Halloween and the origin story:

Halloween has always been one of my top 3 favorite holidays and before this research assignment I though I knew a great deal about the origins of Halloween in our American society but while researching and working on this essay I came to learn just how much I was really missing from what I thought I knew. The origins of Halloween come from a Celtic background which I knew but I never knew just how the traditions and the holiday itself made its way to America and transformed into what we know it as today. I appreciated this assignment because it was a light, fun and creative piece of work that still allowed us to learn and practice our basic skills that we will need later on in classes while also engaging us with topics that were ultimately fun to research and an every better time creating a presentation on, at least in my opinion they were. The most interesting thing that I would say I learned about the holiday, its origins and the way we celebrate in America today would have to be just how trick-or-treating came to be in our modern society. Stemming from a way to keep mischievous spirits away from villagers homes, to becoming a tool used in deflecting teens and rebellious members of society from Amanda property as  the activities of Halloween began and ultimately finding its way into our modern society as what we currently know it as, a way for children to dress up and go around the neighborhoods in search for candies and other goodies. No matter where we take the tradition in the future the past and origins of it will remain constant.

Integrity

As former first lady Michelle Obama once stated “We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters, that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square”.  Academic integrity among students is extremely important as well as crucial to a proper functioning educational society. Without integrity the world wouldn’t be able to stand on its own, quite frankly because well it wouldn’t be made up of individual thoughts. The world would consist of thoughts all synonymous with one another due to the the fact that without integrity no one would stand to come up with their own original thoughts and ideas. Academic integrity on the other hand is a little harder to comprehend and establish just what it truly means. Academic integrity, copyright, cheating and plagiarism all go hand in hand with one another.  A student loses their academic integrity when the copy another persons work, when doing so they are plagiarizing and passing it off as there own. When a student doesn’t uphold their own academic integrity not only are they showing a lack of care towards their own school work,  they are also disrespecting the person from whom they obtained the information and writing from in the fist place by not giving credit where credit was do and subsequently trying to pass their work off as there own. A lack of academic integrity is a huge problem in our school society because it sets a precedent that it is okay to lack integrity and honor in not only the school setting but also in their average lives as well.

Big Pharma Watergate:

Big Pharma… as radio host and personality Brian Dunning stated Big Pharma is a mythical and abstract “entity comprised of corporations, regulators, NGOs, politicians, and often physicians, all with a finger in the trillion-dollar prescription pharmaceutical pie”

 

Have you ever stopped to wonder the connection between the fact that Coca-Cola sponsors The American Academy of Nutrition and Diabetics or the fact that The American Academy of Pediatrics officially supports breastfeeding, but receives about half a million dollars from Ross, who are the manufacturers of Similac infant formula which in case you weren’t aware is artificial and used in place of breastfeeding infants … probably not. To be honest most of you probably didn’t even know that, but now that you do your thinking about it. Large American pharmaceutical companies seem to be the big bad wolf in every story you hear on the news lately about overdose, finding a cure for every disease in the book and the overall cost of healthcare and medications in out society. Pharmaceutical companies are constantly in the hot seat due to the fact that people believe that they are conspiring to harm the American population with medication that they don’t need in order to line their own pockets, I mean when the list of side effects from a medication is longer than the list of symptoms you have you’re probably wondering should I really be taking this in the first place. will it even make me better?

When I grow up.

From a young age I always remember wanting to become a teacher, whether it was a history teacher like I thought about becoming for the longest time or a music teacher which I just recently finally decided on. To this day I am not sure if that was due to the fact that my own mother is a high school teacher.  I can recall being a child sitting in my mother’s classroom and just watching her teach her students the lesson of the day, answer their questions and help them in whatever way she could. I can recall the wide-eyed smile she would have when her students would thank her for her hard work. It was as if the only thing in the world that mattered to her was that her students were happy and that they were learning to better themselves for the real world. Albert Einstein, German theoretical physicist, states, ” It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” (Einstein). Ever since I was a child music has played an important role in my life. Learning to play instruments and sing has given me a creative outlet to express my emotions and appreciate the world around me. I want to be able to give my students that exact same feeling.  For them to hear their favorite song and be overwhelmed with a sense of happiness and be able to recognize and appreciate the hard work and thought that was needed to create it. I’ve always want to experience happiness in helping children explore a way to let their personalities “sing” with the world around them through their instruments and voices.  If I never had the gift of music in my life I wouldn’t have become the person I am today. Music has shaped my life in ways I never imagined it would. Never before have I had a creative way to explore what’s going on in my head and heart.  Becoming a music teacher for children will give me a better sense of purpose in life, it will allow me to transform the lives of those in my classroom and the world around us. I want to give the opportunity of using another language to reveal the wonderful aspects of their present identities and future selves. Becoming a music teacher will allow me to do all these things and more.

Reading

Ever since my early childhood reading has always been something near and dear to my heart. I grew up with my nose constantly in a book and my mind in whatever story land that I was reading about. My mother always instilled that reading was a skill we both needed to learn but one that we should also learn to love. As a young child I can remember her reading to me every night before bed. Then when I finally learned to read it was my turn to read to her. I remember that my favorite book that she would read me was always one called “The Poky Little Puppy”. It was just a simple story about a puppy who would come home late after his mother and siblings would fall asleep and eat all the desert. But to me it was so much more than some story my mom would read to me at night before bed. It was a tradition, something that reminds me of the simpler times in life when I was carefree and unstoppable. To this day I still have this book in my possession. It is a little tattered and worn out but looking at it and re-reading it just brings me back to a better place. Reading has been a way for me to escape the problems and woes of the real world and transform myself into whoever I wanted to be. I could be sailing an ocean in search for a whale with Captain Ahab or throwing lavish parties with Jay Gatsby himself. Rather than dealing with the problems and situations I faced while growing up. Whatever the story happened to be that I was reading, it was much more than just a book. It was, and continues to be an escape for me. I forever am grateful to my mother for teaching me how to to love reading because without it, I don’t know where I would be.

Technology in the real world.

Growing up in the age of technology has been a positive experience. Since the Dot Com Boom of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s we as Americans have had many digital and technological advances that have furthered our ability to create, learn and communicate with one another. With the creation of Skype, email and web app forms such as Twitter and Facebook for example, we have made it easier for people from all across the world to have their voice’s heard and communicate with one another.

In my own work field for example, we use conference calls via Skype as well as constant email conversations as a way to better stay up on the progress and standings in our own pharmaceutical world. Without the invention of digital technology we all would be at an inconvenience because we’d be forced to either find a time in our busy schedules to meet and discuss in person how things were going in the business rather than just sending out a group email that everyone could read and respond to at their own time.

My academic life has become easier and more accessible due to the advancement in digital technologies. With the creation of presentation software such as PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel, it has become much easier for projects and presentations to be made for my classes. As well as the invention of email allowing me to communicate with my teachers faster and more efficiently rather than waiting for a specific class during the week if I had a question or problem that needed addressing. With the creation of things such as Microsoft Word as well it is also much easier and quicker when it comes to writing assignments rather than having to hand-write everything.

In my personal life is where I use these advances the most especially when it comes to social media platforms and online messengers. For example, one of my best friends is serving in the air force and is stationed in Germany. Rather than paying for overseas texts and calls we use Facebook and Skype to keep up with how one other is doing. I also use things such as Facebook and twitter to blog and read about people views on events going on in the world. Overall I believe my life as a whole has become a lot more convenient and accessible with the advancements in technology we’ve made.

Introduction:

Hello class, my name is Maria Rodriguez. I was born and raised here in Yuma, Arizona my entire life. All my life I grew up with a true passion for history, politics and music. I’ve been playing classical piano since I was 10 years old and I also have been involved with choir and musical theatre from a young age as well. As I child I used to dream of being on Broadway and to this day I still wish that I someday can achieve this goal, even if it is as just part of an ensemble. As Constantin Stanislavski once said ‘There are no small parts, only small actors.” Some of my favorite roles I have portrayed include Annie from Thomas Meehan’s “Annie”, Sandy in a production of “Grease” and Eponine from Les Misérables a musical adaptation from the book by French novelist Victor Hugo.

I attended Kofa High School and during my stay there I was on the school’s Varsity track, chess and tennis teams. While I did participate in multiple sports my main focus aside from my school work was a club called Junior Statesman of America better known as JSA or “The largest student run organization in America.”  I was in charge of running the organization for the State of Arizona/New Mexico. While with this club I had many exciting and educational experiences; from seeing the birthplace of our nation to meeting the leaders of our country. I’ve had the opportunity to sit down and have discussions with influential politic figures including Sandra Day O’Connor, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, just to name a few and have worked on political campaigns as well.  I believe life’s all about making connections.

I graduated from Kofa High school in 2015 and just had my 20th birthday, which I spent in New York City. I am taking online classes this semester to better work around my work schedule as a pharmacy technician at a Walmart in town. I am double majoring in Musical Therapy and Education with a minor in Political Science. After college I hope to have a career as a musical therapist for a children’s hospital or rehabilitation center or as a teacher.

I look forward to finishing this semester and being one class closer to achieving my goal, as well as learning from what Professor Loveless has to teach.  Let’s make this year a great one.