My Reflection

            I never really understood what blogging was about until Professor Crocker asked us to do one.  It is sure almost like having a twitter account. At first, I dreaded it for about four weeks. “Not again…when is this over…,” was something I would always think to myself. Needless to say, I actually did enjoy blogging. One thing for sure, it made me do my work and stay on top of my game. Reading through other peoples blogs, I also enjoyed them. I was able to know people through their blogs; especially when our professor had us a write the “about me” essay.  Lastly, I think my classmates are amazing and I hope to have them in another class as well. I hope they all succeed in whatever it may be that they want to pursue and follow their dreams. Here is a quote that I have hung in my room and I am happy to share it with you. 

                  “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.”

                                    -Vince Lomabardi

Good luck,

Jessica Mendez

Snowboarding in Colorado

My Great Time

            I have had many amazing times before but one that I always remember is the time that I went snowboarding in Colorado. I always go snowboarding in Utah every December but this time I was going to Colorado. I have family that live in Utah, so my family and I always spend Christmas and New Years in Utah. This time my cousin who is one year older than I wanted to go to Colorado because there was a new snowboarding ramp we wanted to check out. We asked our parents if we could go and they had said yes. We got out snowboarding gear and everything and flew to Colorado. Since I have an ex boyfriend that lives in Colorado, he went to the airport and picked us up. He offered us to stay at his house and we of course took it. The next day we got dressed and ready to go. I invited my ex, Eric, to go and he said “yes.” We all got our own ski lifts. First it was my cousin, David, then Eric, then myself. I first saw David get off and he got off onto a rocky start and as soon as I saw him get onto the ramp he fell onto the snow so bad he cut his pants. Next it was Eric. Eric had made it half way down before he stopped because he thought he wasn’t going to make it. Next it was me. I was scared after seeing my cousin go and seeing him fall down then seeing Eric whom I thought was a potent man who was in the ARMY and wasn’t scared of anything. I was thinking to myself , “Oh my gosh. What did I get myself into? There is no way I can do it.” Finally, I lift the ski handle up and I jumped down. At first it was a smooth ride then the ramp came and I said, “Oh well. Here it goes.” I went down the ramp and when I came back up I had made two flips in the air and landed perfectly. I thought I was going to die because I don’t know how I made that land. Till this day I think I was just lucky. As soon as I made it down, David and Eric were looking at me all shocked. “How did you do that?” asked Eric. “I have no idea, but having the feeling that I did it and the fact that’s it’s a one time thing, feels good,” I responded. Since I bought the video we showed it to our parents when we got back to Utah, and my parents told me “David how can you let Jessica do this? You’re the older cousin and are suppose to protect her.” David at the time was 20 years old and said “I wasn’t the older one. Jessica’s ex boyfriend Eric (Eric at the time was 25 years old) was there.” We all laughed and ended that day playing Monopoly. 

My Favorite Three

My Favorite Three

            One of my favorite people in my life is my mother. She always does everything for me. Although my dad and I have a really good relationship, my dad and I is just lets go out and have fun. However I can just tell my mom almost everything. She always helps me out in school and work when I need it the most. My mother always supports me in what I do and the decisions I make. She always helps me a lot in school; after all she is paying for my tuition and books since I don’t qualify for assistance. My mother isn’t strict but I don’t have all the freedom I want. For instance I can’t come home at 2 or 3 in the morning but I can come home at 12 or 11. Depending on where I am. My mother is very nice and caring to everyone. She always helps out almost everyone she can.

            Another person who is my favorite is my boss Joann McQuaid. She is also like my second mother who takes care of me as well. She is nice, caring, loving, and a hard working individual. She always asks me how school is going, and every semester she always works around my schedule. She never gives me hours or makes me come to work if I am struggling or behind in school. She always tells me “school comes first then work.” She always lets me take a day off if needed. Since my boss teaches biology and chemistry and I am currently taking biology at the college, she always helps me in areas of the subject I don’t understand and makes them much more clear for me.

            Lastly, my other favorite person is my uncle. My uncle is very humble, nice but he is sneaky. He loves and enjoys pranking people, therefore, one has to be careful when you’re around him. He tells me that I am his favorite niece and buys me everything I want. I remember when I was thirteen and I had a party at my house; he ordered the very first generation of iPod for me. When I was in high school he bought my class ring, my ticket for grad night, my cap and gown, and almost everything they sell at the high school. He bought me all the clothes and everything at the high school especially since he is an alumni at Oxnard High School and since I went to the school as well. 

Water Adventures

Water Adventures

Who doesn’t like having fun with friends while getting a good work out at the same time. People don’t have to go to the gym to lose weight or to have fun; all they have to do is simply be active. For instance, people can go kayaking here at the Channel Islands Harbor. Kayaking is a great way to relax, or simply go with friends while having a great view at the harbor. Whoever goes kayaking, actually get a good arm workout because its not as easy as it looks also you learn to have amazing balance if you don’t have one already.  Another place to go kayaking is at the islands here off Anacapa. There you have a breath taking view of the island and again it is just relaxing listening to the waves crash up against the rocks. Although it’s a bit expensive it is well worth it.

Not only can you go kayaking but you can also go wake boarding. How fun is that? Having a boat drag you while you are on your board holding on for dear life. This is also another arm work out because you have to have all your strength in your arms since a boat is dragging you. Also, you have to use your legs because you do get small waves and if your legs are floppy then you will fall. This is another way to make sure you know how to balance.

Last, if wake boarding is a little to extreme you can also do paddle boarding. Its like surfing but using an oar to maneuver around. I went paddle boarding in a dam called Causey located in Utah about 1.5 hours north of Salt Lake City. It was all a scenery and no matter how fast you use to paddle you’re constantly going at the same rate. You use both your arms and legs equally. You need your legs to balance on the board because if you lean to much one way you will fall into the water. You also need your arms because well you’re the driver of the board and no one will take you but yourself. 

My lie and School

My lie and School

           

Just to remind you about my post last week here it is again:

1.     I snowboard every winter in Utah.

2.     My dad owns a ranch in Camarillo

3.     I love eating junk food

4.     I only drink water

5.     I have the master bedroom in my house

6.     I work at Oxnard High School

My lie is number 3. I actually don’t eat junk food anymore due to having Polycystic Kidney Disease. This causes me to have hypertension and I cannot have very much junk food, although at one point in my life I loved it very much.

School thus far is going very well. It is actually better than what I expected. I am currently taking sixteen units and also going to work almost full time. I think about it all the time and question myself, “How am I going to school and work full time and having As and Bs in class?” I have no idea but I believe I have done it because I really want to leave Oxnard and go to Florida where I will continue to pursue my career. School in general is not bugging me, on the other hand I enjoy going to school. Its like my escape from what goes on at home and my life in general. My motivation for school is my career. I really want to be a teacher in high school. I want to get a house in Thousand Oaks and also buy a Husky dog who I will name Arctic. I just cant wait to start teaching. I have been fortunate to have a boss that actually lets me teach the biology class in high school and when she tested them on the stuff I taught, majority of them passed and I was very excited!