Essay #1

It Wasn’t the Right Time

     Growing up it’s always been my mom and me. My dad left at a young age, so she’s always been the one I was dependent on. Although we butt heads, in the end she will always be my best friend. I never really realized how much she did for me and meant to me until she got pregnant with my brother. That’s when everything changed.

     My mom had been dating Gerry for a little over three years and his family always asked when an engagement or baby would be coming. In March, my mom found out she was pregnant. I was truly happy to hear that I would be getting a younger sibling because I always wanted one. I also liked Gerry enough that I wouldn’t mind him being around all the time. During the pregnancy, Gerry was usually at work but when he was home he’d help out my mom as much as he could.

A few months after my mom became pregnant, she noticed that she became tired easily and ran out of breath quickly. Her doctor had diagnosed her with cardiomyopathy, which I later found out that it could lead to a sudden cardiac arrest because of the irregular heartbeat. The doctor said it could be because of the pregnancy because her body needed to work to provide for the baby as well as my mother. As the months went by, I noticed how much weaker she seemed. But every time we went to see the ultrasounds of the baby, I could see how happy she was to see the baby on the screen. Yet I still couldn’t handle seeing my mom so weak because she has always been the strongest woman I know. She always has been independent and can stand her own ground. So to see her weak like this was so strange to me.

The day came in mid-October. I was in my second period class when I received a text that my brother, Christian Jayden, was born. I started crying in class because I was so happy. I had to go to the hospital the next day because the doctors needed to run some tests on my mom and the baby. My aunt picked me up to take me to the hospital. The drive seemed like it took forever because I was so excited. So many questions were running through my head; I wondered if he would like me, what he looked like, if he cried a lot, and many other questions. When we finally got to hospital, I wanted to run up down the hallway out of the elevator to see my mom. My mom was connected to an oxygen machine and my brother was in an incubator type thing to take away the yellow in his skin. I couldn’t help but stare at both of them. The baby seemed so frail and my mom looked so pale and drained. I was then reminded that my mom was still sick.

I had gone home and my mom had to stay at the hospital for two weeks because she was still sick but the baby got to go home to his grandmother’s house. Gerry stayed with her until late at night every night after work. I had found out that my mom had to stay in the hospital longer while I was in ASB class. In that class I sit in a podium overlooking the whole class and as I read the text message, I began sobbing. There was nothing I could do about it because I knew she needed to stay there to get better. Her boyfriend had picked me up one night so I could see her. I began to cry when my mom and I were alone and she asked, “Why are you crying?” with a slight smile and laugh. I told her,” Because you don’t look like yourself. You look so helpless,” I said as I stared at all the machines connected to her. She needed help doing things that she never would have needed help with before, simple things like going to the bathroom, even. The nurse walked in and my mom explained why I was crying and the nurse began to reassure me that my mom would be fine; she just needed to rest because her body was exhausted.

This was the longest time in my seventeen years of life that I had been away from my mom. And I never really knew that it would affect me so much not having her around. While she was in the hospital, I tried to go out as much as possible to keep myself busy. But there were nights were I’d sit alone in my house restless because I was scared of losing her. When she eventually came home, I tried doing anything I could to help her. It didn’t take long once she was home for her to seem her normal self again. Now she has to take a few more pills than usual to help regulate her heartbeat, blood pressure, etc. Looking back, I still get emotional because that was the lowest point that I have ever seen my mother. She seemed so vulnerable and it helps me see that I need to treat her with much better respect. Every day, I remind myself that I need to do the best I can to help her out and show her how much she means to me because tomorrow is not always promised. This was a significant event for me because it helped me realize that someone you love and hold so dearly could be gone within an instant and before that happens, you should always make them feel important.

Interview with a classmate

 The classmate I interviewed was Steven Martinez. He recently graduated from Rio Mesa High School and was a part of the French club. In his spare time, Steven enjoys watching TV, listening to the radio, sleeping, talking on the phone, and going out with his friends. When he is with his friends, they like to go to the pool, watch movies, hike, and party. I also found out that Steven and his friends are “straight edge”; they don’t need extra help to have fun. What motivates him to go to school is to advance toward a better future and also to make his family proud. His current schedule is busy and at times hard to handle; however, he pulls through by managing his time. He considers his parents and his friend as his role models because he sees them as hard workers. He considers himself a role model for other because people compliment him on his academic strength. In a few years he sees himself graduated and working in the field of forensics. He likes OC because of the campus size. He was surprised that people in college were “actually nice and easy to get along with, unlike in high school A quote that inspires him would be, “We all might be alive, but not all of us are living”. 

Texting

     I really enjoy texting. It is fast and efficient for me. Especially because I am a shy person on the phone and it is convenient if I need to do something because I have the ability to reply when I want to. However texting can also lead to miscommunications due to spelling, grammar, or abbreviations and other misfortunes. When my mom texts me and she abbreviates words, I often get confused because I understand the abbreviations as other words. I often find myself rereading text messages from my mom a few times before understanding them. Also I am so used to grabbing my phone and replying to a message that when I am driving I often pick up the phone but remember to put it down and reply later. I also like texting because if I am not in the mood to talk, I can always just text. With texting there are fun “emojis” that you can send too. There are emojis of faces, food, animals and other miscellaneous icons. Another reason I like texting better than calling would have to be if I needed a favor or had a question but not much time to engage in a conversation with someone, I can easily talk to them via text. I guess you can say I’ve been text crazed since the sixth grade.

Reality TV

Growing up I enjoyed typical kid channels like, Nickelodeon and Disney. But as I entered middle school, I began to watch reality TV shows. My favorite was Real World on MTV, but I knew that people didn’t really act like that. I’ve always thought reality TV shows are scripted because who honestly acts so crude and immature like that in real life.

Although I can say for the past few years my favorite reality TV show has been Bad Girls’ Club on Oxygen. These girls claim to be the “baddest girls where they come from”. The show constantly consists of the girls fighting and arguing with each other. But when it gets too hectic and a girl needs to be sent home, a replacement is sent for her. The “originals,” the girls that are there from the beginning, will haze the replacement to see if she can handle it. The girls also usually form cliques, but they tend to change depending on the drama going on.

Personally, I believe that reality TV shows aren’t bad because they are there to keep people entertained not influence them. If a person becomes influenced by the television show that they are watching, then I believe that they are not mature enough to be watching that show. While watching Bad Girls’ club or other reality TV shows, I constantly find myself saying,” If my daughter or kid ever acts like that…” because I understand and believe that reality TV shows are purely for entertainment.