Final: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in JRN 215

The title of my blog is my own stylistic interpretation of the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by David Caldwell. Ok, so I just changed the last part, not much creativity involved right? But there's truth to the title. Here are some things I learned in my Journalism 215: Newspaper Production class that could be applied to pretty much any aspect in life.

1. Deadlines are important: I already came to this class with an understanding of newspaper production. I went to Poly High School and was on the newspaper for two years. However we only had one issue per month. JRN 215 taught me that deadlines are vital for collaborative works. I had to have my articles turned in on time so the section editors can edit them, so the copy editors can edit them, and (finally) so the managing editor and EIC can edit them. There's this entire line of people depending on me to turn something in. This reminds me of all the other deadlines in my life. I cannot miss the FAFSA deadline under any circumstance because then I (or any other student for that matter) will not be offered federal aid. Bills are other deadlines people have to meet. You have to pay your bills on a specific date or you get penalized and have to pay a late fee! Ew!

2. Be a good team player: Working on a newspaper means working with other people. I learned that I need to be considerate of others. The first reason for this is because we depend on each other through deadlines. Not only that but we need to respect each other, something The Banner staff does well. Prof. Pearson is writing her disstertation on collaborative work in journalism classes. This is a vital concept. And I myself personally experienced this when I got sick the last week of October. I was assigned to do an article on Homecoming. I conducted the interview with Wanda Price and was ready to construct my article. But with a 102 degree fever and a viral infection (explained as "the chicken pox's cousin" by the doc) my article wasn't going anywhere. So I emailed Prof Pearson, Jill and Amanda and quickly Serena was working on it. This collaboration had a great final result too! This also applies to any one who has a job. Not getting along with people who you work with creates a bad situation. I pray to God that it never happens to me.

3. Practice makes Perfect: The first article I wrote for The Banner was on Fall TV Show Premieres. When I finished this article I thought it was so good. But now that I re-read it I see that I could improve in a couple places. And with every other article I wrote I began making adjustments. Now as the semester comes to an end, I think I've learned a lot of AP stylebook stuff (from quizzes in JRN 215 and 170) and also on how to structure my articles. Interviews were also difficult for me to do. I'm usually quiet and well stuck inside my shell, true to my crustation birthday (Cancer is my zodiac sign). So my first interview was a little rocky. I've myself noticed that I still get nervous before interviews, but not as much as before. I've grown a little confident. All of this practicing will help me so much for my career. But the habit of practicing has also helped me in other areas of my life, like cooking. Well I bake more than cook, but it involves the same steps. I used to burn pancakes, but now they come out the perfect golden brown shade thanks to my "internal timer." Practing also makes perfect when playing Guitar Hero. I've been playing F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. on medium and I can pass with a mediocre score. But if I keep practicing (of course after my hw) I can get a higher score.


These are just a few of the lessons I learned while during my semester. I'm sure I'll learn more next semester.

Being Latina in the United States (MIDTERM)

I chose this topic because one of my career goals is to have a magazine targeted to young Latinas. I would include political, social, college, “real life,” beauty, fashion and cultural sections to assist the ladies in any of the situations they might be facing. And plus it's hard to live biculturally and bilingually. :)

http://loteriachicana.net

In Loteria Chicana, writer Cindy Mosqueda discusses a wide variety of topics that are some way related to her Chicana roots. Her biography notes that she went to UCLA and is currently working on her PhD. She is now my new role model. And one her goals are to have more Latinas graduate from college, as is mine!
One of her posts that captivated me was one she did about Ugly Betty. This is one of my favorite shows because Betty is a Latina herself and her character is portrayed as a hardworking, superwoman, and compassionate young woman. Yet the post was about Halloween and she was asking the audience if she should dress up like her.
Another post that caught my attention was one that talked about Ruben Salazar. Salazar was a journalist who gained attention by writing articles about the farm workers. He is one of my other historical idols. Because of his contribution to the Latino community, he got a stamp named in his honor. How cool is that? But what Mosqueda points out is that schools do not teach their students about him. And it’s true, I never learned about him until one of my teachers at school, who knew that I wanted to be a journalist enlightened me with this information.
Her posts don’t really have any global news, it’s more of a national blog.

http://vivirlatino.com/

Vivir Latino is blog that mostly talks about politics and international news, but it also includes some entertainment and cultural posts.. The managing editors are Jennifer Woodard Maderazo Maegan "la Mamita Mala" Ortiz. The targeted audience is for second and third generation Latinos (parents were already born in the United States and so are they). However, I am a first generation Latina (my parents are from Mexico and I was born in the United States)
The first post that intrigued me because it discussed something that no one, neither on the news nor internet, talks about. The post was about the Green Party Presidential ticket of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente. I’m a permanent absentee voter and when I got my ballot I opened right away and low and behold I saw the names of two women, and one with a Latino surname. The post describes how these women take racial justice seriously and they want the federal government to invest money in low income communities of color. This blog is more feminist than the other ones because a lot of their topics include awareness for domestic abuse.

http://blogamole.mtvtr3s.com/

The last blog that interested me was “blogamole,” by MTV 3. The icon for this blog is a avocado shouting “blogamole.” This blog seems to cater to young men and women and teens in the United States. Most of the posts deal with music, celebrity news of both Latino and American descent and basic entertainment. The first post is about a telenovela (soap operas) that are a vital part to Latinos.
An appealing aspect of this blog is that they also talk about Kayne West and Estelle. Then this blog also talks about Mana, a legendary Latino rock band. So the mix of cultures is really apparent in this blog. But I like that! It shows that our cultures are blending but we aren’t losing the individual culture (American or Latino).
Although this blog is the most juvenile of the three, it hits good topics that are interesting.

Welcome Baby Boy!

This is the new member of my family. He is almost a week old and a Chihuahua mix. He was born last Monday and now shares a birthday with a cousin of mine. The weather isn't helping too much right now because the little baby is cold even though he sleeps in a warm bed with a blanket and his mommy. He was born with a brother but his brother passed away. My family and I don't plan on keeping him because we already have five dogs (Lady, the mom, Gigio, the dad, Bambi, the son, and Lucy and Nala, the baby girls). So it's going to be hard to watch him grow and have to give him away. :(


It's a bittersweet time when the mommy, Lady, has puppies. In her first litter, she had
five boys and sadly two died. Well one was stillborn and my family and I think that she might have squished the other one. Then in the second litter she had six girls and two died. Now in her third litter she only had two and one died.


But it is truly a miracle from God when the babies are born! They arrive so little. Their paws, heads, nails, tails, eyes, ears are tiny. And then the babies grow up in such a short time. We kept two from her second litter. Lucy and Nala were born February 28 of this year and are already big girls. But they are so lovable, even though they sometimes make messes.


I haven't seen that new Chihuahua movie and I heard it made a lot of money. But the public has to know that these doggies need a lot of love and care. You can't ignore them because they'll be heartbroken. I'm sure this is the same situation with any pet. So love them.


I introduce you to Lucy (L) and Nala (R). They were born in Feb. This picture was taken in April. They're bigger now, but I love these pictures.

Feliz Cumpleanos Abuelita!

Today is my Grandmother’s birthday and she is 83. My family and I went to go visit her after church. We bought her a dozen long-stem roses and a chocolate cake that read “Happy Birthday Mom.”

I am so happy and grateful to God that she is alive. About two weeks ago she was taken to the hospital due to a cough that seemed perpetual. Then the doctor told her she had pneumonia. We had no idea that she was sick until my aunt called me two Sundays ago. I had missed her call because my family and I were in church. After church I heard her voicemail and it said, “Monica. Our mom’s in the hospital. Tell your mom to call me back.” I was so close to tears and I told my mom and she seemed to get pale. So we hurried over to the community hospital and went to go see her. My grandma looked so little and fragile while she lay on the bed. She tried to move and fix her pillows, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t really talk, she only mumbled.

When she was in the hospital, she had a lot of visitors. Almost all of my cousins visited her and her daughters and sons and even great grandkids. She is the most vital member of our family. She holds us together and everyone loves her.

But now, she’s back home and recuperating quickly. She talks normally and even scolds relatives when they do something bad. She ate cake today, not a lot, but enough for satisfaction. We talked for some and she told us to keep having faith. Those are words of a wise abuelita. Happy Birthday, Grandma!

It's the economy, again, stupid!

My rendition of James Carville's quote creates two points that I want to discuss.

One James Carville is a smart man. He should have been Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign manager too and maybe she would have won. If only...but..back to my point, this always reminds me of my one year stay at UCR. I took American Politics in Fall 07 (wow, its been a year already) along with my sister and her friend. BTW, My sister and I were both at UCR for a year, she was a senior and I was a freshwoman. But taking this class happened completely by coincidence. I did not know the classes she was taking neither did she know about mine. About a two weeks before school started, she and I talked about our classes and we both said that we were taking Politicial Science 10. So we had a pretty fun time during that quarter, having Pizza Party Wednesdays in my sister's car and going to class. One day, (finally back to Carville), Professor Bishin put on the documentary "The War Room." The first time I saw it, I was kind of bored, but then as I actually paid attention to it I started to realized that this was about Clinton and the people behind the scenes. In this docu, Carville coins the term "It's the economy, stupid!" because Bush lied when he said "Read my lips, no new taxes" at the RNC in 1988. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig!

The second matter is Carville has to come and recite this sweet phrase again. Oh how I can just hear it tingle people's hears. But the reality is: People are po'. This means that people have been poor for about more than one generation. Example: My grandparents were poor and now my parents and I are po'. I can't sympathize with middle and lower class families, I can completely relate! There's no more going out to the movies or buying that pretty shirt seen through the window at Torrid. There's no money! After the mortgage, the car payments, the house and auto insurance, the Target credit card, the Best Buy bill, the utility bill, the gas bill, groceries, and money for gas, nothing is left for recreation! The problem is, politician's don't get it. They cannot relate to these hard realities that people face everyday. That's why Obama and Biden and McCain and Palin are trying to persuade the American public about how they'll fix our broken system. But can they?

Let's leave that for another day's discussion.

p.s. If only Carville could have managed Hillary's campaign, what a difference that would have made.

Peace.