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.