Life's A Struggle

Who Or What Creates Your Identity?
I think what made me have the ability to be able to code switch is being around so many languages while I grew up. When I was a child I was around Spanish and slang English so I became able to understand both and not feel out of place. I learned Spanish from my whole family since we are a Mexican family who holds on to are roots and still know how to speak our native tongue. Then I learned the slang English from my older brothers, sisters and uncles who got it from the streets. Once I entered elementary school and middle school I became somewhat out of place because I was being looked at as un-educated by the way I speak.

“Identity is the essential core of who we are as individuals, the conscious experience of the self inside.” Gloria Anzaldua

I started to realize through years of taking English classes at school on how to speak properly, I still caught myself not talking properly with my slang words. So even though I have problems with mixing some of the different languages I feel more proud in myself that I can communicate with a variety of people. I’m also proud that people can understand me when I’m talking to them in their language and not seem like a perpetrator to fit in.

Who You Look Up To Is Who Makes You
It was a regular day and I just got back from school. I brought home my report card and showed it to my mom. My mom was enraged of my grades, I had received two A’s and rest were C’s and D’s. I had nothing to explain for my grades and what I got in return was a whipping with the belt and getting yelled at. I started heading to my room to cry but my older brother took me into his room and he said to stay in his room so I wouldn’t run into my mom again. I stayed in his room and I started to do my homework. While I was doing my homework I started to struggle so my brother began to help me. I felt so great inside because he was the one who helped me with my homework. After teaching me how to solve the problems and finish my homework my brother told me he wanted to talk to me. My brother told me he wanted me to keep going to school and never fall into the lifestyle he was living. He said the lifestyle he was living was the one he never wanted me to live and that it wouldn’t bring anything but pain.

“I work for my living! yelled Juan. I don’t go around shooting people! And I wouldn’t shoot a gun inside a house or car no matter if God Himself tells me to! I think, I use my head, and I work hard! I make my own liquor! I don’t steal from no man! I’m a businessman! I’m not a stupid gang of little two-bit, ass-turning punks, ganging up on an old teacher and pantsing him! I got balls, you understand? I got respect! I sweat! I work!” (pg 313) Victor Villasenor


So I promised him that I would succeed in school and from that day forward that was my goal in life. Right now till this day I’m fulfilling his wishes on completing that goal. The one other thing I remembered about my brother that made me look up to him, was that he was the center of the family and he brought the family together during family holidays. My brother always made everyone happy and always made sure everyone was alright. My brother wanted to give the best for my family. He did that but he didn’t get to finish since his life was taken away when he was 17. Since he passed away I took that goal he wanted for my family which was to have the best in life. I will succeed in education like he asked for me to do and become someone big in life to give my family everything they dreamed of. I want to be the men my brother wanted to be, the men he couldn’t become because the life he was in.

Teaching Yourself Is Your Greatest Strength
Throughout my whole life I never really had anyone to help me with my schoolwork besides one of my older brothers who helped me when he could and was at home. But since he passed away I have had to do my schoolwork on my own. I couldn’t get any other help from anyone because my mom wasn’t well educated like other mother’s because she had to work to support us when she was young instead of going to school.

“I started writing nonfiction as a freelancer the week after I was told by my former boss that writing was my worst skill and I should hone my talents toward account management.” Amy Tan


My siblings couldn’t help me because they were never home. So, seeing that I had to do it on my own I had to work that much harder to make myself get the homework even when I was stuck on it. I couldn’t get help from school because I had to take the bus home from school since my mom was busy working at the house. My mom also didn’t have all the money in the world to be driving from East Palo Alto all the way to Woodside hills so I had to work with what was giving to me. I gained self discipline through doing my homework on my own and seeing my mom support all of us on her own. My mom worked all day but still was a mom when she came home tired. So I became self discipline and use that to my advantage till this day to help day to day in life.

Final Lit Circle Blog

In the last part of the book that we were suppose to read Juan flees to Mexicali due to finding out that the Hotel deal was a trap. He gives his truck to Julio and his wife to flee as well but most importantly to shut up his annoying wife because how upset she was about the deal going bad. Juan leaves most of the barrels of whisky in a hiding spot where he was watching the hotel. The rest of the barrels that he had left he took with him towards Mexicali. When heading down there he stopped at the gas station and met a man and offered him his car and the rest of the barrels of whisky to take him to Mexicali. The man agreed and took him to Mexicali and Juan told him he was heading to Jalisco never ever to return back so that the man could tell that to investigators if they ever questioned him about Juan. Later on in the chapter Juan returns back to find out Julio and his wife are stealing his liquor but doesn't worry because he's going to let them fall into the law hands so he can start a new life. He later runs into Archie where he is questioned about the two people blown up in his car and if he was the one who did it. Juan explains everything then Archie agrees to give Juan a new name (Salvador) and a fresh start in life so he can marry Lupe. Then Juan and Lupe finally begin their courtship preparing themselves for a wedding they have been waiting all their lives. Then in the following chapter Lupe's group once again wasn't paid the same amount as men. Once Lupe sisters hear about this they create a strike and have the foreman pay everyone at the same scale. When this was accomplished Lupe and her sister feel that if they stick together they can attain their goal of equality to some degree. Then later in the chapter Mark ask Lupe if she has decided to become his wife but Lupe didn't know what to say. Lupe decides to tell Mark she still needs time before she can accept. When Lupe is having her time to decide Juan and her are finally alone and from that time forward she knew that she wanted to marry Juan. Now in chapter 20 Salvador offers Lupe to drive and once Lupe finished driving her little niece goes up to them and asks them if they're going to get married. Lupe gets quite embarrassed when this happens, but Salvador says that they are and that becomes the request for Lupe's hand in marriage. Then from this chapter on Salvador is preparing himself for the biggest day of his life but runs into a couple of bumps. One of them was Salvador and his brother going to jail because his brother couldn't handle staying at the house where they were making alcohol and got caught up because he bragged to an undercover cop when he was drunk about the illegal operation they were running. Salvador is bailed out but his brother was sentenced for three years. The other major bump Salvador went through was to not hate his own race because if he couldn't he would lose Lupe and mistreat his own kids. But Juan changed knowing that if he wanted to live a happy life with Lupe he had to change so he did and got married with Lupe.

Questions To Characters In ROG

To Juan:
How do you feel about your life and what have done through out it?

To Lupe:
Do you feel that the struggle and violence you have gone through in life has made you stronger?

Critical Thinking

The news article I'm choosing to discuss about and talk about the different viewpoints is the prosecution of an East Palo Alto Man who killed an East Palo Alto officer. My view is that officer's in general, especially East Palo Alto Police don't do their jobs correct. Furthermore I believe every time a police dies because of a street person they automatically say "Oh he's a cold blooded killer" and don't try to figure if there was any motive for that person to shoot back at an officer such as him not doing his job and abusing his authority as an officer. The story that's getting told out in the public like usual is that there was a fight that broke out outside a Taqueria and that the officer chased the defendant trying to arrest him but got shot to death. But forensic evidence shows that the officer fired first at the defendant while running away then hit him with his baton before the defendant ever fired back. But, back to seeing this in another view. People will say that the man was just another thug who was so cold blooded to kill an officer that was doing his job. But let me explain more why I feel the way I do about my view on this news article and police. First of all I hate how when an officer dies it gets all over the news but when a regular living person dies out in the streets they tell it in a minute and leave it at that. Second of all what ticks me off is how officers pull over minorities for no apparent reason and come up with some bull excuse to tell them this is why I pulled you over. Then they start asking for names and where they live and all these other questions that they don't have any right asking them because these minorities weren't doing anything. Last and furthermore this is the main reason why I don't like officers and know that they don't do their job and actually serve their community. My brother was shot and killed, walking distance (literally a block away) from the East Palo Alto Police Station at 1 pm and the thing that pisses me off is that how does it take three hours to get to where my brother was shot and killed and start putting yellow tape around a crime scene. This is why I see this article in my point of view. Police officers as always are treated as if they are more than human. They kill somebody in the streets none the less someone in handcuffs and receive a couple of years in jail instead of the death penalty. Man all I got to say is this so called "JUSTICE SYSTEM" in America is a bunch of bull and there isn’t any justice in this world. The minorities and other people in the community are the ones who face the consequences but the people who are in the law are the ones who really get away with murder and miss conduct against a victim.

The Men We Carry In Our Minds Blog

1. Sanders noticed that the men he grew up around had the same labored bodies being "marginal farmers, welders, steel workers and carpenters" which gave them their forearms with muscle. In paragraph three Sanders describes how the men looked. Sanders described that the men had nails black and split, hands filled with scars, missing fingers, bad backs, weak guts from hernias, ulcers, bad knees, weak ankles, hard hearing, coughing and drinking. Because of all this work and the effects it had on the men it made them appear much older than their age.

2. Sanders characterized the other men who were soldiers as being lazy. In paragraph four Sanders uses words such as boredom, waiting and no say to describe them.

3. Sanders couldn't imagine becoming or being one of those "successful" men because he grew up seeing the complete opposite of that "successful." men. The only thing Sanders ever knew and saw was hard working labor men so seeing these new type of men wasn't normal for him. He couldn't see himself being a successful men.

4. Sanders father fate seemed like a partial escape because he went from working on a farm to working in a tire factory then to an assembly line and finally to a front office. Luckily for Sanders father he got out of the slave labor, but the only bad thing was his body was ready to call it quits on him. Since Sanders father life changed from escaping the slave labor he still knows most of the young men he knew ended up joining the army, working at the smoky plants or building highways. His father took it step by step to reach the top but thing that was different from him and the younger boys was that they didn't even try. They were afraid to step out the boundaries that were created by society for them.

5. Sanders learned that college men automatically believed that they would live a pleasureable life becuase of their wealthy family. Sanders was amazed that women could be so into a man's life that Sanders quickly understood why they would. But because of that he didn't quickly agree. Sanders thought women had the better life. Reason being because women didn't have to work, weren't required to go to war, they were free to do anything they felt like doing.

6. Sanders realizes that a lot of pressure is always put on men especially the low-class who sees it as body aching work and having to be tough. The upper class women see it their life's as the same because of the struggles they have to go as being women in the society and dealing with their man.

7. They both wanted to have power and have a say in their future of their lives. They want to choose a job that they like and live a great life.

Self Evaluation Blog

I didn't do the assignment because I was at a family wedding in Arizona and didn't have a computer over there. Therefore I wasn't in class neither when you explained how to write it. So i decided not to do it because regardless the assignment was going to be marked incorrect because I didn't write it the way you wanted like you explained in class. So what's going to be different when I write the next summary is that I'm going to be here and in class to know how to write it then I'm a turn it in.

Libby's Blog Response

1. A Feminist is considered a dirty word for her students because they don't know the correct meaning or they just only have heard the negative stereotype's about the word. In paragraph two one of the student's she is interviewing uses the words "hate, blame, radical women and bad" as their definition of what a feminist is. In paragraph ten follows another negative word " man-haters" which is used to describe a feminist in a movie. So to say I agree that feminist is a dirty word is to fall for those stereotypes and therefore I disagree that feminists is a dirty word. Feminist is portrayed as a dirty word but just because of that doesn't mean me or anyone else has to see as that.

2. Their aren't many self-identified feminist because many don't want to be associated with the word and its stereotype or they feel like they can't call themselves a feminist. People believe that to be a feminist you have to participate in the whole movement and be a part of those people who protest against those stereo types of what feminists are. Males themselves, don't consider themselves to be feminist becuase they aren't female and they believe feminist stands for being a female and protesting for their rights when it much more than that. Man also feel like they don't belong with being feminist and that they won't be able to contribute to the cause because they feel that the word feminists as so over seen because of the stereotypes and people won't really care what they have to say.

3. She thinks more people should be feminist becuase to be a feminist you have to believe that how society sees sex exploitation and oppression and how they are dealing with it is totally wrong. Feminism isn't just about women, but about everyone and how they are being oppressed by sex exploitation and sexism. The word feminism is to be able to make your own decision and to have a voice. Feminism is all about having your equal rights and being able to live the life you want, not the one society wants you to have.

Memorization

When it comes to memorization I use only one and that's rehearsal because repetition equals perfection. When it comes to any subject I repeat the most important facts I need to know or any information that I know that is going to pop up for the test or quiz. Rehearsal is effective as for memorizing because repetition makes you get whatever you are reading. For example when it comes to having a test for a math class I tend to forget the formulas very fast so what I do is write down the formulas and start repeating them so I know I get them down. Once I do that I start remembering the formulas from the class and start using them throughout my years. Rehearsal in sports has made a huge benefit to me because in a sport in able to become good at something you need to practice until you have it down like the back of your head. Once you have hours and days repetition on a sport that sport becomes second nature to you. When it comes to science I rehearse by reading and re-reading the text so I get where we are at as in a time frame of the class and so I can answer questions. In addition knowing what we are studying and knowing the cells or anatomy that we need to know for an upcoming test. So to summarize it all up rehearsal is one of the top ways for someone to memorize something important in their class. Furthermore, besides memorizing it helps, the study habits for yourself and others in other countries. Seeing the problem itself with the memorizing I can see why so many students themselves don’t remember a thing about a certain subject because they don’t have a study habit.

Transfer Motivational Conference Blog

The biggest highlight for me was the people who put there time into the Puente program to help students succeed in college and later on in life. I attended a workshop were they were discussing about students who wanted to go to college but weren't citizens yet. They got into detail and explained to the class that you could still go to college even if you weren't a citizen but you had to fill out a couple of forms to attend college. My point of view of that class was that it wasn't very helpful on helping me out as in my future for college or right now. I see it this way because the motivation/drive that brought me to college to receive a associate and bachelor degree later on in college was basically being reinstated at the motivational conference and its workshops. So I really didn't gain anything from going there but just meeting other Puente students and interacting more with my fellow Puente students. Besides the motivational conference not really helping or motivate me I did get to see other students gain a lot from the conference and giving them a motivational boost that they can make it through college even with all the odds stacked against them. From looking at the body language of the other Puente groups it seemed to me that our Puente group from Foothill was the most energetic there. We did get complaints of being to disruptive but I didn't see it as that, I saw it as if we were the most motivated out all of the Puente groups and we displayed it at the motivational conference. So to summarize it all up I think as a group some of us might have gain a little knowledge going to the motivational conference. But overall I think we already had that motivation that the motivational conference was trying to give us and the other Puente groups.

Anzaldua Blog Response #2: The Anti- Essay

Anzaldua writes in a way were she uses a metaphor to start off her essay then gets into the essay explaining that metaphor she used in the beginning. By doing this in her writing she grabs the reader to keep on reading and has them wanting to read more to answer their question from the metaphor she created in the first paragraph. What makes her text an academic text is the problem of the Spanish language having many varieties of languages in its own part and why don’t we stick to that medieval Spanish? Since these issues are brought up, this engages the reader to join the conversation and submit their own point of views. What made the text anti-academic was the discussion about the Spanish language starting to change in her personal view than staying on the academic part of it. It’s different from a traditional essay because Anzaldua is trying to get on a personal level on the subject to have the reader connect with the subject more. By doing this Anzaldua grabs the reader to keep reading and really find out what she really is trying to say in the text. She does this type of writing because from the start she throws a curveball at them with a metaphor. Then once the reader finishes reading that first paragraph they have a drive to read the whole text so they can solve that metaphor and see how it connects to the rest of her text. “Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re ruining the Spanish language” this quote I believe shows us as a reader the purpose of writing this essay. Reason being is because it’ not that some of us Spanish speaking people intertwine our language with English but to create a language that fits our society as a group in a English society. This new language does not have to do with us watering down our Spanish with English but evolving it to another language that our kids will understand us due to the big divide between both cultures. We are just trying to keep some of that Spanish language we’re proud of but incorporate the language that we are forced to learn to succeed in life so that we still hold our roots but let them grow to what they are surrounded by in life.

How to Tame A Wild Tongue Blog

I was stunned to the unusual mix of languages the Anzaldua uses in this excerpt because of the message she is trying to get across. She gives many examples of the different languages she uses by describing how she talked Spanish compared to other people/cultures. Anzaldua compares these different Spanish speaking cultures and shows the reader how a society can change the way a group of people speak and how it affects their accent as well. Anzaldua goes into depth giving the readers the proper word and way to say a word in Spanish. Then she shows how other Spanish speaking cultures write and pronounce that word. This gives the reader examples on how different cultures have a way of speaking a certain language. Furthermore she describes the similarities between the cultures and the way they say words but then the differences as well. Showing how one culture keeps these letters in a word instead of the other letters. This is what caused the mixture of languages and it made one language more difficult to decode to find out what one word really meant or the definition of that word. I find this intriguing because it shows you how a language can be transformed by a majority group of people that influences a minority group of people to speak their language. That would later on leave that culture to speak with the majority group accent. In addition, to that it would make the minority group change the way they spoke their language and form a new language. Anzaldua is trying to show to the reader that their isn't one set language for the languages broken down into simplified categories. She wants to prove that language isn't set into you and that's it. It actually stays evolving into a more complex language that seem like codes when people talk to one another and other people.

College Success:Blog 4

This student uses aural as their learning strategy and is their top learning strategy because they learn more when someone tells them, then being hands on. This student takes notes and later comes back to them to fill it in with any other things they came up with from the lecture. They explain their notes to another student and help another learner by describing what they learned in class when they were absent. When it comes to studying for exams they would read the question out loud then listen to their own voice while they answer the question. When this person prepares to study they sometimes get lost in the lecture that they stop writing then later come back to the notes once they got more information from their fellow students and textbook. Some of these stratergies would work with me because reading the question out loud then hearing my voice answering the question will embed the answer in my head to that question. Taking notes here and there would help me a little because it will refresh my brain to see what subject we were on and get me back to that state of mind to help me study. Another would be communicating with another student to catch other main ideas that i missed in the note taking so it can help me have a bigger perspective on the subject to help me understand it.

Literature Circle Blog #3

 

What are the consequences of sacrificing your pride in order to overcome your struggles?  In chapter 15 Juan Salvador arrives in California because of a letter his sister has sent him regarding his mother dying if he doesn't go soon to California.  When Juan arrives he slowly starts to realize that Mexicans like him self are treated like dogs from the Americans.  The first time he sacrificed his pride for his struggles was when he got a job setting up dynamite where he noticed how he was getting treated.  The Americans slurred his last name in a way that dis-- respected him but he ignored them.  It wasn't until he started drilling with the other American drillers when he began to notice that they were giving him the eye to show him that they didn't like him.  Juan ignored this as well but he was keeping a steady drilling on the rock that the Americans became competitive and started to race him. Juan and the Americans kept racing but after awhile it came to him and an American named Jack.  The competition grew but the lunch horn blew and they stopped working.  Juan followed the Americans to where they went to wash their hands and realized the Americans dropped the cup when it was his turn to wash his hands.  Juan ignored this thinking it was a mistake but when he bent over to try to pick up the cup the American kicked it away.  This made Juan lower his head and suck his pride so he could later overcome this struggle by showing off to these Americans how good of a driller he was.  Unfortunately Juan came soon to realize that this back fired in he almost got killed with a bunch of tools coming straight towards him from up the rock. "I shouldn't have pushed so much"(pg 258) Juan said to the Mexicans who were digging below him were he was drilling. In this quote Juan shows that if he wants to overcome this unfair struggle he faces with the Americans he has to sacrifice his pride to overcome this so he can feed his family.  Juan realizes if he doesn't do this he will put his family in jeopardy because he won't have a job if he talks back to these Americans like if he was American that demanded to be treated right.  Juan now knows that he has to sacrifice his pride to overcome his struggle.

Literature Circle Blog Response #2

1. What circumstances make hope impossible or possible? The circumstance of Dona Guadalupe and Don Victor family living in La Lluvia de Oro makes hope impossible by the bandits who roam around their village. Everyday they have to worry about the bandits taking their gold, which they did. In addition, it makes it even harder for Dona Guadalupe's family to leave La Lluvia de Oro, because they wanted to use the gold to help them get out so they could go to the United States. "Then one day, Lupe and Sophia were sitting together, listening to the breeze-just being quiet-when, for no apparent reason, they both started to cry. They’d worked so hard and suffered so much. And, not only had the bandits killed Don Tiburcio, they’d taken their gold, raped Paloma and two other little Indian girls, killing all of them. Oh, la vida was just too difficult to bear at times.” (pg198)
The circumstance that happened when Dona Guadalupe and Dona Manza spotted a rock with gold turned the hope that was impossible to possible. This discovery boosted their moral and confidence, which help motivate them in breaking down the gold again to nuggets. "Look, see that rock in the middle of the plaza? Now that the sun has come out, it shines" says Dona Guadalupe. "My children and I were commenting on that same stone the other day," "Now that the roots have turned up the cobblestones, every time it rains, there seems to be a little color here and there, all over the plaza" says Dona Manza. “So what are we waiting for?” “Maybe it’s gold!” says Dona Guadalupe. “It’s gold!” screamed Lupe. (pg 200-201) You can just feel the excitement of everyone in the town grow with their hopes as well.
To say that one circumstance brought the peoples hopes down or up is out the question because every time they went through something horrific something amazing happens and lifts them up again.
2. What is the value of family? Victoriano shows what the value of family is by showing the reader how much he cares for his little sister Lupe and how he would die to make sure anything never happened to her. For example, Victoriano says "We'll take care of you," "Truly, I'd die a thousand deaths before I'd let anything happen to you, Lupe." (pg 188) Another example of what is value of family is when Dona Guadalupe explains to Lupe why she was okay with her sisters running away with the guys they loved. Dona Guadalupe explained to her that the times were tougher now and they just didn't have the money to throw a bunch of weddings. So Dona Guadalupe let her older daughters run away so that they could get married because when a man steals a families daughter to run away they are considered partners/married. Here's a part from the book that shows this “I told her to, mi hijita." "Lupita, it was going to come to this anyway. And I want my daughters protected before the bandits come again." (pg 188)So to tell you what the value of family is, well it's the most important thing in your life if you love your family. The value for your family can never go away and if someone ever tried to take it away, you would stand up. It just comes to this the value of family is un-explainable in words but through your actions in life is what will show you the value of family not someone describing it to you. They can't write it on a piece of paper as a definition and tell you this is what value of family is. No, it’s on you, the individual who defines what value of family which has many definitions is.

Nikki Giovanni

Leave your cell phone at the classroo...

Leave your cell phone at the classroom door?

1.  What causes the digital divide (those who have technology and those who do not)?

       The gap between past and present generations is what causes the digital divide.  The younger generation tends to be the ones who are used to the technology in this time and the technology that is evolving.  Reason being that the younger generation is comfortable with this technology is because they grew in the era where they taught the technology in class. 
    The older generation is not used to the technology that's out here in the world today because they didn't have it availabe to them when they were growing up.  In addition, the lack of knowledge of technology the older generation don't really try to learn it.  They see it as to confusing to learn the technology and to keep up with the evolving technology.  

Literature Circle BLOG 1

In the first scene I drew Juan running up the rail road tracks towards the train that his mom and his family were in. The scene took place pages 121 through 123. I selected this scene because I felt this was a turning point for Juan on changing his ways on not taking life serious. I learned a lot about Juan's character because it showed when push came to shove he knew the way he acted wasn't the way he was suppose to be. In addition, Juan came to realize that he needed to be serious about life and not get caught up with his ways of playing around. Juan started to see why his sister and his mom always told him you need stop playing around the way you do or it would soon catch up to him One word to describe this scene I would have to say is DIGNITY.
The second scene I chose was of Emilia yelling at Juan not to go looking for wood and to wait for their mother. But Juan refused and replied back to his sister saying I he had to. The scene took place in pages 147 through 149. This scene was the turning point was Juan became a man inside and not a child anymore. Juan came to realize that he came to peace with himself and knew what he had to do for his family to survive. Juan couldn't be unsure of not making it back, he was confident of making it back as if he knew and that's what changed him to become a man. Furthermore, Juan now realized why his mother was so calm and seen why she never felt down when things seemed like they weren’t going well. The word I would choose for this scene would be RESPONSIBILITY.

Reflection on Munoz

What are some concrete examples of why people change their name? People change their names for these main reasons: give them better opportunities and to fit in. The first reason why people change their name is because they want to fit in. People feel they need to change their name because they feel as if their not getting treated the same as someone else with a white name. For example, someone with a name like Estrella would want to change their name to star to fit in with the white culture because right when someone sees that name on a sheet of paper their going to say "Oh she's a Latina!" In addition, to that the teacher or who ever the person is will mistreat the girl named Estrella because of her name's ethnicity background. So, because of that someone with a non-white name would want to change their name so they won't get mistreated like that. When someone just has to read your name to see how they should judge and treat you it makes people like Estrella change their name to Star. Reason being because she wants to fit in with everyone else and not feel vilified by her name.
People changing their name to get better opportunities might sound ridiculous to some people, but don't be fooled because people do. A bunch of people change their names because they feel their native name isn't going to help them get a job or other opportunities. As I explained in my first paragraph how people already decide to change their name because of not fitting in, well same applies for better opportunities in life. For example, people who have the same experience and education in a career are going to get the job based on their name and what ethnicity it usually represents. Like if one of the persons is named Raul and the other John. Who do you think the employer will choose? John of course because the employer feels much more safe knowing that they have someone white working for them and they can trust him on getting the job done.

What is the digital culture?

The digital culture is the whole world revolving around the Internet. Such as using search engines like Google and Yahoo to find sources for someones research paper in a science class, history class and so on. Plus, people are starting to use email as a way to communicate with people. Even instant messaging is being used to communicate when people don't have a phone or if their not trying to use up their minutes. Now that the Internet has become so big some people do interviews online using live streaming video. As well, people use live streaming videos for meetings. Now and days people are using the Internet to answer questions that have to do with medical illness or physical medical problems. Even the Internet is being used to purchase medicines or clothing or mos of the things you can get at stores. The Internet is starting to make people spend less time going places and having them take care of things right in the comfort of their home.
Besides using all the availabilities in the Internet, digital culture also has to do with the programs you have on your computer. Such as Microsoft Word where people write essays or columns for a newspaper. Microsoft Word even lets you turn names or quotes into nice looking word art fonts for front or back covers on your binder. In addition, programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint helps people create slide shows of their favorite pictures, weddings, birthday, holidays and vacations. Furthermore, Microsoft PowerPoint helps people create a presentation for a class assignment as displaying main points, pictures or attaching videos to help the students or co-workers understand the topic more. In addition, to these two programs Microsoft Excel has revolutionized the working industry because managers can create work schedules on it and they can even create a spreadsheet were they can keep up to date inventory. Excel also helps people create a spreadsheet were they can make a business plan. Such as, how much money they need to put in to buy certain things, how much your going to be spending on electricity/water expenses and when they will start making profit off there business. Finally, besides all these Microsoft programs Adobe Photo shop is another helpful program to people if they want to create a web layouts, web designs and even a page layout for their Myspace, Twitter, Youtube and other social websites.
So to answer what is the digital culture in a much easier way, is that digital culture has everything to do with a computer.

Literature Circle Blog 1

The first scene I drew was of Victoriano about to be hanged from La Liebre and Dona Guadalupe trying to give her son her last blessings so she can free him from the ropes they tied to him. Don Manuel is assisting to La Liebre to give Dona Guadalupe more time for her blessing so she can have more time to set Victoriano free and run as far as he can. The scene took place in pages 84 through page 91. I thought this scene was important because it was a turning point in the book were the people from the town stand up for their community and fight back against the soldiers to take back their town. The characters in this scene show loyalty and bravery by supporting the people they knew all their life from their small town community. The connection I had with this scene was I have had points in my life were I have protected people from my hometown of East Palo Alto from bullies who were picking on them. For example one time my mom and I saw a kid getting picked on from these group of kids. We got out the car and told the kids to get lost. In addition we took the kid home to make sure he got home safe and talked to his mom about the situation that had happened. What I learned about history was there was still loyalty and bravery back then. One word to describe this scene would be LOYALTY.
The second scene I chose was when Colonel Manuel Maytorena decided to wait for Lupe to get back from talking with her mom to see if he could be invited to her house to talk to her mother about having her wife stay at there house while he was doing his job. The scene took place in pages 21 through page 27. I thought this scene was important because it shows even though Colonel Manuel Maytorena was a high ranking soldier and could use his authority to do what he wants he still had respect for the people in the small town community. I learned that Colonel Manuel still respected people's rules. I don't have any personal connections with this scene. What I learned about the politics was that they were very powerful back then. They could basically do what they wanted when they wanted. They have a personal choice on how they would act with people in society. One word to describe this scene would be RESPECT.

My Motivation to Attend College

What motivated me to go to college was my older brother who passed away and my family. My brother since I was little told me don’t fall into the life that we were living in because if I did I wouldn’t be anyone in life. From that day forward I took what he told me and had that motivate me to do well in school. My family motivated me to go to college because they wanted me to be one of the first people in my family to go to college. Furthermore, I'm going to college to make my family and brother proud of me. Another reason why I’m attending college is because I want to be the best at what ever career I choose to pursue.
I can’t say there wasn’t pressure to go to college because there was but I never saw it as pressure. I knew I had to go to college right after High School because I didn’t have time to waste to be working and take years to move to a manager or any high rank position in a job. The only way I knew to be some were in a high position in a job is to get an education while working.
I believe Puente will help me in college because they will assist me in choosing the classes I need to take to succeed in college. Puente will also help me narrow down my options in choosing a career that I will be interested in and that I’ll enjoy. Puente will also show me the options I have in colleges to choose after completing Foothill.
This is important to me because I have a lot to gain by going to college. Plus college is going to shape me into the person I become later on in my life.