Controlling Impressions

I would like people, after reading my biographical narrative, to think of my mom as a strong woman who always tries her hardest to do things on her own. (independent)

Ancedote's.

Like many military wives, my mother had to raise me alone. When I was a newborn, my

father was in Bosnia. He was a Russian Linguist for the Army and left shortly after I arrived. I was

born in Sierra Vista, AZ and lived on Fort Huachuca while my father was gone. My mom was there

raising me in a place unknown to her, a place where she had no family or friends. She was an aspiring

teacher in school taking care of a newborn, house, and dog. Around the time I was 8 months old, my

mom was just about finished with her school and was preparing to take the MSAT. This was the big test

that she had to pass in order to get her teacher's credential. The moment she knew she was ready for

the MSAT, she paid her $300 and submitted her papers. Ironically, on the day before the test I came

up with the Croup Cough and had to be sent to the emergency room. Staying with me at the hospital

something dawned on my mother. She had a decision to make, either to stay with me or go and take

that test the next day. Knowing our future depended on whether or not she passed that test, she promised

herself that she would take it. Desperately looking for a caretaker for the time being she was gone,

she found a nice Chamorro (Guamanian) family who knew of my Grandmother. They offered to take

me in and waved my mom goodbye along with good-luck cheek kisses. Luckily, for us, my mom came

back with good news the next day. She had passed and now could happily take care of her new baby girl knowing

their future was looking bright.

When I was living in Virginia, I was just entering Kindergarten and lived mostly with my mom because my dad was always away for the army. I loved my life there, I actually had a family. I had neighborhood

friends who I played freeze, and hide and go seek with. I lived through every season happily making snowballs,

jumping in piles of leaves, and swimming in community pools. I had a secret hiding place in the endless

forest behind my house and had a crazy, messy dog who made me slimy and muddy. With all this going on,

of course I had no idea about my parents' problems. However, I did notice how we stopped movies and

cornbread in the basement and how it eventually turned into my dad's room instead of my playhouse. Shortly

after this, divorce came into the picture and my mother and I moved out and went to California, by CAR.

Driving there was a memorable experience, despite how long and tiring it was. My Aunt, Cousin, and Uncle helped

us drive there for we had an Allied moving truck and a blue LX Honda Civic filled with clothes and pillows

accompaning us. I was young when this happened, so I was confused and lost at first. I don't remember

being too sad though but that was because I noticed my mother being so composed. She raised me alone, and

I knew that she was going to get us through this cross-country drive and well off into what we had planned for

us ahead.

My mother grew up in a family who stuck to what they knew, things that made them feel secure. It

was all about "security, security, security", like my grandma would say. However, with my mom growing

up in different times that concept seemed kind of old school to her. She wanted something different to what

her family knew, she wanted a college education. Although she had no parent support, she still went through with

her plan. No parent support meaning no money, zero help, and especially no approval. You see my mom's

parents wanted her to join the civil service. They wanted her to work for the government because at those times

it was a solid career. However, deep inside she knew that was not her path. Following through with her

choice, she took on two jobs and went to community college. She did this for two years and saved all the

money she earned. When she was finally ready for college it was her hard earned savings that paid for

everything. She paid for her dorm, tuition, books, supplies, and food all by herself. Eventually her parents came

through, and started sending her $100 a week. Up until then, she got down to business and did what she had

to do to get where she wanted to be, being at school getting a lasting college education.

I Agree With Obama.

My opinion hasn't changed on the use of Stem Cells.  I still believe that the stem cell's ability should be taken advantage of.  They can help many people and can lead up to more research on other topics.  Stem Cells can change into other cells, which can save many lives.  This ability is very rare, and I think we should put aside our morals just this once for this cause.  Especially if we were going to discard the embryos anyways.  We should use them for the better of other people instead of throwing them away for no use.

Good Morning !

When I wake up in the morning I experience a lot of environmental and physical changes.  Often times, I am hesitant to wake up because its so cold outside of my bed.  Once the covers come off instant chills reach my body and I immediately grab the covers to put them over me again.  Its also very hard for me to get up because the light is really harsh on my eyes.  I squint a lot, for it takes awhile before my eyes get used to it.  I also find that I get light headed when I rise up quickly out of bed.  I tend to have minor blackouts for a few seconds. So because of this I try to wake up laying down and then get up.  

The organs that seem to be involved when I wake up are my skin, nervous system, and my muscular and skeletal system.  My skin is involved because I get sudden chills once my covers are removed.  The nervous system contributes to this too, but also to how my eyes first react to the light.  And of course my muscular and skeletal system because they help me get up from the bed and get ready for school.

Some feedback loops that might be working are the ones that help me from getting up too fast and blacking out, the ones who help me adjust to the temperature of my room, the ones who tell me that I'm hungry for breakfast, and the ones who help me adjust to the light.  All these feedback loops help you know what your body can handle or what your body needs.  For example, like when I get up too fast I often get light headed.  So when my body tells me this, I slowly lay back down and wait until I feel okay.  Another example is when I open my eyes and the light hurts.  So I squint for awhile until I am used to it.  

To Rap or Not to Rap?

Personally, I think the rap was a great idea.  It was a creative and fun way to learn about photosynthesis.  The reason it worked really well for me was because the steps were put to a beat, which sticks in your head and comes easier to understand.  Also, when your making the song you have to memorize and practice singing the lyrics, which in reality are the steps to photosynthesis.  So singing the steps over and over was like studying, but in a way that wasn't boring.  Overall, it was just fun because when you include music into learning, you get more into it than normal.  

Some advantages of this project were using our creativity and getting a chance to use music we actually like in the classroom.  When  it comes to being creative in the classroom, I don't really get excited.  But this project was different because music appeals to me and there are so many things you can do with it.  

To be honest, I didn't really dislike this project.  The only thing I would say about it was that it really hard to get with your partner and record the song together. 

Do science fair projects teach science?

When you do a science fair project, you become really familiar with the scientific method and the topic of what your project is on.  So in a sense, you don't really learn "science", you just learn a lot about the components of your topic.  Other things that you do learn from the Science Fair process are to use resources, to use detective skills, to be specific when you write things down, and to always take data.  Overall, Science Fair projects just educate you in the basic steps of doing an experiment. 

Stem Cell Blog

I agree with the use of Stem Cells because I think we should take advantage of the Stem Cell's ability to become other cells.  This ability can help create replacement cells and can help make drugs safer and more effective.  More importantly though, it could save the lives of those who need certain cells.  Also, the research of the Stem Cell can lead to other life saving medical treatments.