Last Blog...Or is it? Hmmm....

         For me, blogging was something new for me. I knew that whatever I was going to write online was going to be read in public so I was kind of shy about it. I really didn’t want to put my thoughts in the blog because I had this fear that I was going to be judged by what I was thinking or what I wrote down. But as I continued doing these blog assignments, I started to feel a bit comfortable and wasn’t scared about what I wrote down that much like before. I kind of enjoyed it, but blogging for the English assignments wasn’t that much fun; it felt like you had to write in your blog by force, but besides that, it was a really nice experience. Maybe I will keep on blogging in the future. I really enjoyed reading other people’s blogs because they each had different stories to tell and had their own way of expressing themselves through writing and seeing a few pictures of their life as well. I just wanted to say that it was a pleasure having you guys in my class. You guys made it really fun for me (especially Donald) and I hope to have classes with you guys again soon. I know that each one of you will be successful in life and that you will be doing great things in the future. I’ll miss you guys. Oh, and Mrs. Croker, thank you for helping me through in this class. I don’t know if I improved in my writing skills that much, but I just wanted to say that it was a privilege to be in your class and learn many things about fast food. Maybe I’ll get a class with you sooner or later, okay?

Surprise Trip

         My eyes were glued to the cars passing by as my family and I were going to this road trip. Not knowing where we were going (my sisters and I), the trip seemed to take way too long and the day of that trip was hot, so we were getting really impatient. As I kept watching the cars, my eyes suddenly spotted a highway sign that said “Anaheim” in some amount of miles. I thought my eyes were playing tricks and then thought, Nah, that can’t be possible. This trip is probably going to some hotel for my mom in order for her to be in some meeting of Pre-America. Yeah, that must be it. With this in mind, I was able to convince myself and forget what I first thought or what I first suspected. But after a few hours, my parents suddenly went to the left in the Anaheim entrance. My heart was beating fast. When I saw my sisters’ faces, I knew that they were thinking the same thing but we didn’t dare believe it.
Next thing that I saw quickly was Disney Land. My forehead was pressed on the glass window, watching as we passed by the themed park slowly. Why are we here? I thought. I was confused on what was going on in those few minutes as we arrived to some hotel. When we got inside of the hotel rooms and settled down, my parents gathered all three of us to tell us the big news or surprise.
“Tomorrow morning, we will be going to Disney Land,” my dad announced. My eyes started to water and my sisters gasped to this exciting news. In all these years, my family and I have never been to Disney Land, not once. I always dreamt of going to Disney Land when I was little, but because we didn’t have enough money, that dream seemed impossible and I thought I was never going to be in there…ever. With the announcement that my dad made, it was the best surprise we ever had and I was crying my eyes out the whole time (I was 15 years old when that happened).
The next day, we were outside waiting eagerly in line. Once we got inside, our adventure in Disney Land began. We went to several rollercoaster-like rides and went to this place where we got the chance to drive in these little cars individually, which was at first scary for me because it was my first time driving in these small cars, but I had fun. Before we got close to the castle there, a parade was starting so we went on the side and sat down to see it. It had almost all the Disney characters that I loved and for me, it was so magical as I watched them perform. Man, it was really amazing. When the parade was over, we went in more rides. I enjoyed going to the Indiana Jones Ride, The House of Horrors and the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride.
There were other shows that we saw at night that were really amazing as well that I really don’t have the words to describe them but that they were amazing and magical. It was better than I imagined when I was little and I felt like I was a little child again. When we left at midnight, I believe, we were all sad that the day was over and that the next day we were going home. Though it was just one time, it was really an amazing experience. As we went our way home, there was one thing that stayed in my mind the whole time that has made me believe it again which was this: dreams do come true.    

Important People

           Man, three important people in my life, huh? Well, like some people have said in their blogs, it’s hard to pick out people who have been an influence or have touched our lives in different ways. Having said this, I think the people who have played an important role in my life would be my mom, my dad, and my friend, Octavio.

            Most of the people who know my mom would say that I look just like her with our round faces and “Asian”-shaped like eyes as people would say sometimes. The only difference is that she has dark colored skin whereas my skin color is a bit lighter than hers. She’s short, has straight, shoulder-length, black hair where right now there are a few white hairs that are starting to appear here and there but aren’t that noticeable, and she’s a bit chubby. She’s very easy to talk to and she’s likeable to anybody. She has this great smile that will make you crack a smile even when you’re facing through a hard time. She’s really a good cook when it comes to my favorite foods which are practically everything and somehow she’s a good listener whenever I have something that is troubling me. She also likes to dance a lot, which is her favorite hobby when she has time. She has her days when she’s really irritated or really angry to a point where my family tries to be careful on what to say to her, but overall, she’s amazing. She’s important to me because she’s the one who was always there for me when I was in my lowest point and also, she was the one who has helped me become the person who I can be. Though I don’t say much to her about how deeply grateful I am for all her sacrifices and love that she has made and given to me and my sisters, I’m really grateful to God that He has given me an amazing mom who is a great example and shows great courage when facing through challenging times.

            My dad and I are pretty much alike when it comes to personality. He’s not that social, doesn’t like to talk much, and loves music that involves with piano (relaxing music). He’s taller than me only for a few inches and his skin color is much lighter than mine. He has thin, puffy hair if he doesn’t cut it too short, has light-brown colored eyes, has some barely visible wrinkles on his forehead whenever he raises his eyebrows and has a bit of a pointy nose. If he started to have fun, he would laugh and it is the only time where he opens up to other people. He’s fun to be around him. He likes to read and he likes to learn new things. He’s the neat freak in our house and he’s a type of carpenter when he came up with making stuff up with wood. He’s very respectful to my mom and everybody else and rarely gets mad at anybody. The only time he gets mad is if we ever screamed or say something mean or rude to my mom. He’s important to me because he would always give me advice when I didn’t know what to do or when I’m stressing out. He’s a kind of teacher to me that connects stories that he’s read to life so I would be able to understand. Somehow, he is able to connect with me because he knows what I’m going through with the experience that he had when he was young when other people can’t understand me. He’s been there in my highest and the lowest and I’m grateful for having a father like him.

            Octavio, in a sense, is like the other me, only about a 10 year difference and that he’s a guy and is into science. He’s about my size, only an inch taller, has brown eyes, very short prickly hair, and dark skin and he’s like a stick. He’s into martial arts and is into some anime shows as well. He’s serious almost all the time, but when we joke around with him, he’s really funny and is a bit childish for his age. He’s important to me because he has helped me go through things that I wouldn’t do on my own, such as learning how to drive or how to be an independent adult sometimes. He also helps me how to have fun when I was too tense. He’s been there for me and he’s the greatest guy I ever known.

Review

       Reading is one of my favorite hobbies that I like to do whenever I have time left to spare from all my homework assignments or chores around the house. Though it may sound a bit strange, I enjoy being in the library to look for interesting books to read and, if they are really good books, I would check them out and then read them at home. One of the books that I came across with a few months ago was called I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter, a historical fiction type genre. That type of genre rarely gets my attention because it gets boring in my opinion, but this story captured my attention because it mashed well with the author’s small bits of fiction in the 1600s time period, the characters were great and believable, and the story was original in my own opinion.
I liked the way the author put in Rembrandt’s paintings in the story because it gives out a few clues that would help the reader understand what’s going on with the artist’s life and the main character in the story. At first, I didn’t know why the author included some of his famous paintings in the story, but as the story progressed, it later made sense because it not only revealed some dark secrets of the artist’s life, but it also showed how he was feeling inside of him (in the story, not in real life). Also, the setting of this story felt believable even though I didn’t know much about the life in Amsterdam in the 1600s. The 2nd plague (I think) that was introduced in the near climax of the story made me see the harsh life that these people might have gone through which was really a tragic time for these people. The social lifestyle that they had during this time period was also the key point on giving this story some flavor into it because it gave some complex issues that these characters had to face through like, for example, the main character falls in love with a gentleman that is from a higher social rank whereas the main girl is at the way bottom and though they love each other, their social status becomes an obstacle for their families in the story.
As I read this story, the author described the characters so well that I could almost picture them in my mind and made me feel like they were real people. They all had unique characteristics that fitted and suited well for each character and because it was told by the observation of the main character, they were sometimes complicated to figure out on what they are thinking or how they will react certain situations. There were times in the story where I thought some characters were a certain type of person in the beginning, but at the end they turn out to be a different person. The characters really surprised me when they made a twist throughout the story.  
For me, it was original in a sense because the main character was using some technical terms that are normally used to described art that she later applied them into her life which was really different and interesting at the same time. Though there are points in the story where you have the classic love triangle and dramas, the description of an artist’s life is something that people, including myself, have never read before and is something that’s worth knowing about. For example, in the book, it described how harsh  life was for main character’s family because of the harsh “art competitions” that they were facing through and the artist’s family depended on the money that the artist earned from his sale of art.
My review for this book might not have been the best because I simply cannot write the right words to describe how I feel about this book but to say that this is indeed the greatest book I have ever read. I would recommend people to read this book, mostly for girls. I don’t know if guys would like this book, but if you’re a guy who likes to read whatever literature you could find, I would invite you to read this book if you want to. It’s really awesome.

Fast Food Nation

I really never had any interest on reading these types of books such as Fast Food Nation about real life issues because it’s boring for my taste. When I saw the size of the book, I thought that I wasn’t going to like it all. But once I read the first chapter of Fast Food Nation, I was really amazed how much information the author had provided in the chapter for the readers. There was humor in a sense and Schlosser has indeed brought out the issues on the table for us very nicely about the fast food problem that we are facing. There were a few negative things about fast foods that I already knew at the time, but this big picture that the author described in every chapter of this book has really shocked me completely, made me feel queasy at times, and made me wonder or think more about what’s going on in the world with fast food marketing. It really has made me view things differently and has affected me with my decision making for now and for the future. I think not eating meat will be a bit easy for me because I don’t eat meat much like I used to when I was a little kid, but ground beef is probably going to be a great challenge for me because it’s the only favorite meat that I like, which is the worst meat that anyone could eat of as Schlosser said, but I can probably manage. Now, I don’t go to restaurants as much like before anymore, with the exception for pizza restaurants. I’m trying as hard as I can to live in a healthy life style so that in the future, I would be healthy and fit so that I can live longer to enjoy life.  The issues that made me think of in this book was about how workers were treated in these fast food companies and about what these people are putting in the food. It really has made me feel disgust for these companies. I think this book has made an impact in me and I would recommend people to read this book so that they can make wise decisions for their life.    

Truth Revealed...How I'm Doing This Semester?

       Well, to start off, the truth for blog #10 was 4) I love to read a lot. Many might think I might be lying, but it’s true. Since I don’t have much time, I didn’t have the chance to read books that I like, which is a bummer for me, but, oh well. C’est la vie, as my French teacher, Mrs. Matthews always said to us in high school.
This semester has been a bit challenging for me than the last one because I had a lot of free time last year and I didn’t know what to do with it, so I got bored easily and didn’t use my brain much with the exception to my history and Geology class. This semester, in contrast, I really had my brain working in these classes. There were some points in my Semester Journey where my head was nearly going to explode sometimes, but for some reason, I’m kind of glad that I’m going through this. So far, I like my classes in general. I have awesome teachers this semester (in my art class though, my art teacher talks a bit weird and soft that I can’t understand him at times, but he’s a lot of help whenever I have trouble with my art projects). This semester, I’ve taken a Physical Education class called Escrima and though it’s a bit tough for me because of my condition, it’s interesting and fun and got to learn some defense moves that could help me in the future. I’m still not fast or good at it yet, but I know I’ll get there.
What bugs me is that I don’t have time to draw or read whenever I want. The challenges that I have may be that I have so many activities that I have to go to that it doesn’t give me enough time to do some of my homework assignments sometimes, but I think the workload is good enough for me. Each class I learn something new which is pretty awesome. I don’t know if I’m improving in my English class, but I know that it will help me with my other future classes that I will take. My art skills are probably improving slowly and with all that I’m learning in that class, I’m trying to apply these skills for my little story that I’m trying to create.
Well, I guess I stay motivated by thinking what type of future I want to create or fulfill. I really want to make my parents, my family, myself and God to be proud of me in a way. I really want to have a good life and I want to be able to help other people and my parents one day if they need it. I want to be prepared when that time comes so I can be of service to anyone. That’s what keeps me going.

True or False? Hmmm...

Can you guys figure out the truth?

1) I have one brother and two sisters
2) My quinceanera dress was the color blue
3) I like heavy metal music
4) I love to read a lot
5) I love onions
6) I don't like the song called "I Won't Give Up"