Locias

Iris lives in a house that was built at a time when kitchens were nothing more than a place to cook meals. She had always wanted to remodel it, jazz it up, and transform it to become the central room in her house.

Piles of magazines on kitchen design and décor litter her living room. She has also downloaded a lot of kitchen photos and articles from the Internet. With all these, Iris knows what she wants. She only has to explain it to her contractor.

She wants a U-shaped kitchen with an island in the center, accessed through the opening of the U, and with a huge window at the other end. The window is a must because it provides her with a view of tall trees behind which are snow-capped mountains. She would like to have a cooktop and sink installed on the island along with a preparation area. Overhead cupboards and a dishwasher should line one side of the kitchen, while the other side shall hold the fridge, oven, and pantry. She imagines having her coffee maker and juicer on the counter below the cupboards.

She has it all planned, including the kitchen light fixtures she wants. She knows these will greatly enhance her kitchen. There is only one thing she needs to do now —raise the money.

In the United States, students generally enroll in college from age 17 or 18 until they are 21 or 22. These ages are certainly a most active part of anyone’s life. It is a time for adventure and to explore one’s surroundings, if not indeed the world. It is a time for trying out everything and discovering new experiences. And of course, it is a time for studying.

A college student does not solely spend his time cramming for the next day’s exams, or preparing terms papers and book reports, and conducting researches. He spends as much time with his peers going places and having fun. He may even have a part-time job at the neighborhood deli to pay for a vacation in a place where his parents would not want him to go. In between, he eats an unhealthy diet, have too much beer, exercises irregularly, if at all, fails to clean up his room, and perhaps smokes a few packs of cigarettes.

These are bound to tax his bodily systems and eventually lead to health problems. It is for this reason that a college student health insurance plan is deemed by many to be a sound investment, almost as much as the tuition fees that have to be paid. Although colleges often have their own physicians, an insurance policy allows a student to choose his own doctor and the kind of medical service that suits him.