great day

Quinceanera
It was on December 26, 2008 when I had my Quinceanera in Mexico. A Quinceanera is a stage where a young girl is becoming a young adult.  Before that date, my parents had told me I could choose having a fifteen either here or in Mexico. Without thinking it twice I said in Mexico because I wanted to spend that time with my family. I could have gotten here, but I really did not have any family members here. The bad thing about it was that I had to plan it from here, and that was annoying because I could not talk to people personally. I had to do it through the phone. It took me months to find people to help me out with everything, but I have good cousins that helped me out from Mexico.  It was December when I left on the plane all by myself to Mexico. I had to get everything ready for the day of my fifteen. I had to get the Waltz together with all my court of honor. We had to make up dances, and that was pretty fun. Rehearsals were not always the best because the guys often made me extremely mad. Most of the time they would not pay attention, they would not show up, and they would goof around. That day December 26 I had a mass in the morning where the father blessed me for becoming a young adult. After the mass, it was time to go to the salon to eat. My uncle made delicious meat, and the ladies from the town all gathered at my house to make rise and salads. At around 6 p.m when my father and I had to dance the daughter- father waltz. That was the best part of the night. I loved how he held me tight, and danced the last song of my childhood to become a young adult. After that special dance, my court of honor and I danced the waltz. For practicing a little bit it came out very good. To top off that day we had a band, and everyone danced until the next day. There were hundreds of people, and that is what I loved. Family, friends, and strangers went and I had a lot of fun. I can honestly say that was one of the best days of my life!

fast food nation

Fast Food Nation

This book has mentioned some disgusting things that I would never think would have been true. The one thing I could not stop thinking about is how it mentioned that the beef patties are made from about 200 different cows. I can imagine all the different flavors and diseases of each cow. That personally bugged me the most. Also, that if the meat is contaminated and they don’t know it is. It is still shipped away to different stores. People do not know they are being contaminated by the meat. It is scary knowing you can die by eating one of the many contaminated meats. Honestly I have somewhat stop eating fast food, but since I work in a fast food place its easy access. I did stop eating burgers, but not fries and tacos it is very bad for my health. I eat it because I do not have time to eat at home, so when I am at break in work I eat something. Although I can make myself something somewhat healthy I chose the fries they are so delicious. Sometimes I do think twice about eating it, but then my hungry mode beats me.  The book did make me realize the bad things we are feeding our body.

living the college life

The truth is I hate ALL dogs.

So far this semester is going okay. I like my classes they are not too complicated, but I make them seem very difficult. I have great professors that offer their help if needed, but the bad thing is that I do not take advantage of it. I struggle with balancing with my job, work, and family. It might not seem too difficult, but since I work night shifts I get tired of doing my homework. I get off work at midnight, and when I get home I am too tired to even look at my homework. I tried taking my homework to work, and do it in my break. I cannot focus with all the distractions around me though. There is noise everywhere my co-workers are loud and so are the customers. Then when I do have time I get distracted because of either family members or friends. They call me to do something for them or do something with them. I was recently thinking of taking a semester off because I am tired of all my procrastination. Yes I am the biggest procrastinator there is! I do my homework the day it is due, and sometimes I do not finish it therefore I do not turn it in. It really sucks, but I know it is my fault because I chose not to do it on time. My friend Alex told me not to give up and just try to overcome my procrastination. I finally decided not to give up and give it all I’ve got, but it is going to be very difficult. I have ALWAYS done my work at the last minute. I decided to stay because I do not want to let my parents down. I want to be the first person in my family to graduate collage; therefore my motivation is MY PARENTS and my future too. I do not want to work in a fast food place for ever.

people change, life goes on

People Change, Life Goes On

            I used to have a “best friend”, and her name was Cynthia. She was more than a friend I considered her a sister. She was the greatest person ever, so I thought. We did everything together, told each other everything, and we knew each other like the palm of our hands. It was funny because I would have done anything for her, and I do mean ANYTHING. My mom would even get jealous because I would rather be with Cindy, then with anyone else including my family. She even said that one day I was going to regret it, and that there is no such thing as a best friend one day she will turn against you. It did not matter to me. We still did everything together we had the same routine as always. Then came Ana came into the picture, she had moved near our neighborhood. Ana and Cindy started hanging out more and more, and I was just on the side. They would go out partying together, and I was never invited anymore. It bothered me because Ana had just met her, and I on the other hand had known her since we were four. Soon we grew very apart, and it was if I did not know who she was anymore. She started getting into so much trouble, and she got kicked out of middle school for starting a fight. She was a stranger to me. I had to deal with it, but it really bothered me. The most shocking thing that happened between us was that she snitched on me. We all make mistakes when we were younger, but to me that day she meant nothing. One day Cindy, her sister, and I were at Wal-Mart; and yea this is going to sound bad but I got caught stealing. Cindy wanted make up and so did I, so we figured we were not going to get caught. We  put some mascaras inside our purse, but to my surprise we were being followed by some undercover Wal-Mart employees. When we were leaving he stopped us, he asked to follow so we did. Cindy said she had nothing to do with it, and it was all my fault. I looked at her, and at that point I felt like slapping her so hard. I still remember saying, “really Cindy, really”. She just looked away and said it was me. Our parents picked us up, and I did not speak to her then. I mean it would have been fine if I had taken the blame, but she just put me on the spot without even saying I am sorry or anything. She betrayed me, and a “best friend” would have never done that to anyone. Then I found out that what she would tell Ana everything I would say to Cindy. To this day we talk because me and her other sisters are close to each other, but I will NEVER EVER trust that girl again.

Mv Disfunctional Family

            First of all I have four older brothers, and I am the youngest and only girl in my family. I must say that I have a very dysfunctional family. My older brother, Miguel, I must say he is the only “normal’ guy in the family. He was the first one to graduate High School although he did not finish College because he was going to be a dad. I do not understand why that was an obstacle for him, but who am I to judge. He never got in trouble because he was always too shy. Then it’s my brother Gustavo. He was and still kind of is the trouble maker in the family. Always getting into fights, and was always in and out of jail. He never liked school therefore he dropped out two months before graduation. He currently has a 9 month old baby. Gustavo calmed his ways a little, but one thing he will never stop is his drinking habit. Then its my other brother Ramiro. He is also a trouble maker, but he is a little less than my other brother. He is really nice, but when he’s with his friends he acts really tough. I think it is funny how he acts different around people, but I know deep inside he is a sweetheart. Last is my youngest brother Baldomero. He I believe has been through hard times. He had many changes from being a punker to being “normal” . Baldomero grew up using many types of drugs. He abused crystal meth and marijuana. Know I believehe is out of his mind. He is kind of crazy because he is bipolar. He can be happy at one point and suddenly he snaps and becomes a different person. He was in Mexico in rehab for a couple months; he came out clean and he acted normal. Then he came back here, and started consuming crystal meth. Then its me; I think I am “normal”. I am the second to graduate High School, but first one to actually keep coming to college. My mother, Benicia, a hard working woman who suffers because of the dysfunctional family we are.  She always supported us, but she takes care of my brothers like if they were little kids. She is constantly checking upon them, and its kind of annoying. Although I understand that she worries about them since they are troubled guys, she needs to worry about her health as well. She has high blood pressure, and she gets shaky when she worries. Then my father, Baldomero, a hard working man who always worked very hard to support all of us. He is very nice, but when one of us gets him mad he sure will go off on us. He supports me and my older brother because we are the only normal ones. He says that he is not supporting lazy low lives. He cares for all of us the same even though sometimes he does not show it because he says we need to be responsible. We are not a close family. We each are very different from one another, so we do not always get along. That makes us a dysfunctional family!

Brians interview

Brian Hansen’s Interview

            Brian Hansen was born in Torrance, California on December 14, 1975. His father divorced his mother when Brian was just 4 years old. His father took custody of him and his 1 year old brother. He has dealt with different step mothers, but then finally his father remarried and stayed with what he says is his real mother.

            He started working at the age of 16 in a variety of places. After his incident he got a job in the car sales industry. He did not have a college degree, yet he was earning $65,000-80,000. After 7 years working in car sales, he decided to join the Navy. His fist few years he worked in the Weapons Ordinance field, aboard the Aircraft Carrier CVN 73 George Washington, building and loading bombs on fighter jets. However, he then changed jobs rating to become a Seabee Construction Builder, which was for seven years. For the past seven years he has been working part time in the Port Huneme Base as a Combat Trainer for the 31^st SRG command.

            His passion is playing golf, but he also enjoys mountain biking, playing poker, getting massages, going to eat, and doing homework. I find that very rare that he likes doing homework since most of the people that I know dislike it. He is motivated to attend Oxnard College, so he can be the first person in his family to earn a college degree. He is currently taking four night time classes which makes him a full time student with 13 units. He is so close from earning his A.A. degree in Business Management. I believe he can be a successful business man since I see he likes to interact with people. Phil Mickelson is Brian’s mentor. I asked him “why” and he said, “He exerts class and humbleness. He is a standup guy and plays my favorite sport of golf with no fear”. Brian says he considers himself a mentor too because he has been told, “You make me want to do better”. Those are powerful words, and I believe they are true too since Brian has been through so much and still managed to do stay strong.

The three words that he described himself as were loyal, friendly, and respectful. I sure see his friendly side in class! His mottos for succeeding in school are “”Never give up”, “It’s almost over”, and “One day at a time”. The fact that teachers are willing to help him out with school when needed, make Brian like Oxnard College. His biggest surprise about his college experience is that he has maintained a 3.5 GPA even after his recent divorce. Luckily for him he did not have any kids which he says he does not want any anyway. Brian seems like an outgoing and fun person that wants to live life to the fullest.

car accident

Guadalupe Coria

Professor Croker

English 101

September 18, 2012

Car Accident

            It was October 2, 2011 after my father had just bought me a car, Toyota Corolla 2011, as a graduation present. I was currently attending Ventura College. That day, October 2, I was beyond happy because of the great things that I had experienced, but then my mood changed after something horrific that happened. That day in the morning I had gone to the museum of tolerance with my Criminal Justice class. I had learned many new things that happened to the Jews during the Holocaust. There was even a Holocaust survivor there, and I was glad I had the opportunity to meet him. Then when I arrived to Ventura College, I had a meeting with my English professor. He told me he liked my essays, and that I was doing really well in his class. I never expected a professor to give me good feedback on my essay. It was about 3:45 p.m. when I was going back home. As I was driving, I thought to myself if my day could have gotten any better. Well it certainly did not go any better!

I was in Ventura Rd. waiting for the light to turn green, so that the long line of cars could finally start moving. As the cars started moving, I saw a white cobra driving faster than the normal speed of traffic. While that person was driving 55 mph, the rest of us were driving at about 40 mph. I was looking back through the mirror, and I saw the car merging to the left lane and then to the right lane again. To me it felt like that person was in a rush. My heart started beating faster, but I had no idea why. I had a strange feeling about that white cobra. It was a really bad feeling, and I felt something bad was going to happen. I do not know how it happened, but the car crashed into me while it was merging to my lane. I bounced front and back, and my seat belt stopped me from hitting myself on the wheel. At that moment I just saw many cars around me and I heard a big roaring “boom”. The white cars windows shattered all over the place, so I started to panic as my car did not move. I glanced back to see if the person in the back was okay, but I did not see anything. It was daytime and a strange elderly man wearing a yellow raincoat walked up to my car.  Since he saw I was scared, he started asking me questions about my health. He was very comforting, and he said everything was going to be okay. He called the cops, so that they can make a report on the incident. He then left, so I decided to call my dad. He thought the accident was a joke, and thought I was just pulling a prank on him. My voice changed and I noticed he started to worry because he then knew I was not playing around. He said it was all going to be okay, and he would be on his way.

            I got off my crashed car, and I went to see how bad the dent was. When I saw it, I wanted to punch the person inside that white cobra. My eyes started to tear up. It was like my whole world had collapsed in seconds. I still could not believe how you can be happy at one point, and suddenly all your happiness can turn into a bad nightmare.

            It was finally time to meet the person who was inside that white cobra. I walked up to that car, and I found a chubby lady crying. I noticed her lip was cut open. She was bleeding and my anger towards her faded. My mind started to worry about her, so I asked if she was okay. She said yes although she seemed somewhat moody. She waited for her family members while I waited for my parents inside my car. When I was seating inside my car, I was mad because the lady crashed my car and she did not ask how I was. She did not even apologize, and thanks to her my new car was ruined. After a long wait, my parents had finally arrived to the place of the incident. I had never been so happy to see them that day. My dad was talking to Lucia about the problem, but she was not responding to my dad. I was annoyed and tired; I was to the point I just did not care anymore. Lucia was irritating me just by looking at her, and the cops were not there yet.

The cops and the towing truck finally arrived at 6:30. The officers interrogated us, so they can give us a report. I thought they were on my side because they were saying Lucia was supposed to ask me if I was okay since she crashed into me. After the interrogations, it was finally time to go home. October 2 was one of the worst day ever.

            The next day I had to drive to school again, but I was scared just thinking about having another incident. I did not want to drive myself. As I was driving to school, I kept looking through every single mirror to see if any cars would get too close to me. It was like if I was paranoid on all the cars. As days passed by I started forgetting about the accident and I wasn’t scared of driving anymore. One month after the accident I bought myself a car.

            My whole car accident experienced thought me how to be more responsible. I always depended on my parents to take care of all my problems, but this time I had to deal my stuff. I took care of my car stuff regarding the insurance and all that. I know that is not much to actually be called “independent”, but anything was a good start.

past, present, and future

Past, present, and future

            Growing up was not always easy. I was always pressured that I had to do good in school since only one of my four brothers graduated high school. it was always on my mind that I had to do good or else my dad was going to get mad. I was always terrified of him, but I knew he was harmless. It was just that idea of letting everyone down that had me worried, but one day in high school I gave up. I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. The so called “Gangsters”. I would ditch with them I knew them all because of my cousin and my girlfriends. I was starting to get demanding and bossy. My parents noticed and they had a talk with me, but I really did not care what he had to say. My dad would go to school and check up on me. Counselors told him I was suddenly doing badly. My dad once again talked to me and I too noticed my ugly behavior towards the people that loved me. I stopped hanging around with my cousin because I knew he was a bad influence. I then started going to school and doing better I graduated high school with good grades and my parents were proud of me.

            Now I see back at the childish things I did before and I realize how immature I was. Now I have a job that I like because I interact with customers although it is just a fad food place, I still like it. This is my second year in college and to be honest I never thought I was going to make it. I was thinking on dropping out, but since I already started might as well finish. It is hard though because I am the biggest procrastinator ever. I literally leave everything until the last minute to begin it. I think I am kind of slacking off right now. I am going to try and do better for me.

            In the future I see myself as a cop or a probation officer. I want to help out people that are choosing the wrong path. I mostly want to work with juveniles. I know what it is like to be peer pressured by people. I want to have my own class where teens can go when they need help. For example, I would take them places where there are troubled teens and they can see how dangerous life is. I want to help out people instead of punishing them.

reality television

Lupe Coria

9/4/2012

Reality Television

Reality television is a big thing throughout the world. There are many different types of reality shows; there are documentaries, hidden cameras, and reality game shows. I enjoy watching documentaries about people’s life, and especially when it is something entertaining. I usually watch Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, and My super Sweet 16. I like to watch these shows, but then I think about it and sometimes the casts from the shows are snobs. Sometimes I feel they just have disrespectful attitudes towards others. I know that they are just shows that seek attention, and I do not have to watch them if I chose not to, but I guess I just watch them to criticize them. There is certainly some pros and cons about all the reality shows. Some may have life experiences and may also teach life lessons. Those are the shows I do enjoy watching because people find it important. They can find it useful in case they are going through something related to that show. Dating reality shows can be entertaining, but they are also annoying because there are girls that are in the show for fame and/ or money. It is funny watching girls fight against each other for a man that might not even chose them. They lose friends and family for these types of shows, and some even leave children behind to act foolish. Although I find some dating shows annoying, I have to say they do give me a good laugh. These girls do not have any self-respect though. They do anything for attention and I do mean anything.

Reality television can be both harming and benefitting to our society. It is harming our society because many teenage girls and boys see these actors as role models. These party freak actors do not think that teens may be watching them doing disrespectful things. They break the law, so it gives viewers a green light that not just because one breaks the law they are going to get caught. Therefore many viewers may go out and do underage drinking, causing fights, and even smoking pot. It may also be beneficial to society because people do learn things in these reality shows. For example, in some shows it shows how kids suffer because of how drunken parents treat them. It is a life experience that other people can relate to and do something about it. There are many educational television programs as well like the Geographical Channel. They have men use their surviving skills to stay alive in bad weather conditions and risky places,