Out of right field

Attention to detail will save your life. I heard that every day I spent in the Middle East during my military deployments. With the different shipments of equipment, and the thousands of tons of hazardous cargo we loaded, everything had to be just right to avoid any mishaps. While there, we were instructed to report and record anything out of the ordinary that might be a potential security threat. A car-bomb was diffused and a suicide bomber was stopped because someone noticed minor details.

Paying attention to detail is also something that can save your grades here at Weber State University. During class time, or while studying, it can save your scholarly bacon. You should record in your notes anything that might be a potential "testable threat" on an upcoming exam. Whether it's the fine print on the bottom of the page, or a supposedly off-hand comment made by a professor, paying attention to detail is always a good idea.

During my sophomore year I had a class that I had been warned to avoid. I ignored the warning. The class was difficult to say the least. I, however, thought I was more capable than I was. In the class that was so technical, I skipped out a few times. With the details in the assigned readings, I skimmed the chapter summaries. Instead of attending extra study groups, I was trying to be king of the social arena. When the final exam came, I was unprepared and wishing I had paid a little more attention to detail. Needless to say, at the end of the semester the fine print came back to haunt me.

Recently my wife and I bought a house. It was a painstaking process. There was an incredible amount of paperwork and I lost count of the number of forms that we had to sign. There was a lot to read, but I am glad that we took the extra time to go over the forms very carefully. The news is full of how the mortgage industry is in a slump. The term "sub-prime" can now almost be thought of as an offensive term. So many people are losing their homes because of the fine print. I can't help but wonder how many foreclosures could have been avoided. If everyone had read and understood the terms of their mortgage and details of their payments and interest, would we be seeing the issues in the housing market that we see now? I don't think so. For many, it seemed like a good easy deal at the time, but unfortunately, what was in the fine print came back to haunt them.

Every day, people run out of gas because they ignore the fuel warning. Someone's phone is shut off because they misread the bill. Fines are imposed by the IRS because someone didn't pay close enough attention. Someone slept in because they set the alarm for PM instead of AM. The list could go on, and I'm sure anyone could give their own list of mistakes that could've been easily avoided if only the fine print were read and the details understood.

With orientation around the corner, WSU is welcoming a new group of students. I'm sure they are being given free advice by the bucket load. Free advice is worth what you pay for it, but I hope that the new freshmen pay attention to it. I hope they pay attention to everything. I hope they listen. Whether it's lecture notes or just how to get around campus, I hope they write it down, read it, and memorize it. If not, I can guarantee that somehow, somewhere, the fine print will come back to haunt them.