Virtual Reality content is perhaps the breakout technology this year.  VR has been growing in popularity as we now have the ability to make 360-degree videos by YouTube and other content providers at a reasonable price. However, remember that while the application of this technology is gaining speed, it will likely take 2 or 3 more years to gain traction in industry and academia and eventually consumers in a more meaningful way.

You can already find 360-degree videos on multitude of topics such as entertainment, extreme sports, get up close with animals, travel to space and underwater, and go to places than one can only imagine.

Beyond entertainment, VR is showing promising future in both medicine and education. In the field of medicine, researchers and doctors now have the ability to simulate scenarios such as that in the operating room and for students to follow a doctor’s surgery and steps through special cameras and imagery. For a list of some new ideas in healthcare through VR, see http://medicalfuturist.com/5-ways-medical-vr-is-changing-healthcare/.

In the education area, the use of VR is being explored for enhancing students’ abilities in concentration and learning. One can only imagine complimenting learning content in books with videos incorporating 3D maps or the immersive VR depiction of everything from the inside of the human body to the stretches of space.

Select YouTube Live 360 Videos

Here are a few select 360 degree videos on some entertainment and educational topics that demonstrate some of the potential of VR technology.

Disclaimer: NextStep Lifestyle is not the originator of this content and is not responsible for the content.

Space:
Journey to the edge of space by Seeker VR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCve1w1GFOs

Flying:
Experience the Blue Angels : Climb aboard Blue Angel 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6SsB3JYqQg

Nature:
Experience 360 degree Underwater National Park by National Geographic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v64KOxKVLVg

Surrounded by wild elephants by IM360
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlOiXMvMaZo

Entertainment:
Hamilton: An American Musical 360° – Wait For It from CBS

An American Musical performance of “Wait For It” – an exclusive look at the cast getting ready for The 70th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday June 12th 8/7c. – live on CBS and CBS All Access.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9AyO8h2I0k

Before you start packing for the move, take some time this summer to research and find some neat furniture and storage items that make great use of the space and put your personal imprint on your digs.

First, double check the size of the room and the available space you have for bringing personal items. If you are sharing your room with a roommate, reach out to discuss common interests and needs.  Then plan out quickly who is bringing what so that you do not have any duplicates and optimize your use of the space.

Here are 10 ideas for furniture that can do double-duty as storage and can usually be found at affordable prices.

1. 1. Sleeper Chairs
      These chairs act as both a chair and a comfortable bed and in a reasonable footprint. These chairs come in various sizes and colors and you can pick one to match the color scheme for your room.

      Credit: Target.com

   2. Storage Bench or Ottoman
      The storage bench is a clever idea to squeeze items such as blankets, pillows, extra clothes or books. A storage bench or ottoman can also serve as a table for placing books or food when entertaining.
      
      

      Credit: Wayfair.com

   3. Bed with storage drawers
      If you are allowed to bring your own bed in the dorm room, you can feel a lot more organized with a storage bed with drawers for your clothes, shoes, books or personal items.
      
      

      Credit: Wayfair.com

   4. Folding Chairs
      You can easily store a few folding chairs in your closet or a corner for days where you have company without wasting valuable space in your room.
      
      

      Credit: Amazon.com

   5. Book shelves that double as a room divider
      In college you will need lots of space for all the books and papers you will accumulate and having a bookshelf that can double as a room divider is a great way to make use of your small space while providing a bit of privacy in your room.
      
      

      Credit: Hayneedle.com

   6. Murphy bed desks
      This is a queen wall bed with a built-in desk.  It functions as a desk during the day and a bed at night. It comes with matching side panels that are sold separately for extra storage.   Supercool for tight spaces, this is something you may even more likely consider for your first apartment off campus.
      
      

      Credit: Costco

   7. Rolling Drawers:
      Drawers provide a great way for organizing items in your closet or to move the unit around for easy access when it is needed.  An alternative idea:  Raise your bed using PVC pipe or blocks over the bed corners (if your school allows), use low height rolling storage under the bed.
      

      Credit: Target.com

   8. Customizable shelves and cubes:
      These are especially handy in dorms where cubbys and closets do not come with built in space.  They let you use virtually every square inch for storage.
      

      Credit: Bed Bath and Beyond

   9. Hanging shelves and shoe hangers:
      Hanging shelves are great where you have fewer clothes to hang and many items that require folding.  Shoe hangers free up space on the ground for more storage and offer fast and easy access to your shoes without searching when you are running late.
      

      Credit: Kohl’s

   10. Two-tiered workspace for laptop, monitor and keyboard
       There are numerous workspace units on the market these days that allow one to setup a flexible station on a flat surface. These are height-adjustable solutions that turn a desk into a standing desk. The multi-tiered design provides an upper area for a laptop and a monitor, while the lower area has room for a keyboard, a mouse and other items.
       
       

       Credit: Varidesk.com

The musicians I admire most have the versatility to induce several different emotional responses in the same piece. This quality is present in most of the wide variety of music I listen to which includes jazz and alternative pop/rock bands.

Music is far more than the sum of its parts. It can be thought of in a highly mathematical sense, which leaves one in awe of the seemingly endless combinations of rhythm, tone and intervals that a good musician can produce. Admiring music in this way is a lot like admiring an intricate snowflake, or shapes in the clouds; it’s beautiful, but at the same time very scientific, based on patterns. All of the aforementioned qualities of music have one thing in common: They can be defined with numeric, specific values.

However, the greatest aspect of music lies elsewhere and cannot be specifically defined with words. It is the reaction that each individual has when they are confronted with their favorite (or least favorite) kind of music. It is the capacity for human beings to feel different emotions through music. Think for example of an impact a lullaby has on a newborn, or the beat of a marching band in a patriotic celebration. Music can alter one’s mood and change a person’s energy level.

A study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes that one’s cognitive ability and connection to music, stems from an old skill that gleans emotion from motion. “People usually choose the same combination of spatiotemporal features — a certain speed, rhythm, and smoothness — whether pairing a particular emotion with a melody or with a cartoon animation”, the study found.

There aren’t many words to describe the emotional reaction I get when I hear certain songs, even those that aren’t as complicated as those of more skillful artists.

Music can be viewed from many different perspectives. When I think of music, I take all of these points of view into account. My goal, simply put, is to hone my craft in every aspect, to the very furthest of my ability through the influence of music.

Liz K. is a student at Oldenburg Academy in Oldenburg, Ind.

One of those destinations is New York City. For the college student who has never been there, New York offers a variety of unique experiences and can even be like a mini vacation abroad while one can experience the multitude of cultures and languages of many countries all in one place.

So as you are getting ready to make a list of places on your travel destinations this summer, please consider these aspects of the city with welcoming arms to those who are still in school.

Top reasons to visit New York this summer vacation:

1. Cultural parades, holidays and outdoor festivities– New York offers more than x number of parades annually that celebrate the culture and diversity of the city from different ethnicity and backgrounds. In the summer in particular as the weather is nice, there are parades almost every weekend including the Puerto Rican Day, the Mermaid , and the Gay Pride parades in June, the Fourth of July fireworks, Jamaican festival, Harlem week in July, and India parade, SummerStage, and the U.S. Open Tennis in August. Along with these, there are numerous street fairs and exhibits in various neigborhoods and parks. Check out the schedule at https://www.events12.com/newyork/.
2. Museums – Some of the best museums in the world can be found in New York City and students can take in history, art, design, science and fashion among many topics to learn more about. These include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, the Frick Collection, Museum of the Moving Image, National September 11 Memorial, Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Mathematics, among many others. One can even take a class about a topic of interest at these venues. Be sure to inquire about student discounts as most offer this to college students.
3. Parks and concerts – New York is famous for some of the most iconic parks in the country (an amazing 1,700 parks in total). Central Park stands in the center of NYC and offers endless acres for sunning, strolling and wandering, in addition to a zoo, a winter ice rink and the Met and natural history museum on either side of the park. Bronx’s Van Cortland Park holds the Bronz Zoo as well as the Bronx Botanical Gardens.  Smaller parks like Bryant park behind the New York Library offer popular picnic spots.  For a list of events and offerings for central park, go the Central Park Conservancy (http://www.centralpark.com/).
4. Shopping – New York has some of the diverse shopping in the country. From the hyper chic stores of Madison avenue to Macy’s flagship, New York has it all.  The West and East villages along with Soho are full of everything from designer boutiques and second hand clothing stores.
5. Culinary venues and cuisine – NYC has an astonishing 24,000 restaurants and eating establishments. Walking down the street, you almost can’t go wrong finding a restaurant as long as you are outside of the most touristy areas like Times Square.  From budget pizza for a dollar a slice to 5 Star restaurants, NYC has something for everyone.  Or just take a meal to go and enjoy it in the park.  In addition to standard restaurant websites like Yelp, Menupages.com offers detailed reviews and menus for virtually every restaurant in the city.
6. Consulates and the UN – New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world where one can hear a multitude of languages spoken just walking down Fifth Avenue. It is home to many consulates and embassies as well as the United Nations (UN). A visit to the UN to tour the compound and its history can provide an interesting insights on international relations while offering stunning views of the East river.
7. Architecture – There are numerous architectural styles across the city and in the five boroughs that go back to the founding of the city in 1624. From Baroque to Art Deco to Modern Skyscrapers, the city offers every type of style and innovation in construction and development. Just grab one of the architectural guides to the city and walk through the areas of interest. You can pick up a guide book at any bookstore or online such as: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aia-guide-to-new-york-city-norval-white/1111610971?ean=9780812931075 
8. New York’s neighborhoods – You can make a list of different neighborhoods you would like to visit that you are interested in learning more about. Given the sheer size and diversity of NYC, it is a good idea to plan your visits in advance. The city is home to many prominent ethnic neighborhoods such as Chinatown (and an ever shrinking little Italy next to it), a Jewish Williamsburg and a Greek Astoria. Harlem is undergoing a new renaissance as a center of African American culture and history. Midtown remains a center of business along with Wall Street.  Meatpacking and the Lower East Side offer shopping by day and hip nightlife by night.  The upper east and west sides are residential bastions each with their own character.  Greenwich village is a warren of street offering shops and restaurants with the East Village serving as its edgier cousin.
9. The Arts – New York is home to Broadway and off Broadway theatres where one can find virtually a play about anything. There is a Shakespeare theatre downtown as well as Shakespeare in the park performed during the summer months. The city boasts world famous performing arts stages such as the Joyce theatre, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Skirball Center at New York University, and the New York City Ballet. Live jazz performances are available almost every night at the many jazz clubs around the five boroughs as New York continues its legacy of jazz culture and music. And as for other types of music well one can include Carnegie Hall, The Radio City Music hall, and the Barclay’s Center and Arena.

In support of its mission to encourage youth volunteerism, The Prudential Spirit of Community Initiative conducted a study among 1,200 teenagers in the U.S. to better understand the motivators and differences between youth volunteers and non-volunteers. Compared to 20 years ago, when Prudential first surveyed teenagers about their attitudes toward volunteering, the number of teens who see volunteering as important has increased (from 62% to 76%).  See Figure

1. Perhaps the reason why is because teen volunteering is a virtuous cycle. While teenagers cite “helping others” as a top reason for wanting to volunteer, they acknowledge benefiting from the experience, too. Nine in 10 volunteers say that volunteering makes them feel good about themselves because they feel like they made a difference, felt needed and built self-esteem and confidence.Compared to non-volunteers, teens that volunteer have a more positive perception of themselves. Across a variety of traits – including independence, leadership, dependability, confidence, and optimism – volunteers rated themselves an average of 15 points higher than non-volunteers.The increased confidence extended to their perception of their skill sets. Analyzing their own skills in areas such as technology, communication and teaching others, volunteers rated their skills significantly higher than non-volunteers on every measure. Volunteers reported that they actively developed a number of skills through their service activities such as social skills, leadership and networking.Find out how you can start volunteering in your community! Talk to your teachers and counselors, or do your own research to find an opportunity that will help you give back. You can also check out the Prudential Spirit of Community project ideas at https://spirit.prudential.com/volunteer-ideas/volunteer-project-ideas
   The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, represents America’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service. Since 1995, the program has honored more than 115,000 youth volunteers at the local, state and national level. Spirit of Community programs are also conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. Learn more at http://spirit.prudential.com.
   Figure 1: Source: The Prudential Spirit of Community https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/teen-survey-on-volunteering
   

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