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Table of Contents Reflecting back.. Revision Piece. Identity Paper. Writer’s Choice. My Community. Audience Piece. My Baggage. Analysis Piece. Don’t let them fade.

Reflecting back..

This is my first quarter at Everett Community College and when I signed up for English 101 I thought psh.. piece of cake. I have always been a good writer, I know what I am doing. Boy, was I wrong. I worked my butt off doing my assignments and I was shocked when I was not excelling like I thought I would. I was heartbroken, then I met with my fantastic teacher Ms. Lolly Smith who help me see the error of my ways. She explained things to me that I would read over and over again on my computer and not be able to understand until she guided me through the process of writing. She made things easy for me, after meeting with her I finally understood. So I have to thank you Lolly, you had a big part in me believing in my writing. I am very proud of all I have accomplished this quarter. I am a full-time student, work a full-time job and best of all I am a full-time mom. I had a full plate this time around and that is the way it will be until I finish school. I think this is what drives me to do what I do and get my education. I want to live a fulfilling life with no regrets and I want to set a good example for my children and my siblings. Thank you everyone that had a part in me acheiving all my goals, I owe you one.

Revision Piece.

The first paper we were asked to write was about identity. This was a diificult task for me because I am not a formal writer. I can talk for days about personal subjects but when I am asked to sit down and write a paper I hesitate. When I was advised that I recieved a "C" grade on my paper, I cried. I felt that my essay was good, but not to my full potential. I have revised it, hopefully bringing it from a "C" paper to an "A" paper that my teachers would be proud of.

Identity Paper.

Personal Choices

Regardless of where we come from, we all have the power to decide what path we will take in life and who we will choose to identified as in the future. It doesn’t matter what country someone is from, what race we might are or where we you grow up as a child. We don’t have control over these things but we do have all the power to make the right choices. Where someones chooses to end up in life is a direct reflection of their personal choices they make. We have millions of decisions we have to make on a daily basis, some consciously, some not. We never know where our decisions will take us but we can always strive to make the right ones.

In the story, Who You Callin’ a Bitch?, Queen Latifah talks about how she overcame many obstacles in her life but still became a successful woman in spite of that. She chose to view herself as a “Queen”, she chose to ignore all the negative influences in her life and have better for herself. Latifah didn’t sit around feeling sorry for herself because she grew up in housing projects, she didn’t choose to sell drugs to make up for the money that her mother didn’t have even though she worked three jobs.

Latifah states,”What I am is a young black woman from the inner city who is making it, despite the odds, despite the obstacles I’ve had to face in the lifetimes that have come my way. I have lived in housing projects and in fine homes. I have hung out with drug dealers and presidents. I have had to clean bathrooms for a living. And I’ve had my own maid.” (33-34) She made up her mind that she wanted to be better, and that is exactly what she did. Her mother was a big influence on her life choices, she supported any decision Queen Latifah made, never limiting her. Granted she probably didn’t make all the right choices in life she knew what she wanted and she went for it. In her story her last words are powerful ones, she says, “It starts with you… You have to want it for yourself. You have to know yourself.”(36) Queen Latifah is a smart woman, if everyone believed in themselves the way she did, we might all be successful.

In Firoozeh Dumas’ reading, The “F Word”, she teaches us how to overcome other peoples opinions of us, and to be happy with ourselves inside. That was her key to being successful, being happy with who she is. She talks about coming to America as an immigrant at a young age, with an uncommon name and the people who she was surrounded by weren’t so accepting of her. Dumas wanted to have “…a name that didn’t draw so much attention, a name that didn’t come with a built-in inquisition…”(85) She wasn’t happy with her name and in turn was not happy with who she was inside. Dumas decided to change her name. “I finally chose the name “Julie” mainly for its simplicity.”(86) Changing her name made her life simpler, she had more friends but she was pretending to be something that she wasn’t. She wasn’t “Julie”, she was Firoozeh. She went through college, jobs and even got married with the name Julie, but she was lying to herself and to everyone around her. She says, “I felt like those characters in soap operas who have an evil twin… I decided to untangle the knot once and for all by going back to my real name. By then, I was a stay at home mom, so I didn‘t really care whether people remembered my name…”(87) She was a strong person to be able to take all the crap people gave her for being a foreigner, but in the end it made her stronger. Dumas was happy to be who she was despite living with a so-called “unpopular” name, she was finally happy to be Firoozeh and that was all she ever really wanted. Learning to accept herself made her successful in her own life.

From personal experiences, sometimes it is not easy to make the right decision but it is much easier to make the popular decision. It might not be cool to go to school growing up, but it’s also not so cool to skip and experiment with drugs. Making the wrong choices in life is not beneficial for anyone, especially for your own life. When you’re 23 with two kids to support and you don’t have a college degree to get that life changing career because you made the popular decision to skip, you will wish that you could go back in time and change things. You don’t have to sell drugs to get by in life, it might be rough sometimes but you can always make it through those times if you just stick with it. Making the right choices is what it is all about.

Being popular might be important in high school but when you “grow up”, it doesn’t matter so much anymore. If only we could go back and explain to our past selves what the future would be like if you did this or that differently. Unfortunately, that is impossible. We can only do the best we can, everyday and learn from our mistakes. We never know where our decisions will lead us in life. Just remember, only YOU have the power to decide what path you will take in life and who you will choose to become in the future. Think about that the next time you have to make a decision,

what path will you choose?

Personal Choices It doesn’t matter what country someone is from, what race we might are or where we you grow up as a child. We don’t have control over these things but we do have all the power to make the right choices. Where someones chooses to end up in life is a direct reflection of their personal choices they make. We have millions of decisions we have to make on a daily basis, some consciously, some not. We never know where our decisions will take us but we can always strive to make the right ones.Regardless of where we come from, we all have the power to decide what path we will take in life and who we will choose to identified as in the future. In the story, Who You Callin’ a Bitch?, Queen Latifah talks about how she overcame many obstacles in her life but still became a successful woman in spite of that. She chose to view herself as a “Queen”, she chose to ignore all the negative influences in her life and have better for herself. Latifah states,”What I am is a young black woman from the inner city who is making it, despite the odds, despite the obstacles I’ve had to face in the lifetimes that have come my way. I have lived in housing projects and in fine homes. I have hung out with drug dealers and presidents. I have had to clean bathrooms for a living. And I’ve had my own maid.” (33-34) Her mother was a big influence on her life choices, she supported any decision Queen Latifah made, never limiting her. In her story her last words are powerful ones, she says, “It starts with you… You have to want it for yourself. You have to know yourself.”(36) Queen Latifah is a smart woman, if everyone believed in themselves the way she did, we might all be successful. In Firoozeh Dumas’ reading, The “F Word”, she teaches us how to overcome other peoples opinions of us, and to be happy with ourselves inside. That was her key to being successful. Dumas talks about coming to America as an immigrant, with an uncommon name and people who she was surrounded by weren’t so accepting of her. Dumas wanted to have “…a name that didn’t draw so much attention, a name that didn’t come with a built-in inquisition…”(85) Dumas decided to change her name. “I finally chose the name “Julie” mainly for its simplicity.”(86) She wasn’t “Julie”, she was Firoozeh. She went through college, jobs and even got married with the name Julie, but she was lying to herself and to everyone around her. She says, “I felt like those characters in soap operas who have an evil twin… I decided to untangle the knot once and for all by going back to my real name. By then, I was a stay at home mom, so I didn‘t really care whether people remembered my name…”(87) Dumas was happy to be who she was despite living with a so-called “unpopular” name, she was finally happy to be Firoozeh and that was all she ever really wanted. Learning to accept herself made her successful in her own life. From personal experiences, sometimes it is not easy to make the right decision but it is much easier to make the popular decision. Making the wrong choices in life is not beneficial for anyone. People don’t have to sell drugs to get by in life, it might be rough sometimes but they can always make it through those times if they just stick with it. Making the right choices is what it is all about. Being popular might be important in high school but when people “grow up”, it doesn’t matter so much anymore. If only we could go back and explain to our past selves what the future would be like if we did this or that differently. Unfortunately, that is impossible. We can only do the best we can, everyday and learn from our mistakes. We never know where our decisions will lead us in life. Just remember, only you have the power to decide what path you will take in life and who you will choose to become in the future. Think about that the next time you have to make a life changing decision.

Writer's Choice.

There was an assignment to make a blog entry about a community we belong to. Of course I chose my favorite community, parenting. It is one that I love to be a part of, it is a special community I tend to keep close to my heart. There are so many possible communities to belong to, which is your favorite?

My community.

Parenting is a community. There are millions of people out there that are part of the parenting community and more people are joining everyday. This is a community that will never go out of style and once you belong you are a part of it for life. Being a parent is a beautiful thing, it is a gift. Obviously the one thing that holds this community together is that fact that you are a parent. You have children. Parenting is a fun, exciting thing but once you think you have it figured out, your kids teach you something new. This is why it is a blessing to have other parents to lean on. Parenting can be challenging at times, for example your daughter is 3 and refuses to potty train, you feel like you have tried EVERYTHING and are at your wits end, what do you do.. ask a fellow parent, that's what. It will not solve that fact that she will not poop on the toilet but it will make you feel better for the time being. This is one thing that brings people together in this world, you have a problem striking up a conversation with someone, talk about your kids. Parenting is universal, you will never be shut out of this community, it is the one thing that brings joy into every ones lives. There are challenges with parenting, and this doesn't just mean with your kids. This means with your other half, yes the other parent. Things can get difficult if you do not agree on one way to raise your kids. If there is cultural differences, religious differences or just simply different parenting techniques. One of you might believe in spanking, the other might not. The other parent might think bed time is at 8:00, the other parent might think it is okay to let your children run amok until midnight or that Twinkies make a nutritious dinner. There is help out there, when you are stressed you just run to that fellow parent and they will make things better. Hopefully they are on your side when you state your case. In all reality, there is no RIGHT way to parent. Every family is different in their own ways, but all these people are brought together by this special community. I am lucky that I get to wake up every morning and see my children's beautiful shining faces, if you are a mommy or a daddy you know exactly what I am talking about. I wouldn't give it up for anything, there is nothing better.

Audience piece

We were asked to write a blog entry about the contents of our wallets but I chose to go one step further and talk about the contents of my purse. For a female, her purse is a sacred place. You never enter that territory. Though this was a personal assignment, it was an easy task for me. I am not usually a private person, my life is more like an open book. This blog gave me a chance to express who I am just by describing my personal belongings. It was a fun assignment, very intriguing and I loved reading what was in my classmates' blogs as well!

My baggage.

Take a look inside my purse, I dare you... The first thing you would do if you looked in my purse is laugh. As much as I like to think I am organized and prepared, my purse is out of control. You might get to know me very well by rummaging through the contents of my purse as I do not tend to keep much of my life private. The first thing that i managed to dig out is my lotion since it is the biggest thing in there. It is Olay BODY quench PLUS age defying lotion. I thought my body would stay perfect forever but life is cruel. I might be able to blame my dry skin on my job since I do wash my hands about every 3 minutes that I am there (I work at a Daycare..). Next is my fake snake skin wallet. I bought it at Target for $12.00. I thought it was the most beautiful wallet I had ever seen. Inside it I have two 100 dollar bills, 24 cents, 3 ticket stubs to CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 3-D, money order receipts for my rent, a note from my favorite Aunt that says "I love you", all of my family's social security cards (bad girl, I know.), an advertisement for Disney on Ice, library card, Costco card, Toys'R Us gift card, my Driver's License (which I must say my picture is stunning), my boyfriend's debit card, CPR and first aid card and various punch cards for the many coffee stands I am loyal to. I know that was a mouth full, but sometimes it is so full I can't even shut it. There is also my chap stick. I have no makeup in my purse at all. That is not the kind of girl I am. If I am going out for a night on the town, sure, I will get dolled up. My usual routine in the morning consists of showering, throwing up my hair and putting on my chap stick as I am running out the door. I think this might tell you that I am a simple, low-maintenance kind of girl. My purse also holds various pens and sharpies. This is a new habit that I have picked up since I have been spending more time with my Mom. In the past I would be scrounging for a pen to write down some important thing I needed to remember that I almost always forgot. Yes, because I didn't have a pen. I am much better about that these days. So if you need to borrow one, ask me. I am not sure how it got in there but the controller for my son's Nintendo is in my purse. Hm.. I have a few receipts with include places like Marshalls and Target, a shopping list that consists of multi purpose cleaner, garbage bags, styling glue, pull-ups and heat protector for my hair. Then there is my phone, which is my life line. I would die without it. I religiously talk to my grandmother, my mom, my sister and my boyfriend all day long. I text like a maniac and am always checking my Facebook on my lunch break. One might get the wrong impression by my keys. I do not like High School Musical, but yes, I do have a High School Musical "leash" on my keys. It is also rare that I shop at Haggen, Petco, Borders or QFC and yet I have all the discount cards hanging onto my keychain. The most deceitful thing I carry with me on my keys would be my membership card to Gold's Gym. This makes me laugh, I pay $50 a month so that I can think of running on the treadmill everyday. I never go. You might think I am a super-fit, ab-rockin' lady, I'm not. I like candy bars as much as the next person. I have nothing to hide. I am proud to be a messy, movie going, coffee drinking, simple yet crazy Mama.

Analysis Piece

For my analysis piece I chose the writing from the discussion board on traditions. The question was do we keep them, or toss them? This was certainly a contorversial question but without a doubt in my mind I know traditions should always be preserved. Traditions are what keep families bonded and strong. My writing made me think about some of the traditions my family has and I learned to sppreciate them a little more.

Don't let them fade.

In A Wobegon Holiday Dinner, Garrison Keillor talks about how he wishes he was with his fiancees' family on Thanksgiving instead of his own, he wished that he could escape his crazy family. People take their family togetherness and holiday traditions for granted sometimes not cherishing every moment they have together and not realizing how special the things they do together are. It might be annoying to go to Aunt Debbie's house for Christmas Eve every year because she lives in Olympia and it takes 2 hours to get there, but Aunt Debbie's won't last forever. When you're not drawing names for Secret Santa anymore and sitting there watching everyone open their presents one by one, pretending like it is exactly what they always wanted, you will miss that when it is gone. You can carry on Secret Santa when you have your own family and you can also create your own traditions that your children will pass on to their families. Keeping traditions alive keeps memories alive. Don't let them fade.