The college experience...

My truth from last week was that I barely turned 18!!! Your guys’ guesses were very amusing! I loved reading them! Thanks for playing! =]

My semester started off very easy, like how most school years start. I soon realized that the college work load was going to be much harder than what I was used to. I also realized that my study habits were not as good as they should be. I’m having a much harder time on some certain tests that I’ve taken. A lot of my work is beginning to catch up with me, from studying, cleaning up, homework, and more studying, it just wears me out. I know that other people have a much harder time than I do so I’m going to stop complaining, because things can be much harder for me.

Other than all of the work, my first semester in college is going great, although the whole “friends” situation is different, for example: I don’t know almost everyone in my classes, which is kind of a bummer, but the whole experience overall is a good one. I’ve met some new people, who are very nice, but I think that that’s all they’re going to be. College is more of a solo act, you don’t have all of your friends anymore to walk to class with, and so it can be kind of lonely sometimes.

For the most part, I love the schedule of college, how you get to pick your classes and the times in which you want to go to school. The first two days of the week, I only have one class in the day, and Tuesday and Thursday I have two classes, and I have Fridays off. Because I have a lot of work during the day, I love the fact that I always have a 3-day weekend! =]

I stay motivated by my dreams. I want to become a vet very much, and I want to move up to UC Davis in 2 years, and I know that I have a lot of classes that I need to take before I can make it there. What also keeps me going is my mom. She’s worked so hard for my siblings and I to make something of ourselves in this world, so most of all, I do not want to let her down.

I Bet You Can't Figure it Out =]

Take your Best Shot =]

1.) I've broken my bones

2.) I have my own car

3.) I'm almost 18

4.) I've been snowboarding

5.) I've had more than 4 dogs at one time

6.) I don't have my own room

My Friends and my Best Friendss ♥

Friends...A lot of people have them, and some only have real friends. Going into High School, I never really thought of myself as having true best friends. I only thought that I would end up with just a lot of friends that would come and go in and out of my life. I never really thought that there was truly anyone I could trust. While experiencing my first two years of high school, I had yet to find that one true friend. I've come across alot of friends that have made my high school fun and memorable, but not many of them have stuck around after high school was over. Even though I can't really call alot of my friends my best friends, they still mean alot to me and my life would not be the same without them. At the moment, I can't say I have thousands of friends, but I have enough to make me happy, and I am grateful that every one of my friends are in my life. I don't know what I would do without them.

                                                  

                                                          Best Friends



Sidney and I @ Sadiez =]



Buddy Pictures

 

Now starting my junior year, I came across one girl, Sidney Walker,...who changed my thoughts on true best friends. Not only was she only a year younger than me, but she was also a freshman. Despite our grade difference, she soon became one of my best friends and still is till this day. Sidney and I are like inseperable, we're always hanging out and on the phone. This girl can get pretty boring at times, but she is always there for me when I needed to talk to her. I can call Sidney my true best friend. But before she came along, I had met this other girl, Maritssa Contreras, my freshman year during basketball season, and we were just teammates at first, and I never really thought about her being my best friend. As time went by, Maritssa and I have become closer than before. We are always going places, going out to eat just because we're hungry for toppers pizza. =]  I remember when she told me that she didn't belive in best friends because they always stab you in the back one way or another. So ever since then, I have been calling her my bestie. I still don't think that maritssa believes in best friends, so I will continue to call her my bestie until she changes her mind. At one point, it was always like I would only be able to hang out with either Sidney or Maritssa, but never at the same time because they really didn't talk to each other, or know each other as a matter of fact. I would constantly talk to each of them, trying to get one of them to talk to the other. Next thing you know, I am able to hang out with both of them at the same time, which is perfect with me.



Senior Sunset:)



My Bestie and I at Disneyland!!! =]





Marijuana Laws

To answer the question:"Should marijuana laws be relaxed?", I say No, because the possession and intent to sell rate is already high enough as it is now, and if the laws are relaxed, the numbers will shoot through the roof. So many people now have become addicted to smoking marijuana, and selling it to make a quick buck, but what we don't see is the future of this addiction. The more people that use and sell it, the more it gets around and is exposed to the future generation. If it continues to be like how things are now, the future might as well be labeled as addicted to marijuana.

Due to the fact that Armentano and Dupont both made some very good points, I agree with both of them. Now what I'm not doing is agreeing with both sides 100%. When Armentano stated that it costs about $10, 400 per arrest, estimating now to about $7.6 billion, I think that officers should relax on those who have possession, over those with intent to sell. I also agreed with the fact that basically no substance is harmless, even the ones that are legal and are supposed to be helping us.

On the other hand, Dupont made some good points for his position aswell. Marijuana is definitely a dangerous drug all around the world. I think that it is amaing how only about .7 percent of the total population of prisoners of 1.2 million people, were serving time for possession hen it is clear that so many more people are in possession of this drug. I think that it is very interesting that although many people know the risks of smoking marijuana such as: "Burning marijuana smoke contains higher amounts of some cancer-causing chemical than tobacco smoke, reduces memory,increases the risk of schizophrenia, generates paranoia, anxiety and panic attacks and brething troubles."

I wonder, after reading these risks, if they would still continue to smoke, and if they do, then is the feeling of being high really worth the risks to them? If you ask me, I would stay away from that stuff completely, but to each it's own, and it's their life to live, that's why God gave me my life to live and make my own decisions.

My familyy

Family to most exceeds the blood relations. A lot of kids say that their best friends are their brothers or sisters. To me, family can be those people who you love and care about most. Family means everything to me. They are the ones that you can always count on when things go wrong. My mom reminds my siblings and I of that every chance she gets. She always tells us that my brother and I can focus mainly on our friends, but she will always tell us that when something goes wrong and were in trouble, it is always her who is there to fix it. She always asks us where our friends will be when things go bad, but we never answer because we know that it is a rhetorical question.

 When my brothers, my sister and I were younger, we used to be pretty close. We hung outside in front of our house and played baseball, dodgeball, and football together. Whenever my brothers hung out with their friends, they would let me come along sometimes. Whenever I needed some help with a project that I was doing at the time, they would do what they can to help me finish. If there were some things that were too big for me to handle, they would take over for me.

Comparing how my siblings and I are now, things have changed drastically over time. What once was is not anymore. Since my oldest brother moved out to LA, I have barely been speaking to him since.  He moved out over 4 years ago, and I have practically only seen him about 20 or so times. Whenever he comes down to visit, he only stays for the weekend and then he’s out leaving again. He usually comes down on long holidays, and the most he’s stayed was about a week. Looking at how things are now, it kind of makes me think about how we are going to be in the next 5 or so years.

My family is not as close as others, or as close as we should be, but we know that when we need each other, we’ll always be there to help. Although we can treat each other pretty bad sometimes, we eventually get over it and move on because we don’t want to waste time being upset at each other.  Whenever we get the chance to all be together as a family, it’s one of the best times I can have.

Essay #1



Oldest brother: Kevin



Do you feel as though you take things for granted? I know I do because one day I was minding my own business, not a worry in the world. My mom was a single parent of four: my two older brothers, my little sister and myself. I was about 12 or 13 and my mom wanted me to start washing the dishes and cleaning up the house before she got home. I didn’t like to clean, but she always nagged me about being the oldest girl, and that I had to start doing the chores. We argued about that at least twice a week, she would always complain about the dishes, the trash, and just everything that was messy.

One day, I decided to go grocery shopping because we had no juice or snacks. It was about 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening, and because I couldn’t drive, I had to walk, but it wasn’t far so I didn’t mind walking. The store was only two to three blocks away. Before I left for the store, I walked across the street and asked if my friend if she would walk with me to the store because it was beginning to get dark outside.

 While we’re there standing in line, I felt my phone buzzing inside my pocket. I pulled it out and I saw that I had missed a call from my mom. I called her back wondering maybe she just needed me to pick her up something. She picked up asking immediately “Where are you?” “I’m waiting in line to pay for my stuff, why?” She told me to get home as soon as possible because she had something to tell me. Everything she told me was in such calm yet had no-feeling kind of voice, so I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know if I was in trouble, or if something very big happened.

 

Other brother: Thomas

I then felt rushed to get home just thinking what was so important. So now I’m became a bit jittery just waiting for the cashier to ring me up so I could pay. Once I’ve paid, my friend and I grabbed the bags and rushed home. Basically running through the green lights, we get to our neighborhood about 3 minutes later. Once we turn onto our block, I got even more jittery with wonder, so we walked even faster. We finally got to her house and she handed me all of the bags so I can get home. I opened the doors so fast that I fumbled my keys in the process. I didn’t even bother taking the bags into the kitchen. I just dropped them by the front door. Once I got into my house, I immediately walked into the hallway, making my way to the end of the hall which is where my mom’s room is located.

So I got to my mom’s room and I ask her what was wrong. She pauses for a second before saying anything, and then she just tells me that my grandpa had passed away. I just stood there in her room motionless, staring at her with a blank stare. I was in shock; I didn’t feel as though I were breathing. I finally was able to ask her which grandpa it was, because that was the first thought that popped into my mind. She replied that it was my grandpa on my dad’s side. I didn’t know what to say, what to believe. So many thoughts were running through my mind. I had so many questions, yet so many of them unanswered.

I walked to my room, so quiet and in disbelief. I close my door behind me and I don’t even make sure that I make it to the bed. I immediately sit down on my floor for approximately 10 minutes not thinking about anything at all. My mind was blank all throughout that time. I sat there not knowing what to do. He was gone and there was nothing I could do. All of a sudden, I began to cry. I found myself crying continuously, and I didn’t like to cry, so I just forced myself to stop. I didn’t want to think about it because I knew if I continued to think about it, I would cry some more. I then turned on the T.V. to get my mind off of the situation because I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I felt kind of bad when I didn’t cry because it made me feel like I didn’t care or anything.

A couple of days later, we went to the service and then the funeral after. While I was at the service, I began crying again, so I tried stopping but this time, I couldn’t. I saw him lying there, so still. I couldn’t handle it. I walked outside to get some air. Seeing all of the flowers and how beautiful the sky looked. I thought to myself, “How could it be so beautiful and easy out here, while it’s so sad and bad in there.” The hardest part wasn’t until later at the funeral when they lowered his coffin down into the ground. I felt like just shouting out “No!” so that they would stop from lowering him down, but I knew that it needed to be done. He was going to a better place and I knew that I had to let him go.

After the funeral, we headed on over to my aunt’s house to have the reception. I was hungry but I just couldn’t eat. All I could think about was my grandpa, there in the cold ground all alone. It just broke my heart knowing that he’s by himself.

The whole situation taught me a very important lesson though. I learned that life is too short for small, useless drama. Anything can happen, and we shouldn’t take anything for granted, the whole situation with my grandpa for example. If I would’ve known that what happened was going to happen, then I would have taken the time we spent together much more seriously and I would have appreciated it that much more. We take everything for granted. We think that everything we have will always be there, and that we have all of the time in the world, but that’s not how life works. We have to make the best of the time that we have here on this earth because we can be gone the next day. I now realize that everything that I once thought to be a big deal doesn’t look so big anymore.

Peresnting.........Giovanna Isabel Cuevas!!!!!! =]

*not her feet =]

              My interview was conducted with the wonderful Giovanna Isabel Cuevas. This very nice girl is 20 years old, Mexican, not too tall but not too short either, and a graduate of Hueneme High School with the class of 2008. She was born in Ventura, but raised in Oxnard. She has a boyfriend of 3 years; they met the beginning of her senior year. She drives, but not too often for her own reasons. She doesn't really understand why, but when ever she DOES drive, she likes to drive without shoes on! Now my first thought was like "Whoa Girl, Why?" Lol.She is the eldest of 4 kids; she has a younger sister and two younger brothers. One brother is 11 years old and the other is 4 years old. Her parents split up when she was little, so she doesn't have alot of memories of them together. When she was 14 years old, she moved out with her 13 year old sister to live with her dad. Her mom re-married, and her two brothers live with her mom. She thinks that the guy that her mom married is nice and open.

               After graduating high school, she didn't want to just work, she wanted to major in Pyschology. Presently, she attends college and works at a good paying job at Lil' Caesars. She works from morning to late afternoons, and from Tuesday to Thursday, she attends schools in the afternoons and nights. She is going to college and working at the same time. She wants to be a role model for her younger brothers. Her 11 year old brother thinks that it's cool to go to college and work. With all of the time she spends at school and work, she still finds time to spend with her family. On the weekends, she spends time with her dad and sister, and when she can, she takes her brothers out to eat and hang out.To Giovanna, her dad is her role model. He had to give up alot for her and her sister. He had to transition from a part time dad to a full time dad. She looks at her mom as a semi-role model. Giovanna's motto is "It's all on ou whether you fail or succeed." She says that her culture does not play a big role in influencing her to go to school. Her family is her main influence with her decision making.

                  Altough it took awhile, Giovanna was finally able to describe herself in three words which are: hard-working, open, and very messy. Lol. In ten years, she sees herself with a successful career, what ever it may be. She hopes to have a kid at 30 years old, and her boyfriend wants to join the marines. She's kind of nervous about him going because she doesn't know what she'll do if he had to re-locate because she knows that she can't just pick up her school and move.

                  After my interview with Giovanna, I learned alot about her and where she comes from. She is a good, hard-working person. From school, work, and her boyfriend, she still manages time to be with her family. I learned that she is big on family and morals. She is a very driven person, and I am lucky to have gotten to know her.