Stevens Interview/Profile--Clarissa

 

Despite being almost one hundred miles from the sea, our ocean still feels the

impact of our actions. Seventeen-year-old Keira Stevens has led a successful and

environmentally impactful club, Save the Ocean Club, at Etiwanda High School which

works to bring environmental changes. As a sophomore, she saw the lack of

environmental awareness in the Etiwanda High School community and made it her

mission to bring more awareness to our environment and its impacts. Despite being a

part of many other programs at Etiwanda High School such as band, tennis, and

student government, as well as many AP and Honors classes, Keira Stevens still

maintains the same passion and goals for her club. Moreover, here at Etiwanda, Save

the Ocean Club has a mission to bring awareness to the dangers our ocean and

environment face. They do so by leading clean-ups, fundraisers, and impactful club

meetings which have gained them school recognition. As a rising senior, Keira Steven's

passion project has been something she only could have dreamed of and as she leaves

Etiwanda High School she knows she has left her mark.

During the beginning of Stevens's sophomore year, she realized that many high

school students had little awareness of the issues that our environment faces. She

made it her mission to bring more awareness to these issues, thus starting her Save the

Ocean Club here at Etiwanda, also known as STOC. The ocean and the environment

have always been something close to Keira's heart as many of her family members live

along the coast in San Diego. However, that is not the case for many students. As

Etiwanda is located in the Inland Empire, Stevens says that "many people still do not

understand that just because we are not directly at the beach, our choices make an

impact." Stevens realized that many people do not realize that runoff water and sewage

make their way to coastal cities and our oceans, stating that, "because we cannot see

our impact, most people choose to ignore the problem." She made it her mission to

change this mindset in her community and thus, her Save the Ocean Club was born.

Her club's mission has been to "encourage students to develop a sustainable mindset

wherever they live." She believes that small habits in one's daily life can help to create

change on a global level to help combat global warming.

To lead these changes, she and her club work both in the IE community as well

as along our coastal seas. Within the IE, she organizes trail clean-ups at places such as

Etiwanda Falls to teach members of her club that they can make an impact wherever

they may be. On a larger scale, STOC works with Orange County Coastkeeper to host

beach clean-ups and sort trash, educating members of her club that mother nature

deserves to be treated kindly and with respect. Along with clean-ups, STOC also hosts

fundraisers, the most recent being a thrift pop-up shop right at Etiwanda High School. At

these various fundraisers such as the thrift pop-up shop, STOC provides a space where

students can sell and buy clothes for cheap, giving clothes new homes and reducing the

landfill that many clothes end up in while also raising money for beach supplies. Since

Stevens' sophomore year, her club has made a huge impact within the IE community,

even being awarded "Most Impactful Club" at Etiwanda High School while competing

alongside dozens of other clubs. As a club, STOC's mission is to create a more

environmentally knowledgeable community by encouraging students to live sustainably.

When Keira Stevens created her club, she took on a huge leadership and

management role. She takes pride in being president of her own club. She creates a

welcoming environment for both her officers and members who feel open to sharing

their ideas with Stevens. She values outside opinion as combined efforts make her club

shine the most. Along with this, she knows that she has a team of amazing officers who

share the same passions as her and want to see STOC grow to its fullest potential. To

be president of a club is a very difficult task but Stevens makes it look simple as she is a

natural-born leader. Over her years as president, she has faced many changes and

difficult tasks. One that she often faced was transportation as many students did not

have access to transportation, especially to beach clean-ups an hour there and back.

As a leader, she has redirected her focus to hosting clean-ups in the IE

community. She hopes that this teaches her members "that wherever you are, you have

an impact." Along with struggles due to transportation, she has also struggled with

learning to balance commanding and compassion. With her officers especially, she has

realized she can be too relaxed when deadlines need to be met. To combat this, she

uses her outstanding leadership skills to encourage her officers to "reflect on how we

can incorporate small habits or organization tools to put our best effort in the club going

forward." Despite these minor hiccups, her motivation for her club is never lost. Save

the Ocean Club is Stevens's passion project and she has been blessed to be

surrounded by people who have the same goals for the club as her.

To Keira Stevens, her club is her passion project. She has been blessed to see

the growth of her club and her impact on her community and around the globe. Her club

has made her new friendships and taught her many leadership skills. Though she is sad

she can not hold onto her club forever, she is hopeful for the future of her club and its

new leaders. As a rising senior, she believes she has fulfilled all she had envisioned the

club would be and more. Awards such as "Most Impactful Club" at Etiwanda High

School, which were prompted by her many community and beach clean-ups as well as

her beach fundraisers, have shown Stevens that her club has made a positive impact

on her community. She attributes this success to her officers and members who share

the same passions as her and hopes that when she is gone, her legacy will continue.

Keira Stevens has created and led one of the most successful clubs through her hard

work, determination, and passion for what she does.

Killed my hope--Zhichen

 

    The respondent I conducted an interview with was a former UC San Diego undergraduate

student, which the survivors of UCSD shoot accident in 2020. She is the former UCSD

sophomore student — Vivian Lin. After she witnessed the shooting accident, she took a gap of

one year, and then chose to go back to China to future finish her education. Her family has felt

shocked and heartbroken by this accident, but simultaneously Vivian’s mental health received

heavy damage. The reason that I interviewed her is to know how an accident influences people’s

life track. Many people think that those who survive the accident are the luckiest; however, it

turns out that those who survive are the most unlucky. Serious mental scars lead victims to be

tortured by mental trauma for the rest of life, have a mental breakdown, and finally go on the

road to suicide. As a victim of a shooting accident, Vivian claims that she felt the same way, this

trauma haunts her whether she was awake or asleep. She dresses in a black dress and sits on a

brown chair with a dark light in the room. Her eyes are tear-filled. Vivian Lin forcibly grasps her

clothes, tears flowing from her eyes down along her cheeks, with a trembling voice, “ The Pain

of the shooting incident is always tormenting me. It would never let me go.”

    When she first came to the United States, Vivian announced that she had a happy life

with her family. After she comes to the study room, she sits down and starts with a nervous tone,

claiming, “I put a lot of effort into coming to the United States as an international student and

trying my best to go to my dream school, UC San Diego. I have a delighted family with my

parents. I always feel I am the happiest person.” Vivian has a solid relationship with her parents.

She repeats, “ My parents love me very much and very readily support my dream. Therefore, I

think I am a lucky person.” She gladly clasps her hands together in her lap. She expresses that

she is very proud when talking about her family. “ The love from family is the luckiest thing in

my life. It is also one of the reasons that supports me to live.” Then, she takes a deep breath.

    

    “Could you explain how the accident happened?” I asked. “ I remembered I finished my

class and walked along the road to the campus. When I went to the main road to leave school,

then I saw two people drag racing.” Vivan leans slightly forward and quietly mumbles, “ I heard

two louder sounds, and the gun went off. We tried to go back to the teaching building. My

professor brought us into the nearby classroom. Through the window, I saw two men wearing

black cloth and went upstairs with gum. I heard the sound of a broken window.” Vivian leans

back, retakes a deep breath, then sputters, “We locked ourselves in a small and closed storage

room inside the class.” She furrows her eyebrows, squinting her eyes. Finally, she speaks with a

trembling voice, “Staying in the storage room is the most difficult time in my entire life. I have

claustrophobia, and I can not stay in a no window closed room for a long time.” That all

happened too fast, she did not realize that she was in danger. “ We were trying for about a few

minutes to call 911 and then tell them the specific place and the situation,” Vivian speaks with

her head down, profoundly getting lost in thought.

    “How do you feel after the accident?” Next, Vivian detailly explains her colossal life

change after her experience and describes that she never escaped the cycle of the “shooting”

psychological shadow. The atmosphere becomes oppressive. Her lip corners pull down, talks

with a voice crack, “ Actually, it almost changed my life track. After the accident, my mother

quit her job and come to the US to take care of me.” She forced me to leave my dream school

because she thinks San Diego is unsafe.” She looks straight ahead and repeats, “ After I left my

dream school, I thought my life was pointless. Since I left my school, my visa has been canceled

" Vivian’s eyes filled with tears again, and sniffling between words. At last, she states that she

has a beautiful plan for her future, but this shooting accident almost kills most of her dreams with

hope.

    “ If you're afraid to leave the house unless you're armed, you don't need a gun, you need a

psychiatrist.” - Oliver Markus Malloy, Inside The Mind of an Introvert. Vivian states that she

was highly expectant of the future and eventually lost everything. After undergoing significant

life changes, Vivian believes that the shooting incident left deep scars and impacted her life's

path forever. She looks up at the light, and tears well up in her eyes. She waits for a while and

sighs heavily, letting her head drop, and painfully murmurs, “ I would never leave from this

trauma.”

Coming to America: A Cuban Story--Julianne

 

The journey to America has never been an easy task, regardless of where one is coming from. For my grandpa, Jorge Varona, this was entirely the case. He went through hell and back to not only get out of Cuba, but to get to America. My grandma is one of the bravest people I know for setting out to have the best life he could, despite his conditions being less than favorable circumstances.

Jorge Varona was born on February 15, 1949 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was the youngest of three including two sisters and a brother. His dad owned a bike shop where he sold bikes to locals while his mom was a stay at home mother. From first grade to third grade, he went to private school until Castro took over and made all schools public. Overall, he “had a good education.” During the summers, students were forced to work in the fields and lived in barracks. He picked cotton and cut sugar cane. Everyday, they were up at 6 in the morning and were out in the field at seven. They worked till twelve and had a break for two hours until they worked for four more hours. The students stayed there for two months and slept on hammocks until summer ended. In Cuba, Castro oppressed his citizens. Speech was limited and religion was repressed. Anyone could easily be “blacklisted” for having contrary revolutionary beliefs or even for following a certain religion. One could be denied a higher education or could be “guilty by association” for just knowing someone deemed criminal. For Varona, living conditions were actually good compared to some Cubans. Him and his family received food rations by the week (about a quarter pound). Clothes and food were limited as well. Cubans received about once a year, according to Varona. Varona was lucky to have had an aunt that worked at a naval station who brought their family clothes when she could. Conditions were so poor in Cuba that many resorted to buying from the black market, including his father. He bought necessities for the family. Most of the conditions in his life were unfavorable, but the final straw was when Varona and his friend were harassed by the local police. While him and his friend were using the little English they knew, the police were taunting them, calling them “queers” and other insults. Varona decided he could no longer stay in Cuba.

Varona started to plan his first escape from Cuba. He, his friend, Paredes, and another guy made their way to a river. They rode 35 kilometers to the water. They were supposed to swim towards one of two lights to go in the right direction, but Paredes was very doubtful on which light to follow. The three of them decided to walk all night, back home.

Varona’s second attempt was also unsuccessful. He and three other friends tried a different route this time around. They planned to walk all the way from their hometown to a naval station fence. The groups walked, jumped fences, and waded through fields of grass for hours on hours. One of the younger boys, Carlos, stopped and started crying, claimed he wanted to go back home and that he missed his family. Again, their attempt to leave failed and they walked back all night.

Varona’s will was strong and he tried to leave for a third time. This time, it was only him and a good friend, Orlando Pila. They hopped on a train and took to a certain place. They walked for four hours until they reached a river where they waited until it got dark. In the middle of the night, Varona came down with a terrible fever and decided that he couldn’t make the trip. Luckily, Varona and Pila found a farmer who was willing to give them a ride. The farmer took some produce off of his horse drawn carriage and hid the boys so they weren’t caught escaping. They went home from there.

At one point, Varona was invited to escape with some boys from his hometown. A close friend of his had told him that his mom wanted to speak with him, so one day Varona went over to his friend’s house. His mom was an “espiritista” (kind of like a gypsy/psychic). While talking to the boy’s mom, she blew cigar smoke all over Varona and declared that “it wasn’t a good time for [him] to leave.” Varona opted not to escape this time, which was very lucky, considering his friends ended up going to prison.

Varona’s last and final attempt was successful. With the help of three girls that had connections outside of Cuba, He, his sister, and two other friends were able to finally escape Cuba. They all gathered on the train with their swimming equipment. The girls had to go on separate trains, but they weren’t searched like the men were, so they took the bags. While the boys got off at the correct station, the girls got off at the next station and walked back; it was unusual for women to be seen at their stop. They all walked for three or four hours to the river and waited till it got dark. The boys and Varona’s sister changed into their swimwear, inflated their equipment, and began to swim. They swam for six hours so as to not get caught. Eventually, they reached a 20 foot wall with an American flag posted on it (Guantanamo US Naval Station). The group yelled as loud as they possibly could until American soldiers threw down a rope and pulled them up. They then proceed to put them in a van, yelling “lay down on the floor” and “don’t look out the window.” The group was dropped off at a barrack where they were interviewed by a military officer who asked where they were coming from and what their name was. After staying in the barracks for three days, they were flown to Opa Locka Airport in Florida. The Navy took them to the Freedom house, where all Cubans were housed until their papers were cleared. Varona and his friends spent days there. Within these days, they were interrogated by the FBI for eight hours at a time with no food or water. The FBI played tricks and would tell them that their friend admitted to working for the Cuban government, but they all passed this test. After being released from the Freedom House, Varona tried to locate his uncle in Chicago, but was unsuccessful. He went on to life with a few friends from his hometown.

Varona has gone on to live a happy life. In the beginning, he struggled to make it in America. He didn’t speak English and he was in a new country, but he found joy in living in a free country, unlike Cuba. He currently resides in Rancho Cucamonga with his beautiful wife of 47 years. His word of advice is to never let them take away your freedom.

AT HOME WITH: Angela Armado; Living Life in a Daycare--Elisea

 

About this “Article”

This is an “article” about Angela Armado, from taking care of family in the Philippines to having a daycare in America.

THERE are small creatures climbing couches, smelly diapers piercing your nose, and toys scattered left and right from a small house in the city of Fontana. But behind the deep stack of “Blue’s Clues” reading books , plastic food things, and goldfish crumbs is a woman who runs it all, Angela Armado.

Angela Armado grew up in a small province in the Philippines where she was the 2nd youngest of 8. Due to the fact that most of her siblings were older than her, she was left to take care of her nieces and nephews at a young age while her siblings were at work. She grew to love entertaining and tending to them, but in hopes of giving own children a better life, she moved to America with her husband, Erik Armado.

After her first pregnancy, Mrs. Armado tried for another six years to have a child. When she discovered she was pregnant again, she felt a long awaited blessing had happened, however her 2nd child, Elisea Armado, was born 2 1⁄2 months premature at 2.1 oz due to unforeseen complications. Angela Armado was worried about Elisea as she had to stay in the hospital for a month after she was born and even after that, became sick quite often. Erik Armado often says Elisea was so tiny that he was able to carry her in his palm. After that, Mrs. Armado faced another difficulty as she felt Elisea was too small to be put in an ordinary daycare. It was then that Mrs. Armado decided to quit her job at the hospital, and take care of Elisea full time. After a few years, as Elisea grew stronger, Mrs. Armado decided she could once again pursue her passion of taking care of others, but struggled with the guilt of leaving her own children at home. It was then that she decided to open an at home daycare.

After she got her child care license, Mrs. Armado took on the daycare eagerly. After a few years, the chaotic daycare was her norm, but even more so, a rewarding challenge, saying “I love having a daycare, I get to see children grow into adults and get to meet so many new people,” “Each kid has a different personality, which you can start to see as a baby, and fortunately I get to see so many of them grow so quickly. Like one day I will teach them the alphabet and the next thing you know they are reading “Harry Potter” books. I could do without the baby shark though.”

Mrs. Armado spends a lot of time with the kids and likes to think of them as an extended family. “Seeing these kids everyday for years creates a deep emotional attachment. Like with my own children, I get to spend many milestones with them from their first steps to their first words. I’ve

been taking care of one family since their first child was 4 months old and now I’m taking care of the third and fourth twin children!”

Despite the fulfillment from this career, having a daycare is not all fun and games. According to the California Department of Education, from birth to age 3 are the most important years of child development. During this time, children require adequate nurturing , exposure to words through talking and reading, and visual stimulation. Mrs. Armado considers all of these when takes care of someone. Like a teacher, she makes math/ writing worksheets, plans educational crafts, and dedicates time out of the day for physical activity.

However the kids aren’t the only ones learning. “These kids taught me how to be patient, open minded, and a better listener. These kids come from different places, different backgrounds and families. I have kids whose parents are doctors, hair stylists, policemen, and teachers. Some kids like to read so we made sure to have a wall full of books for them to read. Some kids love arts and crafts so we have stickers, coloring books, paint and etc.” When asked how she felt about dealing with it all, she says “ As generations of kids pass through my daycare, I’ve learned to embrace the chaos. Every child I’ve met is their own person with their own thoughts and values. These are the children who will one day be taking care of not just me, but the world ahead”

“Despite the long hours, I always come back. These kids allow me to forever feel forever young. I’m grateful.” says Angela Armado.

Meant to be--Alyssa

 

One of my favorite genres of movies are romance movies. Some of my, and I’m sure a bunch of other peoples, favorites are The Notebook, The Vow, and Remember Me. However, my Granny’s love story is my favorite of all of them. Their story started in Mexico in 1953 with my Granny, in her early twenties, on vacation with her friend Jane. Back then, my Granny said they didn’t have direct flights to Mexico, they had to land in Guadalajara first and catch a flight from there to Mexico. My Granny and Jane got off the plane and went to get their luggage to get on the plane to Mexico, and while they were waiting that’s when she saw my great grandpa Joe. He also happened to be going to Mexico to go visit his mom who was sick with cancer. Joe went up to them and started talking to them in Spanish, which my Granny was not very good at speaking, but Jane was. Out of embarrassment she didn’t want to talk to him so she stood off to the side. He asked Jane where they were staying and originally they had planned to stay with Jane’s family, but they changed their mind and decided to stay one night at a hotel, which is what they told Joe as well. They went their separate ways and got to the hotel, and they found out when they got there it was $50 a night which isn’t a lot now, but back then my Granny said that was way more than they wanted to spend, but they did anyways. As they were settling in they got a call in their room from Joe, who called the hotel to find them. He invited them to this dance he was going to later that night with his friend and they had planned to go, but it started raining so they ended up just staying in. The next day they went to Jane’s family’s house and some of her cousins were going to a nightclub around there so they decided to go with them. When they got there, my Granny saw a very familiar looking man. Joe happened to be there with his friend and he immediately spotted her. Of course my Granny was in shock because what were the odds? She thought she would never see him again after they didn’t go out dancing the night before, but there he was. He approached her and asked her to dance. The funny thing is, my Granny said she wasn’t really interested at first even though her friend Jane was, however he was definitely interested in her. After that night she said that was it, they went to the movies and dinner the next day and he showed her around Mexico. They were married within less than a year, I guess when you know, you know. As if that wasn’t enough he and her also happened to go to the same dance hall Downtown all the time, but they never ran into each other there. They ran into each other in Mexico, when the whole time they were even closer than they thought. If that’s not meant to be I don't know what is. They had a happy marriage and had 4 kids, 3 girls and 1 boy, one of them obviously was my nana. The summer of 1996 was when my great grandpa Joe passed away from a heart attack. I never got the chance to meet him, but my mom knows I would have loved him and I know I would’ve too. She said he was such a happy, kind, and talented man. He was an amazing artist and even painted murals in City Terrace. Some of them are still there today and they’re beautiful. It’s crazy to think that if they hadn’t gone out with Jane’s cousins they never would’ve met, but they did because I firmly believe they were meant to be, and although they couldn’t spend the rest of their lives together my Granny’s love for him never faded. She’s 92 now, she never moved on and she still continues to tell their love story and plenty of other stories about him all the time. This story is the reason I will forever believe if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.

“Skate is Life” -Jordan Powell--Jessalynne

T​he twenty-one
year old upcoming professional skater, Jordan Powell, aka jp0w_ aka my brother, has dedicated all of his time to perfecting his craft. He’s shed literal blood sweat and tears to reach where he is today. He’s been to competitions and had crazy opportunities you wouldn’t believe. I’ve watched him grow into the amazing person he is and I couldn’t be prouder. His passion drives him to be the best he can possibly be. Which has led him to get
sponsorships
Vans, RVCA, Pharmacy BoardShop, Krooked Skateboards, Spitfire Wheels, Thunder Trucks, and Skate Junt. These sponsorships have also led to the releases of his skate videos that thousands

of people have had the opportunity to view. 

He’s been riding since he got his first skateboard when he was two, almost three. His response to how he got into skating was “I always saw the older kids on my block with skateboards and I just liked the way it felt riding it and got hooked.” One of my earliest memories of him skateboarding was when he built a ramp out of a block of wood, fell and cracked his head open. If it were me, I would’ve quite right then and there, but that didn’t
discourage him.
I asked him if he thinks skateboarding is a sport, hobby, or lifestyle, and what he had to say gave me a better understanding about his passion. “It’s all three. It’s a sport

because there’s competitions you have to train for, a hobby because at the end of the day, your board is just a toy, and a lifestyle because all skaters are the same. All we do or think about is skating.” Which I think is funny because the motto he lives by is “Skate is life.”
Just like dancing or singing, skating is also a form of art. “Skateboarding is art for sure. Everyone has a different style,” he says. ​I was told that everyone rides and even stands differently from each other. One night while he was teaching me how to stand, he told me you can either ride regular, which means your left foot is towards the nose and your right foot is near the tail. Or you can ride goofy, which

from

means your stance is irregular because you lead with your right foot while your left foot is near the tail.
Throughout my brother’s whole life, skating was always his number one priority. I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t skating around. You can regularly catch him skating early in the morning to late at night. So when I asked him what would he do if he couldn’t skate, he casually responded, “I would have probably continued playing basketball,” which he was really good at by the way. Throughout our childhood, all of the neighborhood kids would be playing basketball in our front yard for hours. Although he’s good at basketball, I couldn’t picture him doing anything else because skating makes him feel like “the happiest kid
in the world.” 

Of course no one in this world is perfect, but everyone has a role model they look up to. These ideal role models are expected or required to be stellar. For that reason, I wanted to know how he approaches being a role model for younger skaters. His reply to my question was, “I try not to think of it too much, but I also try not to be oblivious to it because I know kids are looking up to me so I
watch what I do.”
I’ve never actually asked my brother who inspired or inspires him in the skate community. So when I did, he told me, “My close friends inspire me a lot. All the homies that skate Fergusson Park in Rialto.” I’ve seen his friends skate, (they’re sooo good) so I’d be inspired by them too. They all encourage each other to do better
and give their all.

The world is enormous and full of so many unique places to visit. So my last question for him was if he could skate anywhere in the world, where would it be. It didn’t take long for him to respond, “Barcelona. They’ve got spots for days!” because it’s such a
beautiful country. 

My brother has gone through some pretty rough times and is still going through it, but it makes me so happy to know that he’s following his dream. So many people have told him he wouldn’t make it far but he’s proved all of them wrong. It makes me even prouder to know that there’s extraordinary people supporting him on this wild journey. He’s gone so far in these recent years, so I can’t even imagine what’s to come in the near future. But anyways click the link

below to go watch his video!!!
https://youtu.be/l-AEy3 825Eg

Parenting Takes Time--Dejanae

Parenting is highly underrated, especially in today’s society. There are those without kids
and there are people who actually have kids, but everyone has a different point of view as to what parenting is and what it requires to be one. I’m sure there is no absolute correct answer to what a parent should and shouldn’t do to be considered a good parent. No one could never be perfect all the time and that goes for parenting as well. Many take that responsibility lightly, and others over use the authority that is given to them with that responsibility. There is aching downfalls and monumental ups that comes along with the rollercoaster ride of being a parent. Not everyone will be in a great position when it came or comes time for them to become a parent, but by interviewing my nothing less of perfect mother I learned that parenting requires one huge thing that many don’t possess. Many eventually have to learn it. With that being said that thing is PATIENCE!! 

My mother became a parent in the year of 1996. My mother’s name is Catrina Counts Perry. October 24, 1996 my mom would learn that she would be a mother for the rest of her life. Despite not knowing what would happen being new to this whole concept of parenting she knew she had another life that she brought into this world, which was her blood and a piece of herself

that she would raise to the best of her ability. In total my mom has had eleven kids, but raised eighteen including my seven step brothers and sisters. She became a mom and a role model at a young age. However, she was mature enough and strong enough to never back down from her trials and tribulations. When it came to parenting my mother installed 75% of her own techniques and 25% of her parents. However, through her ongoing years of parenting she caught herself at times portraying something she didn’t want to do that her parents did with her. When a moment like that presented itself that’s when my mother realized that despite these techniques that she thought was right there was that thing patience that she knew she had to master. 

Patience is one hell of a thing to use when it’s tested constantly. It’s also something that you should use when it comes to discipline. That was easy for my mom to realize. When it comes to discipline my mom believes the first person she should discipline is herself. With that being said when her patience is being tested she puts herself on a timeout. She gathers herself and makes sure she is thinking and acting in a clear way. With that being said she also uses that approach when it comes to the heartaches of parenting. My mother managed to stay strong and calm by and I quote, “Belief in positivity and knowing that I can weather the storm.” There have been many storms that mother had to weather and when I was younger I didn’t notice because she was always the same loving, nurturing, funny, best friend, role model that I’ve always known to love and respect. The older I got the more I noticed that my mom’s life wasn’t perfect, but she wouldn’t let anything interfere with her being a parent to her children. That is a quality that I will always be thankful to her for because she never let anything come in between her children .

Through close observations and numerous conversations with my mom I learned that she parents her daughters differently from her sons. Besides the fact that the two are clearly different when it comes to the girl and boy things her main reasoning for teaching them differently in her words is, “I teach and parent differently because women act and make decisions emotionally, but guys act mentally.” With me not wanting to agree with her and completely close-minded I eventually reverted to some of the decisions I’ve made realizing that she was right. That is something that she has come to learn from the years she has been able to parent. With that being said her main objective of all this parenting is that she wants all her kids to be better than herself. Also, she wants her children to go through life with principles, responsibility, integrity, and values. 

Through observation and conversations I’ve learned that parenting is primarily patience along with a few other little pieces too. To me just like others my mother is the best representation of a parent, mother, friend, and person. Not perfect, but she is close to what I would consider perfect. Parenting is a hard task, but it’s one of the most beautiful things that come with life. If I ever come to be a mother and a parent I will turn my shoulder and ask my mother for guidance. She and my father have guided me to where I am in life. . She has installed ways and beliefs that I will carry on with me through life that I will always cherish. Both of my parents have given my siblings and I genuine love and lessons throughout my lifespan and I know that it will continue because the love for each other and love for their kids is endless and unconditional.

Immigration--Nico

Long before I was born and even before my parents were born, my grandmother Alicia decided to take the chance on immigration for the sake of love and leaving behind her life in Guadalajara, Jalisco in Mexico. This is the story of my grandmother’s experience coming to the United States, specifically to Southern California.
My grandma came from a very well off family in her home city of Guadalajara. Her father was a dentist who provided for her, her mother and her two siblings like a traditional mexican household at the time. Once she turned 16 years old, she met my grandfather at a gathering through mutual family friends in March of 1957. My grandfather Gilberto was visiting from California when the two fell in love and eventually got married that April. The question then arose: where would they live, in Mexico or California. My grandmother than made the brave decision to pick up her life and move it to Southern California with my grandfather.
The two newlyweds, with little money, gathered some supplies such as bread, meat, peanut butter, and water, packed up my grandfather’s small car, and ,over the course of a week, drove from Guadalajara to the Tijuana border to get into California. Keeping in mind, the couple expected to make a quick trip over the border to Chino, California where they would reside, however, what they did not realize was the week following their wedding and also their trek to the border was the Holy Week which is a prominent holiday in Mexico as citizens in Mexico predominantly follow the Catholic faith. While this does not seem to connect to their experience at the border, the border was in fact closed from Holy Thursday through Easter Monday. Unluckily, they arrived at the border on Thursday and were already very low on the already miniscule amount of supplies they packed.
For the next five days, my grandparents were able to ration their low amount of supplies. On top of that, they were forced to sleep in their car for the entire duration of their halt at the

border. In the meantime, the two decided to find cheap entertainment as they had little to no money left to pass the time. Throughout all this, my grandmother, coming from a stable household in Mexico, wondered what life she would lead coming into the United States.
My grandfather was a first generation United states citizen and my grandmother was able to gain the equivalent of a visa after being married to my grandfather who was a citizen.
As the couple crossed the border and finally arrived to Chino California, everything came as a culture shock to my abuelita. As opposed to homes in Mexico which had long corridors and large rooms, the house they were going to be living in was a one bedroom, one bathroom home. While this was a large change for her, she had even bigger issues to deal with in her new life. On top of the living situation, my grandma had to deal with my grandfather’s eight sisters, which were now her eight sister in laws who did not accept her as their brother’s wife as they wanted him to be with an American citizen. Over time, my grandmother was able to gain their trust and win them over. Another issue she had to overcome was the difference between economic and social standards between California and the United States. My grandmother, much like most citizens in Mexico, grew up with maids and cooks to cater to the families however, in Chino, my grandmother had to clean and cook for my grandfather as he was the “breadwinner” of the family and she was the “stay at home wife”. On top of these challenges, cultural differences were a prominent task to get used to as well when comparing Mexico’s unicultural country to the multicultural country of America and even California alone which was prevalent through her interactions with multiple religions, nationalities, and lifestyles. While these setbacks were challenging, the main issue she had to deal with was the language barrier. Before arriving to the United States, my grandmother spoke little to no english. Through all these struggles and more, my grandmother was committed to embracing the American lifestyle by first learning english. All

these thing were overcome by her while having three children within 22 months of each other within her first few years of her American life.
Fast forward to later in her life, my grandmother and grandfather, who came from a poverty, were able to move to a larger home in Ontario to raise my tios and my dad. Also they were able to put their five children through universities in the United States. My grandmother, who was able to learn english fluently, became a teacher’s aide for an elementary school near their home in Ontario and eventually was able to become an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher to help students who were going through the same hardships she went through when first arriving to California.
I went to school this past Thursday knowing that I wanted to write about my grandmother’s immigration experience, when little did I know she past away that morning, October 18 after battling cancer for many years. Her sacrifices and challenges when arriving to the US and even throughout her life will live on through generations of my family.

A Critical Perspective--Ezinne

The representation of one’s self gives insight on one’s beliefs and characteristics. My interviewee, Aldair Arriola, a recent graduate of Pomona College and my past room advisor for Pomona College Academy for Youth Success, portrays himself as someone who is comfortable with their identities, personality, approachable, and serious when needed.
Aldair sees himself representing his different cultures that he belongs to on a daily basis. One culture he belongs to is his Mexican culture. He was born in Veracruz, Mexico, thirty minutes from Mexico City and located off the Gulf Coast. Aldair appreciates the diversity of Mexico and how the culture from where he is from is different from somewhere else. More broadly, Aldair is part of the Latinx culture in the United States of America even though the label “Latinx” was not imposed by the Latinx people themselves, but the government to categorize people of that background. Despite this, he believes that the label creates a community solidarity because many of the ethnicities that fall under the Latinx category do share commonalities and struggles. Being in both the Latinx and Mexican culture reminds him of those who are deemed to be a part of the cultures. For example, the Mexican culture was made to cater to Mexican men and the Spanish without any say from indigenous Mexicans such as the Mayans and Aztecs. This causes him to analyze what it means to be part of the said cultures and the power it entails. He recalled that in media, Mexicans are representative of the Latinx community because they are the largest subgroup. Moreover, Aldair is part of the undocumented community, not having any documents to claim citizenship/culture. To him, being a part of that culture is very difficult, but it teaches him to be more empathetic and aware of the society we live in. Aldair values the diversity of the said culture due to the fact that many undocumented immigrants come from various backgrounds. Another culture Aldair said to be a part of is the first generation and low

income culture. Aldair had a lot of difficulties when applying and attending college because he is first generation, meaning he is the first person in his family to go to college. The burden of being low income also encumbered him when growing up and seeking higher education because he did not have the same resources as someone who is not low income. Regardless of these setbacks, Aldair is still still proud of his accomplishments and tries to remain humble. The last culture Aldair feels he is apart of is the LGBTQ+ culture. This culture causes him to be reflective of the privileges he has as a gay cisgender man. Aldair faces some “misunderstandings” between the various cultures he belongs to. He tries to understand the way different social categorizations overlap and connect, but sometimes falls short because he is human. With Aldair being a cisgender Mexican man, he is seen to be very strong, macho, and entitled to women. He attempts to challenge this notion in daily interactions.
Earlier in the interview, Aldair mentioned the privileges he has so I proceed to ask, “Do you consider yourself white passing?” White passing is when someone who is a person of color looks white and people assume they are just upon the first look at said person. He never questioned if he was white passing until he studied abroad in Brazil for six months and lived with a host family. His host dad was black Brazilian, his host mother was white Brazilian, and his host sister was black Brazilian. During the middle of his study abroad, his host family asked him to invite some of his friends that were also studying abroad who were all people of color except for one who was white. A conversation about race struck up during the dinner. Aldair’s host father commented on the fact that some Brazilians are considered white and others are not and proceeded to use Aldair and the other white friend as an example of someone who is white. This caused him to recollect on his experiences and the privileges he had in Brazil due to the

lightness of his skin and his appearance. No one would follow him around when he went into stores in Brazil. To him, this was peculiar because he was experiencing white privilege in another country even though he is not a white man. He then stated, “I understand why white people like it. It’s good... I hope that one day that won’t be a thing and we could change that and white privilege is just white and not privilege.” Aldair realized that his experience abroad would have been completely different if he was a black male or had a darker complexion. He recalled back to a time when he was younger and his family called him “el guero”, Spanish slang for someone with a fair complexion or light hair. He used to take pride when being called that growing up and felt as though it was a positive part of his identity. He now realizes, through his life experiences and going through college, that he was wrong. Aldair mentioned that he acknowledges that if he were to go back to Mexico and search for a job, his experience would be completely different for an Afro-Mexican or an indigenous Mexico because of the lightness of his skin. Aldair said it is important to recognize our privileges. At one point of this discussion, Aldair said “ For me, it’s what are you going to do with that privilege that you have to help other people of color who do not have that privilege?” This really struck me because I have recently realized that a lot of people of color are being invalidated for their experiences and struggles as a person of color just because they have light skin or “look white”.
After reflecting over my interview with Aldair Arriola, I have now been able to see the way he perceives himself and others through the lens of a person of color that is not black like myself. I have interpreted my experiences and connected them with Aldair’s and have seen the many commonalities.

My Role Model: Dr. Ijagha Eme--Nwojo

            Dr. Ijagha Eme, my cousin, is a proud physician practicing in Seattle, Washington. Before that, he was a humble kid trying to adjust himself in the United States after moving from Nigeria, where he spent most of his childhood. He remembered trying to learn the culture of the U.S. by playing sports like basketball, listening to popular music, and being part of his high school STEP. Despite this, Ij understood that he was a “minority of a minority” living in LA, finding it hard to blend well with his community as a Nigerian. Fortunately, he was successful academically as the education he received in Nigeria gave him head start in his high school education. Through all these things, he had his mind on becoming a medical doctor. He wanted to become a doctor mainly because he wanted to be a part of the team that would find the answers to his mother’s illness that was unknown back in 1998. He said the best advice he could give high school seniors was to stay focused, know what you want to do after high school, and to ask for guidance as soon as possible.

After high school, Ij continued to a path of success from various institutions. He attended community college for two years and then transferred to UC Los Angeles to complete his bachelor’s degree in two and a half years. Next, he taught for two years at Leuzinger High School. Then, while acquiring his medical degree at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, Ij served in the US Army and became a captain once he completed medical school. Now, he practices as a hospitalist in Seattle, Washington. In addition, he is happily engaged with his fiancé, Maria. Through his journey so far, he has learned there will always be challenges, but through determination and management, you can overcome them. “At the end of the day, there is a number one goal: make a difference in the community.” What kept him motivated through his journey was family support, his competitiveness, and the doubters who claimed he wouldn’t make it far. Family came first for him and I always remember the big grin on his face and the joy he expressed whenever we would meet each other at family reunions. Moving forward, Ij strives to be the best doctor he can be while giving back to the community. He finds the satisfaction in seeing his patients’ faces when he aids them and the connections he makes with their families the most rewarding parts of his job.

Personally, it is inspiring to know someone who truly believed in themselves and strived for their dreams. Like Ij, I hope to one day become a medical doctor, giving back to my community and healing others. Today, Dr. Ij Eme continues to be my role model and a friend I can always rely on despite being over a thousand miles apart.