One Last One..

I would have never seen myself doing these blogs. I got confused on trying to set it up and making it look nice to my likings. I didn't find them interesting at first, always feeling lazy to even start them. But as I did more and more of these blogs, I began to develop a liking in posting one blog after another. I enjoyed writing about the topics that we were given, almost all of them giving countless ideas of what to blog about. I loved getting the comments from other classmates, and that just made me enjoy posting blogs even more.

I don't know if I'll continue to keep this blog going, but I won't leave it to be forgotten. There were many thoughts and ideas poured into it, and many wonderful memories that I have shared with the class. These blogs have been a memorable experience for me, and I know I will be looking back on all the posts to remember them all.

This has been a great semester and I've enjoyed every part of it, and I hope everyone else has too!

Bay Area!

One of the greatest weekends I have ever had happened on Friday, March 18, 2011, and ended on the following Monday morning. The week before, my friend, Ivanarae, who attends San Francisco State, texted me and a few friends about a dance showcase that was happening in San Mateo, up in North California. She really wanted to go, but had no ride. I immediately texted my brother, begging him if we could drive up to San Francisco for that weekend to see that showcase, as it featured many dance teams that I admired. He replied back with a "Maybe" and I got my hopes up. A few days later, my brother sent me a message that said, "It's a go. Kristen and Dar are coming also."(Kristen was my brother's girlfriend and Dar, short for Darlene, was Kristen's best friend.) At that moment, a big smile appeared on my face and I texted back Ivanarae saying we were coming up next week! She could not believe it, and I couldn't either. I was going to the bay area!

It was Thursday night. I had to spend the night at Kristen's house so we could all leave together, saving the drive of picking everyone up individually.We all woke up at 3A.M, on Friday, got ready, and packed everything into the car. We triple checked everything that we needed and then we left an hour later, starting the 7 hour drive to San Francisco. Other than only having to stop at rest stations occasionally so my brother could take a small break from driving or at gas stations to fill up, the drive itself was pretty smooth. The only brutal part was that I was awake the whole time to make sure my brother stayed awake, as Kristen and Dar fell asleep right when we left. But as we ventured further into NorCal, the weather seemed to get worse. The rain poured dangerously harder, almost blinding our view of the road, forcing my brother to drive much, much slower. But despite the horrible weather, we eventually hit San Francisco, where the rain was a lot calmer. We also made great time, arriving just before noon. We drove down the streets of the city looking for the apartments next to San Fran State. We eventually made it to the large housing part of the city and it didn't take us long to find Ivanarae's complex. Once we parked the car, I called Ivanarae, letting her know that we were finally here!

I helped my brother as we unloaded the car of our things and entered the building, taking the crammed elevator up to the apartment room. Ivanarae let us into the room, we set our stuff down, and got settled. She was also expecting another friend from Oxnard to arrive at the apartment also, Jennifer, who arrived a few minutes after we did. Then, those two left to meet up with another friend in town, leaving my brother, Kristen, Dar, and I to explore the city. We left the apartment and drove around, getting to know the streets and locations around us. This lasted pretty much that whole day.

On Saturday morning, we all woke up, showered, and got ready. It was the day of the dance showcase, and we still had a lot of driving to do since we had to pick up one last friend, Julian, in Davis, the next town over, before heading to the showcase. Once the car was packed with everyone, we headed to San Mateo, arriving minutes before the event started. Kristen and Dar took the car to go see their friend, not knowing when they would come back, but we hurried into the building. We took our seats and the showcase started. It was an amazing sight, seeing all my favorite dancers, live and in person, in a place I would've never seen myself at all with some amazing people I could ever know. The event went out with a bang, and the whole building erupted with applause. As people cleared out of the building, we couldn't get a hold of Kristen or Dar, leaving us with no ride back. Ivanarae eventually called for a taxi to pick us up. Then the driver took us to the BART station, which is a type of train, where we took it back to San Fran. Once off at our destination, we then took a bus to San Fran State, where we found Kristen and Dar waiting outside of the apartment building. We all headed back up to the room and rested from the extremely exhausting day.

The weekend ended with goodbyes. We dropped off Julian at the train station and Jennifer walked with Ivanarae to the bus station. We thanked Ivanarae so much for letting us spend the weekend in San Fran and letting us spend the nights in her apartment. We packed up our car and said our final goodbyes before starting the 7 hour drive. It was a great experience visiting a city that I've only dreamed of going to one day, and it was even better spending it with friends that I could rarely see because of the distance.

Three Important People

The first person is my grandfather. My grandfather was always there for me. He is very hard-working and will always be there to provide our family with everything we need. He has been very helpful and supportive in getting my life on the right track. He has always been there for me through the good and the bad, and I love him for that. He's supported me all throughout my high school life, steering me towards the right choices. Even after high school, he was still there for me. He helped me get my permit, and eventually my license. He's helped pay for my college fees. He has even taught me how to cook certain food dishes. I know that he has been preparing me to lead my own future because I know he won't be there for me forever, and I am very thankful for all that he has already done.

The second person is my coach, captain, and fellow dancer, Mark Raquedan. From the start of my high school life, I joined the squads at my school, one of the greatest choices I have made. That's when I met Mark. He is a very determined person, always wanting to finish certain things, no matter how long it takes. He has been coaching the Channel Islands squads for quite a while, and was there during all four of my years on them. Even after I was done with high school and done with the squads, Mark eventually went from being my coach to being my captain as I joined another dance team that has been around for years. He has showed me that commitment in doing something you love is one of the best feelings ever. It was because of him that I developed a passion for dance.

The third person is my friend since kindergarten, David De La Cruz. David has been a very good friend to me. He is very trustworthy, and always has interesting things to say. After he left to Japan after the second grade, I thought it would be forever until I saw him again. But he eventually came back to Oxnard after almost 8 long years. I spotted him at school during lunch and I immediately recognized him as my best friend from elementary. We're always catching up on good times, and there's never a moment where bitterness develops between us. That's how best friends are supposed to be.

A Review on The Boiling Crab

If you love seafood, you're going to love this place. Located in Koreatown, Los Angeles, Alhambra, and Garden Grove(Orange County), the Boiling Crab is a popular seafood restaurant, but it's very unique in its own way. In a normal restaurant, you would be served food on plates with utensils, but when eating at the Boiling Crab, there are none of these. You are seated at a table with wax paper laid on top with a roll of paper towels nearby. Then a server puts a bib around your neck, and as silly as it sounds, it will really help. And once you get your food, you can begin to eat... with your hands!

They have a wide variety of delicious seafood to choose from. You can choose from blue crab, oysters (fried or seasoned), dungeness crab, king crab legs, lobster, crawfish(fried or seasoned), clams, or shrimp(fried or seasoned). There are other types of food as well, such as corn-on-the-cob, Cajun fries, sweet potato fries, sausages, and steamed rice. There are also certain seasonings (and spiciness) that you can add to give your food more amazing taste. Getting all the seasonings with your order (rajun Cajun, lemon pepper, and garlic butter) is called the "whole sha-bang," which is something I would recommend on getting with any order. Depending on what you order, your food is brought to you in a large plastic bag, soaking in all the seasonings and juices that give it the amazing flavors that Boiling Crab is known for. Everything is pretty pricey, but I think it's worth it.

Inside the restaurant itself, there are cans and bottles of different kinds of beers lined up on shelves along the walls. Many jerseys representing many different sports teams hang below these shelves. There are a few 40-inch televisions for customers to enjoy various shows as they chow down on their food.

If you plan on eating at the Boiling Crab, you can expect a LONG wait as it is a very popular restaurant. There are benches outside of the doors to sit on as you wait to be seated. There are wooden areas around the waiting area that the Boiling Crab staff encourages their customers to write on. Average wait times are around 30 minutes to an hour, but it will all be worth the wait.

Thoughts About FFN

Even before I started reading Fast Food Nation, I immediately thought about my life and fast food. Although some of the information in the book proved to be interesting to me, it sickens me reading about all the things done to a fast food chain's foods. I can never look at a burger the same way, but even so, it's still hard to resist their deliciousness, though I still can't believe all the things going into my body.

Almost all the foods on a menu can be unhealthy for anyone, no matter how much they say it isn't. Also, the employees who work for these places are always being put down by others and are poorly treated. Fast food chains are a big reason for America's problem concerning weight due to all the "ingredients" put into their foods.

5 Lies... 1 Truth.

Can you find the truth?

1) I love to swim.

2) I drove my grandparents' car into a bush.

3) I have secretly stalked someone who eventually became a good friend.

4) I had the opportunity to be in a dance video.

5) I am the tallest in my family.

6) I sprained my ankle during a school rally.

What I miss the most.

I really miss dancing with the Channel Islands squads. It's what kept me happy. Looking back at my high school life, I felt like I was at my happiest then. The competitions are what I miss the most. Here are a few videos that are very memorable to me.

Co-ed Dance 2010(Glee Theme)

All-Male 2010(Music 101)

Coed Hip-Hop 2009

Coed Dance 2009(Masquerade Theme)

 Coed Dance 2008(Hairspray Theme)

Aking Pamilya(My family)

My family is pretty large. There are 7 of us living under one roof. There's my two grandparents, my mom and dad, my oldest brother, my younger sister, and my little nephew, who is my oldest brother's son. I do have another older brother, but he lives out of town, however, he still comes home occasionally to the family that he grew up with.

My grandparents spend half the year here in Oxnard, taking care of the whole family by providing us with large meals and watching over the house, while spending another year in the Philippines where they spend time with our other family members there. When there is nothing happening in the house, both my grandparents enjoy their time watching the Filipino channel. I try to help my grandparents as much as I can because they have supported me greatly as I grew up, and are still supporting to this day.

My parents work most of the day during the week and are usually back before evening. When my grandparents are in the Philippines, it's my parents who take their responsibilities around the house. Though they're not as gentle as my grandparents, I still help them whenever they ask, even if it may sound like they're angry. I may get into fights with them also, involving lots of yelling, slamming of doors, things thrown around, but we eventually settle our problems and get on being the loving family that we are.

All the siblings, including me, but excluding my brother who lives on his own, usually spend most of our time isolated in our rooms, only coming out when it's time to eat or when we start doing our chores. My oldest brother and I are almost always found in my room on our computers just playing video games. My sister is usually the one who keeps herself isolated from all of us for some reason. My nephew is the reason our house is never quiet. He is a hyper little kid who never seems to be able to stay still. He entertains himself by playing video games on the Wii, most of them being the games that involve lots of movement. There are times when our whole family is home that everyone gathers in our living room and watch each other play against one another on the Wii, ensuring lots of laughs and good times.

I love my family. I don't know where I would be without them. They have helped me become who I am because they have influenced my life. I am very thankful for that, and I hope that my family will always be there for me as I am for them.

Interview

I had the honors of interviewing my fellow classmate Jessica Dorantes. She was born in Vallejo before she came to Oxnard, where she has lived for the past 7 years. Her family is from New Mexico. She has one older brother and three younger sisters. Her motivation to attend college is to eventually make more money to support herself. She will also be the first to graduate from college in her family. She sees herself as a role model to her sister. Jessica describes herself as determined, honest, and outgoing. In 5/10 years, she sees herself being a nurse in the emergency department. She also see herself in her own house and married with two kids. Her motto for succeeding in school is "Hard work pays off."

National Champions!

It was April 4^th, 2010, a Saturday. It was the second day of three of the last dance competition of my high school life. The competition was known to us only as Nationals. It took place at the Anaheim Convention Center, and was a very big event to many schools around California, and even to some other states around the country. It had many different divisions of competition, from hip hop dancing to pep-flags to contemporary to military. Each division had its own subdivisions for team sizes, those being small, medium, or large. I was in two of the teams from Channel Islands, the all-male team and the co-ed team. Our co-ed team hadn’t won a Nationals title in eleven years as our rival school, Glendale, had won the title every single year, but this year, we would make sure that we’d be going home with the championship and the bragging rights over Glendale.

                The day started around 9 in the morning. I was one of the first ones awake in my hotel room, so I had took the measure of waking the guys up.

“Hey guys! Wake up! I yelled, “It’s already past 9 o’clock! Get up!” I opened the door connecting the two rooms we were in and yelled the same thing to the guys in the other room. I even threw pillows at those who didn’t budge, hoping that would get them up.

Soon, all the guys were awake, and were taking turns using the shower, and afterwards, dressing out into their uniforms… slowly. We had spent the whole previous day practicing our co-ed routine with all-female, from when we arrived in the morning until late at night. Everybody was exhausted, but we didn’t let the fatigue get to us, as we had a long day ahead of us. Whoever was ready brought whatever they needed down to the hotel lobby to wait for the ones who were still getting ready. Already dressed out and ready, I was one of the first ones down there and I waited for everyone else to come. I watched the elevators as our people came out of the elevators, group after group. The lobby was soon filled with our school: boys in teal dress shirts with a slim, black tie, suspenders, and black pants, and girls in matching teal dressed with black bows in their hair and around their waists. My coach was rushing the stragglers to come down so we could practice a bit more. There was still more to be done. As the last group of people got out of the elevator, everybody grabbed their stuff and followed our coach out of the doors of the hotel.

                Co-ed was the first performance we had. The all-male and all-female team decided to hold off their individual practices to work on co-ed, since we really needed it. It was about 11A.M as we left the hotel and headed for the convention center, which gave us a good hour or so to practice. There were already a lot of people all around the building. Spectators, performers, staff members… they were everywhere. We entered the main hall where we would be performing. The new members of the team gazed in awe as they saw the four huge bleachers that enclosed the large wooden dance floor we would be on quite soon. I, too, stared off, as this was my going to be my last time performing on that floor, which made me pretty emotional, but I didn’t let that affect me. After all the staring, I wandered to a vacant area and called my team over so we can start practicing. “Fall in!” our coach yelled to us, and everyone ran to their formations to begin practice.

From a distance, I could tell we stood out from everyone with our bright teal outfits. This was our first time trying our routine in our uniforms. It felt a lot different from just practice clothes, but we had to get used to it fast. I called my partner over so we can work on our partner work.  

“Xyleen!” I called to her, “Let’s practice the partner stuff and our lifts.”

“Okay then,” she replied as came to me and we worked on whatever we both needed to work on. “5, 6, 7, 8…” I counted off as we started to practice.

I needed all the time I had to get all the moves in my head. But as everyone tidied up on the routine, one of the staff members of the competition came to our coach and informed us that we were up in five or so performances. The whole schedule was moved up, which resulted in us performing a lot sooner than expected. We all stopped what we were doing at that moment and looked at our coach.

“Guys, we’re up soon! Fix your uniforms! Boys, pin your ties! Girls, make sure your hair doesn’t go in your face when you move and fix your bows!” We felt even more rushed than before. We put on any finishing touches we needed on everything, our uniforms, our routine, and ourselves.  

My heart was pounding with excitement. We were going to perform very soon. A staff member escorted our team and coach behind one of the bleachers for us to wait. I looked around as we were escorted and saw the bleachers filled with people. Just the sight of the crowd gave me a rush of adrenaline and I felt pumped.

As we got settled, all of us made a circle. Our coach started talking, giving us words of advice, “Okay guys, this is it! This is Nationals! We’ve worked so hard to be here. When you’re out on the floor, give it your all and have fun with it.” We all cheered for a short while before we crossed hands with each other and bowed our heads as our coach said a small prayer, “Dear Lord, thank you for bringing us here today. Please let us have a safe performance. Help us hit all our moves sharp and clean, help us do our lifts, help us entertain the crowd. Lord, help us by preventing any injuries during or after the performance. Lord, just help us have the performance of our lives.” He looked up at us and said one final thing, “Okay guys, just kill it out there!” We cheered once more before he said, “I love you, Lord!” and all of us responded back, “I love you, Lord!” followed by, “Amen!!” Then we all got up and started wishing good luck to each other.

 I felt like I was going to cry because it was all so emotional, but I held back my tears. It was no time for crying, it was time to dance my heart out on the dance floor. As our coach said his last words, we lined up at the edge of the dance floor in three straight lines and marched onto the floor. The loud screams of the crowd, the cheering, the clapping… those were the only sounds heard as we grouped up in our first formation in the middle of the floor.

Our captain yelled out the commands, “Dance team! A-ten-hut! A-ten-hut! Ready, set!” and we hit our poses, heads down, chin to chest.

"Ready, set!"

Showing how we're enjoying
the routine.

Cheers and screams roared throughout the building as we stood with our heads down. The music started playing, a lot louder than the cheering, “Caaaaaaaaan… anyboodyyyyy… fiiiind meeee…” and we responded by starting our choreography, our heads coming up in groups with each syllable of the words. A rush of energy surged through my body as I hit each move afterwards with as much energy as possible. I let the music flow through me and guide my body to the rhythm. It was an amazing feeling. I made many facials to correspond to the feeling of the music. I was in the zone. When it came to the partner work, I smiled big at my partner and she smiled back, looking into each other’s eyes as we danced in synchronized motion. The lift sequence was up, and I made sure I used all of my energy, knowing that my partner would too.

Our three minute routine seemed like an eternity. As we headed into our ending song, “Don’t Stop Believing,” the Glee version, the crowd cheered loudly and sang along to the song. We sang along as well, “Don’t stop… believin’! Hold onto that feelin’!” The whole team used up all of their remaining energy on this section. I smiled at the crowd, at the judges, at anybody who was watching, trying not to show any signs of fatigue.

The final seconds of the routine was coming to an end. “Don’t stop!” and the music ended. We hit our ending poses and just kept smiling. I was breathing heavily and I felt like I was going to collapse, but I pulled through. “Ready, up! 5, 6, 7, 8!” That was our queue to walk off the stage. The crowd erupted with cheer as we left the floor. We were done!

As we exited the dance floor, we all cheered and yelled with whatever energy we had left. What an amazing feeling that was. But suddenly, I fell to the floor, exhausted and wheezing for air and a few alumni came over to me and made me drink water to help me recover. I didn’t mind if I felt so exhausted. It was a great way to end the routine. The next few minutes were spent with alumni taking care of the other members, congratulating everyone, and a lot of random people from the audience coming down to say how great our routine looked. It was all so sudden, but it was all so good.

We had a long break until awards started. We all felt so good after that performance, but we were all really tired. Instead of spending all that time watching other performers, we were allowed to do whatever we wanted, as long as we weren’t alone. This made most of us glad and saw it as a chance to rest until awards. A few of us, including me, headed straight for our hotel rooms. Once inside, I took a quick shower, hopped in the bed, and took what seemed to be the best nap I ever had.

“Mark! Dude, wake up!” I heard faintly as I was being shaken awake by my friend, “The awards are almost up!”

                I quickly hopped out of bed as he said that. I didn’t realize I slept for so long. I gathered all my things in haste.  We then ran to the elevators and rushed out of the lobby, heading straight for the stadium for awards. I went through the rows of seats to the bottom of the stadium where the rest of the team was waiting. I joined them in the circle and we waited patiently for our co-ed division to be called.

The view of the stadium floor and of the many trophies.

                Division after division passed. There were so many that were being called. Cheers and claps echoed through the stadium. Eventually, our division came up, “And now, we start the medium Co-ed division.” We all huddled together, heads down, whispers heard, praying that we would get first. “We have in third place… Mira Mesa!” said the announcer, and we clapped for a brief moment before huddling together again. “And in second place… Glendale!” and as soon as that was said, the whole stadium seemed to gasp in surprise. It felt like the whole team had their hearts pounding as we clenched each other’s hands tighter, waiting for first place to be called. “Our first place and 2010 National champions are…” he paused as the crowd cheered “Channel Islands! Channel Islands!”

The whole stadium seemed to be cheering our name. It was so suspenseful. We looked up in the seats where our whole school was sitting and saw everyone in that section jumping up and cheering like they’ve never cheered before.

Then the announcer took one big breath and said, “Channel Islands!!” and the whole stadium erupted in cheers. Our team jumped up and yelled in excitement. It was amazing. Some cried in joy, others hugged and cheered. I cried in pure joy, as it was the best moment that ever happened. We all went up as a whole team to receive our medals and large trophy. We were National champions. We brought back the title to our school’s name and I was proud to dance under the name of Channel Islands.

                Our coach ran down from the seats to join and celebrate with us. He cried as we gathered around him, thanking him for all the hard work and he congratulated us on a well deserved win. He took a moment to get himself together before he spoke to us.

 “This wouldn’t have been possible without you wonderful group of kids! Thank you for all this, you guys!” We all had one big group hug as a team, our coach stuck in the middle of us holding the trophy up high, and we all cheered some more.

                This was truly an event that made me very proud. It made me realize that my love of dance evolved into a strong passion. I was glad to have been a part of Channel Islands’ dance teams. Without them, I would have never experienced this event, nor would I have become interested in dancing. I’m grateful to have stuck through the squads for all four years of my high school life as it helped change who I am today.

The whole co-ed team(wearing our all-male/all-female uniforms) with our medals, backpacks, banner, and trophy.

The team(in uniform!) plus our coaches at Channel Islands High.

Video of our performance. Enjoy!

Texting

Texting has become one of the biggest form of communication used today. It's a very useful way of contacting others when you are not in a place to talk aloud with a phone call. It's also a way to leave others messages when they don't pick up your phone call after a few times.

Now I'm always seen on my phone, endlessly texting friends non-stop throughout the day, I've also seen countless others doing the same as well. You can pretty much say that texting has become a really bad addiction to society. The worst of it all can be seen on the roads. Texting and driving is a HUGE problem as it can put other drivers at risk. A person texting while behind the wheel has to switch their focus between their phone and the road, which, of course, is very dangerous because anything could happen during that time that they take their eyes off the road. They are just an accident waiting to happen.

If you are one those people who can't wait until the car is parked to text someone, then do everyone a favor and just stay off the roads. Or you can just turn your phone off and leave it in your pocket or bag while you drive so you know you won't be distracting by the urge of texting. Either way, you would be saving yourself, and many others, from an accident.

-REAL- Television

I don't really watch television as much as I used to, but when I do, I usually just flip through the channels and there are a few shows that catch my attention, most of them being reality shows. Now I REALLY don't like the newer reality shows, one big example being Jersey Shore. Shows like that are just plain stupid in my opinion. I feel like I'm actually losing my intelligence by watching that show. Now I've only seen one or two episodes and from what I've seen, I can tell it's just all partying, getting drunk, and having sex. Is this what producers want people to think reality shows are all about? Sure, it may make the "actors and actresses" look like idiots, but why should they care? They have their own show, and that's all that matters to them.

Now there are a few reality shows I do enjoy watching, such as Dog the Bounty Hunter, Dancing With The Stars, America's Best Dance Crew, America's Got Talent, So You Thing You Can Dance. I know most of these shows are pretty much the same, them having to do with dancing and all, but I don't mind watching every single one of them because I love dancing, so why not watch a show about something you love? And although they may be similar, each show brings out different styles of dancing I've never seen before, and that's what keeps me interested. My brother got me into watching Dog the Bounty Hunter. I find it exciting to watch from a bounty hunter's point of view, going around, city to city, trying to find and apprehend a fugitive, taking any measure to make sure they get them.

Reality shows may be fun to watch, but that depends on what is being portrayed in the show. There are many young audiences that watch these shows, and most of them get ideas from television. People should be aware of what goes on in reality shows. Parents should monitor their kids and make sure that the shows they watch don't influence them in any bad ways. Nobody wants their kids to think partying and drinking is fun at their age.

Food, food, food.. How fast food affected me.

As a young child, I absolutely LOVED fast food. I was really into McDonald's, as I always enjoyed getting the toys in the happy meals. I would always fuss when I didn't get the toy, but it didn't matter that much because I would be chowing down on the French fries and the cheeseburger with a small soda on the side. I always loved getting fast food with my parents right after they picked me up when school ended. Although it wasn't a daily thing, it was still a treat going to a fast food place, no matter which one it would be. Sometimes when my little sister came with us, I would steal some of her fries, only because I knew she wasn't going to finish them all.

As of today, fast food has become a daily part of my life. I know it's unhealthy, but I'm usually not home to enjoy the wonderful home cooked meals made by my grandparents. I always find myself leaving home right as my grandparents are getting the food ready, and I really miss eating with my family, but things like school and dance practice take up most of my time. I'm trying my best to avoid the Freshmen 15 of college, but fast food seems so much more tempting than it was when I was younger. Right after I'm done with class, I'd usually be craving something that's close-by like Jack-In-The-Box or Panda Express. During our breaks for dance practice, my friends and I would drive over to Taco Bell or McDonald's and place a big order altogether just so we can share it all. I can surely say that most of my money has gone to fast food, and I despise that greatly, but I can't help it when my hunger takes over. But on a brighter note, despite all the times I consume fast food, I never seem to gain that much weight. I'm glad that I get to eat as much as I want, only to exercise most(if not, all) off during practice. I should be aware on what I eat and try to limit myself on how much of it I do eat.

Fast food is beginning to become a big problem in society. More and more food chains are appearing in order to keep up with competition for customers. Fast food places are starting to offer many money-saving deals in order to lure more and more people to buy their foods. Their advertisements are everywhere, and there will be no way of getting rid of them. All in all, fast food has become a part of almost everyone's life, and it'll be very difficult to quit eating it.

My past, my present, my future..

October 9, 1992. The day my life started.... I'm Mark Anthony Carbonell. I grew up being a shy, timid person. I found it hard to make new friends, always being quiet to myself and avoiding those who I thought I wouldn't get along with. I waited for others to come to me and introduce themselves as I lacked the will to do so. But as I got older, I grew more and more out of my shell and started to be more outgoing, though still being cautious with those I knew. By the time I was in high school, however,  I joined the school's dance teams, which helped me further in becoming less shy. I shared a common interest with those on the team, our love of dance. I expressed myself through dancing, putting all my feelings and thoughts into the moves. This way, I can show others just who I am.

I am currently trying to get my life back on track. I just recently started college and, being the fresh student that I am, I'm still undecided on what I will be doing with my time. There are many choices that I want to set my mind on, but I'm unsure on which one to pursue. It is a work in progress and will be put aside for another time. But now, I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands nowadays. I have spent most of my time on a collegiate level dance team called Non-Stop. I'm really glad to have joined as I can continue my passion of dancing right out of high school.

I am hoping to just get through college, maybe transfer to a four-year university(undecided on which one I want to attend). I hope that my life will be a successful one, though I'm in no rush for that to happen. I hope to someday become a professional hip hop dancer to put my years of dancing to a better extent. I hope to make my family proud of me once again through all my decisions I'm making now. Other than that, I will just have to make use of my present to determine the outcome of my future...