Paid or Volunteer

1. What is the best and the worst job (paid or volunteer) that you have ever had?

• What were some of your primary responsibilities?
• What made the job enjoyable or not?
• What skills did you develop that will serve you well in internship?
• What lessons did you learn about the workplace and yourself?

The best job that I ever had was working with NASCAR. I was working there to raise money for my high school cheerleading team. We would work the Infineon race track and serve the customers that came to see the races. My primary responsibilities were to serve beer and direct people to their seats. I had my own booth and I had a lot of fun. The part I most enjoyed was the sales portion. We had to create slogans for the beer and would bet on who would receive the most tips. I always won of course. Working with NASCAR I was able to add to my customer service skills and my leadership abilities. I had to monitor other booths and was often in charge of handling the money.

My worst job was working at Six Flags. It’s all glitz and glamour on the outside but on the inside it’s a horror film. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my time there and made a lot of friends but the working part of it was crucial. We were under aged, under paid and worked ridiculous hours. Most times we would work over time but wouldn’t get paid for it because we weren’t at the appropriate age to do so. Other times we would be written up or pink slipped by the HR department because our lead or supervisor asked us to do something that we weren’t qualified to do and instead of them being reprimanded we were. This was an impoverished attempt to better one’s work ethic.

A Note to Obama

On Tuesday November 22, 2011 President Obama was interrupted at A Manchester High School by many occupy protestors while giving a job speech. The Occupy movement is an international protest movement that's primarily directed against economic and social inequality. The protestors used the "human microphone" method only minutes into his speech to gibe attention to the arrest of protestors in Occupy movements all around the nation.
The students quickly drew the attention away from the speech as they began to shout "Obama! Obama!".
After his speech a member of the movement was able to push through the crowd to get close enough to Obama to pass him a note. The note read:

"Mr. President: Over 4000 peaceful protesters have been arrested. While bankers continue to destroy the American economy. You must stop the assault on our 1st amendment rights. Your silence sends a message that police brutality is acceptable. Banks got bailed out. We got sold out."

President Obama is not the first politician to be pinpointed by the Occupy movement. But my question is what do they expect him to do? President Obama can not make all of the changes in America. We can not expect that every politician has the power to fix all of our economic problems. We all go through hard times and yes the economy is going through trying times but for us to expect one person to change it all we are only hindering ourselves from becoming great leaders. Why can't we work to change our issues in a logical way? Sometimes protesting only makes the situation worse.

My Inspiration

In small and large ways, we are all inspired. We draw our inspiration from people, pictures, art, music, behavior, nature, etc. Consider something that inspires you and write a blog post of 300-350 words about it. Here are some things you may touch on:

• Describe the source of your inspiration- be specific and detailed.
• What feelings or emotions do you experience?
• Are you alone or do you share this inspiration with others? Are you aware of others having an alternate reaction to your source of inspiration?
• Forecast how long you think this inspiration will last- does it inspire you in the moment or something that you will derive inspiration from for the years to come?

My inspiration stems from the power of emotion and the fact that it is almost time altering. One person can go from a state of happiness to being sad in a matter of seconds. I think it is a beautiful thing. Everything I do I get emotional about, especially my music. My music is my craft and ultimate passion. Rather it be instrumental, lyrical or through choreography I put every bit of myself into it and it is purely an emotional thing. The power of emotion can run a nation because that’s what drives the passion to do so. The power of emotion can build a relationship, start a revolution and comfort an aching soul. When we grieve our body is filled with emotion just as when we are happy. Emotion pretty much runs what we do a human beings. Love and emotion are to different things so on that level I won’t even try to compare but in order to love emotion does have to be involved. When my body becomes controlled by emotion I tend to become very spontaneous. I do things off of impulse and sometimes shoot for satisfactory. Most times instant gratification is what I’m trying to obtain. But overall I wouldn’t be able to function without emotion or being able to use my emotions to be successful.

Community

Community: ___________________________________________________________

To begin visualizing this group of people as a particular shape with particular functions and characteristics, Pre-write about this community. If you get stuck or aren’t sure what to write, answer some of the questions below and see where they take you:

· Who are the members of the community? How do they interact? What is central to their membership? Do members choose to be a part of this community or are they members because of other reasons (geography, ethnicity, religion, etc.)

· What are the community’s characteristics? Its benefits? Its disadvantages? Its successes? Its problems?

· What do you enjoy about the community? What do you dislike about it?

I am a part of a community called Umoja, (a Kiswahili word meaning unity). Our mission is that we are a community and critical resource dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students. We believe that when the voices and histories of students are deliberately and intentionally recognized, the opportunity for self-efficacy emerges and a foundation is formed for academic success. Umoja actively serves and promotes student success for all students through a curriculum and pedagogy responsive to the legacy of the African and African American Diasporas. I however Am I member through the Napa Valley College program in with we had to participate in four classes so that we would build our community on and off campus. We host events, dinner, plays and much more. We go out to inform others about us and what we represent as well and team up city, state and national. Umoja goes on yearly camping trips and run meetings so that we all stay o the same page. I no longer attend Napa Valley College but I am still a part of the community. I took all four classes which does mean that I have graduated the educational aspect and now I shadow the new members at events and functions. I enjoy every part of what we do and will continue to support my community.

Module one, in closing.

What are some of the things you learned about yourself as a student or a professional in Module I? Did you surprise yourself in any way? Were you proud of yourself? Were you at all disappointed in yourself? Why?

In module one in felt like things were sort of dragging just because it was the beginning and it disappoint me. I like to get in and get things rolling, challenge me. It seemed like we were taking baby steps for no reason. I was slacking on doing some assignments. I’ve only ever missed one assignment and it was in Business Communication but overall I was slacking because I wasn’t being challenged. I am disappointed in myself though, because my internship may be slow or boring but I’m going to have to find a way to get through it and get through it happily. I did surprise myself in the end of the 7 weeks when I received the core values award. I didn’t see it coming. I knew that every day I was here on time and participating as much as I could but, I suppose I wasn’t aware to the fact that I was doing more than just that in the eyes of my instructors and other staff. That right there was a proud moment and I plan to do it again. What I learned about my professional skills in module one was that I do them well. I have not received much feedback about my pro-skills and will continue to keep it that way.

Who Am I? Why, I am a Bay Area Girl Of Course!

To what extent does a person’s neighborhood shape who she or he is?

Write a post on your blog- 300-350 words- in which you talk about your surroundings and how this environment has affected you as a person:
Briefly describe your neighborhood.
Which statement best fits you and why?
I am who I am because of the neighborhood I live(d) in.
I am who I am despite the neighborhood I live(d) in.

I believe that we are all a product of our environment. It amuses me how people like to pretend that they are too good to be from what they were born. I know a lot of people that are brought up in a hostile environment who soon grow up to become the same way. If you just take a look around your neighborhood you will see that everyone either dresses’ the same, acts the same or speaks the same and it is purely environmental. It all stems from people being around for so long picking up each other’s habits and it's like a cycle, everyday all day. I've witnessed it in my old neighborhood and I am now witnessing it in my current neighborhood. A lot of individuals do the same things and it's because they are constantly seeing these actions so they unconsciously copy them. I am trying not to do this myself, be a part of my already stereotyped environment. Some neighborhoods and environments are branded negatively and it shames you to be a part of it. However, I am satisfied with my neighborhood but I refuse to join the propaganda because I act completely opposite from everyone I live around and I'm proud to be different.

To answer the question at the top of the page, I am who I am because my previous neighborhood taught me how to be original. I pride myself on being different and somewhat weird. I love every part of my awkwardness. It defines who I am. I am a Bay Area girl, born and raised.

In my opinion most of the companies and corporations around today are doing nothing but exacerbating the opportunity divide. They are under the impression that it is okay to treat people, citizens of the United States this way. Mothers and father without homes and their children without food, what are they to do? They are not helping but hurting our society. So many people in the United States alone are struggling to make ends meet every month and on top of debt they may already have these companies are just adding to their bills and depression. Not enough people in the corporate world today do their research when it comes to who can handle what's being given to them, and most do not even care. Car companies will drive bills down your throat and not think twice about whether or not you can even pay them or how mentally prepared you even are to handle such a huge load like that, especially for teenagers.

I find that in my opinion I hold the government accountable for never stepping up and defending the down and outs. No one ever looks out for the individuals who don't have the resources to do better than circumstances. Too many young adults and even elders are being duped and bamboozled because they are not being taught about their finances or the things they should look out for when shopping for major things like cars and houses. It is nothing but a shame, the world we live in now and I have no faith in the system that things will get better. Nor do I hold faith for our government to succeed in stopping the opportunity divide. It is up to us as the new generation to fulfill our duties and recreate the society we want to live in.

Just Enough

I am African American, Creole, Barbadian and whatever else runs between the veins of my family tree. I am 19 years young and I reside in San Francisco, California, Bernal Heights district. I am proud of who I am because I know who I am but I am also proud because I am not sure exactly who I want to be yet. I know I want to inspire people. I want people to feel what I'm feeling when they hear me speak or when they view my movements. I am an Artist. I write, play, read and sing music. I am music. From the sway of my hips to the wave of my hand I am original. I do not seem nor do I wish to be anyone I am not. I am mysterious. So in college I am a double major in music and criminal justice. I love the suspense and mystery of being a crime scene investigator. I can not stomach death nor am I one to attend funerals. So seeing empty faces and soulless bodies on my job my frighten me but I will work at it because I want that. I believe in defining my own success. I Will not let anyone do that for me. I am a leader because I choose to be. I Was once in band and a Cheerleader in which I stood up and exceeded expectations in both. I became captain of the Cheerleading team after making varsity my freshman year, not too many can do that. And I was also the first girl, colored at that, to be on the high school percussion line my freshman year also. So I strive. Period. And will continue to do so until my heart stops. I hope that gives you enough or at least a little about me.

High School High

I attened Vallejo Senior High School in Vallejo, Ca. It was the standard everyday school, Athletes pretty much ran the school, Cheerleaders included. The main focus was sports, not too many of the individuals that attended applied themselves enough for our school to have high academic scores. Now don't get me wrong, the kids weren't dumb but the environment we were in barely motivated kids to push harder. From what I recall most only did enough to pass, myself included. Not because good grades weren't something to strive for but becauae alot of us were just tired and that's when personal battles kick in as well. But let's talk about the structure of the school. Their were many teachers who genuinely cared about the success of their students but just as many who didn't really care at all. So when you have that type of mixed crowd the foundation isn't stable so respect goes out the door and rules are obsolete. The bathrooms made you vomet because teenagers don't care enough to clean up after themselves and the cafeteria was known for food fights. Now my school was nowhere near the worst school in my city we we're pretty much the "it" school but like I said before sports ran our school so you figure it out. From what i've heard my alma mater has only gotten worse, sports included. I wouldn't want my kids to go there, even if i did once upon a time.

My American Tongue; My Created Voice.

I believe that I have a mixed way of speaking. In many situations I speak very standard English even when I'm around friends but in other situations I may select a more improper way of speech like "slang" or "broken English". I don't believe that I speak the way I do because of any one person but I can say that over the years I have picked up a lot from my family or from the music I listen to. I really enjoy the history of English and I've always respected the rules as well. I've always been that one friend in the group that everyone would come to for proofreading or vocabulary checks. English is as always been my thing. In high school I never really put in too much of an effort to be at the top of the class because of my own personal battles but I've always been fascinated with the English language. When it comes to my musical influences I pick things up from music that has a meaning. Like Lauryn Hill's 'Miseducation' Album the way she spoke was as if she saw her everyday life in a metaphoric light or in a blaze of personification. Music from the 80's the way they captured their emotions and made everything sound so soothing and romantic. I just love the classic forms of English, the basics. That's where I pick up my way of speech.