Sustainability Project

Saturday morning, I woke up with the view of the ocean. The first thing I did I ran to the dining hall and grabbed a beagle and cup of coffee to make my day better. I left the dining hall with my beagle and cup of coffee I went to my room and I enjoyed the view I have from my bunk bed. My bed is right in front of the window and it has the most beautiful view of both the ocean and forest. I am lucky to have been chosen to be in a dorm with a nice view. After my breakfast I decided to go out for a run early in the morning. It was fresh and I knew later it would get hotter so I enjoyed the freshness as much as possible. I ran for 4 miles at OPERS and let me tell you how great it felt for me to do that before the Sustainability Project because it gave me a lot of energy, working in the farm. For the sustainability project my section for core was taken to the farm from UC Santa Cruz. My C.A. took us walking to the farm, which I was totally okay with it but later I saw myself walking up some hills. I saw many people complaining and how much they wished they were in bed sleeping since it was a Saturday afternoon. The substitute C.A. started talking about her experience from last year and how she enjoyed the sustainability project because she was also taken to the farm project. Furthermore, we were able to get food that would be getting served in College Eight dining hall. Although, at the moment it seemed a bit difficult to trust the guy who worked there that the food we were going to get was going to be send to our dining hall. But I didn’t really care everything we did from picking up strawberries to the cleaning of them and boxing them was somewhat of work. Later, the tour guy took us around the farm and gave us information when the farm was founded. Overall, the sustainability project that College Eight made every student do was quite an experience because I learned that organic food is much healthier but again the most expensive.

Think Twice Before Sexting To all those “College Students”

            In today’s society privacy is no longer possible. Teenagers begin to practice sexual behaviors at a young age without realizing that they’re to naive to realize many of the consequences that results because of their actions. Adults as well as teenagers make the mistake of expression their affection and sexual attraction through nude photos and flirtatious messages believing that those messages will remain between the person and them. Many people see sexting as something that is casual and pay little to no attention to the implications in can bring to their lives. Sexting has increased in the past decade or so due to the explosion of electronic devices, causing sexting to be a rising issue between teenagers and adults. Many people who practice sexting disregard the legal consequences that can come with it and the scars that it leaves in the lives of the victims and people involved.

            Before jumping into a pool of sexting scandals and consequences it is very important to know what sexting is. According to the U.S court system, sexting is, “the act of sending sexually explicit materials through mobile phones.” These “sexually explicit materials” can be a text, photo, email, or video.

Teenagers in today’s society have access to technology at all times. They have their own cell phones, computers, ipads, you name it. With various electronic devices many teenagers have engaged in sexting. Parents do not have control over everything that children decide to do. As much as many people would like to point the finger to the parents because “they raised them”, it is no one’s responsibility to monitor anyone 24 hours a week, it’s impossible. In article published by Patricia Reaney, Sexting common behavior among U.S teens study, it was stated that 30 percent of U.S teenagers were engaged in sexting whether it be sending nude pictures through email or text. This results has proven that that act of sexting amongst teenagers is more common than more people believed it was. In a research conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch it was discovered that about half of teens have been asked to send nude pictures of themselves to someone. It was also discovered that 31 percent of the teenagers had asked someone to send naked photos to them. The age range of teenagers who were researched were 14 to 19 years old. 

(This is a study that I made for “my friends” who are involved and should reconsider before sexting).

Musica Latina

Today while I was in lecture hall, I noticed that everyone in my class was either texting or on Facebook it got me sad to see many people wasting so much time. I didn’t understand why they were so bored if today lecture was very interested. For example, I learned that 

Two African elements seen in Cuban music are collective participation and polyrhythm. Collective participation is an aspect of Cuban music that was adopted from traditional African socioreligious ceremonies. Large gathering where many people (over 1,000) participated in the ceremony by singing, dancing, clapping and playing together as a collective is something that originated in Africa. Many Africans were brought to Cuba as slaves from the 100’s to 1860’s and along with them they brought their traditions and as time progressed those traditions where combined with others to create what today is Cuban music. The collective participations in African culture influenced what is now that festive ambient that Cuban music provided.

The other African element that contributed to African music is polyrhythm. Polyrhythm is when two or more regular pulse patters are combined to create a much more complex yet addicting sound. Polyrhythm originated in west and central Africa and was adopted by Cuban music when Africans were brought to Cuba. It played in important role of providing that familiar background beat and is the reason why the drums are an important instrument in Cuban music. Not only is polyrhythm an African element itself, but it also influenced another element into Cuban music which is the call-and-response that is sung I’m many religious ceremonies like “bombe”. 

 

To much info but as you can tell I really enjoyed the lecture. I really wish my classmates would take the time and actually listen that way they will find it interested like me. 

Caffeine Addiction

College life has brought my caffeine addiction to an all time high.. I can’t even get through my morning without consistently yawning and it’s not even noon. I feel like I’m functioning at the speed of a snail. Just need a little fix. But how can it be possible when there is 50 plus pages of reading, 1-5 page paper, 1-4 page essay exam, 3 cups of coffee, and an in-class writing exam in 6 hours. This is the face of victory! Wassup 6:01  AM!?! Feeling like SUPERMAN Because I am. My body is also shaking…..ah! But there is also the time when it comes to studying (Like right now) the act of texting, eating and watching TV with an open textbook nearby is how it goes. But again so many things is happening in so little. I feel like I’m going crazy all the caffeine sure is keeping me awake. College life COULD BE HARD especially when you procrastinate this can often bring you to this situation I am right now. Please! Please! Please! Upcoming freshman don’t learn from my mistakes and do your work on time and take care of your health AND try to take at least one cup of coffee instead of 3 or more because than you will be like me!!! I feel like dancing!!!! AYYYYYEEE.

Procrastination in College

          Procrastination happens in our everyday lives, no matter how hard we try to focus on simple tasks, we always seems to diverge our attentions into something else that interests us. Procrastination can post a huge problem for people who have urgent tasks to do, however it can be beneficial for some because one can work best under pressure. Procrastination can range anything from watching TV, going on Facebook, or talking to friends. It has become one of the most significant time-management issues in our daily life. We need to learn how to deal with procrastination in a very productive way that will help us accomplish our tasks.

          Procrastination can involve a lot of different kinds of things. In my experiences, whenever I have a paper due, I open up a blank document on my laptop so I can start writing. Most of time, I tend to get stuck on how to begin my first few sentences. So I go on a social network such as Facebook or Tumblr, or go on my phone to check my Instagram or Snapchat. I tend to always have the need to be connected to the social world, to be always connected to my friends. They give me the sense of being in the social circle. For some, it can be a bad thing, however for myself, I think it is a good thing.

          Procrastinating is beneficial for me because it takes my mind off of things such as stress, a sense of crisis, or boredom. Sometimes I would go on the Internet to look for inspiration to think of something to write in my essay. In a way, it can out-weight the downsides of procrastination. For example, when a person has too many things on their mind, a little distraction can be really helpful to ease their minds and help them work more effectively in their tasks. One another benefits that you can get out of procrastination is that you can finish your tasks more quickly than usual. Some people like myself work better under the pressure of the clock. It may be one of the main reasons why college students tend to write their papers the night before it is due.

          While procrastination can be a good thing for some, however there is a downside to it. Procrastination can affect the outcome of a task, for instance, if you wrote an essay the night before and it met all the requirements for the essay but it turns out to be poorly written so it can affect your grade. Fortunately, there is a way to reduce out procrastination habits. The first step is to acknowledge that you have a procrastination problem, second step is to address the problem, and then lastly, to assure that it won’t happen again. These are the steps that I take to address my issues with procrastination.

         Procrastination is a big problem so it is important to learn how to resist the temptation to procrastinate. One of the ways that I deal with procrastination is that I ask myself if I wanted to go through all the stress and craziness to finish my tasks in time. I most certainly don’t want that so I plan my schedule ahead of time and do my assignments in a timely manner. When I achieve my tasks in time, I praise myself by telling myself positive things or doing something fun to reward myself for not procrastinating. It is important to set goals for yourself and set your mind into it. Planning ahead and time-management are the most important things to avoid procrastination.

Failing A Class First Quarter of College

          Attending the University of California, Santa Cruz has always been a dream that I never thought I would accomplish. Coming from the English Language Development (ELD) program in high school this dream seemed quite unrealistic. When I first received my acceptance letter, tears ran down my cheek. I would have never, in a million years, thought I would attend college. UC Santa Cruz gave me the opportunity to make this dream a reality. During orientation I enrolled in four classes, adding up to 18 units for my first quarter’s academic schedule. After my fall quarter ended, I learned that it wasn’t a good idea taking a high amount of units during my first year in college. I wish I had asked for help during orientation day before signing up for classes. I still remember when I first stepped into my College Eight advisor’s office. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. I did not know what to expect from my advisor, but I did know I would get in trouble for failing my psychology class during fall quarter.

          I was sitting down waiting for my advisor to call me in to talk about my academics this year as a freshman. It seemed like hours had gone by just waiting to be called in, but it only took a few minutes for Lauren Reed, my academic advisor, to call me in. Once I was in her office, it didn’t feel as bad as I thought it would be. She was very helpful and answered every question I had. I first began by asking her questions about a possible major, which were Anthropology or Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) combined with Politics. I then asked about some of the lower divisions requirements to declare these majors.

          According to Reed these two majors did not require any math. This got my attention even more and wanted to know what were the requirements. For Latin American and Latino Studies and Politics, I would need two lower divisions and seven core upper divisions with four core electives. For Anthropology there are three lower division courses: Anthropology 1, 2, and 3 and ten upper division courses with five Anthropology electives. This of course seems like a lot of work to do in four years but nothing compared to other majors such as, biochemistry and psychology. Their requirements were much more difficult, but again biochemistry and psychology were not my main interests.

          Reed went over the classes I needed to take for LALS and Anthropology for spring quarter. She also explained that I could possibly minor in Anthropology, since there were a few classes that can fulfill both majors. I was already taking one lower division class for LALS and she recommended me to take LALS 1 to declare LALS by the end of my spring quarter. Soon after, Reed created a spring and sophomore year plan for me to follow. She highly recommended me to take summer classes at my local community college if I was still considering Anthropology. For spring quarter I will be taking Spanish 1, LALS 1, and one politics class. During the summer I will take another politics class and Spanish 102. For my second year I will start taking some upper divisions classes.  

          Throughout my college experience, I learned to be more outgoing by participating in school organizations and applying to internships. I am currently an intern student through the College Eight Sustainability Internship course and I volunteer at Natural Bridges and the Arboretum, Tuesdays and Thursdays, making it 8 hours a week. This quarter really helped me realize that I was not a hands on kind of person. I do not like the fact that I would get dirty by working on the fields. I love having a beautiful garden back home but to plant flowers is not exactly my strong suit. Although I have learned about many of the Natural Bridges plants, for example, the milkweed that we have been planting are attracting butterflies to migrate into California, which is something interesting. With this internship, I have opened up many doors for myself such as with job applications or grad school. This summer I plan to look for a paid job internship that would allow me work with people. In my LALS class we had a guest speaker and they announced job opportunities for this summer for students majoring in LALS. There is this organization called El Centro and it helps the undocumented immigrant’s standing outside of Home Depot asking for jobs. El Centro mostly focuses on providing jobs for immigrants everyday, protecting them from discrimination.

          To be able to achieve my goals I need to put a lot of effort into all my classes and focus on my goals, which is going to keep me focused throughout college. I will need to stop procrastinating on my assignments; these are things, that in the long run will make a difference for incoming years. Thanks to this program called FOCUS2 the Career Center has created for students who are still unaware on what to major on this test is very helpful. It really helped me decided lower the main majors from my interest and this is why I came up with Anthropology and LALS.  

My Journey to College

I still remember the first day my parents brought me to UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) during move in day. My mom didn’t say a word while we were in the car. She seemed distracted that day when we asked her questions about where she wanted to go eat. Bloom’s theory on cognitive separation helped me understand why my mom was acting differently. A week before move in day she seemed to spoiled me a lot and would give me freedom to hang out with my friends late at night. This was unusual for my mom to give me so much freedom as well spoiling me. I am the oldest of two sibilance my sister Kimberly, 18 years old and brother Salvador 15 years old. My sister and I are very close, I knew it was difficult for her to see me leaving to college, since I was with her in high school and I would always give her rides everywhere. As for my dad he was cool about me leaving him because he knew I was going to be better of in college.

Being the first of the family to graduate high school with honors and attending UCSC it was a blessing for my family. My mom knew sooner or later I was going to move out and follow my life long dreams but she didn’t know it was going to be so soon. She was expecting me to go to University of California, Irvine but I decided the right school for me was UCSC. Although I did get accepted to UCI I didn’t want to be so close to home because I knew I would never learn to be independent if I was still there living under my parents roof. In Blooms theory this could consider to be “cognitive separation” because I wanted to be independent as well be treated as an adult rather as a kid. Although I am hours away from the house I am happy that I made the right decision by coming to UCSC. I have learned a lot more things about life, which later this will make me into a stronger person emotionally.

Stage three in Blooms theory about “emotional separation” brings to my knowledge on how difficult a loss of a son could be for any parents. When it was time for my mom to go back home she didn’t want to leave my dorm, she was sitting on my bed giving me advice about not doing drugs, and if I ever have a girl over to use protection and to not fell in love because that would distract me academically. I followed everything she asked me to do but the only thing I did not follow was felling in love during first quarter in college. I was in love with this girl I met during orientation, she seemed a gift from god because on my eyes she was perfect but later I learned I was wrong and she only got to hurt me. During finals weeks she broke up with me, which lead to failing a class first quarter, and of course my parents didn’t know about this otherwise they would have been concern about me.

This struggle of loving someone who hurt you so bad was something I don’t wish for anyone to have. I had trouble letting her go and move on with my life. I am so thankful that I had a few weeks off during winter quarter because I got to stay away of this drama and actually move on with my life. It is hard to see her around campus, time to time, but I know there is something out there better for me I just need to be patient. After reading Blooms theory I really got to understand the different concepts of life from a college student as well learning how to make some time during the week to talk to my family that way they wont feel so concerned about me. My parents, especially my mom is learning how to live without me and she knows I made this decision because I want to be someone important in life that way I can help them later in life.