Category: Uncategorized

The first set of data I chose to analyze is the total estimated household income for married-couple families in Hanover County, Virginia. I chose this data because I am from Hanover County, and household income is a pretty interesting topic for me, considering in the next few years I will more than likely be moving into my own household. The data seemed pretty reliable and accurate, as you could imagine the percentages of families that make more money than some others. The data continuously rose for household incomes from $10,000 to $149,000 and then it turned around and went down for the families that make between $150,000 to $200,000 or more. This is no surprise to me considering it depends on what jobs the two individuals have and how much each one makes. One individual in the relationship could be making more than the other so it all depends on the individual what it adds up to. 

The second set of data I chose to analyze is the educational attainment for individuals between 18 and 24 years old in Hanover County, Virginia. I also chose this data because I attended elementary, middle, and high school in Hanover County, Virginia. Hanover County has 21 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, and 4 high schools. For the high school educational attainment, the chart has a pretty close to normal bell curve, just shifted to the right a little bit. The amount of individuals that are less than a high school graduates are 961; high school graduates are 2,937; some college or associate’s degree are 4,480; and bachelor’s degree or higher are 922. The only amount that shocked me were the amount of individuals with a bachelor’s degree. Being that my graduating class was 288 students, along with the other three high schools in the surrounding areas of Hanover County, I would think that more than 922 individuals would have graduated college with a bachelor’s degree. Digging even further, I personally know a lot of people in Hanover County that have gone back into school to get their bachelor’s or master’s degree. 

Welcome to Inside the Mill! I’m Brandon Mills, a senior Liberal Studies major at Longwood University. I have a leadership minor, and after graduation, I plan to get my Master’s Degree in Higher Education-Student Affairs!! Happy reading! 

Rumor has it that we all have habits. Habits – actions performed with little conscious thought and often unwittingly triggered by external cues – are powerful influences on behavior and can be our greatest allies for positive change. Sometimes, habits can be difficult to break, so they can be seen as saboteurs of personal growth and development.

Odds are that we are all trying to break a bad habit in our college lives. Whether it be procrastinating, struggling with time management skills, eating too much, spending too much money, etc., we are all guilty of some type of bad habit.

Here are some tips to break those bad habits and replace them with good ones:

• Identify the habit that you want to work on. This step may require some honest self-evaluation, but I know you all have it in you.
  • One habit that I am guilty of is always saying yes to other people, when I know I have so much to do myself.
• Be consistent with the ways in which you go about changing that habit.
  • For me, I am realizing that sometimes you just have to say no. You must have time for yourself, whether it be for self-reflection, self-growth, or even just taking time to be alone.
• Replace the bad habit with a good one.
  • Lately, I have tried to be better at taking more care of myself and being healthier, which keeps my mind off of the word ‘yes’.
• Finally, treat yo’self.
  • Not with a dozen donuts, or a half-gallon of ice-cream, but it is always nice to do some retail therapy, or just have some alone time as a reward for getting rid of that bad habit.

With all of this in mind, it takes 66 days of doing something to convert it to a habit. Find your bad habit, replace it with a good one, and live a happier life.