Ariadna’s English Blog

 Reflect on the first semester.  My first semester this year has definitely been rough. I had a bad start because of some bad influences around me which led to being extremely behind on my school. I should’ve caught up and been on track but I found it hard to, it was pretty frustrating that I couldn’t show my full potential and gave a bad first impression on my teachers. But given the fact that it was so bad, it pushes me to try my best in the second semester and show everyone what I’m truly made of. In this class, I truly loved reading The Color Purple. It was so amazing and eye opening I’ve never read anything like it. My favorite project was definitely the final project because I found myself connecting to the characters even more. It was also nice to see how my peers saw the characters themselves because we all perceive things differently. My least favorite part was being behind and I know it was solely on me. I strive to do better and I know I can. So I make a vow of keep...

 What is a holiday tradition important to your family and why.  A holiday tradition important to my family is definitely celebrating on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is the time all family comes together for meals and music. A fest to celebrate the life of Jesus and ourselves how far we’ve gotten. Celebrating on Christmas Eve is something I know a lot of Hispanics do. Being with family is the greatest joy I could ask for and the home made food is even better. As we’re all huddled up together my last favorite part is definitely getting to open Christmas presents the night before!

 How have holidays changed as you’ve grown older? Holidays used to be so much fun and magical. I believe it was because we were less aware of the real world. Now that I’m older, time passes by too fast and I find myself trying to catch along. I’ve had to give up my Christmas gifts multiple times for my siblings. Although holidays aren’t as magical of an experience as before, I still find that comfort in my little siblings. And I try to make the holidays as special as I can for them. 

 Reflect on the theme of reconciliation. I have been forgiven by my mother. She is the most forgiving person I know. She’s the only lady who would ever love me for who I really am and no matter in my worst moments, she would always stick by my side. One time I broke my mom’s trust by hanging out with a boy and not telling her. I knew it was a grave mistake and her trust would be broken because of it. This made me realize the one true relationship I should care about is with family. I apologized and of course she forgave me but reminded me of why she has rules set in place for my safety. She continues to forgive me even when I cannot forgive myself. 

 Write about a song that brings back a specific memory A song that brings me back memories is definitely “White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean. My friend Guillermo, had a white car. We would all be around it and he was the only one that drove so every hangout it was there. The song reminds me of not only the car or the hangouts, but him as well. The song is extremely emotional and at one point it says “I’m sure we’re taller in another dimension” this quote makes me think about Guillermo because I often think about in another world, where he’s still alive, we’re somewhere riding in that same white car. This song aches my heart in the best way possible and makes me think about our friendship how it was too short. His life was too short. He loved this song and he loved Frank Ocean. Now I love him too and this song brings me back memories to when we would all hang out and be stupid kids. 

 write about the best gift you ever received. The best gift I ever received was on Christmas Eve, when I was around 6 years old. The gift I got was a Barbie dream house. Back then my family and I were not so fortunate to have the joys of toys. We never really got new toys mostly used ones. But this house, this house lit up my whole world. My Barbie’s finally had a place to live to play, yes I had to share it with my sisters but it didn’t matter to me it was perfect. I found out my mom found it on the side of a house. It didn’t take away the magic from it. I remember being so happy, we later gave it to another family just like us. 

 Reading the first few letters of The color purple makes me extremely sad. Going into this book I did not know what to expect but it hit a very sad place early on. I quickly realized all the struggles Celie was dealing with and definitely gained a soft spot for her and wanted a happy ending for her. 

 My favorite word is probably Sixseven. This is because the word is just really funny to me and Im always joking around with my friends with it. In any conversation I just pull out the sixseven and everyone laughs. It could make no sense and everyone still cracks up.

 Something society used to do until it was viewed wrong was discriminating against LGBTQ+ people. this was extremely often and some people were even killed for simply being themselves. Now it is very common for people to be accepted in most communities although there is still some hatred that goes around the community.

 I have always been the type to speak up for people if they cannot speak up for themselves. I remember a time where in class, these people were being out right rude to this girl and saying stuff about her out loud . The girl seemed unable to defend herself to which I responded for her. I told them its not nice to talk about people like that to which they responded that it wasn't any of my business and I said to them, "Well if I see someone being bullied I'ma make it my business." They stopped after that.

 The last time something I admired that also scared my was probably my ex. He seemed so nice and innocent at first which made me more sensitive and open with him. It was after a few months he began to change and made me realize everything was not as it seemed. After that I began to question peoples intentions with me, it made it very hard for me to trust others.

 I didn't do much over fall break, I just did work and called it a day. I definitely rested up. I got ready for the rest of the semester which was pretty stressful. my mom made my favorite food pozole since it's starting to get cold. She also invited some family over.

 It is very hard to enjoy my day. Most days just pass me by because I'm so busy all the time and have no time to even sit back and watch a show I like. Especially in my senior year I find it to be harder to actually enjoy myself because I'm drowned in work and am worried about that or cheer. Being cheer co cap gives me a lot of responsibilities to take care of so most of my free time is spent doing something with cheer, if its not that i'm resting from it. 

 A moment I had to step out of my comfort zone was when I went diving with dolphins. I am scared of the water, especially the ocean so being with the dolphins definitely scared me. When I was stepping into the water I was extremely nervous what was waiting for me under the surface, but the guide actually taught us about the dolphins first which helped ease my stress a little bit. Next it was time to actually swim with them and at that point, I was scared because I couldn't know what was going on under me. The dolphins were so nice and took me on a ride I wasn't even scared after that I was extremely happy I decided to do it.

 I always have extremely vivid dreams that could win awards as movies. All of them feel real but one that I specifically remember is when lakeside turned into a mall. It was a huge mall and everyone from lakeside was there. All the teachers were in their relaxing clothes and hanging out with each other. It was wild! Everyone was just shopping and enjoying their self. It was really interesting to see everyone in a different context than school. In school everyone is sad, ready to go home, follow the rules, and there's a big difference in teachers and students, while at the mall you look around and see teachers and students is all equal, everyone is more relaxed, and happy. 

 Something I've always been curious about is true crime. Even when I was little you'd catch me watching videos of people explaining the most heinous crimes. It bothers a lot of people but not me, I find it very interesting and I know I'd probably want a future in it. It's something about how they solve the murders or crimes that grabbed my attention. Sometimes I even think I could solve it before the investigators. It is something I just find interesting to watch and I enjoy watching them with my sister or friends. 

 I personally would tell my friend that they should tell their partner what is happening. Iv'e seen this happen many times and I know the damage it can do to people. Instead of keeping it a secret they should be honest with their partner and let them decide what to do, not let them live in a fantasy where they think everything is okay. People can make bad decisions when they're in a bad state of mind or going through something, so being a good friend and talking to them about it could help clear out their minds. If my friend proceeds to take it further and not tell their partner, I would take it into my own hands and tell the partner myself

 A conversation that changed me was with my little siblings. Everything is more emotional when I talk to my siblings because I want to protect them from all the bad in the world. But some problems just can't be hidden. I remember talking to them about ICE raids and how to protect themselves, to warn their friends with immigrant parents like our own. I remember it was easier when they didn't understand, but now that they're older they know the truth and how horrible it must be to go through the process. I remember my brother telling me his friends uncle from school got deported. He looked so sad as if the reality hit that our people are being attacked and it could happen to anyone.

 Something I believed as a child was Santa Claus. Even though he didn’t bring much to my house my parents never ruined the magic of believing in him. It was until I got older that I learned he was not real and it was just my parents. This did not really bother me but I had to give up my presents so that my little siblings could have their presents. Then I became Santa Claus. 

 I think that the unfairness in job positions and treatment is still very true till this day. Discrimination is everywhere and every day there’s people getting treated badly at work because of their race or gender. I believe this is extremely wrong and companies should have policies in place to prevent unfair treatment of their employees. If I were in Troy position I feel like I would do the same thing he did and speak up. The book shows how speaking up worked in his favor. 

Probably when my dad got arrested. It was hard for me to face because one second he was home and then he never returned. I had to deal with the fact he may never had come home because of deportation. Every day he stayed in there it became more real to me that I’d never get to hug my father again. Only seeing him through calls and a big glass frame blocking me from my dad. It was very hard to accept but after a while I did. 

 A time I was judged unfairly was in a grocery store. There was these kids yelling and screaming for fun around the door causing the employees to go looking for them. Instead the employees didn’t go looking for them they targeted me and asked me to leave the store. I was extremely confused as I told them it was not me doing the yelling. I knew they just stopped me because of my color and it got me really upset but I knew I had to stay calm because I had done nothing wrong. After going back and forth the kids started screaming again and they knew it wasn’t me so they let me continue my shopping. It still felt bad to know I had been judged solely on my appearance. 

 Learning about hispanic culture for the first time I would without a doubt be interested in the food. Hispanic food is full of flavors, spice, and love. There is no way you can ask any person to make authentic hispanic food other than a hispanic. Growing up with the food I cannot imagine my life without it. My favorite comfort foods are definitely all home cooked. So if I were new to it all I’d try it all! Another would definitely be the music. Hispanic music moves the bones in your body for you. It is like a wave of happiness and peace to the ears. 

When people are rude or mean to me, I know it’s just a self reflection of how they feel. So before I talk bad back or spread things behind their back, I rather ask them why instead. For example a young man was spreading bad lies about me. This upset me very much because I knew they weren’t true, but others did not. Instead of doing the same thing back, instead I asked him why he did that. His response was very vague and it was almost as if he felt bad. I told him hey man it’s fine but just don’t do it again. I told him to defend my name if he heard others bringing it down and he agreed. 

During my 8th grade year, I was on my schools cheer team where I experienced bullying. These girls said many things including racist, homophobic, and body shaming things towards me. One that hurt was probably that I was ugly. I knew they were just mean girls but it still hurt how I believed everything they said. I never responded back to them because I was too scared but my mom began to notice how cheer wasn’t fun for me anymore. She asked me what was going on and that’s when I told her. She immediately contacted the school and some of the girls got kicked off the team. However, the bullying did not stop and continued. I just decided to finish out my year and then moved schools to lakeside. 

 I am honestly okay with anything. I like how different my teachers are with lessons because it gives me diversity throughout the day. For example one teacher may do worksheets, and the next could do hands on which I enjoy because it gives me something new every class. I get distracted pretty easily so in my opinion all are great. 

 I believe my culture is extremely strict on gender roles. For example you’ll even catch my mom saying, “ Yea mija but you know i’m more old fashion”. My parents think it is very important how a lady or young lady is perceived. They always tell us what to do what not to do in public, how our manners are important, don’t curse or dress badly, which are all good things. Then you got the side where it’s no going out with boys, no going out with girls unless they know them, always having to clean and being denied many things just because i’m a girl. I saw the difference in gender roles with my little brother who got to so many things I never got to, as well as getting things I asked for because they were more “boyish”. My mom is always calling me lazy when my brother sits in his room and does nothing.

Being the second child, i’ve definitely challenged my parents many times. They have always been strict on my older sister but growing up close to my sister who is four years older I began to act more like her. As well as what I can and can’t wear, my parents never tell me what to wear because they know it’s a form of expression. My parents have basically adjust to the fact that I push their boundaries, however they can be strict with certain things. 

 It’s been kind of hard considering I have problems keeping up with my work and I have a busy schedule. I noticed that our teacher really does push us to do our best and he knows our potential. The assignments have been fun and not so stressful. it is just my schedule that makes it so stressful for me. I’m not the best at turning in stuff on time but I do try, I just have a lot of stuff to do in and out of school. I do like the material we cover it is interesting to me. 

I guess when I became cheer co captain. I am really quiet and when I became captain a lot of people were confused and upset because they thought I didn’t deserve it. It came unexpected for me as well. And for a moment it made me think I didn’t either. After some conversations with my coach he helped me realize I did deserve my spot and it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. Whether i’m quiet or not I have good leadership skills and this helped me get more out of my shell. 

 A part of my culture that I take everywhere with me is probably my curiosity. If you ask me to try something new or go somewhere different, i’d be down. Most people would be hesitant but just like my dad, I wanna try everything and i’d never be scared to try something new. I believe this does come from my culture and family because we’re always traveling different places and my parents always encourage us to try new things and live every experience to the fullest.

 Well there have been plenty of times where people have stereotyped me, but the one that hurts the most is being underestimated. Many of the times teachers and peers do not really talk to me and they group me with the "bad kids" when in reality I am the opposite. Sadly being underestimated quite literally ruined my self confidence and caused me to fall into the stereotypes. I used to be full of conversation but now I am quiet I am smart but I lost my motivation. People, teachers, see my parents and assume they do not know English and start talking extra slow when my parents actually know perfect English. This also happens to me and gets frustrating because I want to be treated normal.

 Something I will never fully understand would probably be deportation of innocent people. Honestly it was fine taking out criminals sure, but grabbing random people from the street, strictly targeting one race, and going to extreme measures to detain hard working people I do not understand. Why are my people being taken out by immigrants themselves? Why do the same people who colonized this land have a better reason for staying than me? I do not understand why they are spending all this money on hatred when they could be feeding the poor. I do not understand why they have to go for my hardworking father when there's real dangerous people out there. My dad was taken by immigration when I was 8 and again I will never fully understand why they target the people who keep this country running.