New Years Day

The first day of my new year was better than I expected. I managed to sleep in longer than I have this entire break. I started mmy day by going to the movies in Emeryville, because Tuesdays and Sundays are $5 movies. I saw 'Young Adult'. It thought it would be really funny but it was pretty serious. Never-the-less it was a great movie. After that me and a few friends went to TGI Friday's for happy hour, and I ate to my hearts content. I truly am a fat girl at heart. After eating I ended my evening by reuniting myself with my son whom I hadn't seen since the break started and I even recieved a few late Christmas presents. I can now say I got everything I wanted for Christmas, plus some. This break has overall been a success for me. I'll be back to business in the morning.

New Years Eve was great. I spent my evening with friends just having fun. We ate, watched the 106 & Park New Years Special, and did a little karaoke. My mother and I used to have our own New Years Eve tradition and I kind of miss that. However it was nice to break the tradition and do my own thing. The only thing missing from my evening was my son, but this Winter break has given me a lot of much needed me time and I'm thankful for it.

Winter Break (to be continued)

Winter break has been amazing so far. I'm pretty much worry free and baby free. Although I miss my son so much its a relief not to have to tend to my motherly duties every day. Christmas was great. I ate lots of delicious food and relaxed most of the day. To top it all of I got more gifts than I expected. The only thing I wish that I could change about my break so far is that I have not been able to sleep in as long as I would like to. My body is programmed to wake up early because of Year Up and now I can't sleep in to save my life! I wold love to sleep in until 12 o'clock just one day of this break!

Internship Readiness

I think that the qualities of someone who display internship readiness are dependability, honesty, and a positive attitude. In module 3 to demonstrate imnternship readiness I need to be at Year Up everyday on time prepared and ready to learn. Also even when I may be in a good mood I tend to sometimes look like I'm not. People often ask me whats wrong or if I'm okay so this tells me that I need to smile more or appear to be in a good mood.

Best/Worst Job

The best job I’ve had would be being a parent to my son. I love this job because it is both paid and voluntary. It’s voluntary because I chose to do this job even though I knew from the beginning that it would be a struggle. Also I am paid on a daily basis by seeing that my son is healthy and happy. My primary responsibilities are to feed, clean, and teach my child right from wrong. What makes this job enjoyable is seeing my son smile and laugh, because it shows me that he’s happy. Some skills that I have developed doing this job that will serve me well in internship are patience, listening, and being thorough. Some lessons that I have learned parenting are that you can’t solve every problem alone and that nobody is the perfect parent but if you are worried about being a good parent you generally are one because you are showing care. My worst job was volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club in Hayward. My primary responsibilities were to watch over a assigned group of children, plan and execute daily activities, assist in serving snacks and lunch, and keep my designated area clean. What made this job enjoyable was that I got to sit down for the majority of time I was on duty.

Public Art as Social Protest

The Rivera Frozen Assets Mural created during The Great Depression connects a lot with what’s going on today with The Occupy movement. In the mural there is a scene that shows a bank that is empty with people that look depressed. I think that the bank situation is very similar to what is going on with our bank systems today. During The Great Depression people were not able to take their money out of the bank because the bank had used their money for purposes other than the intended. Now people are being charged to use the money that they have put in banks, which most likely causes a lot of people to remove their money from the bank. I believe that the less people who use bank services the more fees the bank has to charge in order to maintain their business. Also in the mural it shows a shelter like place with a lot of people sleeping on the ground with a guard watching them. I think that this connects to the occupy movement because the people who are protesting are sleeping outside with police watching. The only true difference is that they are choosing to sleep outside and be watched because they are choosing to protest. Another portion of the mural shows people waiting in line for something. This is a connection because just like people were waiting around during The Great Depression for thing to be resolved and improve people protesting for The Occupy movement are doing the same. I do believe that the Rivera mural is a direct connection to situations that are happening today with The Occupy Movement. If someone were to make a mural or even just a painting to illustrate what is happening with The Occupy Movement I don’t think that the pictures would be alike but I do believe that the thought put in would definitely be similar.

My Inspiration

My Inspiration is my son. Every since he was born he has changed my life in so many ways its crazy to me. People often look down at me because I am only 19 and I have a child, but I consider me being a mother a very good thing. My son began to inspire me way before he was even born. When I first found out I was pregnant I was a highschool drop out with barely any intentions of returning to school. However when I realized that I would be having a child I told myself that I couldn't have a baby and not have a highschool diploma. Really what kind of role model would I be for my child? I wouldn't be able to stress the importance of eduacation to him when I hadn't even completed my own. Beyond this instance my child inspires me in a variety of ways on a daily basis. He inspires me just to get out of bed on mornings when I really don't feel like it. When deciding to apply for Year Up