Entry #11- Final Reflection Blog

Looking back, on my blogging experience, I can not help, but wonder where the last four months have gone. In the beginning of this adventure, I was excited to blog and was skeptical at the same time. How was I supposed to be successful at blogging? What about topics? OH NO, OH NO, OH NO..is what went through my mind.

But, I took a deep breath and dove in and learned how to open up to my classmates and the world about issues that had me mesmerized and events that were going on in my life. It gave me an outlet that allowed me to use as a relaxer and blogging soon changed from "what I had to do" to "what I want to do". 

I could not wait to share with my husband and my Mechistas about my latest blog and get their opinions about my writing or videos/pictures I had chosen. I definitely took this experience seriously and even given great thought to continuing my blog throughout the next few years. I also have thought about using this method when I finally have my own class. There are so many teacher-based sites that teachers and elementary students can interact and create blogs without violating FERPA.

While blogging, I learned more about me as a writer, how easy it was to attract an audience, and how experiences or ideas can come alive with choice words and graphics. I also learned more about myself personally. It allowed me to reflect not only what I was blogging about, but other events that were impacting my life.

I believe blogging was a very useful assignment for this class because it allowed us to be more creative and get away from the basic essay. It was a great way to express ourselves and get to know each other better.

Thank you so much for opening me up to the world of blogs! 

Entry #10- Passing on The Torch...

As we head down the last weeks of school, I find myself in a bittersweet slump of emotions. I have come to the realization that this Thursday is my last M.E.Ch.A. meeting as President and I will be handing over my role to a fellow Mechista that will lead our group in the upcoming 2014-2015 school year. I feel as if  my passion is being taken away from me, my heart weakens and I am lost. For the past two years, I have devoted great time into M.E.Ch.A. and now I wonder, What am I going to do with my time now?

Looking back on this past year, my group and I have taken our chapter to the next level. We have reached district recognition and are the DAC Award of Excellence recipients of 2014. I am extremely proud of our accomplishments and hope you all continue to grow throughout this next year.

Being a part of M.E.Ch.A. has made me a better person, a better leader, and a better student. It has taken me many places such as Denver, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico and countless leadership retreats. It has allowed me to meet many people and be a part of something better than the average college experience. 

As I reflect on all the experiences being involved in M.E.Ch.A. has brought me, I realize I am very fortunate to have met all of you and although we will still see each other around, this still feels like goodbye. I am so proud to have been your leader and I truly believe you all are going to do great things next year!

Entry #9-Media Synthesize

In today's society it is extremely easy to be overpowered and influenced by the latest trends and fads. Media plays a huge role in this influence from advertisements to the goods they advertise.

"Killing Us Softly 3" is part of a film series that focuses on the negative side of advertisement based on the exposed sexuality and vulnerability of young girls and women. This film has changed my view on the way I view advertisements and I  no longer focus on the product, but more of the subject and how they are exposed.

I believe these types of advertisements are the cause of poor body image among our society. Women and men are being forced-fed images of the impossible and are brainwashed to think that a lady that is skeletal thin, with high cheek-bones, and long legs is beautiful and if you are anything less you are hideous.







                                                                                                                                                           









These extreme measures that portray "beauty" not only affect the way men think of women, but can have lasting effects on young girls that can cause eating-disorders, self-mutilation and heaven forbid the newest trend of adolescent plastic surgery.

We need to change our world with positive reinforcement and change the view of both women and men. Women with curves in ancient times were seen as the most beautiful and desirable. There are figurines, statues and other monuments that paid tribute to these women.

Beauty should not be based on the size of your waist, breasts, and skin color. Everyone is beautiful and we need to stop doctoring up false idols.

Entry #8- "Trapper ready!?"

As I give a nod, the competitor raises the barrel and yells, "PULL!" just then I push the button on the controller and tense up just as the explosion ignites from the shotgun. I watch two skeet birds fly through the air and burst one right after the other. I yell, "Dead Pair!" as the group congratulates competitor number 70.



It was my first time being a trapper for the Arizona Game and Fish State Competition and I was extremely nervous and excited. Although, I was not new to the Ben Avery range or competitions, I was new at being a trapper and I knew these men and women competing payed top dollar to be in this competition. 



Friday the first morning of the competition, as I was pulling for a competitor, one of his teammates tapped me lightly on the shoulder to gain my attention just as the shooter yelled, "Pull!" I was so distracted by the four-foot Western Diamondback slithering into my station that I lost concentration and did not push the button in time resulting in "a look that could kill" from the shooter. He began to get angry at me until he saw what caught my attention and freaked out. For what seemed like hours we all stood still not able to move and quietly discussing the laws of killing a rattler meanwhile trying to get the attention of the facility director. We finally got his attention and without hesitation grabbed the beautiful Beretta and shot the snake twice severing it's head.  
With a sigh of relief and a nervous laugh, we were all back on track and ready for the next competitor. 

Throughout the entire weekend, I was known as the snake girl and the news of my rattle snake reached all 150 competitors. By the end of the weekend, I learned that my station was the only one visited by a slithering creature. 

Entry #7- Capitalism: A Love Story

The corrupt actions of main-stream America have never been a secret, but the extreme measures corporate goes to to make a quick buck will make your skin crawl. During 2008, when most of us were shaken up and worried about loosing our jobs, homes, and the little savings we had, CEO's, millionaires and billionaires were reaping in the benefits of the countless bailout deals awarded to their companies.

According to Michael Moore, a well known film maker, corporate America and the top 1% benefit so much from the labor of the common folk and think so little of us that we are referred to as peasants. "Peasants!" Wow, what a smack in the face. Us, Americans who are living the "dream" that all other countries hope to live are considered "peasants". I thought we ditched this slur when we crossed the Atlantic and fought for our Independence. 

However, name calling is the least of our worries. Who knew that your friendly employer such as Wal-mart and many other big names could and will take life insurance policies out in your name? But..wait..does the company benefit from those policies or the family left behind? According to USA Today, a recent article posted that 11 million households do not have life insurance because these families have other financial responsibilities. Does it seem fair that a family who can not afford life insurance has to suffer when their loved one passes away while the company  rakes in thousands of dollars?

It's disgusting to see that GREED has overtaken our basic human compassion and has slaughtered the "American Dream". The promises of our Independence and democratic philosophies are merely a dream that we no longer grasp. We allow just 1% of America to tell us, we will forever be poor and beneath their shoes because we are just "peasants".

Entry# 6- What do teacher's make?

As a future educator, I often find myself being asked, "why would I choose to be a teacher if they do not make that much money?" And of course, I always respond, "life is not about money!"

But, really what do teachers make? Well I have a friend who would like to share with you exactly what a teachers make.

 Being an educator is not a simple job and can easily become a 12+ hour work day and it is true that we are all under paid for what we do. And for the congressmen and women who do not believe that schools need more money (and we are talking about money going to the school and not the superintendent's pocket), they will never understand the amount of work we put into making sure we have law abiding citizens for the future.

It is not about money in my pocket! It is about the spark of joy when a child finally "gets it" and the smiles on their face when they achieve. It is the support I will provide for the children with troubled homes, the hungry tummies I will feed and make sure they have food to take home. It is the fact that I know that I will have 30+ young minds to mold and create a classroom that is culturally empathetic and runs on collaboration. It will be my job to inspire the future presidents, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and TEACHERS!

Entry #5- Wall-E

The animated film Wall-E was never a big interest of mine and I never understood why people loved it so much. After watching this short clip, it is extremely sad to see that all human interaction is lost due to the immense use of technology. I believe there is a huge connection between this film and today's society. As we rely more and more on technology we have definitely lost the art of communication.

It was easy to see that the people in this clip had lost all personal interaction with each other and talked through a "web cam" even though they were sitting right next to each other.This is similar to the way people in our own society text each other who are in the same room instead of just speaking. The film also showed that the people relied so much on technology that they use robots to teach their children about Buy N Large, told them when to eat, what to wear and even picked them up if they fell out of their chairs. It took Wall-E to break Mary's chair to get her to realize he was speaking to her and at that very moment she realized how immense technology was in her world through advertisement. It was very interesting to see how useless people became the more they relied on technology. Einstein once said, "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction." This film definitely shines a light on the destruction technology could have in our society.

Entry# 4 The Migrant Farm Worker of Today

Imagine you are 8 or 9 years old waking up on an early Saturday morning, what are you going to do? Will you lounge in your pajamas, with a bowl of Lucky Charms in your lap watching the Road Runner out smart Wiley for the thousandth time? Or are you climbing in the back of a pick-up truck rubbing the sleep from your eyes and thinking, my feet still hurt from yesterday?

Many people today do not realize that crops are still picked by migrant farm workers that follow the harvest from state to state. These workers are not just individuals, these are families who are economically forced to follow the harvest down the coast from Washington state through the south and up to Wisconsin picking whatever crop is in season.

The most shocking realization is that a large population of migrant workers are children who are not protected by child labor laws. There are 400,000 migrant child farm workers in America. These children toil in the fields up to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for an average pay of $64 a week. Unfortunately, many families can not afford for these children to go to school because they need them to work. In result, the generational cycle continues and more children continue to suffer.

As a granddaughter of migrant farm workers, this issue pulls at my heart because what my grandparents fought for alongside Cesar Chavez is still continuing and not just affecting adults, but the babies of America.

Please help bring awareness to this issue and join M.E.Ch.A. de GCC on March 26th at 6pm for a special viewing of this film and learn more about the work Cesar Chavez did for migrant farm workers and what we can do to help these children. 

Entry #3 Media Quest

In today's world it is easy to see the major improvements in technology. When I was a young child a cell phone was the size of my shoe which required an exterior antenna and a computer required a floppy disk that was actually floppy. The children of today live in a world where technology advances every day and their whole lives revolve around the internet.These children are so far advanced in technology that they are operating an iPad at two years old. However, with all these improvements we are not seeing an improvement in educating our youth.

Unfortunately, many school systems in America are behind times and still operating in a factory style setting from the industrial era. We pass students along in groups based on age and not capabilities. We limit their ability to learn by limiting our teaching styles one way instead of finding multiple ways to teach children with different needs. This video is important because it targets why education in this country is outdated and how it needs to evolve from the one way direction. We must be open to creating a curriculum the revolves around technology and collaboration if we want our students to grow and be successful in this technology driven world.

Entry #2. Finding my Indigenous Soul

The greatest feeling in the world is when your soul is soaring above the clouds. There are no worries of bills, school, and deadlines. It is the feeling in your stomach when you ride the last fall of Splash Mountain, the joy of celebrating the Eucharist during Mass, or the moment when you are captivated by something that makes you proud of your culture. 

My moment came while watching the Danza Azteca Grupo perform a blessing ceremony for a six month old girl. As they encircled the altar of hand carved drums, candles, a cajeta of smoldering herbs and resins, and flowers, all forty in full indigenous garb with headdresses feet high began to pray. 

The prayer was like no other, with the beat of a drum they began to sing simultaneously. At each chorus and the sound of a conch shell the grupo paid tribute to each navigational direction which was their way of saying everyone there and all the spirits present, it is your responsibility to protect and watch over this little girl. 

Although I have seen many Matechinas dance at the Augusto Festival in El Paso every year, Danza Azteca seemed to be more connected with our indigenous people. Each part and every movement of the ceremony has great meaning to the prayer. 

One of my favorite danzas was the prayer of Viejitas (old woman, grandmother). This prayer celebrates life and death. At first the movement is big which celebrates young life, but as time went on the dancers began to crouch and the movements were limited, however toward the end the of the prayer the grupo exploded into big movements celebrating the release of the soul no longer restricted by the physical ailments of the body. 

I cannot explain in words the joy I felt while watching the prayer. A light of peace struck my heart and I am forever captivated by the beauty of Danza Azteca. 

Entry #1. Learning About Blogs

What do I think about blogs? That is the question...I have always wanted to be a blogger, but had my doubts. What would I write about? Why would people care? As I sat behind my desk at work one morning, I began to explore the world of blogs and found that people blog about absolutely anything. 

I find blogs very artistic, although it doesn't use paint or clay (or really any type of art material), it is an expression of oneself, life, love and sometimes business. Some blogs are really refreshing, in the sense that they can be funny, educational, and all around fun without being transparent like a random Facebook status update. 

I am absolutely in love with PostSecret Blog! This is an amazing blog where people create artistic anonymous postcards that includes a secret about themselves and sends them to the blogger. The postcards are literally made of anything such as newspaper, collage magazine pictures, and some even include items like teabags and keys. Some of them are funny, some are sad, but most of all they are relatable. One of my favorites is this one;

http://postsecret.com/

My least favorite blog that I have come across was Suri's Burn Book. I did not like this blog because the blogger is pretending to be the seven year old daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise and if you are familiar with the burn book in the film Mean Girls then you pretty much guessed it. Although, it is not as severe as the book in the film, she takes pictures of celebrity's children and comments on what they are wearing and doing. To me, it is a little too juvenile. Here is the link if you are interested in checking it out for yourself, http://surisburnbook.tumblr.com/.

Practice Entry- Hi!

Hello Everyone!
My name is Frankie Candia and I am currently working on my last semester at Glendale Community College and will be graduating with my Associates in Elementary Education. I plan to continue my education in the fall through the NAU Extended Campus Program and will be teaching my own class in Fall of 2016 (which is just in time for my 10 year high school reunion). 

I am an active student leader on campus and currently I am the President of the M.E.Ch.A. Organization. We are an organization that promotes the importance of higher education among our Latino Community, equal rights for all minorities and we focus on community service/outreach. We are well known district wide for the many truly original events we have brought to our GCC campus and we plan to continue to inspire other clubs to do the same. Currently, we are working on the biggest project of our M.E.Ch.A. "Careers"! We will facilitate the first Student-run-for-Student Youth Conference in April 2014. This conference will be ran by our very own Mechistas where we are hosting 60 local high school juniors and seniors for a full day of five workshops focusing on Communication, Leadership, Team-Building, Education, and Cultural Diversity, free food and Cultura. 

"Creating a Path for Better Mechistas, Better Leaders" M.E.Ch.A. Retreat Nov. 2013

 On top of being a full-time student with 18 credits on this semester's schedule and the President of M.E.Ch.A. (which is a full-time job on its own), I am also a student employee of the English Dept. Working on campus is great opportunity and allows me to focus more on my studies instead of taking the time to travel to an off-campus job. 

Disneyland Christmas 2013

When I am not focusing on my studies or being a student leader, I am a wife and an artist. My husband and I celebrated our third anniversary this past Christmas at Disneyland. Although, we both have very busy schedules and do not spend as much time together as we would like to, we understand these are small sacrifices we have to make now in order to have the life we want for our future. 


I take great pride in being an artist! I love to paint with acrylics on discarded vinyl records that I purchase by the cart full from Goodwill. I choose to paint on vinyl records because they are a unique medium and a good conversational piece. Most of my art is about Latino culture and focuses more on Dia de Los Muertos (one of my favorite holidays). I have yet to sell one of my pieces, but I have donated one to be sold at an art auction for the PTK scholarship fund. 

              

I also have my largest art piece hanging in the Student Leadership Office. The "Dreamer" is a piece constructed of thirty vinyls records and took twenty-six hours to complete.

 "Dreamer" Spring 2013

It is the story of the thousands of immigrants who travel by foot through the Sonoran Desert every year.

The journey of rough terrain, hot days, no food, little water, and only the clothes on their back.

It's a story of the discrimination of our people, with skin the color of earth, as they labored in the fields to supply this country with it's harvest.

This is the story of the political battle as we line the streets and demand justice for everyone. 

It's the story of the right to walk the halls freely and pursue an education.

This is the story of the educated pushing the door open for his people.

This is the story of every ones dream, a dream of life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I am super excited to start this new adventure in blogging! I want to take a minute and invite anyone who is interested in joining M.E.Ch.A. to stop by at one of our meetings on Thursdays at 1pm in room 05-142 or at our table during the Club Fair Feb. 4 & 5 from 9am-1pm in the Student Union (don't worry, you do not need to be Latino/Hispanic or even speak spanish to join our group, everyone is welcome!). 

See ya'll later!