Final blog post... Well maybe

Well this is it. I sound like Michael Jackson’s last concert tour. This my official last blog entry assigned by my English class. When I first heard that this course required us to create a blog,I must say I was ecstatic. Finally a place I could rant about my life. I must say it was a really fun experience but I found it annoying to conform to the “ limit 500 words”. Found a lot of satisfaction in seeing people's comments below my entries. I really tried making my entries as entertaining as possible. Perhaps I will continue to write, mostly about my funny adventures and art. I really enjoyed reading everyone's blogs and will like to wish everyone a great summer and best wishes in life after “English 101”.

Fun times with the art lovers



Edgar

Nick and I

Stephanie and her sister Donna

People may describe me as the fun loving type. Go ahead call me the spark to your life, the sprinkles to your cupcake. So this may prove to be difficult, to pick from the several occasions that fun factor was at hand. The most recent account of myself having fun occurred this semester. Despite the fact I no longer had my friends in any of my classes, I still manage to visit them during their art classes. Edgar, Donna,Stephanie,Nick and I took a painting class together last semester. Edgar and Donna and Stephanie I had been already be acquainted with each other from previous semesters. I had meet Nick during our drawing class. We soon became good friends;often cracking jokes and creating unnecessary drama! During this semester I was invited to join the class field trip to Oxnard's downtown art museum the “Carnegie Art Museum”. Needless to say I was super excited to visit this place I had pass by a billion times. We had to carpool with our mutual friend Rachel and her huge white van. It was so neat being among my friends in a different atmosphere beyond the classroom setting. We grand ole time observing the art pieces and taking photographs. Afterword we had a short lunch break. I pitch to visit the “Ghettoest place in Oxnard” for lunch. My friends were hesitant to go,claiming we would get mugged or attack by homeless people. Somehow I manage to convince them to give this place a chance. When we arrive the group split up, Edgar and Rachel went to the hot food counter and orderded one of the greasiest tacos I have ever seen. While Nick, Donna, Stephanie and I lined up to order Mexican style ice cream. When are orders were fulfilled we sat together in a beautifully decorated table and chairs. A wooden table with the table tops decorated with hand painted Mexican titles and bright colored metal chairs. We had our usual conversations that always end with people staring at us for being too loud. Edgar usually controlled the conversation often quoting the movie “Mean Girls” and the rest of us laughing at his colorful antics/comments. The ice cream was the creamiest and most delicious ice cream I've ever had,Coconut and melon flavor. Beyond the yummy food we had, I was in the company by of most wonderful people I have ever meet. These are the moments I truly have a great time. No need for loud music or a party environment. There nothing better than being among friends,art and food.

 

The Important people in my life

My beloved mother eating "Corn" flavored ice cream in her last trip to
Mexico.

One person who are important to me is my mother. I'm sure I'm not the only person how is writing about their mother. What can I say, I spend nine months inside of her womb. Talk about an intimate bond. My mom is of short stature and on some days a short temper. She has round figure and large brown eyes. Her skin reminds me of beautiful red clay pots and her she has long thin jet black hair with a couple of blades of gray. She is the queen of the kitchen and a lover of lively music. Dresses are her daily uniform. My Mother has been the engine of our home, things around the house would not run smoothly with her. She often bosses us around round,but I can truly say I respect her. She is wise and hospitable. My mother is the type of person that will always invite guest over for a meal. Guest will rave about how well she treats her guest when they come over. She puts a great deal of attention in meal planning and making people feel at home and appreciated. In one a occasion she prepared a great big turkey (Yucatean style) for guest that visited from Las Vegas. I inspire to be one day as hospitable as mother (When I get married and own a home).

That's my aunt on right.

Another element that is important to my life is my beloved aunt Emilia. She was been living with us since I was born. I see her as a second mother. On the days that both of my parents work she was the one that would feed and clothed us and take care of my brother and I . She has been described as the “life of the party”. The proud owner of the loudest laugh of my family. My aunt has been a great asset to our family, often helping with the laundry and bills. She is a pudgy women with dark skin. Her hair is shoulder length and styled in lose curls. She is beloved by her friends and bosses. The type of person that will leave a smile on your face. One moment that shines above the rest is that occasion that we visited our local “Dennys” restaurant. My aunt made woody remarks to the waitress. Our whole table started to crack up so loud that whole restaurant seem to be starting at us. I appreciate my “Tia” and all the help shes given my family. People like her make life a little more sweeter to live in.

My brother is another important person in my life. They say that we look a like but main difference is his height and he's obviously a guy. My brother is above six feet tall and red brown beard with flat brown hair. My brother is quite intelligent, he is familiar with anything dealing with computers. He's a gamer and often spends hours playing his online games. He can a jerk at times, not to wanting to share the TV control or his laptop. One thing is for sure that even if he doesn’t demonstrates, I know he loves deep down. My brother is the only man I feel I can trust, hes a hard works and he loves our mom. I remember the movement that both my mother and brother were heading off thought airport gates and my brother crying and embracing us (my aunt and I). “Take care, we will be back in a few days” he whispered hardly containing his tears. I felt the genuine concern in his voice.

Fast Food Nation and the burgers with poop!

Fast Food Nation what a book I must say! I went from a girl whose sweetest memories revolved around a table filled with food to a girl that is skeptical of whatever is placed in front of to eat. The author did a excellent job describing the places and people and situations. What really turn my stomach on its edge was the manner in which the author described the slaughter house conditions and procedures. I can no longer eat a burger with think there is excrement in it! I was bothered by the conditions that cattle live in; often living among there own poop! This led me to question the sanitary conditions of my households meals. What also alarm me was the chapter on  “E-coil”. It upsets to know that a government that supposed to protect us is easily manipulated by big money and corporations. It easier to pull out a toy from the market place than it is a piece of steak! Yep, and we consider ourselves a highly developed nation! Since reading this book, I'm on the fence on becoming a vegetarian or at least eliminating red meat from my diet. Something that is easier say said than done, especially in a Mexican household.

 

A Truth, A Fun Girl and College

In case you missed it ….
The truth is
I participated in a YOUTUBE video,where I played the wife of “ Pancho Villa” .
Surprise !!!

This was a final project for my film class done a couple of semesters ago.
I may not be the best actress but I sure had a heck of a lot of fun.
Here's proof .... Enjoy (go ahead laugh your face off)

http://youtu.be/NCOzSnkbyX0

After brief moment of comedy, I'm back to the real world. Sadly I can't be like “Cyndi Lauper” and be another girl that just wants to have fun. Well my semester started out amazing good. I had just quit my job of seven years in order to dedicate my full attention to my studies. This would be my first time ever as a full-time student. With a schedule dotted with classes, I was ready to pass all my classes with flying colors. But there came along a subject with many problems... math class! As much as I try to do the work I kept falling behind in class. I would lay awake in bed for hours, my restless soul would not find peace. My tormentor : math. My thoughts of not passing the class would torment me to tears. Math has never been my cup of tea. It bothers me to point of questioning my own intelligence and my capacity of one day ever transferring to a university. So I decided to withdraw from my math class. Leaving my worse subject on the back-burner for the summer semester.

During this semester, I also realized that having a home based internet PC is essential for every college student. Ohhh!!! How a car would make things much easier. I've also noted that I have an amazing group of friends! What has really challenged me this semester is time-management and my craftsmanship in my art classes. I've felt rushed though all my assignments, often losing sleep to finish a pending assignment. The work load has been decent. I’m in no way expecting people to hand me a college degree without shedding any “sweat, tears, or blood”. As cheesy and cliched as may sound, I know it's worth it. My goal is to graduated from this college and possibly transfer. There would no greater satisfaction than rubbing it in the faces of those called me names, to those that never believed in my dreams, to those who saw me as an number in the system. That's what keeps me motivated!!!

Dreaming in vivid color's truth ! No one got the right answer !

For those who where wondering with one is the truth....
The answer is No. 4 !!!!!
I participated in a YOUTUBE video,where I played the wife of “ Pancho Villa” .
Surprise !!! 

This was a final project for my film class done a couple of  semesters ago.
I may not be the best actress but i sure had a heck of a lot of fun.
Here's proof .... Enjoy (go ahead laugh your face off)

http://youtu.be/NCOzSnkbyX0

Truth & Lies

 Sometimes it's difficult to tell apart between the truth and a lie.
So let's just play a game....
Can you spot the one truth from amoung the lies.

 

1.I speak French fluently (Je pense que le français est une langue si romantique) .

2.I have won several awards; because of my art work.



3.I own 23dresses ( I only wear them in the spring/summer)


4.I participated in a YOUTUBE video,where I played the wife of “ Pancho Villa” .



5.I have a secret obsession with 80's fashion.

 
6.I've almost burn down our kitchen while baking chocolate chip cookies. (no one got hurt, except the oven mitts).

 

Thrifting

A couple of years ago, I discovered the magical world of “Thrifting”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term ; allow me to enlighten you. “Thrifting” refers to act of shopping a secound hand stores (Thrift stores). Not only are prices reasonable but you can find one of a kind items. There is no great trill than finding a dress that with a few alterations can be turn into a fashionable gem. Countless are the compliments i have received from my peers about my thiftstore finds. It's intresting to watch people reactions to the knowlege of where i have acquired most of my clothes. I highly encourage people to check out the “Thrifting scene”. While shopping at these places I also suggest an extra dose of patience and the upholdment of a couple “ground rules of Thrifting” (rules are mention in the video below).Before you watch any videos allow me to introduce to you “THE GIRLS WITH GLASSES SHOW” host by Brooke White and Summer Bellessa. These girls will guided you along with a couple helpful hints and rules in thrifting. Happy Shopping and good luck.

Art: More Than meets the eye



"The Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci

"Number 8" by Jackson Pollock

What is art? Art can be anything from a beautiful portrait created by an grandmaster of art to “ thoughtless” splatters of paint on canvas . Artist have been belittled by the general public because of their “effortless- looking” art. Paintings have been poked fun as “Even I could do that!”. Before deciding to become an art major, I shared the same attitude. I've taken a couple semesters of art classes ,which have reshaped my perspective on art . I have learn about the artists themselves and how events and individuals had influence their artwork. I also had great pleasure of creating my own pieces of artwork. In doing so I discovered the great deal of work there is in being an artist. One must gather materials, visualize what you wish to paint, lay down a blueprint, mixed paint (intill your reach your ideal colors), and apply paint. Mixing colors is perhaps the most difficult part in painting especially if the piece has five hundred different colors in it. Painting not only physically exhausts you, it can also do an number on your emotional being. When I paint, I deal with several emotions than often translates onto the canvas. Colors and brush stokes become a way to express my emotions. My paintings become an extension of me, they carry feelings and stories of the time it was created. My opinion on art was been changed, from being a plain apathetic viewer to an artist that is fully engrossed in the progress in creating art. This did not occur over night but it took a couple semesters to greater appreciate even the most simplest form of art. Now and days,when looking at art I inspect every single brushstroke and try to decipher what the artist is trying to communicate with to the viewer. I now grasp the idea that in art there is much more than meets the eye.

 


"Abuela's Huipil" By Ana Mena (yours truly)

Heads of Household

          Topically when you hear the words “ head of household” you think of the “Man of the house”.

This not the case in my own home. Despite me living in a relatively traditional household, my father has never been the type of man that would stand up for his family. For as the long I can remember, my mother has been fierce defender of the family. Willing to lay down her very own life to the well being of her children. She can be best described as a saint. Her hands have the ability to soothed a broken heart and too create twenty different dishes using chicken. Over the years she's worn several different hats, she been a friend,lover,wife,mother,teacher,counselor,psychologist, religious leader, chef,cleaning lady, interior decorator, bed-side nurse, mind reader, economist, event planner, tailor, laundry specialist, personal shopper,tutor and the list goes on. To the average person this maybe prove shocking but to my beloved mother this all in a day's work. My mother is of short stature with a round shape and large chocolate brown eyes. Her ivory long hair flows all the down her low back, which she tries keep in a neat high bun. Her skin is reminiscent of the red clay of Arizona. There are days she wakes up as a complete different women. She losses her saintly-hood and becomes irritated even by the most insignificant ant crossing the kitchen counter. In contrast we have my father who once was a tall and slender man but due the years no longer looks like the photographs of his youth. His facial features now resemble that of popular “Hanna-Barbera” cartoon character “Droppy”. His head is now dotted with blades of gray hair and his pale skin has been weathered by the of the passing years.

My mother once described my father as type person that could start a conversation with every living person on earth. Now and days my father is soul bread winner of the family,since my mother health enables her to be in a regular job. My Father has supported our household financially for the past sixteen years by means of working a fast food place in the city of Camarillo (he has been working since the age of 16).Along side my mother's wit and my father income, in the year 2001 our family was able to finance our first home. As the nation's recession hit our household we realized that it would take much more than a stable income and brainpower to keep our house. Even now after 2 years of losing our home, I still see my parents as very qualified parents. I note that both of my parents complete each other acting as a Mexican verison of the “Ying-Yang” tradition. They are the embodiment of popular phrase “behind every great man there stands an even greater woman”.

Dennys Carranza: The interview with a new friend

Today I had the great pleasure of interviewing a person that a couple of weeks ago was only a stranger, but now is a great friend. Dennys Carranza describes herself as a nice,independent and hard working individual. Her family is of Mexican decent and consist of her parents and two younger brothers. Her entire life has been spent in the city of Oxnard, she is an alumni of Rio Mesa High school (graduated in 2009).When asked what was her motivation to attend college, she mentioned that she was eager to set an example for her younger siblings. Another reason was that she acknowledge the fact that both of her parents had no formal education and she wants to be the first person in her family to earn a degree. In addition, her younger brother is a source of inspiration because had undergone a lot in his life. Her brother had been teased about his weight and began self mutilating himself . He had also had an issue of his sexual identity. Despite all he had undergone he manage to overcome all of the issues he faced. When asked if she felt she was a mentor, her younger sibling was the person that came to mind because they share many similar tastes.

Currently, Dennys is enrolled in two classes here at Oxnard College. She is taking an English and a health class, during the afternoons she works part-time at a local supermarket. When it comes to balancing her schedule between family,school and work; Denny says “it's stressful but doable”.I also asked my new friend where she envision herself in five years, she envisions her life in pursuit of a nursing career, possibly married with two kids (three kids max). Dennys' goes by the motto “Si Se Puede” to be successful in school. She expresses what she likes about Oxnard college is the people she has met and the teachers that have shown passion for their work. What she dislikes are the few classes offered and how counselors should be more resourceful and efficient. Dennys also tells me how her culture has motivated her to be a college student, she wishes to break the stereotypes to become an independent and educated women. Dennys tells me that the biggest surprise she had in her college experience has been the price of textbooks and the big contrasts between high school and college.

The Quinceañera: The Perfect Pair of Heels

       In the life of any traditional Latina, there are two important dates. One is the day she walks down the aisle dressed in white and the other day she becomes a young woman at the age of fifteen. My Quinceañera was no exception, but what I didn't anticipate was all the drama. Planning a Quinceañera is not an easy task. Before the huge celebration, there are tons of planning, cooking and errands to run.

It was a Saturday morning, and the entire neighborhood was dotted with yard sales. “What color did you have in mind for your dress?” my mother asked while she stirred the pancake batter. “No clue? Anything but pink, it's been done too much,” I replied. “How about red?” suggested my aunt across the kitchen. “You can't be serious! Do you want me to look like a giant tomato?” I yelled back. Later that evening, my color options were narrowed to the color peach. Now that I had decided on the perfect color, we had to decide on what the dress would look like, where we would acquire this dress from, and of course the cost.

    “I don't want one of those puffy dresses like those other girls!” I told my cousin who had come to visit the family. “It would be problematic to move around all those people in a huge dress,” I shrugged. While sitting in our old worn out brown sofa, my mother suggested, “How about you have your cousin sew you a dress; she's a seamstress after all.” The idea sounded rather good to me. In a blink of an eye, I found myself in the center of our white tiled living room having my measurements taken by my personal seamstress, my cousin. About two weeks later she came back, this time with a large party bag decorated with an image of an elegant young women dressed in a formal Victorian style dress and the words “Para la Quinceañera” printed on the outside of the bag. Inside of it was a carefully folded dress. It was the dress of my dreams, I began to weep. The dress had been fashioned out of a shimmery peach colored fabric. The hems of the skirt reached to my ankles while the top portion resembled a corset. She had also added wide straps for comfort and a matching “Bolero jacket” to cover my bare shoulders and back.

With the dress all done, we moved on to the accessories for the soon to be “Quinceañera”. We visited several shops and found the traditional diamond incrusted tiara with a matching necklace. However we lacked one thing, the perfect pair of heels. Being a tall girl means having extremely large feet. I wear a size ten. For most of my life, I had only worn sneakers and flip - flops. I had no idea how to properly walk in this “life endangering footwear”. Owning a pair of high heels never really crossed my mind, not in until a couple of days before the party.

       My family and I visited several shoe stores, always finding the right style but never the right fit. “Welcome to blah-blah shoes can I help find your perfect pair?” said an older woman with the largest insincere smile, big puffy red hair and a face smeared with heavy make-up. This had been store number fourteen; I was hungry, and had given all hope in finding the perfect pair of heels. “Yes, we are to looking for some nice formal dress shoes for my daughter’s Quinceañera” said my mom for the fourteenth time still with the same sense of pride as when we first began our search. ”Oh yes ma'am, can you please follow me “. We followed her through the dimly lit, narrow aisle of the tiny shoe store. The place reeked of foot odor and loud mariachi music played on the speakers. “This is our Palace Princess collection; we have a variety of styles, colors and sizes” said the woman with her best T.V host voice. “Not another sales pitch!” I began to think while I scanned the whole store expecting to find something to distract me. Right away I was seated on a small stool and handed several boxes of shoes to try on. I was reluctant to try any of the shoes. I stared into my mother’s big brown eyes half expecting her to say we should move on to the next store. “Hurry, missy we don't have all day your father has been up since 4 A.M and he wants to go home and rest. To avoid any arguments I gave in to my mother's request and began placing my aching feet inside an obviously used strappy heel. I began to make up excuses for each pair of shoes placed in front of me. The sales woman was determined to sell us the product and hand us a booklet and suggested us to order of the catalog.

      We walked out of the shop; I felt a sense of relief of to breathe fresh air. My mother’s face no longer carried the same enthusiasm as before; she now carried her head closer to the ground as we walked to our forest green Chevy Silverado truck. We had been at it since nine in the morning and the sun had already set on my dream of finding the perfect pair of heels. In my mind, I imagined Prince Charming searching for me with glass slippers but he was too late and this modern Cinderella had to retire back into her tower.

       That night I closed my eyes and began to dream, I saw myself standing in front of the church alter wearing my perfect dress, with my hair very intricately curled. The Pastor now stood on the platform and began praying and giving thanks to God for allowing me to live up to this very special date. As the prayer ended, I turned around to face the congregation and loud applause erupted followed by an avalanche of loud mean- spirited laughter and whispering. Confused on what was happening, I looked down at the crowd and noticed a little girl pointing at my feet. Slowly my eyes followed the contours of my dress until I reach my feet and noticed I was wearing outrageously big, ruby red, plastic clown shoes.

“Wake up!” my mother cried as she entered my bedroom. It had been a nightmare, yet the image of those red clown shoes were now impregnated into my mind. “I have to make a payment at Kohl's, and was wondering if you wanted to join me and your dad.” murmured my mom as she realized that I still trying to wake-up. The car drive seemed to last for an eternity, as I stared at the window watching the cars passing by. When we arrived in the parking lot, I noticed a great red banner with bold white letters draped over the building next to Kohl’s. The banner declared “Famous Footwear Now Open”. I figured one more shoe store wouldn’t do me any harm. So I dragged my mother through the glass doors of the new shoe store. The place was spacious and sleek looking. Thousands of shoes were laid out on display. As we went down the aisles my mother warned ,“If we don’t find those shoes here, you’ll have to wear flip-flops.” I ignored her, and then suddenly we stopped in the clearance section of the store. I skimmed the shoe racks and from the corner of my eye I noticed a shoe with the identical color of my dress. My heart began to race as held my breath to reach for the plain white shoe box. There it was the perfect peach color pointed toe kitten heel in a size 10! My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe my eyes; was this miracle I had been praying for? I held the box like a newborn baby and carried it to the cashier. “Did you find everything you need today?” said the handsome young cashier. “Yes I did!” I said. I handed him the box and he gently scanned it on the scanner. “Blip” sounded the computer “Your total today will be $8.37” said the cashier. I had been so much in a hurry that I didn’t even notice the price. This only sweetened even more the deal.

The day of my Quinceañera came and went. It was beautiful, the food was delicious and the ceremony made many faces tear up. I received several compliments on my gown; several guest ask me where I had purchased it. I replied that it was a custom made dress by a very special designer. Ironically, no one really notice my shoes !

What I learned that day was beyond my journey of finding the perfect pair of footwear. It was the importance of family, faith and continuously keeping hope when all seems dark. Even if I had entered the church barefoot, it wouldn’t even matter. What mattered was giving thanks to God for another year of life.

The Origins Of Texting

SMS (Short Message Service), the fastest form of communication ever created in the modern world. E-mail, in comparison only takes an average of 48 hours for a person to open it. Receiving or writing a text only takes a matter of seconds. The texting was first developed in 1984 by the GSM Corporation by a German engineer named Friedhelm Hillebrand and by his partner Bernard Ghillebaert. During its launch years, it wasn’t as popular as it is today. The reason was because it was created to cater to the hearing impaired. It was not intill around the year 2000, when texting started to gain popularity. This was due to the fact that making phone calls become rather expensive. A recent study done by the University of Queensland in Australia has put texting as additive as smoking cigarettes. Let’s face it text messaging was been among us for 20 years, and its shows no signs of decline. What is of concern, are the effects it was on individuals lives. Texting and driving has been the cause several hundred of deaths around the U.S. It has also harmed classroom environments by proving to be a distraction and a tool for cheating on tests. It’s provided an avenue for young girls to expose sexually explicit photos of themselves. Texting may proof to be speedy but has showed to have some negative effects on our society. What’s for sure, (and billions of teenagers would agree) is that a world without texting would quite “boring”.

When Reality Hits Our TV's

“Have you heard Kim Kardashian is pregnant?” “It can’t be, isn’t she still technically still married to Kris Humphries” I overheard two girls on the bus say. My TV screen keeps flashing the latest news about these nameless, beautiful people. My knowledge of these “Celebrities” is very limited due to the fact, that our household only has a limited range of TV channels. Reality shows, yes they are my guilty pleasure. No I’m not a fan of “Keeping up with the Kardashian’s.” I really don’t care for any of the “Real housewife’s of Atlanta or any other cities for that matter. The shows I do enjoy are “Master Chief”, “Kitchen nightmare’s “and “Hell’s kitchen”. My brother and I often stay up late, waiting up for our favorite shows. We both share a similar taste in TV shows; we both enjoy shows that deal with cooking. What bothers me about reality shows are the obviously scripted shows, catfights, name calling and the fake marriages. They are willing to do anything to earn high TV ratings. The producers sit around all day thinking of way to gain more viewers. It’s seem that any one can’t become an overnight celebrity as long they are willing to strip naked or act like a crazy person. I think that some reality shows are harmful to society especially for young girls. Young girls, look up these women that live lavish lifestyles and have bodies that are unreachable to the average girl. Those images have the power to promote the wrong portrayal of what women should look and act like. Sadly these women are not often praised for the character but put on a pedestal for shallow, superficial reasons.

On the other hand we have reality shows that take average people and subjective them to a series of tests to determine who is capable of leading a multimillion restaurant. I figure if I’m able to relate to what I see on TV; I’m more likely to sit and spend to two hours of my precious time. As full-time college student, having free time to watch TV was turn into a rare commodity. Long gone are the days I would sit up in bed watching marathons and Spanish soap operas. My must say that I do enjoy watching sitcoms. I truly appreciate the work of creative story tellers and the way great actors and actresses make these pieces of paper come alive for the whole world to enjoy. I personality find it more stimulating watching this type of programming rather than find out if “Nicole got her nosed done by plastic surgeon south of the border.” I would much rather watch the comical acts of Steve Carell on “The Office”. Since the year 2000 several reality shows have popped out into the small screen. Some the have questionable moral ethics while other are viewed as inspiration to thousands across our nation. Other programs help to shed light onto issues that are often misunderstood by the general population. Reality TV is sword of two edges; it can be a force for good or it can create a shift in the point of view for the average American. It up for viewer to decide, he or she should whether to flip the channel or simple turn off the TV.

The Fast Food Diet

                                               

            Fast food, the word its self brings to mind: salty, sizzling hot, crispy French fries. The fast food industry and I have a long history. As child, I had two parents that were employed by McDonalds. I would often inundate my parents with requests for “Chicken nuggets” (I didn't really fancy their burgers much, except their chicken sandwiches). As a family we would mostly indulge in fast food meals during the weekends. After roaming the hallways of the mall, it became customary to have either breakfast, lunch or dinner at fast food place. Our family favorites include “El Pollo Loco” and “Carl's Jr's.” We would usually gather around a family meal which was composed by ten pieces of citrus marinated grilled chicken, Spanish rice and pinto beans. Our plate also included a small bundle of warm corn tortillas and fresh “Pico de gallo” (salsa). At Carl's Jr's each person in my family had different pick. Personally I would order the chill cheese fries or a Guacamole turkey burger or their chicken tenders with ranch dipping sauce. I really enjoyed these times with my family, while enjoying our meals we would have conversations about our week and often crack jokes share many laughs.

 

                  Currently my fast food habits have shifted a bit. After visiting my doctor, I was banned from all dairy products, spicy, sweet and sour foods. So when ordering from the menu, I take into consideration my new dietary restrictions. After having my weight yo-yo up and down the scale last year, due to stress and the holidays, I decided to really watch my caloric in-take. I can't promise to completely ban fast food from my life, but perhaps only eat half of my portions. I don't really rely on fast food; I try to pack my own lunch to school. The allure of a great bargain may prove effective on me, with the prices of groceries spiking up from previous years it sometimes hard to resist. For me, a home cook meal is far more appetizing than a “Big Mac.” I guess it has to do with knowing what is in your food and taking part in cooking and preparing it. I like to think about my as self – proclaimed “wanna - be foodie”.I Often having my mother and aunt have a fit for dirtying a whole sink with pots, pans, spoons, measuring cups . One thing is for sure, I enjoy cooking and trying new foods from different cultures. Perhaps this year I may want to introduce new flavors and embrace a rather healthier diet. I know the struggles of trying to lose weight, there's no easy way to do it. It's childish to think that one can take a couple of pills and wake up looking like super model. Losing weight shouldn’t be exclusively for vanity reasons ( althought most women think this way), but it should also be with the intent of bettering your overall health.

My Past, My Present and My Future

          The name is Ana; my close friends refer to me as "Chati" (Nickname given to me at birth by my beloved aunt). I recently turned twenty-two years of age as of couple days ago (January 9th was my birthday). My family consists of my two parents, an older brother, and my aunt. I was born in Ventura, California but raised in the sometimes-boring city of Oxnard. Our neighborhood is quite crowded and the police department addresses domestic disturbances regularly.

            I had a relatively “normal” (The word normal has different meaning depending on who you ask) childhood. I attended Kamala Elementary where things got a tiny bit complicated. I noticed there was an evident difference between my fellow classmates and myself. I was taller and chunkier than everyone in class. As time passed I became a little shy and awkward. I was always craving to "fit in" with the rest of my classmates when all I could do is stand out. Bullying became a part of my daily life, causing me to be self-conscience about my looks. It was not until the culmination of my high school career that I come to my own and develop a rather healthier self-perception of myself.                                                                                                                                         

             After seven long years working in a small library in Port Hueneme, I decided to move on to become a full-time college student. This is after reconsidering my priorities to place a higher level of dedication to my education. I recently became interested in the field of Art Therapy. I've always had an infatuation for anything that relates to the arts (as a kid I owned buckets full of crayons and markers). I believe this career would definitely fit my personality and my interests. It combines my caring nature and desire to be of help to others and of course art!

           As for my future, I would like to complete my studies.  I want to help those who are hurting through Art Therapy. I hope to one day meet the man of my dreams and fall in love and married. I envision myself owning my home and hosting dinner parties for my friends. I anticipate having a rather financially stable household and safe and warm environment for my future children. I'll pray to God and will do my best to fulfill my dreams and goals. In the end of my days I’ll hope to have the satisfaction to say that I gave it my all.