Ewing, NJ

The College of New Jersey Celebrates OneWebDay - The Earth Day for the Internet Monday, September 22nd, 2008

In honor of this year’s OneWebDay event, the Imagining the Internet Center and the editors of the Greensboro News & Record encouraged everyone to share a favorite true story about how the Web is making a difference in big ways and little ways. In response to this event, Introduction to Communication Studies classes at The College of New Jersey participated in this program. The three essays that are published by Greensboro News & Record are listed first, followed by selective responses of the students who participated.

Marissa Marshall: Web made possible adopted brothers

A few years ago, when I was 13, my dad got an e-mail from a charity organization. The e-mail showed the conditions of children living in orphanages in Russia and had a link to an adoption agency's Web site.

My dad printed out the e-mail and brought it home with him from work that night. Over dinner, my parents, sister and I talked about whether or not we thought we could adopt a child from Russia.

We talked about it for a very long time that night and finally concluded that we would adopt two boys, since we already had two girls; they would be older children, because they had a much harder time being adopted than babies, and they would be brothers, because unfortunately, siblings are often separated through adoption.

We were ecstatic. It all happened so fast. We looked through pictures on the Internet and finally fell in love with these two little brothers, my brothers.

They were 4 and 5 years old when we adopted them and they have honestly been the best thing that has ever happened to my family. They are amazing little boys and I would have never been able to have them in my life if an e-mail hadn't been sent to my dad that morning.

That's how the Internet changed my life.

Saori Wakita: For foreign student, links to learning and home

I am an exchange student from Japan. In Japan people do not use computer and Internet so much. We usually do not use them for classes.

We do not have presentations or research study which we have to do by ourselves. Students just have to take lectures and there is no discussion between students and teachers. In addition most reports and essays are handwritten and information is gotten from books in the library. This education system might make many Japanese bad at computers and Internet.

After entering university, I finally asked to use the Internet to study some topics in English by my American professor. My university has a lot of professors from the United States, and I had to research how students in the United States make use of Internet for their studies.

That experience changed my life. I learned not only how to use the Internet to study but also how to enjoy it. I found that English is more useful for finding information because Japanese resources are limited. The Internet taught me the benefit of studying English.

It has been about a month since I came to the United States. Life in a foreign country is much more difficult than I expected. The Internet helps me to understand my studies and communicate with parents and friends in Japan and other places.

Eddie Hernandez: Thrifty living

There have been so many things I bought online that would have cost me double otherwise.

I have a '97 Audi A4 which has a computer that runs the climate controls. My air conditioning did not work. The dealer told me it needed a new computer and that it would cost around $400. This, for a college student, is horrible. So I decided to look for it on

eBay. Soon enough I found a computer for $45, which I bought and installed myself. There would have been no other way for me to know that a man in Ohio had this part, but thanks to a communication line such as the Internet I was able to become aware of such a thing and own it for my benefit. Now my car is ice cold in the summer.

I don't really have the funds to get stuff done to my car by a mechanic. Through the Internet I learned how to tint my windows, how to put in a stereo system, how to change my brakes and rotors, how to change my gaskets ... I could go on for days.

Abby Hocking

When my parents were first married in the mid-seventies, they ran a small antique business in which they bought and sold antiques through other dealers and auction houses. This was time consuming in many aspects, and as they began a family, they could not find the time to sell and buy antiques like they used to. Going out to auction houses over fifty miles away was no longer an easy option with two children. This inconvenience turned my parents away from the antique business.

We got our first computer in 2000, when I was in fifth grade. With our new computer and the World Wide Web, my parents discovered auctions sites such as eBay, where their target buyers could find any collectable by one click of a mouse. While many antique dealers and auction houses claimed that the internet was ruining the antique business, the convenience of in-home buying and selling of rare goods really helped my parents get their business back on its feet. Appraising items became easier along with determining the rareness of collectables. To this day, eight years later, my mother is still selling and buying antiques off of eBay.

While many buyers and sellers still turn to antique shops and auction houses for their goods, the rapid growth of websites such as eBay prove the power of the internet. The internet rejuvenated my mother’s love for antiques and collectables. Without the World Wide Web, my mother would have never returned to her original hobby of antiquing.

Hannah Pagan

My best friend heads off to Iraq in January for a year, and another good friend is already there. My boyfriend is serving in South Korea. If I had lived back in the 1500s, Eric, Rob and Frank would be serving, not in the Air Force, Army and Marines, but probably for the King in the crusades. Letters were unreliable; you never knew anything happened until after the incident.

With the Internet today, I've been able to keep up with Frank as he has been deployed. I'll be able to stay in touch with Rob when he's gone. Eric and I have been able to continue to foster our 4-year relationship during his yearlong deployment. It's hard, and it's lonely, but the Internet keeps us in touch on a near-daily basis.

Only thirty-five years ago, my relatives sent audio tapes as a way to keep in touch with the Army, so their loved ones could play the tapes to just hear their voice. Now, if we need it, a simple webcam chat lets me hear Eric's voice, see his face, and feel so much better about being apart. My grandfather could've never imagined such a thing when he was in Vietnam.

I only have the Internet to thank for that.

Victoria Koziol

The biggest impact that the internet has had on me happened about a year ago while I was trying to decide a major.

Growing up I changed my career paths just about as quickly as I changed my clothes, but when it came time to choose a serious path, I was stuck. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Online career tests didn’t help and I was losing time.

One day while searching on the internet a site popped up about “starting your own restaurant”. When I saw that advertisement, I was immediately interested. I had always loved to cook and I definitely loved to eat! This idea sounded perfect. I researched more about the business and talked to people online who had opened their own restaurants.

Less than a year later I realized that managing my own restaurant is exactly what I want to do and I have the internet to thank for that.

Jessica Virga

Before I got to college I was nervous. I didn’t know anyone there and was afraid that I would be left alone. No one likes first impressions; they are awkward and uncomfortable.

But with the luxury of internet sites like Facebook, I was able to meet some of my peers before arriving at school. The internet helped me find out what my roommate was like before I moved in, and find out whom some of my floor mates were too. I already had a good idea who I thought I was going to get along with best, and who I thought I would be more distant with before even stepping foot in the building.

By knowing what to expect, I was more comfortable moving into school. Without these kinds of resources I would have had more anxiety about coming into this new experience. By talking with the kids I was going to be living with I found out that they too were nervous and had the same questions about college life that I did.

The internet allows people to connect with other that may be going through a similar situation and find comfort within one another.

Caitlin McGrath

The Internet has truly made an impact on my life, changing it for the better because it allows me to stay connected to my family who lives over nine thousand miles away.

I had always been extremely close to my brother, his wife, and their two children. I’d seen them at least once a week. They were always there for me, my sister-in-law was someone I could always talk to, my niece and nephew reminded me of simple fun and would say cute things, and my brother always made me feel safe and protected.

Over a year ago my brother and his family moved to Singapore for his work. I was petrified that I would no longer be close to my niece and nephew. When I was about seven, the Internet was not as popular, (at least not in my family) and my favorite aunt moved to California and since that time we’ve drifted apart.

Now, in an era more dependent and involved with Internet usage, I have had the ability to stay in touch with my niece and nephew and continue to stay involved in their lives. I send them silly cards via email to make them laugh. We talk to each other using video chat so we can see each other’s faces. When a phone call to Singapore costs fifteen dollars a minute without a plan, you become appreciative of the Interne that helps you stay connected.

The Internet allows me to email and talk with my sister-in-law when I need a confidante, keep my brother informed on my life, and remind my niece and nephew that even though we’re nine thousand miles apart I’m still there for them.

Christopher Pisano

My friend, Billy, and I go to the Outer Banks, North Carolina on vacation every other year. In 2006 we were two high school boys going into our junior year and as anyone would guess, our goal for vacation was to meet as many girls as possible. To make a long story short, we met up with two wonderful girls from Virginia and spent the whole week together. We came to know them very well through the week, but when it came time to say our goodbyes we realized that there is a possibility we may never see them again. The internet came to the rescue. Through Facebook we were able to stay in touch here and there and ask about each others' junior and senior years.

But when summer arrived after senior year and my friend Billy notified me that I would be going with him to the Outer Banks again, the Internet jump started our relationship with those two girls that we had met two years ago. Facebook provided a channel in which I could see pictures of these girls and catch up on how they have spent the past couple years. Also, I was able to hold conversations with them through commenting back and forth on their "wall." All in all, by the time August 26th came, I felt as if I had known and spent time with these girls for the past two years and hadn't missed a step simply because of the connection we were able to have over the internet.

August 27th was the first beach day for me and Billy, and as luck would have it, we came across them on the beach and hit it off great. From sun-up to sun-down Billy and I spent virtually every minute with them for the next week in the Outer Banks. The vacation was unforgettable and we were able to bond so much and share so many memorable times together - I felt as if I had known these strangers my whole life.

When it came time to go our separate ways, Hayley left for Virginia Tech, Nicole left for Tennessee, I was off to The College of New Jersey and Billy headed off to Illinois. We are all so far from each other now, but the Internet still serves as a common connection between all of us. We not only comment on each others' "walls" all the time, but we now call each other too to see how everything is going.

To think that we have only spent two weeks with these girls in person in our lifetime and have been able to come so close is incredible. But now that I think about it, much of that credit is due to the Internet for providing a common mean of communication between us all. Billy and I look forward to visiting these girls on winter break of college as well as in two years from now, when we meet again in North Carolina.

Angela Pineiro

Interested in purchasing an item or two but don't have any time? Are you one of those people who get overwhelmed when entering an overcrowded, unorganized store? Is it a predicament for you to find a method of transportation to and from the store? There's no need to worry any longer. If you answered yes to any of the previous questions, I'm pleased to inform you that there has been a little tool recently invented to convenience you. It's called Online Shopping!

Online shopping, thanks to the internet, does not only convenience millions of consumers but also benefits an abundance of stores and companies. Since online shopping has been around, sales have sky rocketed. It amazes me that as I sit here writing this, I could actually be shopping! Not only does it save us a trip to the store, but it also allows us to sit comfortably as we easily view all the items available and gives us the chance to compare them. We no longer have to look for missing price tags on the floor or ask for price checks. The price is usually displayed right under each item. There are stores who even offer free shipping. Another perk are the store hours. Online shopping is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now, what store do we know that offer those services?

This isn’t an advertisement; it’s simply an expression of my profound feelings towards the internet and how it has come to convenience me. So the answer to the ambiguous question, has the internet changed my life, is a firm yes. I have faith in the internet and believe that it will continue to convenience me and the rest of the world.