Holidays and Gifts

After reading both of the student essays, I would have to say I agree with Amel Saleh. However, both authors had valid arguments and backed up there opinions with good examples. I believe materialistic items consume the holiday season when it should really be focused on family. By giving children pricey toys and top of the line clothing, what are we really teaching them? It seems like this would hurt a child more than help a child. Spending excess amounts of money on materialistic items sets a bad example on kids. They will think by having these items this will describe them or give them some sort of superior rank or social status. In my family we do give gifts but if it was up to me I would rather not. Because of this, sometimes the holidays are hard for me. Every year family and friends ask me what I want for Christmas and the answer is always the same “Thanks, but I really don’t need anything.” However, when Christmas comes around I still always receive gifts. The gifts I appreciate most are the ones that are from the heart, the ones that are homemade such as a knitted beanie or a drawing/painting etc. Most people think gift giving is the best way to show others you are being thought of and loved but I don’t think that’s true. People should love and appreciate you for who you are not for who has the most expensive gift. 

School

After a bit of a rough start, I feel like I have improved a lot this semester. I realized how important is it to be organized and to have a set schedule. Some of the things I like most about going to school are all of my professors, getting to know classmates and learning new things. The workload can be really difficult at times especially when unplanned events pop up such as computer issues and family emergencies. Now that I have an idea of how much time assignments take, it is a little easier to stay on the top of them. I wouldn’t say there is anything that is “bugging” me at school. Of course there are times when I’m really tired or not in the mood for school, but I’m sure a lot of people have much more hectic schedules than I do. The biggest challenges for me are coordinating school with work, making time to hang out with friends and family and the academic workload in general.

The reason I go to school is for the ultimate pay off. My definition of the ultimate pay off is to graduate and do something I love for a living. Last year, in my career development class I realized that there is a huge difference between a career and a job. A job is just something that pays you whereas a career is something you have dreamed about doing and achieved. Hopefully by staying motivated and working hard I can have a career and not just a job. Staying motivated about going to school can be really difficult for me at times. I try to stay motivated by keeping a positive attitude and not procrastinating. What keeps me going the most is the love and support of my family and friends. My mom in particular has always encouraged me to stay in school and take advantage of that opportunity. 

Why Not?

 Why not watch someone get drunk and make questionable choices? Why not “Redneckognize”? Millions of viewers could not resist doing otherwise. The popularity of reality television has increased dramatically in the last decade. I am happy to say it has been several years since I have watched a reality television show. Most of the time, I would watch these shows simply because I was bored or for the entertainment factor. Shows like Dancing with the Stars and Keeping up with the Kardashians would attempt to bring in viewers by ending each episode with a “cliffhanger” which meant leaving the viewers in suspense at the end of the show so you would return the following week to see what happens next. Most of the time the producers were successful in doing this, thus the popularity. While watching these shows you would start to develop a relationship or bond with the characters and would even start to pick sides with the person whom you liked most. Well that’s what my friends and I did at least. The reason I stopped watching was when I found out most of these shows are semi-scripted and the situations were usually over-dramatized. This was a little upsetting especially to find out these “celebrities” were actually getting rich for not having any sort of acting talent or skill in general. Shows like Jersey shore for example were definitely not benefiting society. This show depicted several young adults living life in Jersey Shore. There vacations consisted of partying, having sex, fighting, and drinking until they would throw up. Not to mention the almost constant use of profanity. I knew a lot of teenagers watched this show at the time because I would hear about it at school constantly. Some viewers started to think it was okay to act like this and even thought this type of lifestyle was appealing. Kids, as we know are very impressionable and knowing your kids could be watching this is almost scary. Perhaps watching a network like the History channel or Discovery channel might be beneficial. But in reality kids aren’t interested in shows like that. I’m sure there are some educational reality television shows on nowadays but the majority of them are not. Personally, I prefer documentaries and dramas. Documentaries interest me since they are based on real people in the real world with true stories. I wouldn’t say I try to avoid reality television nor do I have anything against people who watch it. It is just something I grew out of and lost interest in. Maybe in the future my opinion could change. 

Opinions

It is nice to reminisce the date of July 14, 2012. This particular date happened to be the day I saw my first Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game. At the time I did not have much of an interest in baseball mainly because of my lack of understanding the game itself. After a few innings, I began to catch on fairly quickly and became much more interested. That game ended up going down to the wire, tied 6 to 6 in the final inning vs. The San Diego Padres. With 50,000+ fans screaming and cheering with excitement, the atmosphere was like nothing I had ever seen before. Every pitch was so nerve racking and every catch was so crucial. I believe the Dodgers lost that game 6 to 7 but nonetheless, it was still an incredible experience that I enjoyed very much.

From that moment forward I have been watching baseball regularly. My dad’s favorite sport has always been baseball so it is really nice to have something to talk about and bond over. Now, instead of going out on Fridays and Saturdays, I usually prefer to be at home glued to the television or meeting up with friends to catch a game. My twin sisters even watch baseball with me now when they aren’t busy, so it kind of gets my family together which is great. I have heard many people say they think it’s a boring sport, but I think its one of the most exciting. A baseball game can change completely in the blink of an eye for better or for worse. I suppose some games may drag on a little, but that can happen in any sport. Not every game will be as exciting as the last one. Furthermore, I never would have thought I would be so enticed by the game of baseball. I’ll always remember this great experience that changed my outlook on this sport. 

Food!

Thinking back to my childhood years Fast Food was definitely a part of my adolescence. It was so difficult not to eat it is a kid because it tasted amazing, it was only a few dollars and Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken were walking distance from middle school and my house. It was not a very regular part of my family’s life. My mother was more health conscious and cooked most of the meals at home. However when I wasn’t at home I would eat a lot of fast food. As a kid, I wouldn’t even say it was a treat. It was very routine. After school my friends and I would meet at Jack In The Box or Taco Bell probably 3 or four times a week. I would order all types of things Big Macs, Chalupas, Famous Bowls, Whoppers and usually all of these were accompanied with large sodas. There probably was a time my parents told me how bad it was for me. But I didn’t think about stuff like that. I was just a kid! Everyone I knew seemed to eat and enjoy fast food.

My eating habits have changed significantly since I graduated High School in 2010. During my first college semester at Ventura College I took a health class that completely changed my perspective on what I eat. I’ve always been pretty athletic and when I found out that what I am putting in my body affected how I perform was enough for me to change my diet. Not to mention all of the other health concerns fast food can cause such as high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and many more. Some fast food restaurants have attempted to put more healthy items on their menus. Hopefully this can continue and more places will follow and begin to alternate their food options. As of now, I rarely ever eat fast food or drink soda. The times I do eat fast food I try to order something on the healthier side like a salad or sandwich instead of a burger and fries. I feel a lot better physically and I have much more energy than I used to. Many of my friends eat much better now and we can we talk about different health foods and get tips from each other. It is not always easy and convenient to eat healthy but if you make it a part of your lifestyle it’s not very hard. 

Significant Event Essay

I have experienced a lot of personal growth in myself in the last two years. It all started the winter of 2012 when myself, and a few friends began discussing a road trip. After rambling off several local and out of state destinations we started to think outside the box. My friend Bryan mentioned Canada and it was silent for a few seconds almost as if he had read our minds. We knew it would cost much more than our original ideas but we knew that’s where we wanted to go. Persuading my mom into letting her 19-year-old son drive to another country was challenging but I managed to convince her. Before we knew it the day had come and we were on the road.

After several dozen cups of coffee and eyes so blood shot it hurt to blink, we were there! No words can really describe how beautiful the lakes high up in the mountains are, and the valleys and canyons. It is something you need to see for yourself. We spent the majority of our trip at Banff National Park, which is where most of the main tourist attractions are. While in Canada I learned how to ski at Sunshine Village, which was something I never thought I could do. Also, I went snowshoeing and snowboarding at Lake Louise where I saw some incredible Ice sculptures. If we could have stayed longer we would’ve but after two weeks we headed home.

This was one of the most significant moments in my life because it was a series of “firsts” for me. Before any of this happened I was very shy and had a low self esteem. I was never open to trying new things and leaving my comfort zone. This trip really opened my eyes and even changed my perspective on life. As of now, I am a lot more confident about whom I am. When opportunities and experiences present themselves I try to take advantage of them. The good times and the not so good times my friends and I shared on this journey are something I will never forget. 

Marriage

I know the tradition and the meaning of marriage is very important to many Americans. However, the percentage of people getting married today does not suggest that. According to a recent study nearly 40 percent of people believe marriage is becoming obsolete. I believe many people, myself included, are a bit intimidated to get married because the divorce rate is equal to the success rate. With that being said, I unfortunately do not believe marriage is alive and strong in our present day. But I do think marriage is still part of the social fabric. The only way I see that changing is if America becomes more like the countries in northern Europe where marriage rates are extremely low. Our social fabric would be much stronger today if our economy and culture was how it was in the mid 20^th century. In the past, many couples would often stay together even if the were not always happy. Divorce rates are much higher today because people are more interested in their personal fulfillment rather than working on a marriage.

Rivera’s essay on “temporary marriages” was a bit bizarre in my opinion. Mexico City lawmakers proposed a bill that allows couples to apply for a temporary marriage license. The minimum being a 2 year contract and after 2 years they can decide weather or not to renew it. Many people were against this idea saying things like “It is like doubting the marriage before it even starts”. Leonoal Luna, who co-authored the bill backed up her argument by showing a statistics report. In the U.S. there were 3.4 divorces per 1,000 people. In Mexico, the divorce rate was 0.33 per 1,000 people. She believes the short- term contract will “slow divorce rates and free couples from the hassle of divorce”. I personally would not consider this. If I ever get married one day, I would want to be fully committed to that person and prove life long marriages can still be successful.