"Say yes to yourself"

I think I can relate to this reading reaction the most. Lately; I have been very negative. When I wake up in the morning, I think to my self "Great another crappy day." It seems like I always feel depressed and it sucks. I need to be more positive. Being positive makes me feel better. On some days; it's hard to be positive. It seems like whenever I am having a crappy day; it always manages to get worse. It gets worse because I let it get worse. Instead of saying " what's going to happen next," I need to be saying " I wonder what hard times I am going to have to overcome next," or " things are not as bad as they seem." I need to reorient myself like the reading says to do. Reorienting yourself will help you stay positive.

What is the best way to study for finals?

The best way to study for finals would be reviewing all of the notes you have taken over the semester. If your teacher provides you with a study guide; review the information on that study guide. For me; the best way to study would have to be to write down the answers. The more I write the information; the more it seems to stick in my head. After I write the information; I feel that I know the information pretty well. If I do not feel like I know the information; I will write it over and over until I know the information. Once I have made it that far, I go back to the study guide and look at the questions. I can usually answer all of the questions and feel confident with my answers. If there are any questions that I might struggle with; I just go back and study them a little more. This technique tends to work for me, but it may not work for you. I would have to say the best way to study would have to be to use a technique that works for you. If your good at memorizing information; you should just study the information until you know it. If your good at remembering things by writing them; write them down. Use whatever technique is the most efficient for you.

Do you like music? Why? What kind(s) of music do you listen to?

I love music. Music makes me happy. If I am in an angry mood, I just listen to music and it seems to soothe my soul. Music makes me feel calm. Music can also make me feel alive and full of energy; it just depends on what kind of music I am listening to. I love all kinds of music. No matter what kind of music is being played, I can generally always like it. There is a certain kind of music that I am not to fond of, and this kind would have to be the depressing stuff. You know what I'm talking about. The kind that makes us feel like we actually want to be depressed. Who in their right mind would want to listen to stuff that makes you all depressed? Certainly not me. For me, I like my music to be either full of life or calming. I like stuff like Coldplay, Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, Sublime, ACDC, etc. Like I said, I like ALL kinds of music, I just prefer to listen to some more than others. I generally like to make my own Cd's that are composed of many different types of music; that way I can choose what kind of music I want to listen to right then without having to change the CD.

I Wish

I sometimes wish that I could meet my great grandfather. I can remember meeting him in a retirement home just before he died. I was maybe three or four. He was a full blooded Indian. His name was Lester Wolfe. I wish I could learn more about my tribe. I might not look Indian but I am. I am part of a tribe called the Potawatomi Tribe. My tribe is from Oklahoma. I can relate to this reading "I wish" because I totally want to go back to how it was back then. I wish I could sit by the clear running water, ride horses in the meadows, and have the men hunt. I am sick of the way things are today, and I wish we could go back to the older days. I know that can't happen but one can still wish, can't we?

What are your summer plans?

I have a lot of summer plans. First, I am going to go to LA and San Diego with my boyfriend to visit his mom's side of the family. We're going to be leaving right after finals. After we get back, I will be working for probably most of the summer. I am going to be taking some time off of work to go camping in Fort Bragg. Every year, my mom's side of the family all go camping to Fort Bragg for about a week. Now that I am working, I usually only go for about three or four days. If I was to camp any longer, I would go broke. This is going to be a big summer for me because I am finally going to turn 18! Yes I know, I'm young but its not my fault. I can't believe I am finally going to be an adult, officially. It seems like ever since I got a job; my parents treat me like an adult which is good, but it also kind of sucks. They make me pay for everything. I was going to take a summer school class, but it is my summer and I don't want to be in school all year long. I decided that I was going to enjoy my summer as much as possible. Whenever I'm not working; I will probably be on my boyfriend's houseboat or partying with my friends. Summer is the time to have a blast, and that's what I'm going to do!

Describe your superstitions or the superstitions of someone you know.

Some superstitions that I have would have to be: If I see a black cat, I turn around and go the other way. If I spill salt, I throw it over my left shoulder for good luck. On Friday 13, I am extra extra careful because that is a bad luck day. My grandmother and I would take a walk and if we walked on opposite sides of something like a tree or a pole you say bread and butter or something that goes with another thing. Cookies and milk would be another example. I don't really know what the point of this one is, but I've been doing it ever since I was a little kid. I never open an umbrella inside because that is total bad luck. I believe that you should never walk underneath a ladder because that is also bad luck.

What are you most afraid of? What do you do to deal with this fear.

What am I most afraid of? I think that would have to be any kind of insects. I hate bugs, spiders, and bees. I am terrified of these things because they can really hurt you and make you be in pain for a while. Not only can they hurt you, but some of them are poisonous. When I was younger, I got stung by bees and wasps a lot. Once I got stung by a bee and a wasp at the same time. This has something to do with my phobia. Spiders and bugs creep me out because they can crawl so quickly. Spiders are just scary. The other night, I was at my boyfriend's house. We were sitting in the garage, and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked down and it was this smaller spider, right by my arm. I took a closer look, and noticed that it was black with white strips. As it turned out, this spider ended up being a pretty rare and unique spider that bites without warning. Anything that bites without warning is creepy. Any time I see a bug, spider, or bee I run and hide. It may sound childish, but I haven't gotten stung since I was younger. I have never been bitten by a spider, or been bitten by a bug. If a spider or bug is on the ground, I will kill it, but if it is crawling up a wall, i will not go near it. I will make somebody else kill it. If it doesn't get killed I will not be in that place until it is gone. Even then, I get kind of spooked. After I see a scary looking spider or a bee, I kind of freak out for a while after that. I think that is because I have such a phobia of insects. I will never get hurt by them, because I am never around them. Oh yeah, I forgot about one... SNAKES. I do not like snakes. I hardly ever see a snake, but when I do I am terrified, and run in the opposite direction. One time, My mom and I were walking our previous dog Maggie in upper park and I look to my right and coming out of the bushes was a snake coiled up, ready to attack. I panicked and screamed " holy shit mom there's a snake". Of course my mom didn't believe me, but then she saw it. She literally jumped on me and we just stood there in shock. We didn't know what do to, so we took off running and didn't stop until we reached the car. Snakes are very terrifying.

I Fell In Love, Or My Hormones Awakened.

I can relate to this story because when I was younger I had a crush on this boy named Aaron. Every time he was around I would get butterflies in my stomach. I thought he was totally out of my lead because he was the popular boy and I was this chick that was kind of ugly and shy. One day just out of know where he came up to me and started talking to me and flirting. This made me only more crazy about him. A few days later he came up and kissed me and then after that he smiled and walked away. I was in heaven. After that, of course there was this tension between us and then I got over my crush and moved on to a new one. This story was basically the same except for the fact that the senior guy disappeared.

What three things would you bring with you on a deserted island? Why?

If I could only bring three things with me to a deserted island, I would bring a tooth brush, a hair brush and a portable DVD player with some DVDs. If I was to get stranded on a deserted island most likely you won't get off that island. In case of that happening, I feel that I should need to bring the necessities. A tooth brush is a must have because there would be no way of cleaning your teeth and that is just disgusting. I hate the feeling of having dirty teeth. Since I would be on an island there would be plenty of food to eat because there is an ocean right by me. Finding something to eat wouldn't be a problem but getting the food out of my teeth would be which is why I would bring my tooth brush. Another thing I would need to bring would have to be a hair brush. After taking a shower, my hair gets very tangled which requires a hair brush. The ocean provides a place to shower, but doesn't untangle my hair. For me, a hair brush is a must to prevent me from getting dread locks. It may sound dumb but I can't live with out it. The third thing I would bring with me to a deserted island would be a portable DVD player and DVDs. Being on a deserted island would get to be very boring after a while. I love watching movies and there would be nothing else to do on the island. I think that having a portable DVD player would keep me entertained for a while. Being on a deserted island would be a very unique experience. As long as I had my necessities, I think I would be alright. Heck it might even be fun to recreate your life in a new place.

What do you like most about the town where you live? What would you change about it?

I live in Gridley and the only thing that I like about it is that it is small and laid back. I used to live in Chico and I loved it. Chico is awesome. When I lived in Chico, I could walk to school because we lived very close to P.V.. That was nice because I could go home for lunch and that saved me money because I didn't have to spend it on food. On the days that I didn't have school, I would take my dog to the Bidwell Park. I love that park. Bidwell Park is so beautiful and peaceful. I loved going to the mall with my friends and spending my parents money. I loved Chico in the spring and fall because everything is so beautiful. Of course, everything comes to an end, and so did my parents marriage. Now because of that I live in Gridley, the worst place to live, in my opinion. Now if I want to walk my dogs, I walk around my neighborhood, where everything is dry and ugly. When I need to go to school, it takes me at least a half an hour. I really didn't realize how much I loved living in Chico until I moved to Gridley. On day I will move back and be able to enjoy the park with my new puppies!

Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision. What did you do?How did you choose?

A time when I had to make a difficult decision would have to be when I was about to turn fifteen. My parents decided to get a divorce, and I had to choose who I wanted to live with. This was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I did not want to upset either one of my parents. I love them both. How was I supposed to choose? I did not know what I wanted to do, and then my sister went and told my dad that we were both going to live with him. I hadn't decided on who I wanted to live with. I was leaning toward living with my mom, but my sister told my dad I would be living with him. I kept thinking what should I do. I went with my heart, and that was to live with my mom. I had to tell my dad that I never said that I was going to live with him, and it really hurt him. As it turned out, both me and my sister went to live with my mom. My dad moved out a week before my birthday and took my dog too. I think that had to be the worst year of my life, so far. I got used to the fact that my parents weren't together anymore, and then my mom met a guy. My sister was very upset, and she started to rebel. My mom sent her to live with my dad. I have to say; I had mixed feelings. I was very happy because I though that for once I could be the center of attention; instead of my sister. I was also upset because my sister didn't live with me anymore. My mom ended up getting married to that guy, and we now live with him. He is very nice, but I have to say things have sure changed a lot in only a little amount of time. Whenever I get faced with a difficult decision, I go with what my heart says I should do. If I always listen to my heart, then things don't seem as bad as they could.

Describe your dream vacation. Use as much detail as possible.

My dream vacation would have to be to take a road trip to Mexico with a bunch of my friends and stay in a house for a week. Road trips are so much fun as long as you have people with you to help make it fun. It would be a lot of fun to drive a long distance with my friends and stop in different towns. The fun would have only just began because we would just be arriving to our destination... Mexico! What a blast it would be being there with my friends. I think it would be so much fun to be in a totally new place with your closest friends just partying and having a good time. I would love to go shopping with my girl friends and then at night cook a big dinner and just be laughing and having fun partying with everyone. I would love to lay on the beach and watch people surf as I get a sun tan. After I would get done tanning we would play volleyball on the beach and then jump in the water. I would love to walk around and explore the new places. I think it would be a blast to meet new people and learn about them and their culture and then invite them to come and have dinner with us and party. Eventually the week would come to an end but hey, we would still have a road trip home to make the trip even more enjoyable and memorable!

How would you like to be remembered?

I would like to be remembered as a fun, loving, outgoing, goofy girl who isn't afraid to be her self. I would like for people to be reminded of my sense of humor, but at the same time keep in mind my temper, and how not many people wanted to be near me when I was angry. I would like for people to know that I loved almost every person that came into my life (unless they were mean) and I cared about everybody and everything. I would want people to remember how I worked my little butt off until I accomplished each and every one of my goals. I would want people to know that I was a tough chick that wouldn't take any crap and I would let people know exactly how I felt. I would want people to remember all of the fun times that I had with each one of them. I would like for people to remember me by throwing a party to celebrate all of the wonderful times and memories. Just throwing a party would make people remember me. I would want people to remember my blond moments and laugh about them. I would want people to remember how I was unique. I would want people to remember the weird conversations that we would have because most of the time I would bounce from one subject to the next(like my grandma). I think I would just like for people to remember me in a fun way kind of celebrating all of the good times and not mourning over the fact that I would be gone. I would want people to remember me as being a fun chick!

What will life be like in 20 years? What will you be doing?

In 20 years my life will hopefully be better then it is now. I will have graduated college and gotten my RN license. I will hopefully have a wonderful job working in the delivery unit of a hospital or at a doctor's office. I will have a great family. I hope to get married eventually and have two children. I will have a nice house which will be perfect for me. In 20 years I hope to be in wonderful health and just living life one day at a time. I hope that life will be less stressful than it is now. Everything that makes me stressed out now will be out of my life, that is for sure. My job adds so much stress on me that I think I can't handle it anymore. In 20 years from now I will be a much happier person. I don't exactly know how the world is going to be 20 years from now, but what I can imagine happening is that gas will be around $5.00 a gallon and houses will cost at least 500,000. Chico will get to be huge like Sacramento is. I'm sure that it will be unsafe but I hope for our future generations that the world will be a better place, but I just don't see how that is going to possible if things keep going how they are. I am curious to see how my life will be in 20 years. Hopefully it will be like I imagine!

How has the world changes since you were a child? Are these changes good or bad?

Since I was a child, the world has changed a lot. When I was a little kid, I would be able to go and wait for my dad to get off of the plane right by the gate. Now days, you can't even go up to the food court unless you have a boarding pass. Since 9-11 you can't even take your normal bottle of hairspray. Anything you take has to be less than 3 ounces. I understand that this is for safety reasons but why do they have to limit everything you bring? When I was younger, gas was under two dollars a gallon. Now days, your lucky to see gas go under 2.50 a gallon. Highway 99 is now under construction that will totally change the highway. Soon Chico will get to be like Sacramento. I mean it is already growing and undergoing changes to make it more like Sacramento. When I was younger, I didn't have to worry about my personal belongings getting damaged. Today, there are a lot of little punk kids that think its cool to smash in car windows or break into people's houses. The world is changing constantly. Some of the changes are for the better like airport safety, but a lot of the changes are not for the better. I don't understand why some things are happening. Is it really necessary to make the prices of everything outrageous so that living becomes almost impossible? I don't think so. I don't think that minimum wage needed to go up because that just means that everything else will go up too. People are struggling with money now days then ever before!

Stop Ordering Me Around

In this reading selection, there is a waitress who gets harassed by these tennis players. One night, these tennis players decided to play tennis for a while and then go to the country club for pizza even though it had already closed. The owner was nice and cooked them pizza. They victimised this poor waitress. She had to put up with their rude behavior . I can totally relate to this selection because unfortunately I work in the food business and I come across all kinds of people. Most days the people are courteous and respectful, but sometimes I will get really rude people or perverts. I don't understand why people think that just because we work in the food business gives them the right to treat us disrespectfully. I agree with the waitress when she states " I deserve respect whether I remain a waitress or move on to a different career."

Write about a favorite memory from your childhood. Try to use as much detail as possible.

My favorite childhood memory would be when I went to Las Vegas with my family. I was eight years old and my sister was nine years old. We woke up at 3:30 a.m. to drive to Sacramento to catch our flight. I was so excited because I had never flown before. We arrived at the airport and had to wait for an hour and a half. Finally our plane arrived and we boarded. Our flight was about a little over an hour. Our plane landed and we were in Las Vegas. We got off and got a taxi to take us to our hotel. We were staying at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. We checked in and had to wait for a couple of hours before our room was ready, so we decided to go explore! It was summer time so of course it was very hot. The MGM had a water park which was very nice and pleasant to relax at. Being eight years old, I wanted to look at the town. We took the Bart to a hotel ( I can't remember the name) and then got off and we were on the strip. We went to the Excalibur hotel, the Mirage Hotel, and Ceasar's Palace Hotel. They were all amazing. When we were in Ceasar's Palace it was so big that we actually got lost and could not find our way out for 20 minutes. We kept asking employees where an exit might be and they would point us in the direction of emergency exits. Finally we found an exit. We went to a hotel called The New York New York. We had dinner at this Mexican restaurant which was outstanding. After dinner, we decided to go on the roller coaster. Unfortunately, I was afraid of heights, and this roller coaster was very high. I started shaking in line before I could even seen the ride. My dad noticed me shaking, so he said to me "you don't want to go on it, do you?" I looked up at him and said no. I didn't go on it, but my mom and sister did and they said it was fun but scary. We went to a water park called The Wet N Wild and I had so much fun there. Eventually it came to an end and we had to go home. I would have to say that this would have to be one of my favorite family vacations and childhood memory!

Describe a "perfect weather" day. What would you do on a day like this?

For me, a perfect weather day would have to be a cloudy sky with a little bit of sun shining through. It looks so beautiful when the sky is dark and cloudy, and then a little bit of sun light shines through those dark beautiful clouds. I love to look outside and see the beautiful sky above the trees. It is so pretty and peaceful. To make the day even more beautiful and perfect; I like for it so smell like it does after the rain. Outside just smells so clean and fresh. Nothing can beat a day that smells clean and fresh; with a dark sky and little bits of sunlight shining through. On a perfect day like this; I would have to take my dogs for a nice long walk to smell the fresh air and look at the beautiful scenery. After I would get done walking the dogs, I would go for a drive up in the mountains to really get the best view and feeling of this beautiful day in mother nature. In the evening it would rain, and I would cuddle up with my boyfriend by the fire with hot chocolate and popcorn watching a movie. I love being able to hear the rain hitting the roof; it sounds so peaceful. For me, this is a perfect weather day!

If you could invite three famous people who would you invite?What would you talk about?What would you eat?

If I could invite three famous people to my house for dinner I would have to invite Brad Pitt, Nick Lachey, and Brittney Murphey. I would invite these three famous people because I think Brad Pitt is hot and a good actor, Nick Lachey because he is hot and a great singer, and Brittney Murphey because she is really funny. I would ask them questions like Is it hard to memorize all of the lines for a movie? Is it difficult to get your voice to raise without getting squeaky? Does the paparazzi bother you often? I would like to know where they eat and what there favorite store is to shop in. I would ask them what is their favorite hobby and what is their favorite movie. We would talk about things like who is their favorite star and why. For dinner, we would have steak, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and garlic bread. For dessert, we would have warm caramel apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream.

Describe a memorable teacher you have had. How was he/she special for you?

In junior high school, I had this history teacher named Mr. Bishop. I really do not care for history but, somehow he made history seem interesting. We had to learn about all kinds of things like the Aztecs and the Inca's which was actually fascinating. Mr. Bishop just had this fun way of teaching that would interest the students. I have to say, that if a teacher can make something boring seem interesting, that is a good teacher. After the school year, some classmates went to Washington D.C. and New York. Mr. Bishop was one of the teachers that went and he was just comical. I like a teacher that has a sense of humor and isn't afraid to joke around with the class. That makes me want to be in the class and not wishing I was else where. Having a good teacher is a very important factor that helps people to learn and remember the information. For me, Mr. Bishop was a teacher that made me remember things.

What makes you happy? What could you do to bring more happiness to your life?

What makes me happy? There are many things that make me happy. Some of these things may include being with, my puppies, being with my boyfriend, and of course shopping. There are some other things that make me happy like being with my family but that's a given. The other things are just not as important as the rest.

When I am around my puppies, I feel extremely happy because they love to be with me. When I get home from work or school, they jump on me and like me and will not leave me alone. Whenever I lay down, Frodo, Lucy, and Jasmine will snuggle with me. Luckily Frodo and Lucy are small dogs or else they would smash me. If I walk out of the room without bringing them with me, they will sit at the door barking and whining until I come back, then they are happy.

If I am not working or at school I am most likely with my boyfriend. Being around him makes me so happy because we laugh and joke and just have fun. When I am away from him, I feel like something is missing, and it gets rather depressing. I like doing things with him that make me happy like shopping because it is more enjoyable. I like to snuggle and relax with him it makes me feel safe and very very happy.

I love to shop. Shopping is my hobby. Unfortunately it is a very expensive hobby. I love going shopping because you get to let loose and feel free to have fun. You get to try things on and buy things that you think is really cute and stunning. It makes me happy because I feel like there are no boundaries. If you like something you can try it on. Even if you think something is hideous, it is fun to try it on just to see what it would look like. Shopping relieves a lot of my anger and stress. It relaxes and calms me down.

There really isn't that much that I can do to bring more happiness into my life because there is already plenty of happiness in my life. I am very fortunate right now because my life is full of happiness. It is even better because I have everything that makes me happy very close to me at all times. If I am ever depressed I have many things to help cheer me up!

Describe your dream job. What would you do in this position? What would you enjoy about it?

My dream job would have to be a stay at home mother and wife. Being a stay at home mother and wife would be very enjoyable to me because I would love to be able to be with my family and pets, cook dinner, and do fun activities. There are not many women that are able to stay at home anymore because of the way society has become. It is just way to expense to live now days so both the man and wife have to work.

I would love to be able to stay at home with my family and pets. They are the two things that I love the most and I would be the happiest person if I was able to be with them all the time instead of having to work. When I am with my family we laugh and joke and have a really great time. My dogs and so cute and lovable and it makes me so sad when I have to leave them at home. They make me very happy when I'm with them.

I love to cook all different kinds of food, but I never have time anymore. I work all day and when I'm not working I am going to school. The last thing I feel like doing is cooking nice big meals. It is just over-doing it. If I was able to stay home all day I would have nothing to do but cook really nice big meals for my family. I wouldn't feel stressed or limited on time because I would have all of the time in the world.

Someday I plan on having children. When that time comes, I would love to be able to stay at home with them. I think that that children need a at least one parent to stay at home with them. The children would feel more comfortable having one of their parents stay home with them until they are ready to start school. This would also benefit the parent because they would be able to understand why their child did something. If they went to a day care, the child could pick up something and the parents wouldn't really understand why they did that. Staying at home would create a bond between my child and I.

I'm sure that a lot of people think that being a stay at home mother and wife isn't a job but it really is. Of course it has a lot of perks to it, but that's what makes it a dream job. I would love to be able to be around everything that makes me happy with out ever having to leave my home. The only thing that I can't do at my house is go shopping, so I guess I might have to leave my house but still wouldn't that be wonderful to do what ever you what and not have to answer to anybody?

What are your goals and/or expectations for this semester?

My goals and expectations for this semester are multiple things. First, I would like to increase my vocabulary, and have fewer grammatical errors. Second, I would like to be able to write very good sentences and paragraphs. Finally, I would like to be able to use my accomplishments from my other goals to write a wonderful essay.

I feel that my first goal is one of the most important goals because it will help me work on accomplishing my other goals. If I improve my vocabulary, I will be able to write very sophisticated sentences. Having fewer grammatical errors will also help me work towards my next goals. The key to writing a great essay is to have little to no grammatical errors and different word usage throughout the paper. These are the areas where I could really use some help.

Once I have improved my vocabulary and decreased my grammatical errors, I can move towards completing my new goal. This goal is to write better sentences and paragraphs. In my opinion I think that improving my vocabulary is the first step to write a good sentence. Having different words in my vocabulary will help me to make my sentences be more appealing rather than dull and boring. Once I have mastered writing good sentences I can move on and use the same technique to write great paragraphs.

The last goal I would like to complete this semester would be that I would like to be able to write a well-written paper. I find that this is very important because in every class that you take, you write several papers. If you do not write a good paper, you will most likely score fairly low and that will hurt your grade. This can cause you to fail and not get the kind of job that you are aiming for.

My goals and expectations for this semester and the most important goals to me because I feel that after I will complete them I will be able to succeed in school and throughout life. The key to becoming a good writer is to have a wide range of vocabulary, no grammatical errors, and well-written sentences and paragraphs. I hope that this class will help me to accomplish my goals.