Chapter 1; And Then I Went to School

Suina was encouraged to attend school so that he "might have a better life in the future". He goes through many changes as a result of going to school. Some of these changes are the way he dressed. While in school he had to wear shined shoes and pressed shirt and pants. He also had to better the his hygiene, due to the fact that he had head lice due to the lack of sanitary conditions in his house. One change that Suina had to do that is mentioned multiple times in the article is that he had to learn how to speak English. He was cruelly forced to learn English, he would get severely punished if he spoke his native tongue. When he came back home for Thanksgiving he noted that his house was really small and that there was a lack of running water and bathroom facilities. He noted that everything got dusty so quickly and hardly anyone spoke English. He noted that he was becoming civilized. I feel like like Suina's life gets better because, yeah he is losing some of his customs but hes future is becoming better. I honestly think that attending college will provide me with a better life because having a degree, gaining experience and working hard will prepare me to have a good job.

Chapter 5; "Vamos a Leer!"

Question #2: One photograph that I cherish and that symbolizes an accomplishment would be a picture that my mom took of me on my 5th grade graduation. This is means a lot to me because 5th grade was really difficult for me. Like the boy in the article, Carlos, I moved to America at a young age. I entered 5th grade not knowing a word of English. I really enjoyed reading this article because I love the fact that Ria had that desire to help kids that came to this country without knowing the language. No one can understand how hard and frustrating it is to not be able to express yourself or be like the other kid. I love how Jeanna Meier-Francisconi worked on the project Vamos a Leer. This is an amazing program, unlike all these kids I learned to speak English with the help on my teachers and the support of my parents. This graduation picture means a lot to me because it demonstrates what I accomplished and over came a huge obstacle. This picture motivates me to keep going, it shows that nothing is impossible you just need to work really hard to over reach your goals. Now that I look at that picture I see how far I have become, it makes me really proud of the huge improvement I have made.

Making Connections

     One mix message that I've gotten since I arrive to college is that partying everyone weekend is the cool thing to do. Everyone does it so you feel like the right thing to do is to go out and party Friday and Saturday night. I feel like people do it because they don't want to be left out, they want to do the same thing that everyone is doing. Another thing that a lot of people do is drink and smoke. Therefore new people who come to school feel like they need to do those things in order to fit in. While is High School I didn't do any of these things. My main focus has always been doing well in school and doing something productive with my life. When I came to college I notice all these "mixed messages". I have lived my life a certain way and I was not about to change the way I was before. Even though all my friends go out and party during the weekends, I rather stay in and just relax. I have always been the kind of people who does their own thing. I am me and I'm not going to change the way I'm just for anyone. Maybe partying is the cool thing to do but I rather focus on what is really important, my education. I didn't come to school to be a follower, I came here to become a leader.

Making Connections

Prompt #2: One story about myself that I believe it could be useful or meaning to someone might be telling them about how far I've come since I got to the United States. When I got here when I was 10 years old I didn't know how English, I have to overcome many obstacles to get to where I am today. I had to work really hard. It took me about a year and a half to learn English fluently, It was very difficult going to school and not understand 100% of the stuff the teacher was saying. I had very thankful teachers that helped me get past all those obstacles and I also had my parents who were there for me. My first 2 years of being here were the hardest, I would cry and I would feel like giving up, I would feel like couldn't do it anymore. People verbally attacked with racist comments. They have always looked at me differently because I’m not from here. All these comments hurt me but also they made me stronger. They motivated me to keep going and never give up because I knew that if I worked hard,I was going to make it far. Since I never gave up here I am, attending a good university, on my way to earn my bachelor's degree. I am making something of my life. I feel like my story would be helpful because someone my age or younger who came from another country could relate to me, coming here not knowing much but with a goal in mind, a goal of making it far in life. They need to know that everything is possible if you set your mind to it.

Earning and Learning: Are Students Working Too Much?

Prompt Question #1: My senior year in High School I did feel like my life was "over scheduled". Since the beginning of my senior year I was really stressed out due to the fact that I wanted to do really well in school in order to come into college with good grades. During my senior year I worked at Dunkin Donuts and it was very difficult for me to manage my school work and my job. Even though I didn't need to have a job, I had one. Having a job made me feel responsible and independent. In order for me to have more unscheduled time I would do homework little at a time to have it done by the time it was due. Having so many responsibilities last year made me learn how to manage my time. Even though last year was stressful I earned and saved a lot of money and I also ended my senior year with a 98 GPA. Now that I'm in college I feel like I have more unscheduled time, yes I have a lot of homework and studying to do but I don't have a job at the moment so I'm less stressed out.

Thesis: The thesis of this article is that students used to be over working themselves. They would go to college and they would also have jobs to pay for college. "What no one can quite tell us is why students work so much." This quote from the article describes that students work a lot. They work to pay the high cost of tuition but why else. Why do they over work themselves? In the article says that some students work for "30 or 40 hours", in my opinion that's too much.

Universities Seeing a Gender Gap in Enrollments

Prompt Question #3: I do not think Cruz's reasons are legitimate and well thought-out because I believe that going to college and gaining a degree will get you much further in life than just working at any job. One of my friends back at home, he decided to not go to college after school because he said going to college was too much. He would say that it was hard for him to manage work and school. He said he enjoyed making money than paying for his education. He believed that soon he was going to become manager and that he would earn more money than if he had a degree. He was wrong, a year past and he was fired from the pizzeria he was working at. He missed a year of college and now he works delivering food, he works with a taxi company, he does little jobs that don't really pay much. His decision of not continuing school was really wrong. When he told me he didn't want to go to college I was shocked, he is a hard working, smart guy. I knew he would of mad it far in life. If I was Cruz's friend I wold tell him the same thing I told my friend. "You need to continue your studies, this little jobs are temporary, once you earn your degree you can work doing what you really love. With a degree if you get fired in one job you can go find another one easily but without a degree its more difficult to find a job. Yes I know college is difficult but we need to go through many obstacles to succeed in life."

Thesis: The thesis of this essay is that many men are not attending college. In many colleges around the country the female population and female enrollment is much bigger than the male enrollment. "At Barry University, only 28% of the undergraduate students are men." "Researchers believe women are more likely than men to enter college later in life." These two quotes demonstrate that men are less likely to attend college than women.

We're Lying: Safe Sex and White Lies in the Time of AIDS

Prompt Question #4: Through out her article Daum mentions the word "we" multiple times. I believe she is referring to the teenage population.To all the teenagers who are having sexual intercourse without protection and are at risks of getting a sexual transmitted disease such as AIDS. She includes herself because she mentions that some night she goes to parties and she swears she is not going to do anything with a guy but it ends up happening. She has been tested for HIV three times. I bet a lot teenagers in our generation are just like her. They go to parties and drink and they end up doing stuff they regret the next morning. These irresponsible teenagers have sexual intercourse with strangers. They don't know what kind of sexual transmitted disease the stranger is carrying. Teenagers nowadays do anything to have fun but this fun leads to tragedy. I do not see myself as part of this "we" because I am a responsible young adult. I know how to differentiate the good from the bad and I know how to protect myself. I am not the kind of person that goes out to parties and drinks and does crazy stuff. Therefore i do not see myself as part of this "we".

Thesis: In this article Meghan Daum states that teenagers nowadays are taking the matter of sex too lightly. She talks about how teenagers know that having sexual intercourse without protection is a huge risk and this could cause them to contract AIDS but even though they know how this could affect their lives, they are still having sex without protection. Meghan says "we vow to protect ourselves, and intend to stick by that, until we don't", this quote proves how teenagers say they will say protected but it doesn't happen.