Hunger

  Anne Lamott's Hunger essay is about her personal obsession with food and eating.

     She starts off by saying how she finally learned to feed herself at the age of thirty-three. I think we can all agree we don't always necessarily eat healthy. In fact, most of us probably eat more unhealthy foods than healthy foods.

       Is the fact that we eat so unhealthy our fault thought? We can argue both sides really. We either grew up eating healthy or not. And either way, whether we want to keep on eating healthy as thought it's up to us in the end. In my opinion, eating healthy can be taught. Just because we eat a burger now and then doesn't mean that we're starting to eat unhealthy, we can eat a burger now and then in moderation.

   Anne also goes on to mention how at the age of fourteen, she already weighed 130 pounds. For the next ten years, she dieted. Now, I can definitely understand her there. Specially us girls, we hate the slightest pound gained. I have gone through a few diets on my short 24 years of existence.

    Like Anne, I too used to be a little over weight at the short age of thirteen. When I started high school, I decided it was time for me to start thinking about what I was shoving in my mouth. It took a lot of hard work. For the first few weeks, you wouldn't believe the cravings. Everything I saw looked delicious, even food I'd never regularly eat.

     For the next six months, I did nothing but eat healthy, drink a lot of water and walk every day to school and back home. In the end, the effort paid off. Not only did I lose the unwanted weight, but I also felt better than ever.

     Anne's story really reminded me once more that our health is important. We need to take care of our bodies. 

     

Who's the One?

     Our soul mates. How do we know when we've found him/her?

     Recently, and I mean two weeks ago, my sister got engaged to be married May 3rd. But before this guy, Kristijan, she was engaged with someone else for a year and a half.

     See, I keep asking myself how someone's feelings can change over night. She was dating a guy for four years, and she was engaged for a whole year to just end it all in two seconds. I know feelings can be misinterpreted sometimes, but I don't think my feelings can change that fast. Did she not love him? Why was she with him for four whole years? Those are still questions I can't come to understand the meanings of.

     I guess I feel this way because I've been dating my boyfriend for five years. My feelings could never change in a heartbeat. So my question again, how do we know that one person is the one? That's a question, I guess, that only one him/herself can answer to oneself. 

     On the other hand, how do we know when we don't love someone anymore? That I think I can answer. Maybe it's when every time you see your significant other, you don't smile anymore. When they kiss you and you no longer feel those wonderful butterflies anymore. Or maybe it's when day by day goes by, and you don't see the meaning in everyday life as it always seems to repeat itself.

     See, I felt like that once with my significant other. We got to a point where we'd see each other every day--it got repetative. I knew I still loved him, I guess I just needed a break; time to miss him. And what do you know, we took a two month break, and we were a completely new couple. We had much more to talk about and experiences to share. That was the best thing we could have done to help our relationship.

     Anyway, I don't mean to keep boring you with my love life, I just though I'd put some thoughts into writing. 

Quotation Blog

     "My sisters and I grasped for a narrative that would hold. We spent our days playing dolls, telling each other stories of loss, abandonment, and escape over and over again. Every game began like this: "We're orphans," I'd say, or Sara would say. Then we'd dispense with parents by way of illness, train wreck, or the civil war."

     This quote is from the book Swallow the Ocean by Laura Flynn. This quote really grabbed my attention as I was reading the story of Laura and her family dealing with an illness in their family. Laura and her sisters would play dolls everyday to escape their own reality in the harsh world they were living at home. The place they would take the dolls would always represent how they felt themselves. 

     Laura and her sisters really felt like orphans, I could tell by the fact that all of their stories would start by them , the dolls, being orphans. Their mother, who had schizophrenia, couldn't really take care of them. And because their father left, they felt like they were alone.

     I can't imagine having to live like that when I was a child. I remember when I would play with dolls. It was always about adventures and parties. A child's imagination has got to be really sick to be killing their parents in their games, even if it is just a game of dolls. 

We All Revise

Revising might not be the most exciting part of writing, but it is necessary if we want our readers to get the full experience of our stories. 

When I revise my peers papers, I like to read the story completely before I even think about anything being wrong with it. The reason for this is because I like to enjoy the story completely before I start correcting things in order for me to concentrate in the actual revision process. First, I simply look for punctuation. We know that punctuation can change a sentence to a completely different meaning than the one the writer is trying to convey. After I have gone through all of the punctuation, then I can focus on grammar.

As writers we like to think that we have made a masterpiece out of our stories, but revising our own paper can also open a door to good changes in our stories. We shouldn't look at revision as something someone else "should" do. Yes, someone else also revising our stories is a good idea. The reason for this is simply because we think our stories ended up perfect, but other eyes may prove us wrong.

So lets revise. Lets really make our stories perfect to us and to the world we're sending our readers to!

Hummingbird

I really enjoyed all of your stories in the out-loud, in-class story telling haha, but seriously I did. So I though I'd share another one of mine with all of you!

HUMMINGBIRD

A sun-filled morning, a hummingbird named Sunny was standing on a branch of a tree and cried as she saw her little nest half done. And even though she had spent days looking for materials to build her house, she had found only a few branches and leaves and did not have enough. The hummingbird wanted to finish her ​​nest soon, because she wanted to live there when she married, but she was very poor and it seemed increasingly harder to finish a home and organize a wedding. The hummingbird was so small you could barely hear her crying, the only one to hear her cries was her neighbor, Ruby, who flew from branch to branch to find the sad little bird.

“What’s the matter, friend?” Ruby asked her.

“Oh! My grief is great!” she sobbed louder.

“Tell me, maybe I can help.” replied Ruby.

“No! No one can cure my pain!” shrieked Sunny.

“Come on, tell me!” insisted Ruby.

“Well," Sunny agreed. "Note that I want to get married, but my boyfriend and I are so poor we have no nest nor can we make a party.”

“Oops! Now that's a problem, because I am poor also.” answered Ruby.

“See? I told you, no one can help me!” she shouted.

“Do not cry. Wait, I’ll think of something right now.” Ruby said. The two birds thought for a while. Desperate, Sunny was going to mourn again when Ruby had an idea:

“Look, you and I alone are not going to be able to handle planning a wedding. We have to call other animals to help us.” As Ruby finished speaking, Sunny sang a song. She sang of a small bird who wanted to marry, but had no resources to do so, then she repeated the song. Her voice was so sweet, some animals and even water and trees came to listen. When she noticed they were very attentive to her words, she asked for help with her song. With those words, Sunny would explain that she had no collar, no clothing, no shoes, no comb, no mirror, no candy, no flowers. While Sunny sang, Ruby shed big tears. Thus, between the two, they ensured that everyone present wanted to help. For a moment it remained silent, then, several voices were heard:

“Let there be a wedding! I will give the necklace,” a bird said, prepared to provide the yellow trim on her chest.

"Let there be a wedding! I will make a dress," offered the spider and began to weave a very fine cloth to dress the bride.

"Let there be a wedding! I will give the shoes," said the deer.

"Let there be a wedding! I will give a comb," promised the iguana and removed some of the spikes covering its back.

“Let there be a wedding! I will give the mirror," said the cenote--because its water was so clear and beautiful that it could be considered the bride.

“Let there be a wedding! I will give the sweet candy,” the bee agreed and went to get honey from the hive. With that, all the necessary was ready for the wedding. Sunny cried once again, but now with joy. Then she flew to seek the groom and said that they could marry. A few days later, there was a big wedding, and of course, Ruby was the godmother. At the party there was everything, because many guests brought gifts. Since then, Sunny stopped lamenting their poverty, they knew they had great friends.

In the Zone

Several students come and go or just simply pass by on this nice and breezy afternoon. I'm listening to Caribbean Zone underneath this tent, their music is so relaxing it makes me want to nap.

The band plays their music with their instruments called steel drums, they're so rhythmic. This first song is so smooth and relaxing, I guess it's called Caribbean Steel.

The band is made up of a family, that's so nice, I bet it's very fun to have a family that connects through music.

This Wednesday afternoon is such a nice day to be outside, especially listening to some music. I could dance to it....it's actually making someone dance right now, very funny and enjoyable.

I really enjoyed Caribbean Zone this afternoon, it's nice to just go out and enjoy something with all your thoughts out of your mind, or all your problems. I don't think I do that much. It's nice to have some change in my routine schedule, I should make myself do this more often.

Stafford Response

What, if anything, has he said that’s made an impression on you?

    Stafford mentions that as a writer, maybe we shouldn’t try to write something that everyone will like. When he said that, it sounded very right. As a reader, more than a writer, just because I might like one story, or a poem from a specific writer, doesn’t mean that I will like everything else that author has or will write in the future.

    I personally think that one should focus more on the importance of the message to oneself, or to others, other than on the importance to make everyone like the story. We've all had experiences, living in the same world, we are sure to relate to one another. In which case, if our goal is to have our reader feel what we feel, we shouldn’t have to try too hard to make a piece of writing perfect, but stay true to our actual feelings, to show the reader what we feel.

    That being said, I do know for a fact that we all would like for our writing to be liked and enjoyed. In which case, is makes sense that our goal, when writing, is to make the audience like it.

Drive

Drive was a really good movie in my opinion. It plays with your own

thoughts about how one would act to certain circumstances. The fact

that he has his whole "drive" secret makes it complicated for his 

personal feelings toward Irene. 

I guess one would say he had a double life. One where he was the

"driver" and another in which he was a regular guy, trying to get the 

girl he loves, in this case Irene.

Having the secret of being the "driver" got him into some serious trouble

in which not only was his life in danger, but also Irene's and Benicio's, 

Irene's son. 

Secrets can come into our lives without us wanting them to, but that

doesn't change the fact that sometimes they will. What we can do is try to not get other people involved,

especially loved ones. 

The movie Drive fits into our current writing assignment because of what his secret costs him. A lot

of people were killed or almost killed because of him, the consequences that come with each and every

secret we always hold, or have. 

Early Struggles

            Imagine you're on a broken roller coaster, you're yelling for help, nobody is able to help you, and the ride seems like it'll never stop. That's how my life felt while growing up. It was as if life was just slipping away from me way too fast. Although I struggled academically and socially on the first ten years of my life, I have learned a lot from living in California, Mexico, and Arizona.

            Being born to a Hispanic family in California meant that I had to learn both English and Spanish. I had to learn English to be able to communicate in school, and Spanish to communicate at home with my parents. The problem was, my parents did not speak or understand any English. By the time I started school, in California, all I knew was Spanish. I felt out of place in school. I couldn't understand my teacher, which made it unable for me to participate in class. The language barrier my teacher and I had made it quite difficult for me to pay attention in class. But at the age of six, who cares if your teacher can't understand you, I wasn't making any friends; and it seemed that I wasn't about to any time soon. I remember one day in class I really had to go to the bathroom. So I waited. I didn't know how to ask my teacher in English that I needed to go. The outcome: ended up with my pants wet, and no friends; especially not after that incident. For as horrible and embarrassing as that sounds, it's not a big deal to me anymore. What mainly used to shock me was the decision I was forced to make in Mexico; the one that changed a lot of who I was and am to this day.

            I moved to Mexico before I finished first grade in California; I was six years old. I ended up repeating first grade since I hadn't completed it. I was about to turn seven while everyone else was turning six. Even though then I was at a place where I could understand, and be understood, I still felt a distance from the other kids. Having arrived from the U.S. gave my classmates a feeling that I thought I was better than them; everyone kept their distance from me. By the third day, I had made a friend, and we started doing everything together. A week later, the principal of the school calls me over to the office and tells me that I'm supposed to be a second grader; if I wanted to switch grades. At this point, no, I didn't want to switch. I had finally, for the first time, made a friend. So I decided to stay in first grade; not realizing that for the rest of my schooling I would always be a year older than all of my classmates. But then again, who makes a child decide her future at such a young age for themselves?

            I moved to Arizona when I was ten years old. I was about to start fifth grade, and again, I still didn't speak or understand English. This time around, I was less timid and I told myself that the same mistake would not happen twice. I made my dad talk to the principal and have them get a bilingual teacher for me, someone who would be able to help me understand what would be taught, and also so that I would start learning English as quickly as possible. By the time I graduated middle school, I was more confident with the English language, even though I still wasn't fluent on it completely. My grades had improved dramatically, and I had been able to socialize more and meet new people. When I started high school, I was put into ESL classes; they teach at a slower pace for students learning English as their second language. Even though I started at a lower rank, one might say, than everyone else, I managed to eventually get out of those ESL classes and graduate high school in time. But that was not all. I graduated on the top seven percent of my class with honors and a scholarship to college.

            You can imagine how scary and irritating life can be for a kid moving from place to place, from school to school, and trying to make new friends. But if life has taught me anything, it's that even though we might struggle, a lot more than others, if we put ourselves up to it we can accomplish anything we set ourselves up for.

My Little Ranch

     Culiacán, Sinaloa, the birthplace of both my parents. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and knew nothing more than the desert for the first 12 years of my life. When I was 12 years old, my parents finally decided to take my sisters and I to visit their home country, and in those plans included also, finally, meeting our grandparents.

     Mexico, anyone can agree, has many beautiful places, and not all is poverty. Mexico has its beaches, for example, that many of us love to visit. But in regards to my parents past, it wasn't at all pleasant.

     My mom, Juana, lived in a ranch called "El Tamarindo." It's a small ranch which had about ten families living there. The ranch is full of trees, in the mountains of coarse, and the roads are nothing but dirt. My father, Enrique, lived in the small ranch called "San Francisco." This ranch, like my mothers, also had a small population, about fifteen to twenty families living there.

     The ranch we visited, where my grandparents now live in, is San Francisco. San Francisco, even though it is a small ranch, it is beautiful. In the mornings, you can hear the noise of the cocks waking you up, always at the same time. The scent of the early morning is that of the smell of after it has been raining, even though it hasn't rained. The long, big trees seem to always have a shadow for you, so calm and inviting for an afternoon reading. 

    It has certainly become one of my favorite places to visit, so calm and serene. One has no worries. San Francisco is also always full with children, either playing around or just out for a walk. In the small area which is the ranch, there is only one elementary school and one store in which you can do your shopping. 

     The houses are not very big. About two to three rooms max. Each house is made differently, while some are made from blocks, others are made out of cheaper material, easy for storms to break through. The roads are also very rocky, not smooth at all, and hard to drive on.

     Overall, I love my little ranch. It is so peaceful and serene.