universal studios

One of the most memorable moments in my life was when I went to universal studios with my cousins and my aunt and uncle. My family came down to visit from Salinas California over the summer of 2012.  They came down to Oxnard so we could go to universal studios for my cousins 15th birthday. Since my cousin Saira didn't want a party she decided to just go to universal studios. This was a great time not just because I got to go to universal studios but because I hadn't seen them in forever. I also got a free season pass for the rest of the year and that was great. My aunt paid for my ticket and my food so I spent my money on things I wanted to buy.

Before we entered universal studios we went to eat panda so we wouldn't be hungry right when we got in, since the food inside universal studios is really expensive. Once we got in we made sure we took a lot of pictures. We went into the haunted house first but we didn't make it to the end because my cousin got scared and we decided to get out. But seen everyone's face when they got scared was priceless. We also went on the new transformers ride and it was incredible. We went on all the rides and we had a blast. I would never change that moment for anything. They spent another more week at our house and we had other amazing memories that I would never forget.

5lies 1truth

11  I have two jobs

22    I moved out when I was 18 years old

33   I do drugs

44    I was 16 and pregnant

55   I have 16 nieces and nephews

66 I dropped out of high school

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Role Model

Casillas is my favorite goalie. Since I am also a goalie I really admire his skills. I started liking him about 2 years ago. I really enjoy watching his games because I feel like I learn from him. He is a great role model and I look up to him.

Change in My life

Over time my opinion about friendship has changed. When I was younger I thought friendships last forever then I thought it didn't and now I think it does again. As I grew older I realized that even the strongest friendships come to an end. Sometimes life and other factors like moving house or moving schools is what causes the friendships to end. When I was growing up I had a couple of good friends but the fact that my family would move a lot it didn't make my friendships last long. When my family decided to move from Salinas to Oxnard is when I really thought friendships was just something temporarily. I lost all the friends I had and I was afraid to make new ones because I thought I would end up moving again and I would not have them around. And I was right! Even when we moved here in Oxnard we would still be moving houses and therefore I would be moving schools as well leaving me with no friends one again. I kept on making friends but I never really got real close to them because I knew something would come up and I would end up moving or they would end up moving. Finally when I started junior high my family got a home in El Rio and I knew we would be there for a long time. I made a best friend and we were really close. I thought we would be best friends for a long time but unfortunately we ended up going to different high schools and we grew apart. After that I really thought life would always be like that. Especially after high school, since I stopped talking to most of my friends. I only talk to a few of them now. Now that I'm in college I came to realize that there are some friendships that can last a life time. My best friend now is someone I know will be there for a long time and us moving will not affect our friendship. I know this because we are more independent now and we drive. So if either of us moved we will make time to see each other and hang out and talk.

My first job

My life changed on a sunny Thursday morning when I decided to apply at El Pollo Loco. El Pollo Loco located on Saviers and Channel Island on the south side if Oxnard. My friend Giovanni had told me they were hiring so I decided to go and apply. As I was driving away, I passed by Toppers Pizza. As I passed by I wondered if they were hiring. I hesitated to go in and ask but for some reason I decided to go and check. As I walked in, I saw a hiring poster. I walked up to the cashier and asked her for an application. She handed it to me and I went to my white Honda and filled it in. Once I was done I went back to the store and I turned it in, hoping for an opportunity that would change my life.

As I drove off onto Saviers Road I prayed that I would get a call soon. I had just finished the 2012 spring semester at Ventura College and I was going to have all summer to do nothing. I wanted to get a job before fall semester started so I could have some money saved up to pay for classes or my books. That same day after I drove off, I went to Annie, my best friend's house. I told her about my application and she was also hoping I would get a call soon. Around 3:30pm I decided to go home. As I was waiting on a red light on the corner of Vineyard and Oxnard Boulevard, I got a call from Kenny, the Toppers store manager. I was afraid to get a call so soon and also because I was talking on the phone while driving. While I was on the phone with Kenny, I was nervous. He asked me if I could go to an interview with him at 5:00p.m. on that same day, I said "I would love to." After that, I was done talking to him. Right away, I called my best friend Annie, my two sisters, and my mom to tell them about the good news. After that I went home and I got something to eat and then I went to the interview hoping for the best.

It was 4:40p.m. when I got at Toppers for my interview. I had to wait twenty minutes until Kenny the store manager got there. As I waited, the other employees were really friendly to me. They asked me what position I was applying for. The nicest person there that day was the assistant manager Azucena. When 5:00p.m. came Kenny got there and we started my interview. Kenny seemed like a nice guy but he was really intimidating as well. He asked me about school and he also asked me if I just wanted to work during the summer or if I was planning on working there longer. I told him I wanted to work there longer not just during the summer. As the interview went on he hired me on the spot. He told me the salad bar lady Agueda was going to be gone for six weeks because she was having a baby and I would have to cover for her. He also told me that when Agueda was back I would be moving to making pizzas or to cashier. I agreed with the offer and I was ready and excited to start working. Before I could start working, I had to go home and do a healthy food test online. The test was fifteen dollars. I had to read for about two hours and I had to get 70% or better in order to get my health food certificate. The test was long and boring but I was able to pass with 83%. That same Thursday I went back to Toppers and I turn in my certificate to Kenny. After I gave it to him, he gave me a paper with the things I would be able to wear to work. He also gave me the Toppers office address so I could go there and get my uniform. The next day I went to the office at 8am. They gave me two Toppers shirts, a visor and an apron. 

Once I had my things I called Kenny and told him I had my work stuff ready. That same Friday morning he scheduled me to go in and work at 5:00p.m. I agreed and I was scare and nervous to go in and work. I had to wait about five minutes to be able to clock in because once again I had gotten there earlier than I should of. Once I clocked in, my training began and with that I realized how hard it was to keep the salad bar clean and filled up all day. For about an hour I had to read a book about how to work the salad bar. After I was done with the reading, one of the assistant managers started my training. The assistant manager that trained me was named John. He had long hair. He was real nice and he was also good looking. He showed me everything I needed to learn about the salad bar. One of the most important things I learned was the phrase "first in first out," which means that whatever goes in first has to come out first and be put on top of the new item. Another thing I learned was the rules of the salad bar. I had to make sure people didn't abuse the salad bar. I had to make sure they only went once and I also had to make sure they didn't take advantage of the croutons and the ranch. The next day was a Saturday and I had work in the afternoon. It was a busy Saturday but luckily I had Danny to help me keep the salad bar clean and to go over the things I had learned the day before. She was really nice and told me about a lady that was hired to work salad bar but she quit after only one day of working. As the day went on that Saturday night I realized why the lady had quit. The salad bar is the most complicated position to work at Toppers. After that day I had to work the salad bar for about two months. Things got better and easier as time went by.

Working at Toppers has giving me the chance to have a first good working experience. Working there I learned to value my money more than I had before I started working. It made me realize how hard people work for their money. I worked six days a week for about forty hours weekly. Once I got my paycheck the money would go by so fast. I had trouble saving. I didn't know how to handle my money. As weeks went by, my mom decided to charge me for rent and bills. She thought that way I could have an idea of how much harder it would be if I was on my own. She stopped charging me after a while but since I realized how much money is wasted in rent and bills, I decided to give her some money every time I got my paycheck so she could have it easier on her.

Another thing I learned from my first job at Toppers was to keep my life balanced. I had to learn to balance work, school, soccer, and my social life. I had to make sure I kept up with everything I was doing. With all this going on, I had to make sure I didn't slack off on anything because then I would be stressing over everything I had going on in my life. Another thing I learned was to be more responsible and make sure I took responsibility for the things I did whether they were good or bad.

Toppers has been a great working experience. It has showed me a lot of things I wouldn't have learned if I was to stay home doing nothing all summer. It has also made me a better more mature responsible person. I have to make sacrifices since I’ve been working there but it has only made me realized that sometime you can’t get all you want and you have to make sacrifices. It has also made me appreciate my friends and family more since I have less time to spend with them.

"txt" messages

Text messages are taking over people’s social life. At least that’s what most grownups say. Most people tend to communicate with people via text messages than having a face to face conversation with them. People worry that all of these text messages will soon affect people’s social skills. Personally I don’t agree with that because most teenagers do tend to revolve their life’s around text messages but just because they text all day long doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t go out and interact with their friends. We just don’t have enough time to hang out with all the people we know; therefore we need to text some of them instead of having a face to face conversation.

I love to text, especially when you are trying to keep in touch with friends that moved away or with friends that go to different schools and you don’t get me see often. One thing that does bother me about text messages are the people who send them. I hate having friends that are always on their phone when you are with them but as soon as you text them they take forever to reply or they don’t reply at all. With that said keep on texting but don’t get too caught up in those text messages and forget about the people that are there for you whether you text them or not.

reality shows

Reality shows

Reality shows can be something so addicting. Something you sometimes can’t stop watching because they are so interesting and fun to watch. Like many people I am someone who watches reality shows most of the time when I’m watching television. Some of my favorite reality shows are Keeping up with the Kardashians, Khloe and Lamar, Mrs. Eastwood and Company, Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, The Real World, The Challenge and True Life to name a few. What I like about these shows is that I get to see how cool the lives of people with money are. I also get to see the cool cars they drive, the nice big houses they have, where they go and get their clothes. I also get to see all the places they go to. Another thing I like about reality shows is watching all those rich stuck up people complain about all the problems they have, when in reality their problems are nothing compare to the problems normal people have. I also enjoy watching reality shows because when I’m watching them I can imagine how amazing my life would be if I had all those cars and all that money.

            In my opinion I don’t think reality shows are harming to our society. I know most of the reality shows are based on sex, drugs, and alcohol but just because all that is on television doesn’t mean people have the right to go out and do all that stuff just because it’s on television. I know seeing it on television and seeing them have so much fun can be tempting to some people but it doesn’t mean they can do it just because people on television do it. Personally I believe that people do what they want to do, and if they really don’t want to do something they won’t do it no matter how much they see it on television. Most people watch reality shows not to be like them and do the things they do. But they watch them to waste their time or to avoid doing something else. Most people who watch reality shows don’t watch them to learn from all the things, they watch them because they are fun and interesting to watch. Some are addicting to watch as well. Once you start watching them it’s really hard to stop watching them and do something else or even watch something else. Watching reality shows is a guilty pleasure for me. I enjoy watching them and they have something that hooks you up and makes you watch them nonstop. I watch them when I have things to do and I make television be my excuse to not do what I’m supposed to do. I do try to avoid watching reality shows when I have homework or something important to do, but sometimes once I start watching reality shows it’s really hard for me to stop and focus completely on the homework. People who make the reality shows make them so intense and they leave you desperately hoping to see what will happen on the next  episode. 

Fast Food

As a child fast food wasn't really part of my life. My family would rarely go out. Whenever we did go out it would be on birthdays or special weekends. My mom would always cook and she made sure food was always ready for us to eat. When we did go out we would usually go and get Domino's Pizza. We would always get a large pepperoni jalapenos and a large pepperoni pineapple. We also went to McDonald's. At McDonald's I would always get the premium crispy chicken classic sandwich and until this day I keep getting the same thing. I only eat the chicken sandwich because the other red meet burgers from McDonalds gross me out since they aren’t well done. Back then going out and eating was the most amazing thing. Since we rarely went out to eat when we did go it was the most amazing thing ever! My sisters loved it too and we had amazing times. I remember this place we ate at whenever we did go out. I don't really remember what type of restaurant it was but I know it was big and it had an arcade and I remember how much I loved playing there. I will say that when I was little I always used to go to a store after school and I would buy hot cheetos and I would put nacho cheese and jalapenos on them and it was the most delicious thing ever. And I would also buy things from the ice-cream man pretty much every day. Besides that I was never someone who would eat out.

   

 My fast food habits now are the worst habits of my life. I eat out every day once or twice a day sometimes even three times a day. I also eat way too much junk food now. I can have as much a five bag of chips a day with candy on the side and a red bull. I guess eating out has become a big part of my life because now that I have school, work, and soccer I don't really spend a lot of time at home therefore I have to be eating out more than I should. Eating out so much has made me some what a lazy person. since I eat out I don't have to worry about cooking at home, and when I am home I get lazy and I don't cook and instead I go out and get some fast food. Toppers, panda, in-n-out, hook, urbane cafe, McDonalds, and jack in the box are some of the usual places I attend when I need to eat. All this fast food and junk food have had a negative effect on me. Since I would stay up really late eating there was a time in which I would be able to not eat all day because I would still be full from last night. And I was only able to eat around three a.m go to sleep late, wake up late and not eat all day until late at night again. I’ve been trying to fix my eating habits again but I know it will take a lot of effort from my part.

My past has made me who I am today and even though I had many ups and downs as a child I would never change it. Growing up I had to deal with my parents divorce at the young age of three. After their divorce I was living with my mom and my four older sisters. It was hard getting use to the fact that my dad wasn’t around. Even though most people would tell me I missed him the least because I was the youngest when he left. They never really understood that I still missed him as much as my other sisters and I wished he was around to show us how much he loved us. Living in a single parent home I learned to appreciate what I have much more than I thought I would. We would move houses about every three months therefore I had to move schools a lot too. We finally settled down when we left Salinas and moved to Oxnard when I was nine years old. Once we moved here things were so much better.

My present is going better than I had expected. I’m in my second year of community college and I have a decent g.p.a. I’m also playing soccer for my second year at Oxnard College. I was and I will be the starting goalkeeper. I work really hard to stay focus in school and to make sure I do the training I need so I can be the best I can be when I’m playing. I also have about four months working at Toppers Pizza Place, I love working there. My co-workers are friendly and they make it a good working environment. What I love the most about working there is that I get fifty percent off and I can eat there for a real low price. I still live home with my mom and two older sisters. My family is the most important thing in my life. They’ve done so much for me and I could probably not be able to live without them. My life is also blessed by an amazing group of friends, friends I can count on and turn to for whatever it might be. I also have the best friend anyone could ask for. She’s always there for me thru thick and thin someone I truly care for. Life gets complicated every now and then but I try my best to make sure I can balance everything that I have going on.

For my future I hope things get better. I hope that once I finish my two years of community college I can be able to transfer to Northridge and start making up my mind on what I want to major in. Hopefully in that period of time I can be able to get a better paying job that is sports related. That way even if I don’t play soccer after community I can still be involved some how with sports. I also plan on having my own place for my mom and I here in Oxnard.