An Excerpt from Full Bloom: Cultivating Success - by Amy Osmond Cook, Ph.D.

Chapter 8: Academic Success

One afternoon, my seven-year-old son bounced in the front door after school, threw his backpack on the chair, and said, "When I grow up, I'm going to start a company that makes blocks. Then at night, I'm going to be an inventor." 

"Sounds like a great idea," I said. "What are you going to invent?"

"I'm going to invent spy gear."

"Sounds cool. Now you have to do your homework."

"Aw, Mom. I don't want to do my homework." 

"If you want to own a company and make spy gear someday, you have to do your homework." And the battle begins.

As a mother of four and an instructor of communication and interdisciplinary studies at Arizona State University, I understand the importance of achieving academic success. By this I mean not just getting good grades, but also looking ahead to get into the college or university you want to attend and doing well once you're there. In this chapter, I'm going to give you some tips that have helped me and others reach our academic goals.

Success is much more than academic achievement. Teenagers across the country have defined it as happiness, having goals, having a good job, having a family, following God's will, making good money, working hard, and being educated. For me, success is happiness, which comes from experiencing spiritual, mental, physical, and social fulfillment. But even though scuess is much more than doing well in school, academic achievement is connected to many areas of success. Achieving academically will help you get a good job, become an intelligent person, and make good money. It will also help you learn to achieve your goals and work hard. I know this has been drilled in your heads over and over again, but how do we actually get there?

In my many years of teaching, I have come across all types of students. Some are shy; some are outgoing. Some are quiet; others are loud. Some are lazy; some are hard working. Some are great students and some are not. What's the difference? From my experience the A students do a few extra things that B and C students do not do, and that seems to make all the difference. 

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Purchase your own copy of Full Bloom: Cultivating Success to read more of Amy's advice on Academic Success, including her top ten list of things you can do to success academically  as well as essays from other amazing women who offer a variety of perspectives on what success means and how they have achieved it.

Amy Osmond Cook is a faculty associate in the School of Letters and Sciences at Arizona State University, where she teaches interdisciplinary and communication courses. She was America's Junior Miss in 1994 and is very grateful for the incredible experience and scholarship money that enabled her to receive her B.A. and M.A. in English from Brigham Young University. She later received her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Utah.

As a violinist, Amy performed for multiple years with the Osmond Brothers. She released her debut album, Nativity (a collection of traditional Christmas songs peformed on the violin and harp), in 2004. She has taught violin lessons and worked as a freelance studio violinist for many years.

Amy has been featured in the print publications such as People Magazine and USA Today and on television programs such as Good Morning America. 

Amy is married to Jeff Cook, and they are the proud parents of four beautiful children.

Door

Door

We are all used to opening and closing doors on a daily basis. Unless you encounter a problem with the function of your doors, you probably don't give their operation and component make up much thought. I am continually contacted by attorneys seeking my advice on an injury that took place because of an improperly adjusted or malfunctioning door. In this article, I am simply discussing manually operated doors. Nothing fancy or automatic about them, the kind where you grab a lever, push a plate or bang on a bar to enter or leave a room or building. So, if you want to learn to communicate professionally and simply with your door expert or even your building manager, read on.

Doors are actually a pretty simple and early invention. They probably started with a couple of wide planks to enclose an opening to keep out the weather or separate your belongings from the animals. Modern door systems are much more complex, but still do the basics. They keep your stuff protected from the elements, animals and other people.

While this article is in no means meant to be exhaustive and highly technical, there are a few things that need identification in order for all of us to properly understand their functions and be able to effectively communicate information.

A basic door system is made up of a framed opening, hinges, door, and door latch or lock. As separation and security requirements increase, the door system begins to increase in complexity. The basic door is either considered an unrated fire separation component or a rated fire separation component.

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Pool

Pool

The six deadly pool purchasing mistakes are frequently made as a result of simply not being informed and knowing what questions to ask. Avoiding these mistakes could save you thousands of dollars and hours of heartache and frustration.

So you want to buy a pool but don't know where to start? Perhaps knowing the common mistakes people make when purchasing a pool will help you start off on the right foot. Everyday, people get "duped" into buying the wrong pool, the wrong way, with no recourse or protection. These same people wind up being dissatisfied and even angry because their expectations weren't met.

Throughout my long career in the pool industry, I have met many people who have made serious mistakes when they purchased their pool. Every year it seems as though I hear the same stories over and over. As a result of talking with scores of pool owners and through my own years of experience in the industry, I have concluded that there are six common mistakes that people make when purchasing a pool.

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Paint

Paint

Your house is your lifetime asset. And it's a matter of time when you take a notice that your house needs renovation - not because it's getting old, but because you feel the need of vibrant colors in your house.

Repainting your house is a tricky business. Some rely on painting companies to do the job for you. Hiring the house painting service may also cost you. But if you are planning to paint it yourself, you might want to consider the basics; and consider the time and effort you will put on painting your house.

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There are many types of paint available today, some giving different surface finishes, others are designed for a particular application. Choosing the correct paint type may appear to be confusing at first, but once you have projected which theme you would like to paint your house and sorted out which job and what finishes you want, the choice is rather easy.

There are two bases of paint for your house: solvent-based (oil or alkyd) and water-based (latex). Oil-based paints dry slow - usually taking up to 24 hours. The best clean up for an oil-based paint is turpentine or paint thinner. Latex paints' advantage is that it dries relatively fast, but it is not desirable in hot weather or direct sunshine. The best clean up for latex paints requires just soap and water. So if you are painting the inside of your house, it is recommended to use water-based paints, while solvent-based paints are suggested for painting the exterior of your house.

There are different types of paints that is either water-based or solvent-based that produces different finishes that is measured by its sheen factor. "Sheen" is a term used to describe the degree of light reflection the paint has. Lesser sheen for an interior or exterior paint means it has lesser stain resistance.

· A Gloss paint is easy to clean and resists scuffs better. This is ideal for rooms that are constantly used. Most gloss paints are best recommended to use on woodworks, baseboards, kitchen and bathroom walls, doorjambs, and window casings. The downside of using gloss paints, however, is the noticeable imperfections in the wall surface.

· A High-gloss paint is highly reflective and works well for highlighting details, such as trim and decorative molding. They are also the best choice for doors and cabinet - or any area that sees a high volume of abuse.

· Semi-gloss paints are very similar to gloss plaints except it has lesser sheen. Semi-gloss is also suitable for rooms with high humidity (best used for children's room) and can be used for trim works and casings. These paints ensure maximum durability.

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Kitchen

From all of the things you can buy for your favorite girl or boy, why a play kitchen?

First and foremost, it creates interactive play. It encourages imagination. It allows your child to role play and cook like Mom or Dad. This is a great way to play with your child, and a great way for your child to play with friends. And if you choose, you can turn kitchen play into a learning opportunity. Play food can be used to teach about different foods and nutrition. Also social skills can be practiced with serving food and play eating together. What sort of play kitchen do you want? Children's kitchens range from very small toy kitchens to very large and feature full. You can find a single unit kids kitchen, which include many appliances, to multi-piece kitchen play sets with individual appliances. Choosing a play kitchen set depends on the age of the child, your budget and your setting. It also depends on your personal philosophy. Where is that play kitchen made? Is it eco-friendly and made with sustainable manufacturing and fair business practices.

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What kinds of play kitchens are available?

Single Unit Kitchens - These play kitchens include many appliances such as a stove, oven, microwave and sink in one unit. These units have a "front" and "back", so that they can be placed against a wall. Typically this style of toy kitchen is either a "assembly-required" wooden kitchen or it is made from molded plastic. A typical large, self-assemble wooden kitchen measures about four feet long, four feet tall, and about two feet deep.

Island Play Kitchen - These are stand-alone pretend kitchens. Children can play on all sides of these kitchens. Island play kitchens also feature various combinations of sink, stove, ovens and microwaves. Toddler kitchens are typically this style.

Complete Kitchen Play Sets - We are talking about a multi-appliance set here. There are separate toy stoves, toy refrigerators, toy microwaves, toy sinks, and toy dishwashers.

Table Top Toy Kitchens - These are small, typically "two burner" stoves, that are designed with portability in mind. These pretend kitchens can be moved from room to room and be used on a table, shelf or even the floor.

Natural wooden kitchens - These kitchens are made from solid wood and not particle board. Many of the "assembly-required" are made from laminated particle board and are still considered wood by the manufacturer. The natural wooden kitchens are typically made from spruce, pine or cedar. Many of these designs are more abstract in nature. That is they do not offer realistic detail; however, there is no mistaking that these are play kitchens. They usually combine a sink and stove and have moving parts. It is just that the details are left to the child's imagination.

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