Journal Entry #3

 Anna Quindlen's purpose in writing "Stuff is not Salvation", is about why we buy products that we don't really need. A worker at a Wal-mart located in Valley, N.Y was trampled to death by a mob of selfish bargain hunters. This shows that americans will do anything to get a cheap price for electronics, aplliances, and other miscellaneous junk. This same junk that we buy are items that we don't even need in order to survive. In my opinion, I think it is better to have less because if we have less, then each item we do have will have more meaning. Even if you don't have money, people always find a way to buy useless junk one way or another. For example, people use credit cards to buy the junk, which then is added to the huge debt the U.S already has. It is better to have less because each item will have more meaning, and we wouldn't have to demand more.
I remember when the Xbox360 first came out, I wanted it so bad, I begged my mom to but one for me. My mom said no and told me I had to raise the money on my own. So I did everything I could to raise the money to but it. When I finally had the money to but it I went to Gamestop and bought it. I was so excited to buy it that I totally forgot that I needed to buy a game for it, luckily I also had enough money to but one. After about a month I realized that I didn't need the Xbox360 to be happy because this item will always need more games so that I can play it. One game costs me almost sixty dollars which means I need more money to please my useless item which only brings me joy for an hour before I get bored.
   

Journal entry 2

The proposal of Amy Tan when writing "Fish Cheeks" is never be ashamed that you are different. You can be different in many ways which some are through culture or your own customs. Amy learned this by looking back at a Christmas that her crush (and his family) came to celebrate with her family. Every time her family did something that they usually did like when they licked the ends of their chopsticks and reached across the table and dipped them into the plates of food, she was so ashamed. Even when her dad gave her, her favorite part of the fish she wanted to disappear. She wanted to be so Americanized that she was ashamed of a polite Chinese tradition which was belching loudly after a meal to show you are satisfied. That Christmas she even wanted a slim new American nose, which proofs that she did not like her culture. She was too busy focusing on all her family’s faults (according to her) that she did not notice that her mom made her all of her favorite food. Even though you might not have the same customs like everybody else never be ashamed of yourself, because of you are you will never be satisfied with anything, and the people you are trying to impress might be like you when they are at home.  

            I remember when I first invited my girlfriend to one of my family’s parties. I was so ashamed because my family drinks heavily. During the time she was there, I tried hard so that she would not notice my family drinking. It was working until my mom called me over to tell me to take drinks to everybody. She noticed all the empty cans of beer that were on the floor, but did not say anything. The empty cans were everywhere around the adults.  So the rest of the day I still tried to hide how much they drink from her. So at the end of the day when I took her home she asked me “Your family likes to drink beer a lot?”  I said “Yes, but I tried to hide it from you.” She responded “Ha, my family is the same but with tequila.” I thinking to myself “Are you serious, I was so ashamed of my family all day that I did not get to enjoy the day the most I could have.” After that she invited my family to one of her family’s parties and both our families got along and still get along to this very day. So don not to ashamed who you are or where you came from, because you the people you are trying to impress might end up being the same as you.
-Edwin Caztaneda posted 10/18/2010 at 11:24 pm

Bio

My name is Edwin Castaneda. I am 18 years old. I live in Stockton, CA and I graduated from Weber Institute of Applied Science and Technology. My favorite subject during high school was math and also drafting. I have a brother and a sister that are both younger than me. I have a Mexican background, but born here. I am from a traditional Mexican family. I am a passionate fan of soccer and the team Club America (Mexico). I came to the Art institute for my AA in Culinary Arts. After graduation I plan to get a job and work in a restaurant. One day I plan to open a restaurant.