The longest minute I ever spent was...

When my son was born. He was born on January 23, 2007. Everything was going fine, the delivery was going as planned and my contractions were perfect. We were both so excited to have this new little guy in our life. I remember the doctor asking me if I wanted to hold him right after he was delivered, but I was so exhausted and sweaty that I said no, I don't want to risk it. I remember looking at my husband and smiling as I reached for his hand. He had this worried look on his face and all of a sudden about 5 nurses come rushing in the door. I was so out of it that I didn't realize something was going on. I started asking everybody what was the matter, what happened, but nobody would answer me. I asked where my baby was and that I wanted to see him. They were all very quite, the room seemed to get small and I got dizzy. I looked across the room and saw about 6 to 8 nurses in a circle working on what I assumed was my baby. I started to cry and scream what is going on, where is my baby! The doctor said the baby is not breathing and he is on an oxygen tank. I started to shake and I couldn't feel anything. Then I look over and see one of the nurses look at me and cry, I thought, oh no, my baby has died. There then is a loud cheer and they said he started breathing and that they needed to take him to the ICU for further care, just for protocol. He was still a little blue but breathing. I could finally breath. I was so scared for those few minutes and they seemed to be the longest in my life, but everything turned out o.k. He is now a healthy 4 year old and loves to run a play. Anybody he comes into contact with just falls in love with him, we are very lucky and blessed to have him in our lives.

Profile Paper

I have decided to do my profile paper on Miguel M. Morales. He is a library aid at JCCC and he is a student here as well. He was a former managing editor and member of the campus ledger and newspaper and a member of the Latinos Writer Collective. He also is a founder of the Latino Club here on campus. He has a strong interest in increasing the diversity on campus. He wants to eventually become a professor here and be able to help others less fortunate to obtain their education and have some of the same experiences he has been provided with. He believes it starts at the top and that we can make a difference by voting for an elective that is qualified and good for the position. He feels that it would really make a difference if we had more people of diversity in the Board of Trustees and he himself has even ran for this position. I like his determination and dedication to this cause. I think we do need a change in this area and to make it easier for the minority to be able to have the same experience and opportunity as everybody else. Getting this out and making your voice heard is the first step and he has done this, as well as starting a club where latinos can go to feel at home and comfortable in this new environment. His favorite quote is from Abraham Lincoln, saying, "In your temporary failure there is no evidence that you may not be a better scholar and a more successful man in the great struggle of life than many other who have entered college more easily."

15 things I'm obsessing about right now

1. Watermelon and Lemongrass Perfume
2. The New York hotdog at Sonic
3. Starbucks
4. The True Blood Series
5. Sterling silver jewelry
6. My new black reading glasses
7. The word Mahvelous
8. Vera Bradley
9. Comfy P.J.'s
10. The Mumford and Son's new CD
11. Doublemint bubble gum
12. Pilot Dr. Grip pens
13. Incense
14. The color red
15. My fleece blanket

Grammar Reflection

I thought the Microlab assessment was helpful in understanding where I am at in my grammar. I liked the way it broke down the different categories of grammar afterwards. This way you can see which areas you need improvement in and which areas are your strongest. I learned that I need to study the pronoun choice, subject/verb agreement, distinct sentences and orderly sentences. I like that it narrowed it down to the specific topics I need to work on.
It took me about 30 minutes to complete. If I was to do it over again, I think I would slow down and not rush through it. I found that after about 15 minutes through it, I would have a harder time finding errors. I kept second guessing myself too, usually the first answer I went with was the correct answer. I was really upset with myself when I found out my results on the commas. I knew the right way to use them, but going through it so fast really brought my score down in that area.
I think the only thing I would improve about this process is that we would have one class discussion about the test before and afterwards, like a review. This way we know what to expect and look for. I think getting others feedback from the class would also help us going into the test to get another perspective and point of view. Talking about it with others afterwards gives us a better appreciation in knowing the areas that we need to improve on as a group. However, I do like that we can go back and review it afterwards, so we can figure out why we got it wrong. I found this to be very helpful.
In the past, I have received mixed reviews on my writing. I have been told that my creativity and ideas are good, but that I need to work on the grammar and organization. I agree with them, I have a hard time finding organization in my papers. Once I get to the conclusion, I have a difficult time wrapping it up and making the whole paper tie together. Getting the paper started is another struggle I have. I can find an idea for the body of the paper, but just getting it started seems so hard to do. I remember having to write a paper in high school and I couldn’t figure out how to start it, so I just cried and cried. I had to ask a friend for help, because it was so intimidating. She told me to relax and just start writing. That it didn’t matter that I started out with a good thesis at first, because I could always go back and edit and revise it later. Since then, I feel I have improved in this area and continue to work on making my grammar better. English was one of the toughest subjects for me in my educational experiences. I like to free write my thoughts and ideas, but when it comes to actually putting it in a correct and organized format, I struggle with this.
My writing is very simple and to the point. I have tried to expand my vocabulary and use more descriptions in my writing to make it more interesting. I think the education system does not prepare you for college writing. I would like to see more of an appreciation for teaching English to children in the early years of their education. Especially high school, I didn’t feel like high school really prepared me for what I was to experience in college. When I look at my writing, I feel behind and know that I need a lot of improvement. I feel that it is the main component when it comes to education, and the back bone of it. I want my children to see how important grammar is. I would love to someday be a great writer and show my kids that it’s possible to make our weaknesses our strengths if we work hard at it. I want to find enjoyment out of writing and be able to write a good paper without coming to tears over it.

Little Brave

I saw this band on a television show about people taking a leap and going for their dreams. I really liked her story and music. It's a little different, but I like it. She talked about how she decided to go on tour one day because she always wanted to travel, and she loves to sing, so she thought what the heck and went for it. She has passion and love for what she does and I can appreciate that. She was told by so many people not to do it and that it's not realistic, but she decided to go for it anyway. That's why she named her band "Little Brave".

Life Changing Event

Like Junior in Sherman Alexie’s book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, I too made a life changing decision when I choose to return to school after about 10 years. I was 19 when I decided to get married and only had my Associates in Arts at BYU-Idaho by the time we had our first born. Staying home with the kids for the first few years was important to us, so I was a stay at home mom, or homemaker, for about 8 years. Once the kids were in school I decided it was time for me to go back and finish my degree. Last year my husband filed for divorce. This obviously was a very difficult for me, and I ended up withdrawing from my classes. With two little kids, little working history and only an Associates degree I was out on my own in this busy, fast paced world. The news of the divorce was hard, but I decided to not let it hold me back. I enrolled back into school the following semester. I am very busy, with work, school, the kids and church, but I am determined to finish this time around. I know it will not be an easy road, but well worth it in the end. I feel I can relate to Junior in a way and know that sometimes the road to success is not the easiest route, but with determination and hard work anything is possible.

Renaissance Festival

I went to the Renaissance Festival here in Kansas City over the weekend with my family and a friend. We had so much fun! My daughter got a flowered headband and a tickle wand. Which she had too much fun trying to tickle us as we walked around. There are lots of shops and fun things to do and great food to eat. We all ate a huge turkey leg and had some pickles while we watched a magic show. I bought some incense and perfume. Who would have thought that watermelon and lemon grass would go together great! I love the way it smells! My daughter also got to make a rainbow out of colored powder into a cool glass jar. Then to top it all off we had a friendly competition in archery . I lost, but that's okay, it's all in good fun.

Breast Cancer

I wore a breast cancer t-shirt today that said "Pure Pink" to support breast cancer awareness month of October. It runs in my family and I have a friend that was concerned about a lump in her breast, thankfully we found out it was only a cyst. I think it's important to remember those that have passed on because of this disease and to have faith and hope that a cure can be found.

Marriage

What is marriage? It's just a piece of paper that declares you're officially a couple. I think if two people are truly in love they don't need a piece of paper to show everybody it's real. They know it's real and that's all that matters. However, I am probably not the best person to talk about this matter, since I have been divorced twice now. I personally feel marriage takes all the fun out of the relationship. That's my own personal view on the matter, like there are steps to a relationship and if you don't follow them it's not a REAL relationship. Once you get married and have kids, most fall into the trap of the boring old routine and soon the love is lost and you don't even know each other anymore. If you put a deadline or outline on a relationship, it's doomed to have problems. It should be fun and spontaneous, and always looking for ways to keep the love alive.