Everyday Heros

 Have you ever seen that one shy kid that you think is weird cause they never liked answering questions to the most simplest questions in class? If not, then have you ever been that one shy kid? well that was me. The weird, shy, awkward kid.
    Ever since I was in elementary I was always in trouble. It wasn't even because I was doing something remotely wrong; but it was because I didn't do what I was told. Little did they know, I just simply didn't understand the concept of what the teachers were telling me. I was always just too shy to speak up and tell them why or what I didn't understand so teachers always gave up on me.
     It wasn't till middle school when my younger cousin daisy came to live with us; did I understand to speak up and give my own opinions or answers to anyone that asked or if I was concerned with anything to raise my hand and to speak up. Since I saw the frighten little girl that in Daisy that i recognized in my self. It encouraged me to find my voice and speak up!FINALLY!
     After years of being afraid of others, being afraid of being wrong, being scared of people hearing me out did i finally understood what was it that got people to not want to talk to me. I then instantly got more friends and people were beginning to recognize me. not only did the students recognize me. teachers as well noticed my outstanding improvement in school that I was nominated as most improved student. Ever since then, I was determined to ask any questions even if they were embarrassing.

everyday heroes

I remembered growing up as single child was difficult for me , I had to learn everything on my own. My mom couldn't have babies so I didn't get a brother in till I was 10. It was very detirment for me because I couldnt function with the other kids around me. By the time my brother was bron i was determined to show him everything I could and help him as much as possible. I got very dexterous in useing youtube to help me figure out things. Youtube to me was like a big sister or brother showing me things that my parent were not able to teach me. At frist having a brother was mesmerize for me but later it got esoteric because we couldnt get along. It took me while to get along with my brother but now its symmetrical. I try hard to show my brother everything I know and put a good example for him , I dont want him to struggle like I did.

Gladis Belloso
February 12, 2015 

English 84 6122

                                     

                                                             Everyday Heroes

      I remember when I was 16 years old, and I was so despondent at the fact that my life was such a mess at a young age. High school was a joke to me, my parents had divorced, and my only way to escape all this crap was by doing drugs. I really wanted to find that bit of solace in my life, but by doing that I was slowly regressing to nowhere.  I had continued to feel this way until one night, my older sister Flor, came up to me crying her eyes out. She wanted me to be happy and to do well in school. She was worried that the depression I was going through was going to lead me into committing suicide. She was so concerned of where I was standing in life. By that time, I didn't really care where I was standing in life momentarily, I just wanted to get over all the traumatizing experience that went down with my parents. But that night looking straight at my sister’s eyes made me finally realize that I had trashed my youth when I could have done something way better with myself. That night I remember falling into my knees and crying like I've never cried before. I remember thinking to myself that I was tired of living this life I had. I wanted to change not only for myself, but also for the ones that truly love me and wanted to see me become a renewed Gladis. I finally felt free from that misery and decided to reconstruct my life little by little. It was a challenge, but I gave it a shot. I started with putting effort in school and trying to raise all my grades up because I was failing almost all my classes. Then, I began to go to church again because I owe it all to God. He gave me the strength to pick myself up and start new. Going to church helped me forgive my father for abandoning us when we needed him the most, and just by doing that a huge weight was lifted away from me. I was euphoric for once in my life and I will never forget these words my sister told me, " When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place. Stay strong Gladis."

                        Well how should I start this? I have a lot of struggles when it comes to moving forward. I am very ambiguous when it comes to me and my future. I have ideas on what I want to be but I don’t want to disappoint anyone when people ask what I want to be, what I want to have a career as. I go with the flow a lot; as long as this takes me here I will do it. Never really thinking about how it will turn out or what can come of it. Never want to do the most optimum things for myself. I'm very good at squelching what I have to do. For example, I just like knowing what I need to pass a class and just do that never go overboard. Just do the minimal. It works out gets me through school. Especially if it’s a class or subject I don’t like. I do this with a lot of stuff as well like at work. I just do what will get me paid. You can say I am lazy and it is true but it gets me through things. But it came to bite me hard when I was at Cal State Los Angeles. I went there for a year and can I tell you it is so different from El Camino. People are different. There are more events. It’s bigger and better. But classes get harder teachers are careless about their students. Here it is more like teachers have students and know you name but all professors over there, well not all but most, just see a dollar sign over peoples head. And what is want made my laziness sky rocket through the roof. I would just go to class and listen to the lecture and take notes and think. “Oh I want to class I will understand the material”. Boy was I sure totally wrong about that. I end up failing 2 classes I needed to go back to Cal State next year. Then, I was told to go finish those classes at a Community College. This is why I am here and I am very deponent about how it.  I was more of I was not ready for that type of change and doing the minimal was the worst thing you can do there. I will get you behind in classes really quick and it is so hard to play catch up. Not knocking down the university, never, it is a really good feeling being there. Just saying that if you struggle in not going out and asking for help you should start. Or just do the minimal like I do, starting to grow out of that, I will make things way simpler. Hopefully, I can go back to Cal State LA soon. And I hope to find out what I want to have a career in. This semester looks like a stepping stone to that goal. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Oluwapelumi Akande

                                                                                                                                English 84

                                                           EVERYDAY HEROES

          Having learnt British English all my life and always being on top made my moving to the United State, not the best experience at the beginning. I felt it was a detriment for me due to my strong accent, and the type of English I was familiar with. It was a big cultural shock for me. In retrospect, I remember not wanting to associate myself with people especially my race because they would ask naive questions about Africa like if we slept on trees, but I had to get over it because it was not exactly their fault I mean they have been made to believe certain things that to me were just inane. I had to take the lowest English class due to my unfamiliarity with American English which made me despondent at some point, but I did not relinquish I aimed at working my way to the top. Which was easier said than done. My first English class I had the worst teacher ever, I mean at some point I thought I was just dorm that I did not learn anything but really I just had a very nonchalant teacher. At the end of the school year I got a “C”, which was not good enough for me especially my family, they did not understand that I just had a bad teacher they just assumed was that I was just lazy. Then one day I was opportune to listen to a message by Joyce Meyer that changed my life, one thing she said that really spoke to me was ‘take charge of your life and done blame other people for your shortcomings.” Immediately I reflected to that and I thought to myself why blame my teacher for not improving my English when I could just pick a book to read or go for tutoring. Next semester came and I was determined within myself to work hard with or without my teacher’s help. I pushed myself by taking honors classes and AP classes even though I did not pass my English AP test I was euphoric with myself because I took charge of my life and challenged myself which not only made me a better person but also helped my language barrier.

       

Everyday Hero

Getting through rough patches in life and accomplishing goals that many others can't, can make anyone a hero. Many things can make someone a hero in the eyes of others. Growing up, I didn't really have it so hard. I always had good times with my family but I was really only close to my moms side of the family. My dads side of the family always judged me because I was so different then their kids. My parents raised me the way they thought would be better for me. I was taught my rights from wrongs just like everyone else but I expressed my feelings in different ways, like dying my hair different colors, getting piercings and being out and about. My dads brother raised four girls and they were not allowed to hang out with me because I didn't have the same beliefs and he thought I was a bad influence on his daughters. My uncle always thought that I was up to no good because my parents gave me so much freedom and he thought that I was going to get knocked up in high school and drop out. It would make me sad but if anything more mad knowing that he thought of me like that but after a while I just told myself "You know what, I might do things differently then they do, but I am not going to let him get to me". What my uncle and his wife didn't know was that I was, and still am, very gregarious, facetious, inane, and dexterous. I learn things very quickly and I am very creative in many ways. Like everyone else I have made my mistakes in the past and I have learned from them. He was shocked to find out that I graduated high school with good grades and without getting knocked up.  He was even more shocked knowing that I registered into college to major in Human Services to become a P.O. I am going to continue proving him and everyone who doubted me wrong. Never will I ever let anyone who has talked down on me get to me because they don't know me and they don't know what I am capable of.

Everyday Heroes

Many people do not know with just a certain choice in life can make them a hero. You can become a hero by having a career, a happy family, or an education. Everyone can make themselves a hero if they are willing too. I am an everyday hero by making my parents and siblings proud. Back in high school, I remember juxtaposing by skipping class the beginning of my senior year to go hangout with friends and not do any homework. I was euphoric to be out of class than to be in class. I skipped the most important class which was English. One month before graduating, I had a 60% in class and I needed a grade higher to be able to graduate. I knew then that I had to stop messing around and needed to focus on myself to get a higher grade. I knew finals were the only tests that would boost my grade up. I would study for many hours until I felt I was confident enough to take my final with no problem. Proudly, I had passed my English class with a 70%, and I was able to graduate with no problem. Since I am the youngest out of my older brother and sister, they all wanted what was best for me and my future. They were proud of my accomplishment and they kept supporting me throughout the whole way. In retrospect I say, “Wow, all I had to do was to go to class, pay attention, do my homework, and study for any tests or quizzes.” If I can regress I would definitely do the opposite of how I started my senior year. Now I have a nephew who I want him to look up to me so he can have a bright and successful future and making sure he will go to the right path in life. Life may have many obstacles in the way, but one thing is giving up is not the answer.

Everyday Hero

Jesus Guevara

2/12/15

What makes me a everyday hero is because in

my past I was a kid who had a very hard time

reading an understanding thing by my self I need

my teacher to help with thing so simple like

explaining assignment again because I would

forget it I would get teased on because I couldn't

read right I would mixing words around inadvertent  or I would read word that aren't in the passage, I was wasn't a dexterous kid. I would get scoff at because of the mistakes I made while reading a being in a class were they would help me with reading they would throw the ball at me, I was a rudimentary  looking kid. but when I went to middle school I was assigned to a class that would change the way I would read, this man had a lot of kid he would teach but he told me, he wasn't like me he would help me read day after day we would read an learn how to spell word that I could spell and one day I was in English it was my turn to read I toke a deep breath when I was about to read my teacher that would help me with my reading passed my class an saw me, and I saw him, when that happened it gave me this feeling of encouragement to read so when u started reading I didn't make a mistake and when I finished with my passage my teach told me she never heard me reading like that and every since then people would stop making fun of me. Now I help my little brother to read better and encourage him to read more books.

Everyday Hero

I am a everyday hero because my siblings look up to me. Being the older brother at of all has changed me because they look up to me like I look up to my dad. Growing up with three brothers and two sisters has been hard. I was not going to go to El Camino College because I was planning to work full time. I had a good discretion that if I learned construction from my dad I was going to get paid good because he is a very well dexterous worker. Later on my parents would be on my head to go to school and do better than them. One night, I was in the couch thinking if I should go to college then I realized I hadn't reached the zenith of my career on getting my criminal justice career. Then I went to a counselor at El Camino and decided to apply to college. My next step toward college is being a full time student and transfer off to Cal State Fullerton or Cal State Pomona. Financial issues are another problem with college. Since I go to college I have to pay for the books. Books are expensive, especially if you have a professor that’s mean and makes you buy $200 or more for a book. Having a job and going to college as full time can be stressful and tiring. But thanks to my mom and dad they never belittle me and I always feel motivated knowing that all the effort I put in I would get the outcome of it later on, it just takes time and dedication. Knowing that once I get my job of what I want to do would be a great thing. Knowing that I am hero I never look back and just take steps by step every day and motivating people to stay in school or go back to school. I will always be euphoric and don't let no one belittle me.

Everyday Hero

Guardado, Steven

12 February 2015

Ms.Otsuji

              

            I clearly remember the day that I was in Florida playing soccer for a soccer club I had joined. The position I was playing that day was forward center or striker. So one of the players in my team pass me the ball,  and next thi g you know it was just me against the goalkeeper. He slid and hit me so hard on my left ankle that he dislocated my ankle. The pain was like non other I had experienced before and the coaches were telling me that I was never going to be able to play soccer again or if I did recover I was not going to be as good. When I heard that I was not going to be able to play soccer again, I felt depressed. But through time I just never gave up and improved more and more physically. So when I got to high school I joined soccer and football and became captain of both teams. They were both such a great experience, and towards the end I felt much more passionate about football than soccer. So on my senior year I became top scorer in the football league at school and top goal scorer for soccer. If you work hard and never give up no matter how much time it might take you can accomplish your goals. 

 

                

                 

Aaron Cardinal

02/05/2015

English 84 Spring 2015 6122

Everyday Heroes

        My struggles in life include many obstacles. I have become an average athlete in order to become a healthy minded person. I have continued my college education by being dexterous in choices. I have figured out the amount of discretion in order to succeed during each college course I take each semester. I discover that living a healthy lifestyle is not a detriment to continue through my college education. Being in optimum health really helps me to be focused and concentrated on my studies during each class session in order to overcome my struggles. I believe the next step is to move forward and focus on being healthy minded.

Every Day Hero

I am an everyday hero because their have being many struggles in my life but I still believe I can go above and beyond those struggles and accomplish my goals. One reason why I believe I am an everyday hero is because I do sporadic decisions that are sometimes great but maybe at the end they are not so great. I’m not a person who is so ostentatious and shows off in front of everyone. I have one of my siblings that look up to me. He now sees me going to school and he says he wants to be someone when he grows up. He has in his mind that he one day will grow up and need a good career in his future. Yes, sometimes I feel a lot of lethargy and don’t feel like doing anything, but I think about him and remember I have to do my best because he is looking up to me. Sometimes I do inadvertent mistakes, but I try to fix them. For example, coming back to college has changed my life completely. I never thought I would make it to where I am now. I was going through so many things I just believed it was impossible to get to where I am now. My grandmother passed away when I was first going to attend college. I was supposed to make a decision. I was between taking care of my siblings or going to school because my dad went away for some time. I had no one to support me financially with any help that I would need. I decided to go into an institutional college and became a dental assistant. There I believed I was an everyday hero. I helped kids overcome their fear of being at a dental office and seating on a chair. I believed in myself again. I worked in the same non-profit organization for 2 years. Now I am in college following my dream goal of becoming a dental hygienist to continue being a great example and an everyday hero.

Everyday Hero

Growing up I was the middle child in the family of six and it was very difficult.My mother was a single mom and  I always felt like she was always paying more attention to my siblings and not to me. When I started high school I decided to move in with my cousin in Monterey park and be away from my family for sometime. It was very desponding for me because I had no support from my siblings or my mom while over there. I spent three years of high school in Monterey Park before moving back with my mom for senior year. I wasn't doing so well in school and I hated my new school. I always felt as if I wasn't going to accomplish anything, like nobody believed in me or had my back. It was very ambiguous to me if they wanted me to succeed and graduate from school. One night we went out to dinner with all my siblings and my brother asked what my plans after high school were and I told him I was just going to work because school wasn't for me. My brother was so upset at me he told me i had to go to school if not I would be working a dead end job my whole life and getting nowhere. It really made me think of what I wanted in life. I was already missing so many credits in school that I started attending adult school and summer school to try and graduate on time. Since my brother is a teacher he  tutored me in everything I needed help with and got em information for colleges. I was kind of dissident in high school but thanks to my brother I worked really hard my senior year and even joined clubs and was able to graduate on time. He helped me sign up for college and taught me how to fill out all my forms. Now I am attending El Camino College and mastering in childhood education.I would like to be a teacher someday and be able to help children who don't have support and home and give them the confidence they need.

Everyday Hero

Joshua Chua

       "I hate school!" I always tell myself. I do not like going to school because it burns me out. I usually get nervous in every first day of class without any reason. I hate talking to people and I always choose the seat at the very back of the class. My mom is always mad at me that she would slap my face and berates me every time I don’t go school. I thought my dad does not care until he told me that education is important and that I shouldn't take this opportunity for granted.

I am the one and only student in class who have the most number of absences. Sometimes I feel like a new student by the time I come back to school after being absent for three weeks. I know I miss a bunch of homework and test but I do not really care, I just don't like going to school.

I make an impetuous decision to drop out of school on my senior year. I only stay at home doing anything I want. My family doesn't now that, I’m just telling them that I already completed my credits and that I don’t need to go there anymore. Later on, I realize that this isn't worth it, I miss going to school, doing homework, and procrastinating.

I go back to school in spring semester to finish my senior year. I take four classes and I'm glad that I pass all of them with A's. Sadly, I am not able to go at the graduation ceremony because I still need five more credits of English class which the school I'm going to isn't offering during spring semesters. I take that English class in Inglewood during summer and I pass it again with an A. This time I come into conclusion that I no longer hate school and that school is fun especially if you are passing those classes with an A.

I go to my counselor showing her my last five credits in high school so that I could get my diploma. I go to El Camino College two weeks after I’m done with summer school and I’m really enjoying school now. In retrospect, I regret that I just ruin my high school life because of my laziness. Frittering time on useless things will bring nothing on me and make my future worse. I can no longer change what happened in the past. All I’m able to revamp is my future and I’m going to start now.

Everyday Hero

The struggle that I went through was not granted any financial aid to go to UC Irvine. I was not given a single cent so that I would be able to go back as a sophomore. Tuition costs at a four year university are fairly expensive compared to community college. In total I was looking at twenty-four thousand dollars which was usually subsidized by the government but now I had to pay to attend. I was barely notified by the financial aid office in the middle of September when school started beginning of October. At first the problem was ambiguous, no one knew what had gone wrong. But later the office was informed that a problem with my parents’ tax return forms prevented me from receiving financial aid. I knew it was inadvertent from my parents’ side. They wanted me to receive aid since they couldn't afford to pay my tuition. I had two options, either take out twenty thousand dollars’ worth of loans or go to a community college and return next school year. I didn't want to take out so many loans for only one year. If I did, I would've been close to fifty thousand dollars in debt by the time I graduated. I chose to attend community college instead but it was already too late to sign up. It was the end of September when community college had started in August. I had to wait until spring semester which was months away. I had to miss a semester of school while others were ahead of their education. It was a heartbreak to see others go back and enjoy the college experience while I was waiting for my chance again. At the moment I knew I didn't want to fritter my time at home while I waited until next semester so I got a job at my high school as a tutor. It has given me the opportunity to help students and influence them to do well so they could attend a four year university. Now that I am attending El Camino, it has become a new experience for me. I see it as a positive experience rather than a negative one. I hope that I’ll be able to return to UCI this upcoming fall but as of now, I try to make my experience at El Camino worthwhile. 

An Everyday Hero

 

   

        I've had struggles in my life that were hard to overcome. I remember when I was young, I had a hard time with math in the 5th grade. During that time, I lost my friend to a car accident and so much stuff was happening at once. I felt that nothing good was going to happen. I slowly started to feel better but then I realized that I could not graduate if I do not pass my math class. I thought that I was not going to learn anything until I met this tutor who helped me a lot. After he taught me, I found myself learning rapidly and because of him, I passed my math class and graduated from the 5th grade. Once I got in the 9th grade, everything was going great. I was on the honor roll for the first time and I was euphoric. One day, a death struck my family. My aunt died unexpectedly and it had a dramatic effect on my family. I was extremely despondent and I was ready to relinquish because it was too much for me to handle. As time went on I started feeling better and as I stayed positive, it allowed me not to give up. My family was never the same after that though. I estranged some of them because I just wanted to stay to myself and eventually they started to do the same. At one point in my life, I was almost killed. I was young, around the age of 11 and I was doing my homework when all of a sudden I heard gun shots. The bullet came through one side of my wall and came towards me but then made a unexpected turn and hit the other side of my wall. I would always remember that day but I'm blessed to be here now and that's all that matters. A few years ago my dad had gotten sick and I thought he was not going to live. I remember that I prayed and prayed hoping that God would hear me and make everything better and he did. My dad got better and he is still healthy today. These situations has been the hardest obstacles that I have been through so far. I know that I will face obstacles in the near future but I'll make it. I am extremely grateful that I made it this far. Those past obstacles made me strong enough to overcome any hardship that will stand in my way. I am prepared and I know that I will make it.

  

                     

 I remember it like it was yesterday a friend of mine named Stevie had forgot to do his homework because he had to pick up a late night shift at Subway and it wasn't one of those assignments where you could quickly copy a friend and hoped the teacher wouldn't know the difference. No, this one required time and effort. The time he just didn't have and the effort he just couldn't provide. I had done the assignment along with our other classmates I felt kind of bad for Stevie, he was usually on the ball about these things. Stevie was one of those guys who handled his responsibilities first and then have the rest of the day to himself so you could image how sporadic the situation was when I had found out the bad news. Not to mention the fact that it was all for a good reason but with the strict teacher we had even serious matters like getting into a car accident wouldn't have been a good enough excuse. Plus Stevie wasn't some slack off who would wait til the last minute to do any work and when the time came to turn it in he'd either receive the bad grade with grace or turn nothing in at all with no worries. Stevie was a maudlin guy any little thing could set him off. So it got to me, just enough so that I would do everything in my power to get him a good grade if that means giving him my work then so be it. I had already been ahead in the class so one homework assignment wouldn't damage my grade to bad. So i got up went to the in-euphoric Stevie and relinquished my work to him. Told him to put his name on it and not to ask any questions. I felt pretty good after like a "Robin Hood" or a dissident. A week later Stevie walks up to me and wants to grab lunch. When the check came around I started to pull out my wallet and pay for my food then Stevie reaches out his hand and says I'll subsidize for us ,both of us of knowing the reason for the generosity nothing was ambiguous. "Heroes makes sacrifices and stand tall for others."
                   

Everyday Hero

I might not have super powers or have special gadgets I am an everyday hero because I am dexterous when I learn something new. I didn’t know I could be a hero of my own now that I retrospect to three years ago I see I have been a hero all along. Having to resilient from a family issue made me see that I am stronger than I ever imagined. Every time I would take a step forward I would squelch to the thought of I had lost the most valuable person in my life. As I started my journey in becoming a college student I pushed myself harder. My motivation has been my little brother, I am not only his big sister but I am also his role model. I started thinking to myself I do not want him growing up thinking that after not being able to be close to the once you love that is okay to give up when it isn’t. I zealot to stay in school get a career and start my long term life goals. Looking back I always thought I was alone but hearing my family speak and say “I am proud of you, keep it up, you can do it,” I now can look straight ahead and say “yes I can do anything I desire, there will be obstacles but those will just make me stronger.” My journey has just began and I can see way ahead that it is a long way to go but I see a successful person that looks back at me and says this is where you will be once you go through all those storms and sunny days. I confess I am still struggling with the family issue but I have learned to live with it and have learned that once I step in class my problems stay outside of class. My weakness is procrastination but I am working hard on it and I can proudly say I am doing just fine. That is what makes me an everyday hero.

Welcome, English 84 Heroes!!

What makes a hero?  Is it Lebron James or Jay Z because they are ultra talented?  Is it Walt Disney or Steve Jobs because they had a vision? Or, is it more about courage and tenacity?  

Beth Johnson said everyday heroes are the ones that "have stood to the challenges of life and said, 'You will not defeat me.  I will overcome.'" 

This is your blog page for English 84 6122 students.  Your first blog is your own story about being an everyday hero.  Just like the book, you will be telling your story of why you are an everyday hero.  Your entry must be at least 300 words and include a picture of yourself.  Talk about your struggles, what you did (or are doing) in order to overcome your struggles, and what the "next step" is.  Be specific and make the readers see and feel your story.  

Make sure that your sentences are grammatically correct and include at least 4 new vocabulary words from our workbook. You must underline the vocabulary words on your post. 

Yes, you are an everyday hero.