When I learned that we were going to be forced to read a book about the processed food industries, I simply said to myself, “Really? Can’t we read something else or something?” The truth of the matter is that, I have really never taken interest in the company’s production process. After all they make the food, we buy it because we obviously like the stuff right? Wrong! I now believe that it is good that the consumers become more aware of what goes inside their foods and bodies. As a group, the consumers have the most power and say in the aspect of where the company goes. Not many people understand this concept and the book Salt, Sugar, and Fat explains the concept rather well.

            Another thing this book also covers is obviously salt, sugar, and fat. Not many people are educated in what goes into these foods and have no clue what they ingest. After all, if it tastes good, why not. However, this is exactly what Michael Moss conveys in his book. He believes, as well as some scientists, that these key ingredients act – at least in our brains – as a drug would. They possess addicting attributes that have the consumer desiring more. All this is caused by the processed food industry by including additives that are not a natural structure of these foods otherwise.

            Moss portrays a group of scientist working vigorously to find products bliss-points. This bliss point is was makes a product taste good while cutting back on certain ingredients to maximize profit for the industry. I look back at a younger version of myself and do notice that I acted like a junky when I did not get my fix of these foods. The companies, whether they deny it, target children and Americans are too busy to notice this. It is a sad but very reliable business tactic to boosts sales. My younger self would cause tantrums in order to obtain these foods and my parents would please me to keep me quiet. This book has opened my eyes to this world and I would recommend this book to people who are ignorant to the subject. 

Thanks....

            What is there to be grateful for, after all, everything I have I’ve worked for right? NO, there are things out of our control and once we come to accept this, we can work on those that we have influence over. (1) Personally I’m grateful for many things but mainly, and not to sound to cliché, I am grateful for my family. They have been with me through this crazy roller-coaster we all call life. They have been my foundation block. For that, I am eternally grateful. I am in bad-shape with my back problems, but I remain optimistic and know that I could be in a worse position. (2) To which I am grateful for my health. I am breathing and can manage. (3) Another reason to be thankful for is the health of those I love and care about. (4) I could be homeless, have been in the past and I am not ashamed to say it, yet I have a roof over my head and that’s something to be appreciative about. (5) I have an amazing bond with my brother and I see him as a father figure. He was there in absence of my father and has helped me not just economically but emotionally. I feel like I can talk to him with just about anything and he always has wise words of advice for me, I don’t tell him enough, but I thank god he partnered me up with him. (7) My mother has been a strong, independent woman for both of my siblings and myself and has worked hard to give us a better future. I see her as my best-friend and we can talk for hours. I tell her stories of myself and we laugh at my wittiness, yet she speaks from her heart to me without judgment. She accepts me for who I truly am and I know not everyone has a relationship like that with their mothers. I don’t think I tell her enough as well but I appreciate everything she has done for my siblings and I. (8) Believe it or not, I am grateful for our beloved English teacher. I abhorred the thought of English class. It took merely one class of hers to change my whole perspective of the subject. The way she presents it makes it fun and intriguing. (9) I am grateful for another year lived. It’s been a crazy year full of happy and sad moments but I have lived another year and not many have the ability to say that. (10) Life can seem to be aimless with no direction, so many possibilities and so many options. She is not just my girlfriend, she inspires me - since the first day I really got to know her – to work on myself, become a better partner for her, and be a better person. She is my life companion and she has given life another meaning. I see the world differently and she is the first thing I think about when I wake or before I sleep. I was going through a tough time before she came into my life, yet once she stepped in it, all the problems I thought were so great disappeared. A simple glance of her beautiful eyes, a gorgeous smile of hers and the sweetest kiss from her lips were enough to fix a broken version of myself. Last but certainly not least, I am grateful for her, Andrea Magaña.

famiLIES

     Family is everything, or is it? Growing up, my grandparent's instilled in their children and grandchildren that family was of the upmost importance and should always come first. My younger, naive, self did not comprehend the notion at the time. I did spend most of my childhood with my grandparent's and looking back I am greatrul for those precious moments I shared with them. When ever my grandmother saw two cousins fighting, she would immediately yell "¡Traime el bordon pa pegales!" which meant, "Bring me my cane so I can hit you guys!" This was always followed by a long lecture as to why we should respect and get along with each other, take care of one another.
     After my grandparent's passed, our family virtues began to crumble. What once was our support beem, what my grandparent's worked so hard to instill in us, began to fade away. I saw it as it began to unravel but remained silent. I wanted to see how far our family would distant from one another. To my surprise,  there was no end to it. It first started with less time being spent with one another, less parties, less socializing.  I guess part of this was because the only time we really spent time with each other, besides family parties, we're at my grandparent's home. They were no longer here to ensure that we remained as close. I look back and recall my grandmother asking all her son's and daughter's to keep these teachings alive; for as long as we stayed together, none of us would fail and she would look down upon is in happiness, eternally greatful.
     As time goes by and people change, believe me  people change, family ordeals began to arise. Whether monetary isses or simple misunderstandings, a wedge was cutting in between each family. Some of these families still  socialize with one another. As for my family, we'll as we noticed more people gaving their backs to us, it was that same rejection that bonded my immediate family closer together. As a wise man once told me, it can take a small amount of money to know who really suround's you and who really has your back, but that's a life lesson nonetheless. It brings tears to my eyes to see what my grandparent's worked so hard on has diminished in such a short period of time, but I remain true to these teachings and I now see what they meant so many years ago. I will always extend a helping hand to any of them even those family members that once turned their backs on me. It is something a great woman and a great man once tough me and I intend to inculcate to my children these virtues so I know that all that hard work my grandparent's once did, doesn't go in vain. I just hope that they look down upon me and I make them proud as I once did. I love you Chelino and Toñita. May God have you ever in his glorious presences.

WhY do we even celebrate this mom and dad?

     Born in a heavily Mexican culture influenced home has taught my siblings and I that family comes first. Every major holiday, our family along with my uncles family, would gather and celebrate thsee holidays like Thanksgiving as one big happy family. Over the years things have changed, what once was a house full of younger children is now a home half-full with young adults. The tradition of celebrating as a family has been diminishing over the years but we all attempt  to remain closely-knitted as we once were. However things change, people change, their views and personality also change. The tradition once enforced by our parents started to crumble and seemed to fade away in the new society we have adopted.
     With all this unraveling infront of me, I can only agree with Amel Saleh. I still remember as a young child the amount of quality time we would spend together as a family during Thanksgiving and the stories and meaning told by our parentc on Christmas eve as we waited until midnight for the birth of Jesus Christ. Now this time has been replaced with a gift. It seems that today's society excuses time missed with an expensive gift, and to some people it is perfectly acceptable. To me, there is no substitution to time spent with love ones. There is no monetary value on time; yet, holidays celebrated in today's society permit the absence.
     I have witnessed first hand the decreasing meaning of presents over time. Gifts I received as a child had more significance. My parents have never been of wealth, but the sacrifice my mother made to give us one gift to unwrap for the festive holidays, gave them meaning. It was not about the value in currency rather the significance of sacrifice; which, in the Catholic religion, was the symbolic sacrifice god made by giving us his only son. I'm not saying that gifts no longer have meaning but if we want these holidays to maintain its ethical value, we must educate and lead by example these values.
     

Almost There.
It's the half-way mark in the semester and all I've been hearing from my professors is, "This is the hardest part of the semester guys." I think back at the beginning of the semester and realized how excited I was to start school once more. I had taken almost two years off from school and the transition, at first, was a bit of a challenge. I had to readjust my entire mentality of time balance. No longer were night marathons on Netflix acceptable. I had to make time to study for the classes I would take. Currently I see my Psychology class a bit more of a challenge than any other class. Dr.C was straightforward in the beginning of the semester and said that her class would not be a push over class like we hoped it would be. Since all the other intro classes I've taken have been a breeze, I assumed this one would be no different; little did I know that I was in for a treat. Off the bat she as singed a seven page minimum research paper to be done APA style. I had no idea what that was, i mean i had heard of it before but not once did i do an APA format paper just MLA which i was accustomed to doing since high-school. Nonetheless, I got it done.
Apart from Psychology, I also have English R101, Art Appreciation R101 and Environmental Science Resource and Managements R100. As of right now, I like them all. I never thought that I would ever become a full-time student in college, but here I am doing just that. I always knew college was more work and in a way tried to anticipate it, yet I still see my self from time to time wondering what happened to the time I had before the homework or project was due.
College is a bit of a challenge but i don't let it get the best of me, on the contrary, I keep reminding me that I am doing this for myself and for my future children. This allows me to re-focus and get back in the groove of things. I believe that if an individual has no self-motivation, they have nothing. Nothing great is achieved without sacrifice, the time and effort i put in each class is that price I am paying now to prevail tomorrow.

Bad T.V

            Growing up in a Mexican culture influenced home, life was very particular. Family over anything, and the news was constantly on T.V to look at what was going on back at home. As a child, I thought of the news as a boring pass-time which older people, such as my parents, would do. I stuck to the good old Saturday morning cartoons and left it at that. My parents, mainly my father, would criticize me for being able to wake up early on Saturday mornings to watch these cartoons but was unable to wake up early for school. It is quite mind bobbling to look back at my younger self and realize how much influence television had on a younger mind.

            Times have changed quite a bit, I no longer force myself off the warm cozy bed in order to get my morning fix of cartoons, but who has not been indulged in a television series? The television was made as an entertainment for the masses and it is doing just that. Reality television is essentially giving that morning fix I craved as a younger child to the population. Reality T.V has taken broadcasting into a different direction. No longer are people interested in the news, talking among themselves about what is happening in the world and how we are being influenced. Children are no-longer given the sense of innocence and childhood they once held.

            In today’s society, the viewer’s crave the drama and cultural differences which reality T.V provides. We now see younger and younger audiences being influenced in a negative way by these programs like the “Jersey Shore’s.”  Children and adolescents’ are affected more so than adults by what they see on T.V. They see these shows and assume that it is the social norm. What examples are we giving the younger generations as to what an acceptable ethical standing and attitude is?

            Personally I do not watch reality T.V and have no interests in the lives of others to whom I will most likely never meet or associate with. I believe that these types of shows tend to have more of a negative impact in society than good. We see the outcome of these show’s in our sociological sway, as in what is expected to be normal now. I do agree that teen pregnancy has been around for years prior to reality T.V, but I feel that the younger generation now see this a not a big deal and it has had an impact in their opinion of marriage, relationships, and their sex lives. I am not restrained on the old mentality and I believe I’m an individual with an open mentality, but the negative effect that is reality T.V outweighs the positive effects, if any, it has in our social structure. I believe everyone has the right to express themselves in any way they see fit as long as it does not have a negative effect in any one else and they do not inflict pain on themselves or anyone else. I simply believe that parents should take in to consideration what their offspring watch and regulate what they take part in.

God's Not Dead

God's Not Dead

            For a while in my life, I intensely believed there was no possibility that a God existed. Growing up, my life has been a constant battle. I noticed, at the time, that children my age were not going through what my older brother and I had to endure. In an extraordinary way, these moments would later help me develop to become a strong, independent individual. As time progressed, I saw myself becoming more distant to God. I observed my life and the lives of other good people and noticed one common thing; all these people underwent constant complications in their lives.

At this point, I asked myself, “Why do bad things always happen to good people?” I questioned the existence of a god. Many people, amongst these my mother, attempted to persuade me otherwise. No matter, I was set in the notion of a universe with-out a higher being. Free will was an explanation to all the chaos the world held; yet, I countered with, “If an all knowing, all powerful god does exists, why would he allow free will if he knew it would lead to malicious acts and chaos. If free will is true, then there is no bigger plan. Therefore, either he has a cruel sense of humor or he simply does not exist.” Life had thrown many curve balls at me, along with some change-ups, and I was hitting nothing but foul-balls. I lamented the mishaps in my life. They were, by the most part, out of my control. My parents filing for divorce, losing my home, and relatives passing away, it seemed like the worst timing and it couldn’t have any greater purpose; or so I thought.

 Two years passed as if they were seconds, I was laying down ready to sleep and I began pondering. Through my mind rushed the thoughts of near death moments I had escaped in the past three years and how it was something greater at hand or blind-luck. As I played with the concept longer and longer, I noticed my gratitude unraveling’s to this higher being. Next I know, I am having intricate conversations with it. As of today, I like believe that I am not alone, that this powerful being has a plan for me and is assisting me to achieve it. This mentality has opened my eyes to the multitude of possibilities and has helped me strive to improve myself. I have also opened up to my mother more and I believe I have helped her cope with these losses.