blogging hmmmm...

Well I must admit the first day of class when Mrs. Croker said we had to create a blogger account I was like okay?? This is going to be difficult but I was wrong once getting through the first blog about our past present and future I found it quite liberating. It was my online journal in a way. I like the fact that we could just type our feelings away and not be counted on for errors made on spelling or punctuation. The one thing I would always be afraid of would be the fact that she would at least want a minimum amount of words I always got freaked out about that but I do not see why because I would always write at least 100 words more than the required. I enjoyed blogging very much, especially reading on fellow student’s blogs because many of the fellow students shared similar ideas about a topic or shared similar customs, it was like being nosy and reading people’s journals in a way expect you were not doing it secretly like you would do with a sibling’s journal. But all in all it was a new experience that I enjoyed doing and I think I will become a blogger from now on and see how it goes.

my life revolves on the ones i love

           My mother what would I be without her she is my back bone. She is my best friend I am comfortable enough to tell her anything I have questions or concerns on. She is more than just my mother she is also my father since growing up in a single parent home she took upon double responsibility. Whenever I need and needed her she was always there from school play a day with a cold anything you name it my mom was there.

            Most people say huh I have to go visit my grandma but my reaction is ‘Yay a day with my grandma”. She is my second mother she helped raise me while my mom worked and went to school. She gives me advice in life and helps guide me to the right direction. She is open to any questions I have she helped mold me into the values I bring upon myself. Love her to death she is my mother too not my grandma.

My grandpa and as I call him my “Apa”, he’s the male figure I didn’t have growing up. He presets me as his daughter and calls me his daughter and for that I am grateful. I admire how he includes me in everything and gives me the best advice a father can give.

FFN

The book has been interesting to read. There are many things you learn that you do not take in consideration when you drive up to a drive thru like the history of the place from the ingredients they use where they get it from and how they market and prepare it. Although some of the things you read in the book are disturbing they make me want to not eat fast food as much but once in a while I am going to find myself ordering something because after so many years of consuming the product it’s like an addiction you crave.  One thing that was very eye opening was the chapter on the meat companies. I hated to read the some children died because of the way they processed the food with much lack of food safety and lack of following food health regulations all because they wanted money faster. It makes me wonder for the next time I take a bite of a hamburger if that meat is any good or what was the process it went thru before it got to my hands. The fact that McDonalds is the nation’s richest fast food industry and pay their employees the minimum and are very stingy to raises makes me angry because I have been working at a McDonalds for three years now and it is a pretty tiring job for what they pay and to make matters worse we work holidays with no double pay only high rank managers without even attending the job. But anyways a job is a job and thank god it’s only temporary until I’m done with school or I get another job.  

true or false

1.      I am currently 19 years old.

2.      I don’t drink soda  

3.      I have 2 brothers only

4.      I went to Colorado Springs this summer

5.      My favorite food is pizza

Stronger than Ever

For once in my life I can say I'm in LOVE and HAPPY!!!

Four years later and still happily toghether.

hero

Growing up I always took my mother for granted. We had our good and bad times like any mother daughter relationship. We were each other’s best friends. When you grow up you have the mentality that nothing ever bad is going to happen to you or your family. Well that is not always the case. When my mom had my brother she was diagnosed with asthma about a year after he was born. I thought nothing of it since I was still too young to comprehend quite what it was and what its downfall with time would cause. I thought everything was still normal with her since I never saw her get sick.

When my brother and I got a little older to understand more of her sickness, she trained me and my brother how to set up all of her equipment in case of an emergency. But like I said before I thought nothing of it since once again I had never seen her get sick and thought everything was fine. That was until one day when we were away for the holidays. In Mexico, one early morning I was awaken by a sudden surge in me, till this day I don’t know what awoken me. As I looked over my shoulder my mom was suffocating next to me her desperateness for oxygen sacred me. Here I was a 7 year old with the hands of her mother’s life, “What do I do, what do I do” I said to myself, as her machine for oxygen was outside in the living room. I panicked more as I realized the door was stuck and I could not open it. My mother weakened by the lack of oxygen going thru her lungs tried to help me. My resources were limited “What do I do, what do I do” I said to myself again. Then it popped into my head to scream, here I was a 7 year old screaming to the top of her lungs “HELP!!!!” As I screamed out of nowhere my mom’s sisters came running to the room pushing as hard as they could the door opened I ran to my mom’s machine set it up and gave it to her. As she took that gasp for air as her lungs opened up again I felt relief I was my mom’s hero.

If it was not for me waking up that day who knows what might have happened. Since that day I appreciate my mother much more and we have gotten closer. I went from being an ungrateful brat who took her for granted to being a hero.

      

Mi Familia

I come from a big family in my mom’s immediate family we are a total of 27. There are 11 grandchildren 14 aunts and uncles including my mom and my wonderful grandparents whom I love very much.

Wow my family what can I say we are a bit on the weird side but I love it I would not change it for the world. There is my mom my two brothers and me and just us four is a hand full of fun and drama. But when we get together with my mom’s family it’s like we are at a party there is never a dull moment. The grandkids alone make it seem like we run a day care. For example on BBQ Sundays I do not understand how the neighbors don’t call the police on us because we are so loud. We have the music playing full blast and some dancing goes on here and there. The kids run around like crazy like there is no tomorrow. My uncles in the corner of the porch, like usual cracking jokes about each other, and drinking their “cervesas” gossiping on soccer for hours and hour’s even days. While my aunt’s sit in the kitchen table catching up on the latest gossip of “novelas” and future events. Typical traditional norms that I grew up to love, it is nice to come home and not have a quiet dinner of four but be able to communicate and laugh about our day. I love the fact that my family is so full of love and everyone helps out and is there for everyone when they need a hand.   I like how we are so open to anything and make everyone fell like they are in their own home I feel like we are friendly and easy going. We are unique we are not like most families out there we know how to have a good time.

Despite the crazy and fun moments with my family I do not know what I would have done without them they have shaped me to who I have grown up to be they gave me values that I live by. They showed me manners and how to treat people they gave me a home and brought food to the table. But above all my family gave me the sufficient amount of love I needed to not notice that my dad was not a part of my life.

similar lives

The person I interviewed was Brenda Rivera she is the oldest of three. Her two sisters are 17 and 8 years of age. Her main motivations in life are her parents and most importantly her son who is currently 3 years old. She lives a very busy schedule she works 4-5 days in a week and goes to school Mondays thru Wednesdays but nonetheless on her days off she finishes homework and spends time with her son.

Her role model is her father; ever since she was small all he did was work really hard for his family to give them the best of both worlds. That is why she considers herself as being a role model as well for her younger sisters, because she is the first of her family to attend college as she strives to achieve more academically and financially to secure for her future as her father did for them. If she could describe herself she would say that she is very motivated, helpful, and very determined as well.

If she were to imagine her life five years from now she would have finished school for her nursing career and have a place of her own to call home. 

Graduation at its Best

Miriam Zaragoza

English 101

September 21, 2011

Graduation at its Best

2009-2010 my senior school year, boy how it went by fast. I turned 18 that year like most other seniors. It was the climax of my entire high school career. More fun was upon me the homecoming dance, Sadie’s Hopkins dance, and who can forget the PROM. It was all too wonderful to forget and sad to let go the day graduation came along. 

June 11, 2010. I woke up early that morning it did not matter to me that I hadn’t slept the night before. It was graduation day, excited and at the same time sad I could not believe four years had gone by so fast freshmen year of 2006 and senior year 2010. The entire morning I could not stop telling everyone I saw “oh my god, I graduate today!”  The only thing that could of went wrong that day did go wrong like always I was late to a school event not just any event but none the least, graduation. Running off of the car through the hall ways like crazy made me think to myself this is probably the last time I’ll ever get to step foot in these old hallways full of memories. Despite my procrastination that day I barely made it to the gym just in time to hang out with my friends and hear each other’s laughs one last time at Rio Mesa High’s gymnasium.

The gyms old wooden bleachers and semi white walls was filled that day with red and black gowns lined up according to one’s last name, getting last minute signatures in the yearbook. It was tough for me to see all of my friends and think that that was the last time all of

us would be together under the same roof. I almost wanted to cry which was a weird action for me; I had always been the tough one of all my friends. A couple words of wisdom from the principle and previous teachers and big loud school spirit cheer gave way the march towards the stadium to release the start of a new successful generation.

Walking out of the gym towards the football field was nerve wrecking as I entered the stadium and saw all of those families sitting in the bleachers looking down upon us screaming for their loved one. But that all changed into excitement when I came upon my own family especially my mother screaming her lungs out “that’s my baby, you did it mija.”  I knew I was making her proud and yet that was only the beginning because this marked a culmination to my next step in life, college and the real world.

 As I walked to my seat and sat down I embraced every moment of it from the principles speech to our valedictorians. I looked around and realized that I had seen or known majority of these people since the first day of kindergarten, thirteen years together and never realized it until it was too late to say hello. 

As the moment came for my row to walk up to the stage my body went numb I was getting nervous more and more the closer I got to the stairs and up to the stage. Standing there moving one by one waiting for my name to be called and before I knew it was my time to shine as they called “Miriam Zaragoza.”  At the moment my name was called and reached over to get my diploma the entire world went silent I saw the people clap and my family cheer but that was all no sound went through my ear lobes. My entire four years of high school passed me by all the

times with my friends, my senior year dances, football games, and being silly in general and getting away with it had all come to an end. Four years in a matter of minutes.

As the entire class sang our last Alma matter as one to the top of our lungs I must admit a tier ran down my face that was it no more high school.

Walking towards my family to my mother’s arms as we embraced each other she whispered in my ear as she cried on my shoulder “congratulations mija I knew you could do it… you make me so proud to be your mother, I love you so much.”  

Now that I look back at my first day of high school I could not wait for it to be the day of graduation. I thought four years was a long time to wait. And when the day came it was hard for me to let go and took me a while to get over it but I am glad I got to experience walking the line along with my friends in front of my family.

Deep down i know that by graduating high school I made my entire family proud especially my mother. By graduating I not only benefited and rewarded myself but my mother as well, it was a gift of success from me to her to show her that all her work she put in raising me on her own paid off.

TxT Me...

To my readers

            Texting, you do it during the night, while your parents are asleep, while eating dinner, while crossing the street, we all do it everywhere all the time it has become a norm in our everyday life. It makes it hard for us to concentrate during the day at our jobs, during homework time, and school thinking about how many missed texts or how many people have texted us in the past minute.  It makes it so hard on us to stop especially with the unlimited texting plans of you preferred wireless provider.

Okay ill txt you later or what is your number so I can txt you? These are examples of the most common phrases used today amongst the younger generation before beginning a texting conversation. Calling or talking to someone on the phone has become so out dated to the younger generation that it is rare to see a teen talking for at least two minutes.

Although texting is a fast method to communicate amongst others it is also deadly either to you or someone else. Although talking and driving has been prohibited texting still manages to come through. I will admit that I too squeeze in a text or two while driving especially during school hours it is a major distraction. It has taken control over me and I can’t help it. And when my cell phone stopped working I was devastated all I could think of was all the people who were going to text me and what would they text without me being able to reply.  That is when I realized that my social life had all been around my cell phone. It made my average of 2000 text messages a month to 0. I made the replacement of my cell phone my priority over anything else.

Only one good thing came about my cell phone malfunction I actually for once paid more attention in class than ever before. So am I saying texting is a distraction in life, guilty as charge.      

Reality or Not

To my readers,

So my professor has asked the class to write about reality television. Do I watch it, do I enjoy it, and would I recommend it, blah, blah, blah, whatever. Anyways, as most people know by now reality T.V. has pretty much taken over a crap load of networks. One would think people would have had enough of the “Kardashians” or of that curse “Jersey Shore” but even if you do manage to get away from these, there always seems to be something new right around the corner and you just cannot find the strength in yourself to resist.

First of all, I would like to point out (and I cannot stress this fact enough) I DO NOT and shall never watch reality television. At the same time though, I realize that that most people think reality T.V. to be the greatest thing since soap operas. Now, I’m not saying these are bad people…just that they make bad decisions. I’m also not going to disown any of my friends because they watch them either, mainly because they still have redeeming qualities and don’t allow their lives to revolve around any one show, or television in general for that matter.

People of a very bad nature do exist in this world. We all know the type, be it someone close to you or just a friend of a friend. We’ve all seen them, that person that obsesses over their favorite reality show or stars; they never miss an episode and insist on talking about the latest scandal or most recent piece of tabloid rumor. In my honest opinion these kinds of people need some kind of psychiatric help, or an intervention of some sort. What reality T.V. does to these people is just wrong; it’s not their fault either. It’s all the hype that goes into promoting this type of program and a sad mentality that can’t help but to go with flow of the mainstream.

 It personally infuriates me to think of what reality television has done to some networks, my greatest rage coming from the sadness that is now MTV.  What used to be a place where great music could be heard is now a place that almost seems to glorify teen pregnancy and promote idiotic and frankly douchebag behavior. Other things that can be found on television just leave me questioning how that ended up on the air in the first place, a common theme that I’ve heard is basically a group of people that sit around talk about the most ridiculous topics and viewers just waiting for some sort argument, fight or any form of drama.

There are however those reality shows that have survived the years and have become cult like. Shows such as American idol or even survivor, shows like this even I’ll admit that I watched at first, but now I sadly say have gone in the same direction as other reality television shows. By this I mean the people shown seem to be too unreal in motive or behavior. Let’s be honest, reality T.V. is some of the most scripted stuff out there. Though we all have to face that undeniably true fact, we all have our guilty pleasures.     

     

            

food habits

Hello,

During the course of my life fast food has always been there in the corner of every street side by side to each other.  Growing up as a kid all I can remember was the happy meals from McDonalds they were always a kid’s favorite.  That’s one thing in a child’s memory that won’t be forgotten the exciting commercials with Ronald McDonald. Fast food places to me growing up were all about bonding with the family outside the home and family dinners. On Sundays, early in the morning’s right after church I clearly remember the entire family going to the old esplanade mall to go eat at a Chinese food restaurant. Of course that was not the only place we ate, there was the occasional KFC, Panda Express, etc. but that Sunday get together never got old.  Yes I cannot forget about the happy meals, happy meals growing up were like buried treasure it was something I wanted to have for breakfast lunch and dinner every night to get a different toy every time I opened the box. Too bad happy meals were rarely Baugh ten for my brother and I   they were more like incentives for us to be extra behaved in school and responsible with our chores at home. Any ways I preferred the trip to the toy store more than a happy meal when it came to reward time.

            Now as the time moved on I enjoy the pleasures of buying my own fast food to bad happy meals are no longer what I crave for. I would say I’m not addicted to fast food I’m more of an ice cream and smoothie fan when it comes to the drive thru. I try to avoid it most of the time once in a while ill buy a hamburger combo, but I hardly like to. I’m more of a non-soda drinker I prefer to get the lemonades or iced teas with a salad or if I’m really hungry a small hamburger and small fries or an occasional medium size meal. I try to keep each item under 150 calories and monitor how much fast food I intake in a month and limit myself so I won’t gain or lose weight. The only bad part now is that temptation is near me most of the time since I work at McDonald s. It makes it harder on me to not eat the occasional fry; I must admit fries are my weakness. But even though I have all access to these tempting items I know that in the long run they will catch up to me fast so I hold back majority of the time. I prefer eating fast food on an occasional weekend rather than very often at work. Although fast food is delicious when it comes to eating out I’d rather prefer going out to a nice restaurant where the food is higher quality and is comparable as to something I would have cooked at home myself, after all my money is being spent and I want the best for my buck.

past, present, future

Hello,

            My name is Miriam Zaragoza. I am 19 years old and live in Oxnard California. I was born in the city of Ventura on the 19^th day of December. Growing up as a child my father was none existent in my life but nevertheless my childhood was all a kid could wish for growing up. I had summers at the beach, winters in Mexico, and 4^th of July with the cousins. I enjoyed playing outside with my brother from sun up to sun down. I did not mind getting dirty or if my clothes got ruined, I had no worries no bills to pay no insurance to worry about. Life in my past was great. Up until my senior year in high school when I had to start saving for a car and deciding what to do with my life after high school, like what career I wanted , what school would I attend to, and what classes would I take. I was a confused teen.

But through the mild stress I’m glad I made the decision to continue school because now I am that much closer to securing my future. This is now my second year of college here in Oxnard and as of now I am working on my associate’s degree in Sociology. In the mean while I have a current part time job working as a cashier at McDonalds, that’s been on ongoing for the past three years now. Just recently I purchased my first car, my final step to adulthood. That’s one more bill to add to my collection, but all in all it will pay off in the near future when my sacrifices as a student and long hours of study and homework pay off with a rewarding career.

In the near future I plan to transfer from community college to California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) within the next year in a half. There I’ll be working on my bachelor’s degree in social work where I’ll as well continue on with their master’s program in social work so I can have the option of either being a counselor or social worker. And hopefully by the age of 25 I will have completed my education and work in the job of my dreams and not flip burgers or take people’s orders for the rest of my life.