Materialism

           Out of the two essays about holiday seasons, I agree with the first essay by Amel Saleh.  I agree with him because I have seen it in my family. Every December we all expect gifts, and when that day comes every time someone opens a gift we always criticize what they give. I have even seen that they remove the price tag so that we don’t know how much it costs. In a season where we should worry about having a great time with the family, we worry about what gift should I buy? Every kid loves this season because all they know is that they are getting new toys, and that’s not how it should be. We should know why we always get together at this time of year, we should know the meaning of a holiday, but that is not the case. That’s what I see every year so that is why I think that it is too materialistic.

            Every year when we get together with all the family, well it has change a lot. When I was about 9 years old we would get together and my uncles and aunts would tell us, all the kids, why we were together that day, and we would sometimes get presents. They would read the bible so that we know why we have this traditions and why it was so important to us. Now things have change, every time we get together it does not have any meaning we sit eat and talk. Now they don’t talk to the younger generation of my cousins. Now we do give presents, so it has change a lot because the little kids who are there well they expect a big present for them. Maybe for some people the holiday season is just giving presents, but I was not raised like that so I know people would have different opinions. 

School

            College has been a little difficult for me, but now that I know how it works is getting easier. My first semester at Oxnard College was really difficult for me because in High School I did not had a lot of homework so I had a lot of free time. Being in Oxnard College has helped me to learn new things that I thought I would never learn. I have taken classes that I had to read a lot and even though it was hard at the end it was all worth it. Knowing new things changes you, I now look at some things differently, and it has also opened my eyes on a lot of things. I never thought that I would like to read, when I was in high school I said to myself that I would never read a book, but now I want to read more books. There is nothing that bugs me right now, and hopefully it stays that way.

            In this semester I have been trying to do well, but it is a little bit difficult. I have a lot of homework from all my classes, but I’m trying my best. Even though it’s been hard I try to do all the work I can so I can get good grades. Although is hard I do like coming here because of all that I learn, it has change the way I think about certain things. Another thing that I like is that here you can find people who can help you a lot, and that’s something that has helped me a lot. What keeps me motivated is my family. My brother and my sister graduated from Oxnard College last year so now it’s my turn to give my parents some happiness. What keeps me going, well all I can say is that I have looked at some of my cousins who have live all their life here, but did not go to college and now they can find a good job, they are almost on their 30s but can’t find a good job.

Reality TV

                When I was in high school I would hear people talk about reality shows and I was curious, so I tried to watch some of them. I think that the first one I watched was jersey shore, at that time it was really popular. When I started watching the show I got bored in less than ten minutes. I mean they have nothing interesting, but that’s just my opinion. I know that there might be some reality shows that do teach you something but I just don’t like those shows. Sometimes my sister watches some of those shows and I try to sit down and watch the show but I just can’t get why people like those shows. I can’t get why people like to watch what other people do in their daily lives. I think that they have nothing interesting in which us as viewers can benefit from watching them. In my opinion I think that they are dumb shows, but that’s just what I think.

                In my opinion I don’t know if it is harming or benefiting our society. The one thing I know is that it has change society, because now many of the viewers, who love those shows, want to be like those who are on the TV. We can see it even when we watch the news, in which they show you some celebrity who were or are still in a reality show and now they make the news. I don’t know what types of reality shows there are but I’m referring to the ones I heard and I think they are the most famous. People sit down to watch their lives and try to act like them. I saw it when jersey shore was on, some of my friends started to talk like them and even try to act like some of them. They have a lot of influence in our society, but I don’t think that we can agree whether is harming or benefiting our society. It’s like asking if video games are good or bad in our society, some people will say they are bad others might say they are good influence.

                I would never try to watch a reality show again because of the ones that I watched I know they are all dumb. Reality shows is something I now try to avoid watching, just because I think they are not interesting. Maybe they are not as bad as I think, but now there are many of those shows and I think that there has to be some limit. There are now more reality shows than news and that’s why I try not to give them more viewers. Even though I don’t like them I understand that some people do and that’s great because when I watch TV all I watch are sports, but some people may think that watching sports is dumb. It’s all entertainment some might like it some might hate it, it is just what we like and keep us entertain for a while. 

Change of Attitude

               When I was a little kid I would always heard my parents tell me that I had to live my life as happy as I can because we never know if tomorrow were going to be alive. Even though they would always told me that I never thought it was important, because all I knew was that I had to be alive until I was about 80 years old. I use to argue with people who said that we can die in a blink of an eye, I would even blink and I would tell them that I was not dead. When I was in high school I join the tennis team and I really liked playing tennis and I learned how to play really fast. The tennis courts were near the baseball field and I really hated that because when they played I couldn't concentrate. I have never like baseball because when I go to a park someone is always playing baseball and they could hit someone passing by.

                One day we were playing a tennis game against another school. That year I always played with a partner, we were playing in our school and the baseball team was also playing that day. We always heard when someone hit the baseball, but we got used to it after several games. That day when I was playing I was about to serve, so I got in position and when I was to hit the ball I leaned forward to hit the ball hard, but when that happened I felt something on the back of my head. I felt weird because no one was behind me, so I thought it was a ghost, but when I looked at one of my friends he threw a baseball to the other side. He told me that it passed right behind my head, and that it almost hit me. That changed me a lot, since that moment I now understand why people say that we can die in a blink of an eye. Since that day I know that it was something that changed my life and the attitude towards life. I now have respect for life and I know that life is a gift that we have to make the most out of it. Now I don’t get mad like I used to and I don’t fight with my brother or sister like I use to.