you think.  Take our poll.

Visit our website, “Its Our Reality!” Magazine, for other interesting articles at http://www.itsourrealitymagazine.com/

Letters to Santa

Dear Santa,

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas

 

It’s Christmas time and Santa is reading the many letters he’s received. But there’s one problem, where’s your letter?
He hasn’t received your letter.

Kids age 17 and under, send Santa your letter. Let Santa know whether you’ve been good or bad this year. Make sure you tell Santa what’s on your Wish List. Send Santa you letter by mail to:
“Its Our Reality!”
Santa
7115 W. North Ave #277
Oak Park, IL 60302

or e-mail your letter to “Dear Santa” at contactreality@sbcglobal.net

Santa will be reading all your letters and choosing some special kids to send them a Special Gift from their Wish List. So, Hurry and get your letter in!

Ernest L. Thomas, aka “Raj”, aka “Mr. Omar”

Everyone knows who Ernest L. Thomas is, Don’t you? Even if you don’t recognize the name, you definitely know the face or the characters he’s played.

What's Happening!

What's Happening!!

Currently, Ernest has a recurring role as “Mr. Omar” on the show “Everybody Hates Chris”. “Everybody Hates Chris” is an African-American sitcom that features fictional characters and situations that is broadly based on real people and situations. The show is inspired by the teenage experiences of the star comedian Chris Rock while he was growing up in Brooklyn.  Chris Rock narrates each show.

Mr. Omar (Ernest) is a funeral director who lives above Chris and his family. He is smooth with the ladies and is seen with a new female widow in almost every episode he appears in. His claim is to console the lovely ladies in their time of grief, but as it shows, he just wants to get close to them for very personal reasons…

For me, Ernest is most remembered by his own show “What’s Happening!!” and “What’s Happening Now!!” where he plays the character “Raj” , with a signature laugh and dance.

This show must have really had a huge impact on the viewers because it returned back in 1985 under the new name “What’s Happening Now!!”. The show starts several years down the line when they are adults. Adults by age only, the show was based on more mature situations they find themselves in. This show abandoned the mother and sister characters, but created a wife for Raj — Nadine, played by Anne-Marie Johnson.

I recently had the pleasure of having a personal and intimate interview with Ernest. This is one outstanding man who has a heart of gold. He absolutely loves people and people love him. One thing that will stand out in his interview is how passionate he is about helping others and finding a way for everyone to come together as one to help those in need.

I truly love Ernest, but when we get together, whether in person or on the phone, that is a ‘long winded’ conversation. We are talking and laughing so much and the subject can change twenty times, so quite naturally, this interview was so long that I had to edit it a bit for the magazine. Even after the editing, I realized that the interview would have to be broken into two issues.

Ernest L. Thomas

Ernest L. Thomas

Please, take some time and enjoy our interview (Part 1): 

IOR (Its Our Reality): Ernest, I’d like to thank you in advance for doing this interview and making yourself so available to me.

Ernest: Well, you know sweetheart, anything for you. I’ve always told you that I would always be there for you.

IOR: Well, Ernest, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on you and I’m finding out so many new things that I didn’t know about you. First, my friends want me to ask you about the movie clip you sent me called “Paroled”. What happened to that?

To read the rest of this great interview and find out what went on between Ernest and the “World’s Greatest” Muhammad Ali you’ll need to go to http://itsourrealitymagazine.com/ernest.htm.  You’ll be glad you did.

Being A Teen Campaign

“Its Our Reality!” is moving forward with our “Being A Teen” Campaign. We understand that the ‘Teens’ and the soon to be teens are our future. These ‘Teens’ will be running our country and world soon and it is up to us to help them succeed. We need something from all of you, especially the Teens. Find out what we need and join our “Being A Teen” Campaign. We are looking for Teen leaders or those who want to lead, to take charge of this campaign.
E-mail me, Alexis from the webpage, http://itsourrealitymagazine.com/beingteen.htm and I will work directly with you to get this going.

Being A Teen

Being a teen, one of, if not the most important “jobs” we have is going to school and getting good grades. It’s the worldly focus of nearly everyday of our young lives. But for some of us, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

 

 We wake up at 7-ish to get ready for school. If you’re like me, you are convinced that the alarm clock finds pleasure in interrupting your peaceful dreaming time. And don’t even think about pushing the snooze button; next time you wake up, you’ll already be late for being tardy. The fortunate teens drive on their own to get to school; others have to get a ride from their parents, or use the bus. Don’t forget about breakfast btw. From 8-ish to 3-ish, we read books, write essays, be lectured, and even get bullied around a bit. We are constantly running a high-speed race in competition with that ridiculous bell that only allows us 4 or 5 minutes to dig through our lockers, greet the passers, get a sip of water, use the “loo”, and make it in the door of the next class. The bogus cafeteria food does not boost our moods in any way, when we are supposed to be relaxing… After school, some of us are in sports, clubs, or even have a job. When we finally end up back at home at 6-ish, there’s that H-word that cannot be avoided: HOMEWORK. AARRRGGG

Homework is the most important thing that we as teens are responsible for. If we don’t get our homework done, and done correctly, we suffer. Bad homework means bad grades. Bad grades means bad or no college. Bad or no college means probably means no job, or no good job, which means no money. Wait, did she just say no money??? You can imagine what happens next, I’m sure.

What happens to us as adults depends on how we handle the homework clause. (Located in the fine print on the contract you made when coming into this world) TALK ABOUT PRESSURE… But it must be done, for our own welfare. Some teens think that slacking, or blowing off our homework, is a threat to our teachers and parents. Really though, it’s us who will do the most suffering. I mean really, why do you think society puts so much emphasis on education? It’s because without it, Success in life is nearly impossible to attain.

The most basic piece of advice to getting good grades is this: PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS! In case you haven’t noticed, the homework usually corresponds to what was said in class that day. Same goes for tests.
Ponder this:

  • Do you sleep in class?
  • Pass notes?
  • Text?
  • Draw?
  • Goof off?
  • Are you the class clown?

    If yes, then consider changing your behavior. What is it that keeps you from keeping focus in school?

    Just for a little while, behave how ur supposed to for a bit. Then see if you notice a change in your grades. I’m willing to bet that things will be a lot different.

    This is Alexis, telling you to breathe deeply (now), shut your eyes for a sec, say a little prayer (Dear Lord… In Jesus’ name, Amen), and then try enduring it for one more day. You can do it!

    From all of us at “Its Our Reality!” Good luck!

  • Find out more at www.itsourrealitymagazine.com/teen.htm
  • Vicky’s Most Embarrassing Moment

    Hey, Vicky here, I have to be careful using my name due to the potential drama and to protect the innocent (hee hee). Boy, do I have some reality stories to tell you, and they are all true and will be everlasting. I’m going to share with you all about the drama that goes on these days in my life and all the crazy, messy, fun drama I’ve had in the past. It is really hard trying to figure out where to start telling my story, but I finally made a choice. I chose to start with my most ‘Embarrassing Moment’ ever. Not only is it embarrassing, it is hilarious when I think back on it.

    Okay, here is how it goes: 

    There’s this guy that I am totally attracted to. He’s not just tall, dark and handsome; I mean he’s eye-catching and gorgeous, desirable to look upon. His athletic build is rock hard and well defined. You notice his broad shoulders and bulging muscles in his arms as he moves about. Then he smiles at you and your cares are taken away and he makes you light up from the inside out. On top of that he has a great, fun loving personality with a strong sense of humor that keeps you laughing and smiling all the time. He always has a flattering remark for the ladies. What makes him so special to me is his charm, a type of magic that lures me to him. This man is confident and knows he is desired, but does not need to prove it to those around him. A charming man that can make my heart laugh will capture me every time.

    This man literally leaves me speechless, and that’s rare for me because I am one of the biggest flirts out there. I get a charge sparing with the opposite sex by us teasing and tempting each other. Don’t get it twisted, though, I’ve slowed down quite a bit, but I can usually go toe to toe flirting with someone. I may tempt and tease, but that’s as far as it’ll go. Everyone thinks I’ll follow through, but not these days. Back in the day is another drama story all together. I’ll have to tell you those everlasting stories much later.

    Okay, back to my embarrassing moment. Now this guy, I’ll call him Denzel : ), he knows I have the hots for him and we flirt with each other all the time. Late one Sunday night I ran out to the grocery store for just a minute. What makes this night ironic is, before I got out of my vehicle I took a look into my rear view mirror and thought to myself while laughing, how terrible it would be if I saw Denzel at the store tonight. This was because I was looking absolutely horrible that night. This means I was tore up! Since I no longer work in Corporate America and work from home, I don’t keep up with my appearance like I should. You’d better believe that this Sunday night was no exception. I walked into the store exhausted from the day with a dingy brown coach scarf thrown around my head which didn’t match anything I had on. Once again, I was only going in for a minute. I had this sloppy, light blue t-shirt hanging below my blue jean jacket. My jeans were at least two sizes too big, so big that the crotch hung midway to my knees and straight legged at that. I’m wearing my mother’s big white keds that made my feet look like ‘Carnival Cruise Ships’. I was just looking a hot mess. To top it all off, I have some premature gray that shows in my eyebrows and of course, I didn’t cover it up this night. I go through the store quickly, scared to go by the glass doors in the freezer case, cause I’m hiding from my luminous reflection (hee hee).

    So, here I am in the check-out putting my things on the conveyer belt while attempting to add up my cost. All of a sudden I hear this enthusiastic sexy voice singing in my ears. That’s right, it’s Denzel in the next lane. I look up at this absolutely gorgeous man, with the million dollar smile saying ‘Hey, what’s up, Vicky?’ (oh my goodness, I am laughing with tears in my eyes just thinking about it again). At that moment, I could have melted into the floor from embarrassment. I wanted to drop to my knees and crawl out of the store.

    This was one of those “Wanna Get Away?” moments from the Southwest Airline commercials. How in the world am I going to fix this tore up moment? Suddenly, my long lost prayer life had been miraculously found again. I started praying, “Please God, help him see Angelina Jolie or Halle Berry as he’s talking to me!” I started feeling very warm, like I wanted to faint. My stomach is now bubbling and hurting. Usually, we would greet each other with this warm and very hearty hug, but not this time. I dare not move out of my lane, and for what, so he could get a good look at all this. I can’t even remember much of what was said, because I was concentrating on just getting my horrible looking self out of his sight. I practically ran out of there while praying not to trip over my ‘cruise ships’.

    The next morning I couldn’t wait to tell my friends about what happened. I know the ladies can relate to this. They were all feeling my pain and being very sympathetic, saying ‘Oh my goodness’ ‘how terrible’. No one wants to be embarrassed in this way. Then all of a sudden and out of nowhere, we all Cracked Up! We laughed so hard that our sides began to hurt. We sometimes will laugh at that today and I will get that same pain in my stomach.

    Well I learned a valuable lesson that night and hope you take heed in it. “DON’T TAKE YOUR TORE UP #%$ OUT OF THE HOUSE LOOKING LIKE THAT”. Since that day, almost a year ago, I have not worn a scarf out in public, had my gray eyebrows showing, or left my lips looking anything other than luscious.

    Now I make sure I keep myself looking like my net worth ($1m) or at least half of that, especially since I just might run into ‘Denzel’ : )

    Oh yeah, I threw those jeans in the garbage that night!

     

     

    Find more Everlasting Reality Drama, our Reality Soap Opera at www.itsourrealitymagazine.com/reality.htm

    What we are about…

    A few friends have decided to come together and share our true reality adventures and stories.  We’ve shared them with each other for many years with so much fun and joy.  We are also inviting you to join us with your great tales.  We also have informative articles that we you will enjoy.  There is a passion behind all this, so find out at www.itsourrealitymagazine.com/mission/htm and join us.  Within this blog, we will post some of our article, stories, poems etc. from our magazine.

    Welcome!

    Welcome to “Its Our Reality!” Magazine.  Check out the magazine site at www.itsourrealitymagazine.com

    The long awaited launch of “Its Our Reality!” Magazine has come to your computer screen and is only a click away!

    “Its Our Reality!” Magazine is a new and exciting online magazine that features reality articles, stories, poems, help, etc. from everyday people like you and I.   Best of all its absolutely ‘Free’.

     
    Phase 1 of this exceptional project is now available.  Find yourself in it at: 
     
     
    Our goal is to keep it ‘Real’ and you can help!
    Also check out www.itsourrealitygenre.com for up and coming music artist.  Learn how you can sell your original music.