KEY Blog

How to Win a Nobel Peace Prize On a Diet of Ramen Noodles
March 3rd, 2008
by Key Magazine

Feel like trading the cash you saved for that Prada bag to combat poverty? No? What if you only lent the money for a few months, then got it all back in time for your next shopping spree? You're probably thinking, "That doesn't sound like charity." It is, but it ain't. It's better. It's a system called Kiva. Microcharity on a budget – you really can help! Just because your main meal is ramen noodles doesn't mean you can't make a difference. There's a new form of charity in town and it's designed for students who want to help but live on a budget! You donate just a little, but help change a lot! And best of all, you can watch the story unfold as your money slowly makes its way back to you. That's right – your money comes back to you. ...
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Things to do on Holiday Break
December 21st, 2007
by Lori Oswald

We here at Key Magazine will be heading out shortly for our holiday break, so we want to wish everyone Happy Holidays! There probably won't be many updates on here till early next year, but check back then, because we have some cool things coming to the site next year. In the meantime, check out our list of things to do while on your holiday break. This isn't your standard holiday to-do list of shopping, eating, and sleeping. Try something different for a change... Start your own blog. There are lots of free blog services out there, like Wordpress and Blogger. Check out www.howstuffworks.com and impress your friends and family with your newfound knowledge. Get a really difficult puzzle. Example - black and white photo mosaic. Check out the wide variety of puzzles here. Go through your stuff and find things to sell on ebay. Decrease clutter and make money! Give ...
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Rating the Hottest Gifts This Holiday Season
December 19th, 2007
by Key Magazine

The holidays are almost here! Do you know what to expect in your stocking on Christmas morning? Our roving band of reviewers have collected a quick list of the hottest gifts to arrive under the tree. How do the items on Santa's Top 5 stack up? MOVIES Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ~ Disney DVD and Blu-Ray – Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow in this pulse-pounding conclusion in the Pirates trilogy. Rescued from Davy Jones' locker, Jack is forced to unite the world's pirate lords in an all-out assault against the British Royal Navy and the cursed Flying Dutchman. The 2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD includes some bonus features, but not a lot. Also, the film lacks a commentary track – a definite disappointment. Rating: 3 out of 5 candy canes. MUSIC Carnival Ride ~ Carrie Underwood – Since winning the American Idol crown in 2005, Underwood has proven that ...
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How to have a stress-free winter break
December 15th, 2007
by Jenni Zammit, Staff Writer

When you're a college student, winter break can be almost a month long. Returning home for such a long stretch of time can be an adjustment for the entire family. Parents may want their kids back for a traditional family Christmas, while you are anxious to catch up with high school friends and explore their independence. But your holidays really can be happy. Here are some tips on how to keep winter break as stress-free as possible: Loosely pre-plan your break so that your family and friends have the right expectations about who you want to see and what you want to do over the holidays. Ask your family ahead of time what their expectations are for you. Understand that your parents expect to spend time with you over the holidays. Don't disregard your family just because you haven't had a curfew for the past 3 months. Be honest with your parents if your ...
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College is a matter of choice
December 10th, 2007
by Key Magazine

Looking back on my first semester of college, what do you think is the first thing that comes to mind? Parties? Late-night study sessions? Um, yeah. For me, it’s a bright orange parka. Every morning that first semester, I’d get up before the sun rose to bundle up in that neon orange parka and walk a mile to my job on campus. (No, I’m not completely stupid; the buses just didn’t run that early!) First, a little background about that parka: I used to be an “eclectic” and unique dresser in high school. I didn’t dress freakishly. But I was willing to take a risk, considering the tiny and conservative town I lived in. The parka wasn’t really that warm. And it was ORANGE. Not just regular, old, everyday orange. Hunting gear orange. And it didn’t even fit that well! Why did ...
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Freshman Zombies from University X
November 30th, 2007
by Key Magazine

Going off to college was an intimidating experience. For the first time, I was living away from home. I was in a dorm suite with seven guys I didn't know. My best friend pledged at one of the fraternities, so we didn't see much of each other during that first week. It could have been one of the worst experiences of my life. I arrived on campus my freshman year and settled in to my dorm less than a week before the start of classes. Those days were torture. Surrounded by people I didn't know, in a strange environment, I wanted nothing more than to go home. Then something strange happened. Just when I felt nothing could go right, some of the older guys in the dorm started throwing a Frisbee. Soon, most of the guys and girls in the dorm gathered outside for the impromptu game. We talked. We learned ...
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Go! Fight! Win!
November 26th, 2007
by Lori Oswald

It was a crazy weekend here in Kansas City, with Mizzou and KU football teams facing off on the gridiron at Arrowhead Stadium. Both football teams had a surprisingly amazing season, and Saturday night's game would more than likely determine the newest #1 ranked college football team in the BCS. And it did - after maintaining the lead through the entire game, the Missouri Tigers came out on top. These two teams' long-standing border war brought out an abundance of spirit in the Kansas City area. Alumni and current students alike flocked to the sports bars and even came out to tailgate at the game, despite not having tickets. I was actually present at the tailgaiting festivities while working on a fundraiser for a local charity, so I got to witness a lot of the "spirit" firsthand. Most of it was all in good fun, but there were the occasional ...
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Scholarship Secrets
November 20th, 2007
by Cara Howard, Staff Writer

I remember the spring semester of my senior year of high school. The scholarship awards banquets never seemed to end. I also remember my friend Andy saying to me after the last banquet, “Geez. They should have just called these all ‘The Cara Awards.’” Yes, it’s true I was a good student, but that’s not what got my name called so many times. It was my determination. I spent a lot of hours after school meeting with my counselor to find all of the scholarship opportunities offered by local businesses. I spent many hours in the evenings applying for these local opportunities. I fit it in between studying and filling out college applications. And not many other kids did. That made my competition a lot smaller, which in turn made my combined rewards a lot larger. I didn’t win every local scholarship I applied for … but I did get ...
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When I Grow Up
November 15th, 2007
by Lori Oswald

It's funny how your perspective changes throughout the stages of your life. The other day my coworkers and I were chatting about our jobs and how we ended up here. Most of us are not in the profession that we would have predicted for ourselves. I was one of the few who actually got my Bachelor of Science in Business, which made sense here at an Advertising Agency. I then remembered something from my childhood that I shared with them. I found it quite humorous, and ironic at the same time. In third through fifth grade, I attended a very small country school. In fact, it was so small, that all the grade levels studied together in the same room under one teacher. Seems unheard of these days...Anyhow - every Christmas we put on a program for our parents, and one year, we got to write it ourselves. We decided to ...
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Transferring colleges isn’t that scary
November 13th, 2007
by Key Magazine

One of the big freshman fears going into college is, “What if it turns out to be the ‘wrong’ school for me?” After all the hassle of researching colleges, getting letters of recommendation, applying, weighing out the pros and cons, deciding on one, packing up more crap than you’ll ever need in your life, but somehow figuring you’ll need it and actually fitting it into a dorm room the size of a laundry hamper; the prospect of transferring colleges seems unbearable. But it’s not unbearable; I went to 3 different schools for 3 totally different reasons, and I’d argue that each step along the way was a necessary one. There wasn’t anything wrong with the schools, but there was something wrong with how I viewed myself. It was incomplete, and each institution brought me closer to figuring out what I wanted and who I wanted to be. ...
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