Trust

     I was in sixth grade attending Saint Bruno School when I broke the rules.  I had a good trusting relationship with not only my mom but my teacher as well.  I thought I was so cool that I was in Junior High and was considered as one of the “big” kids.  It was now time to attend the junior high school dances, have different teachers for different class subjects, and boys and girls were actually talking to each other rather than running away thinking the other had cooties.  It was the end of the second quarter when everything from good became bad.
    I had average grades in junior high in certain classes like History or English, but Math was a subject that didn’t come easy to me.  I struggled with something in every chapter and constantly had to ask for help.  Not only was it my hardest subject but the teacher who taught math was the eighth grade teacher, Ms. Running.  She has been the eighth grade teacher for many years now and everyone was scared of her.  She has the reputation for embarrassing you in front of the class and can call you out in anything.  She was a normal size older lady who always had her hair up in a bun everyday.  It was the same style through out the school year.  The only thing that changed was the different kind of bow clips that she placed next to the bun.  Now that I had her for almost two quarters now, she wasn’t as scary as everyone has told us. She really did care about each student and would keep working with you until you truly learned the material.  She was a tough teacher but everyone soon respected her as a person.  We all eventually had a close relationship with her.  Because I was on ASB Ms. Running and I had a closer relationship than most students.  We spent a lot more time with each other gathering fun school activities that we can do through out the school year.  The next event that we were going to hold was our Halloween dance.  We spent a lot of time together and she respected me as much as I respected her.  But I soon was able to loose that respect.
    As much as she could help me with my math I still couldn’t understand it.  She assigned the date of the test that was going to be on friday.  I studied all day thursday and when I took the test it felt as if I didn’t study at all.  I eventually turned in the test knowing that I had failed it.  The following monday she gave back our scores.  And sure enough I had a big fat F on my paper.  Ms. Running did her announcement that she does every time after a test. She told us to get our tests signed from one of our parents.  Her rule was everyday you don’t have your test signed you had to stay in her classroom rather than going out to recess.  I didn’t know what do.  My mother and I had made a agreement that if I do well on this test than I can go to the dance.  Going home that day I had a big knot in my stomach.  I didn’t know how I was going to tell my mom.  She was doing to be very disappointed and worst of all not let me go to my first junior high dance.  I went through the whole day with out telling her and finally before I went to bed she asked me how I did on the test.  Nervously I told her that Ms. Running didn’t have time to grade the tests over the weekend so we haven’t gotten the back yet.  She didn’t hesitate to question but said good night and left my room.  I felt a lil relieved that she didn’t found out but yet I still didn’t know what I was going to do.  I grabbed my test and then decided what I was going to do.  I grabbed my black pen and started to forge my mom’s name on my test.  After I was finished I put my test in my backpack and went to bed.
    The next I turned in my test and thought everything was going to be fine.  I went to the dance and had the time of my life.  However the following the day was the day I got caught.  Now Ms. Running didn’t come to me to tell me I was in trouble.  Apparently she saw my mom in the hallway and asked her to come in her classroom.  She showed my mom the test and asked if it was her signature.  My mom said no and that she was so embarrassed from my actions.  I got home that day thinking it was just a normal day, but my mom pulled into her room and asked for me to start explaining myself.  I bursted into tears and told her the truth.  She explained to me how disappointed she was in me.  She wouldn’t have yelled at me for failing a test but instead trying to find a way to get a tutor for me.  I felt disgusted with myself and couldn’t believe I did this to her or Ms. Running.
    I was grounded for a month, but that didn’t really bother me.  I lost my mother trust and Ms. Running.  I felt horrible.  I went up to Ms. Running and apologized.  She accepted it but she told me how much she felt betrayed.  She told I am so much better than that and I should’ve known better.  From then on I wasn’t going to betray my teachers or my mother like that again.  Instead of hiding things from her I will go to her from help.  She is there to talk and turn to and I need to take a hold of that.  And for my teachers they are there to help and if only asked Ms. Running to tutor me then I would have probably done a lot better on my test then trying to figure it all by myself.  People are there to help and I need to learn how to take advantage of that instead of running away and hurting people that are close to me.

A Place I Call Home

     Whittier, California is located in Los Angeles County, about 12 miles southeast of the City of Los Angeles.  It is a charter law city and was established in 1898.  It is the place where I first learned to walk, read, talk, and develop the characteristics that make me the person I am today. I grew up in the 1990’s when the internet was just going public and the teen pop boy band N’Sync was being played through out the world.  There are different parts of Whittier and from just going into a certain part of town you can distinguish between the north and south side of Whittier.  North Whittier contains of two story modern houses.  It also has house where Shia LaBeouf lived in, in his movie “Disturbia.” However I grew up in South Whittier which is less glamorous. South Whittier is the home of many hispanics and caucasian families.  And between two major streets, Leffingwell and Santa Gertrudes is where my off white house with aqua blue trims stands. 
    Green trees and laughing children riding down the street surround my neighborhood.  Parents in their neon jackets and brushed out long hair, wave hello as they push their children in the strollers.  My single story house was the third house down from the noisy main street, Leffingwell.  Where there is a tabacoo bar, two liquor stores, a mexican restaurant, and a cocktail bar.  And almost every night you can hear the different rock bands playing their music, along with the drunk men and women singing along.  But in the day time my street is where I can be free. We had enough grass in the front yard where my younger cousins and I played soccer every holiday.  It also has a long picked white fence that wraps around the house.  Not only can everyone recognize my house from the white picked fence, but also by all the different season decoration my mom puts up. Christmas is her favorite holiday and everyone on our street knows that.  However, we aren’t that family that has to have all the big christmas lights and decorations surrounding the yard.  But instead we have more decoration that are simple, yet bring the christmas joy.  And of course we have the right window blind up so that everyone who is passing by can see our magical christmas tree.  My house is very simple, but with a touch of my moms love it is a home rather than a house. 
    My family has many gathering occasions where we eat and enjoy each others company.  Although I love each one of my family members my neighbor, who I call Grandpa Sullivan, has touch my heart in many ways.  With his boston red sox hat that he wears almost every time I see him and his distinguishing laugh, everyone knows when he is in the room.  He has this warm and loving affect on my family.  He has been there since I was a little girl and now in college.  He shows me a lot of things in this world.  From never giving up to how to win a game of poker.  And now that my his wife has gone to heaven he stills writes love Grandpa and Grandma Sullivan on every christmas and birthday card.  Not only does he gives me presents but every Thanksgiving he makes the best apple pie.  The smell of cinnamon and fresh cut apples makes my mouth water.  And the sound of the crisp, flakey crust as the fork cuts into it.  Lets just say it is a piece of heaven.  It is one of a kind and so is my Grandpa Sullivan.  I learn something from him everyday and each time I see him he always leaves me smiling.  I have been calling him Grandpa since I can remember and he has influenced many characteristic that I hold today.
    I believe that the place where you grew up determined on what kind of person you are as an adult.  From your neighborhood to the people you live with, influence every part of you.  Because I did grow up in well kept neighborhood, I never had to hear any gun shots while at night or have my parents afraid of what can happen  to me.  Although I didn’t experience any of that my parents still protected me as if anything could happen to me.  Even though my parents protected me, they always allowed me to go run around in my neighborhood with my cousins and friends.  I have learned how to ride my bike, take a hit from my brother, and learn how to play different sports.  My sister and I were the only girls in our family so we learned how to be tough like a boy.  I did love my barbie dolls and make-up, but also couldn’t put down a basketball.  This kind of environment truly made me into the person I am today.  I am a girl who is independent and doesn’t have to have a guy in order to do things. I am able to stand up for what I believe and not let anyone tell me I am not worth it.  
    I think there is a lot to remember and learned about the place where I grew up.  I can look back at the mistakes I made and avoid them in the future.  Everyone that I was surrounded with through out my childhood has taught me things that I now hold as morals and values.  I am glad that I can remember my childhood as fun and eventful.  I can only hope that I can give my children an environment that they feel comfortable and bring happy memories. 

Who’s better?

When I look into a mirror I see a girl who is athletic, smart, compassionate, but I also see a girl with self-confidence issues.  And sometimes when I look into the mirror I see more of my flaws rather than my good characteristics.  Ever since I was in grade school I would compare myself to the people in my class, celebrities, and athletes.  I would see them as people I wanted to be like and how much better there were.  I found that I was comparing myself to others over things such as: the way they dress, their intelligence, their athletic ability, and their weight.  I don’t want to compare myself to others anymore and I want to change that about myself.

Comparing myself to others has caused my self-confidence in many ways.  If there is a group project and me and another individual are good act drawing, I will let the other person show our group on what a great artist she is.  Why do I do that?  It is because I think that she is a much better artist than I am and if I show her my work than she will think, why do I even call myself an artist.  I also won’t suggest anything for the fear of being rejected.  I think they are doing a better job than I could have ever done.  I see the others girl’s strengths as them being so much better than mine and therefore I just sit back and see others do things I should be doing.   I find myself beating myself down when there is no need.  I am too busy comparing myself to other people while I should be showing the world the things I am able to do.  And things that I am confident in.

Being able to know what I want to change about myself is the first step.  I am done comparing myself to others and now I am ready to accept who I am and not be afraid to show the world.  I am working on my own strength and weaknesses and knowing that everyone is unique.  Yes, maybe someone is better at something, but that doesn’t make them a better person than I am.  I may be better in something else while that can have that as one of their weaknesses.  Everyone is different and no body is perfect.  I have to be more easy on myself and know who I am and be confident in myself. 

I can do great things with my life when I don’t compare myself to others.  I don’t have to worry about other people’s lives and what they think abut me.  I will be able to try new things and be confident in the things I already do know.  And if I do compare myself to other people hopefully it will be more on how I can improve something rather than just accept that I’m not as good as them.  I have a lot to offer the world and I can’t let anyone or myself stop me.

Evaluation of "Memory: Mee Street and Beyond"

"Memory" can be found in The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman's Life written by Frankie Lennon.

6a.     The main idea in this chapter is for the author to introduce to the reader on what her memoir will be about and a glimpse of where the author came from.  This chapter was to grab the readers attention by putting some information about her background of moving to knoxville; yet letting us know that the rest of her book will show how knoxville made her into the person she is today.

6c.     The significance in this piece was to introduce her background and how knoxville influenced Frankie Lennon into the person she is today.  She did imply this in her chapter and it made me, the reader, want to read more and find out what truly did influence her.

7a.     The author uses a lot of description through out this chapter.  For example she uses a lot of description on page 4 and 5 when she describes the different flowers.  She fell in love with flowers and you can tell that was true by the way she described the different types of flowers.

7b.     Frankie Lennon transitions each paragraph by tying each topic together, making the chapter run smoothly.  She moves from one story to another, but they fall into place by the way she structured her paragraphs.

7c.     Lennon uses transitional phrases to move from one story to another.  This makes the chapter move smoothly.

9a.     In her conclusion paragraph I her Lennon's tone of voice being of reinforcement.  She writes, "People need to remember things.  Because memories tell a story.  Memories mark who you are."  She is reinforcing the readers to remember their memories because it can explain why the make you the person you are today.

9b.     One things that the author values are the flowers and seasons.  She values their beauty and the good effect they have of her.

9c.      She expresses her feelings by describing how they bring joy to her and when she thinks about these memories they bring happiness to her (page 5).

Superwoman

In the dictionary the meaning of the word mentor is a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.  Everyone has someone who they look up to.  It can either be an author, an actress, a sport athlete, or in my case my aunt.  Basketball was something I loved.  I was good at it and loved every minute of every game.  So I decided to try out for my High School basketball team.  I made the JV team as a starter and was having the time of my life.  It wasn’t until picture day when I found out that they decided to go in a different direction.  They decided I would be on the Freshman team.  I was so confused and most of all hurt.  My aunt was waiting for me until picture day was over and once I saw her I started to cry.  She told me that everything was going to be okay but in the moment it didn’t matter.  I was too hurt to think that I can overcome this.  From that moment on it was a battle for me to know how good I truly was, and it was my aunt’s determination and self confidence that helped me fight back.   

My aunt determination was the fist step to help me get through this difficult time.  I looked at my aunt and said, “Auntie, I don’t know what happened”  She told me that, “It’s okay Kelly.  We will get through this and show them that they made a wrong decision.”  A part of me knew that everything will be okay but I felt alone.  No one really knew what I was feeling.  I still couldn’t wrap my head around on why I was on the Freshman team.  I couldn’t turn to my friends because they were happy that they will be able to play with me.   I wasn’t saying that I wasn’t happy about that, but right then and there I felt betrayed by all three coaches.  Being my aunt she knew that I needed help.  She started practicing with me and helping me to improve my basketball skills.  She signed me up with clubs teams and pushed me to the best of my ability.  I soon started to improve but I wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for my aunt.  Honestly I would’ve kept complaining about not being on JV and not doing anything about it.  My aunt’s determination got me to play Varsity my Junior year.  

My senior year was the time for me to shine.  I was team captain and had a lot going for me.  Being the team captain has many responsibilities.  You have to lead the team to victory and hardly make mistakes.  But my coach didn’t understand that we are human and we do make mistakes.  My coach would yell at me constantly for things I thought I was doing okay at.  But in his eyes it wasn’t good enough.  It brought myself confidence down and soon enough I started dreading games.  I would be more afraid to make mistakes instead of playing because I love it.  My aunt notice that his actions and words were really affecting my playing.  She pulled me aside after one game and we sat down and just talked.  She told me about her experiences at her job and that her boss never gives her praises.  He takes her work for granted as my coach does for me.  She told me that yes it feels great to be praised but sometimes its not the case.  You have to turn his comments into positive and not take them too personal.  And remember you are suppose to be having fun.  You love this game and he shouldn’t bring you down. 

If it wasn’t for my aunt, my senior year would have been horrible.  I let the things my coach say affect my playing.  I saw her determination and self-confidence being qualities that I wanted in my life.  I will never forget my basketball years.  And although they were hard times but made me into the person I am today.  I am more determined to succeeded in the things I do and more confident in myself.  I can’t thank my Aunt enough for the things she has taught me.  She is someone I look up to and admire.  She is my mentor.  

The Gift of Cuento

1.  I liked how Cofer compared herself to Cinderella because I feel that every teenage girl is waiting for that “prince” to save them and live happily ever after with them.  I like how her uncle then said that you necessarily don’t need a prince to have fun.  Like in her other essay “Taking the Macho,” us women think we need a man to have fun.  But in this essay Cofer and her Uncle show to just enjoy life in the moment because you never know where it can take you.  

3.  I found how Cofer’s Uncle impacted her life interesting from a writer’s point of view because he influenced her into the kind of writer she is today.  His lifestyle was something she wanted and most of all his acceptance.  When she expressed how he finally accepted her in the end of her essay it really made me feel for Cofer.  She was Her writing made him satisfied at the end of his life and she did a lot for him with out of knowing it.    

5.  Nothing in this essay really bored me.  I found each story that the Uncle told was very interesting.  It was nice to see what an impact her made on Cofer’s life.  She was intrigued by his lifestyle and wanted his approval.  And she got that at the end of her essay when her Uncle told her that her stories gave her pleasure.  Cofer took this that he accepted “her gift of words.” 

Taking the Macho

1.  I liked the story in the beginning of the essay because it was nice to hear that the woman on the island were people of value.  The woman didn’t let the sailors in the story walk over them.  They demanded for them to go away and when they didn’t the women took charge.  The women didn’t let the men walk over them but instead they 

2.  Overall I really like the essay so it it hard to pick something I do not like.  But what I can say is that I didn’t like was how the men were surprised that the women could play ball as well.  Cofer writes that it was “disturbing to see the macho Conquistadors to see women and men going into battle together and playing pelota on the same team.” I didn't like that because men always think they are better then us women, and to me that is disturbing.  

3.  I found when she talked about how much courage is put into writing interesting from a writer’s point of view because I never really thought about that before.  I have always read fictions stories so I have never really been exposed to books where authors talk about their life.  It made me realize how much courage it does take for authors to tell the world what they feel and what they’ve been through.  

4.  I found how some cultures shape women roles interesting from a reader’s point of view because I see that in my family today.  My cousin’s mom is always doing the chores around the house and making sure that her husband is satisfied.  She does a lot for the family and doesn’t get a lot of credit.  It is hard to see this especially because no one has ever taught her that she also has value and doesn’t need to always play that “feminine” role. 

7.  I learned a couple of important things from reading this.  The first was that we don’t need men to determine how we live and I think that’s important because I feel that us women can be too dependent on men.  We think we have a certain role and it shouldn’t always be that way.  It is great to see that it is slowly changing through out the world. The second was when the men thought women being “macho” is contradiction in terms.  That is important because “macho” is defined as the male of species.  However women can be confident and can do things men do such as playing ball but that doesn’t mean they are “macho.”  It just means that women don’t have to be so dependent on men.