As the clock neared 5 a.m. it was obvious that I was not going to sleep until well after day break; Ella was entering the world. I had been up the whole night and as daylight slowly stretched across the sky I found myself exhausted, but unable to sleep.
My friend was giving birth to her new daughter and since we had recently become as close as biological sisters, I considered this baby girl to be my niece. As I sat outside her room my mind tangled around our journey to this hospital. My friend had told me that she was pregnant five months before she gave birth. I was excited as any friend would be, but something struck me as odd. The oddity was that my friend abandoned all of her friends, including me, many years ago and disappeared into the bay area.
During those five months leading up to the birth that she chose to communicate with me I was aware that she needed a friend, someone to trust. All of her friends, including me, had lost touch with her. We had tried to call her, but her phone remained unanswered.
The announcement of her pregnancy struck my heart and I spontaneously asked her if I could plan the baby shower. When I asked her if I could plan the shower I heard her voice quiver through the phone, but I thought little of it.
I held the shower in San Jose where she lived, but when I arrived at her apartment I found myself in utter shock. I was afraid and unsure about whether or not I should leave my car and make my way to apartment number she had given to me. I cautiously opened my door and made my way to her apartment. The apartment, coated with the constricting and stagnant smell of cat urine mixed with aerosol air spray, was small and unfurnished. My friend was alone and I understood that she needed help.
The baby shower was supposed to begin at noon, but no one arrived. As we sat eating cake that I made for the occasion talking about the past, I found myself admiring her spirit. I admired my friend because nothing seemed to bring her down even when she shared her deepest hardships. She asked me to return and I told her that I would be tied up with school, but would make time.
My friend called me 3 weeks ago and told me she was in labor. I arrived to the San Jose hospital close to 9 p.m. With each scream my head snapped to look towards the hallway and her room. Then there was silence. The silence began to grow and I started to get nervous.
Then I heard a new cry, a tiny cry. Ella Irene was born. When I was allowed to walk into the room and hold Ella I was honored. The first thing I noticed when I glanced at the little girl in my arms was that she was beautiful and had the same brown hair and blue eyes as her mother.
I remember that when I glanced around her recovery room I found it eerie that there were no presents, or balloons – she was just another young, single mother. She will have a difficult journey ahead of her.
The event of my friend giving birth has taught me the value of friendship and courage. I watched my friend grow in maturity in the short five months that I spent with her. Though I am not Ella’s true related Aunt, I believe that I will be something deeper.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
And Baby Makes Two
As the clock neared 5 a.m. it was obvious that I was not going to sleep until well after day break; Ella, my new niece, was entering the world. I had been up the whole night and as daylight slowly stretched across the sky I found myself exhausted, but unable to sleep.
My friend was giving birth to her new daughter, my niece. As I sat outside her room my mind tangled around our journey to this hospital. My friend had told me that she was pregnant five months before she gave birth. I was excited as any friend would be, but something struck me as odd. The oddity was that my friend abandoned all of her friends, including me, many years ago and disappeared into the bay area.
During those five months leading up to the birth that she chose to communicate with me I was aware to the fact that she needed a friend, someone to trust. All of her friends, including me, had lost touch with her. During her absence there were stories that were occasionally shared which revolved around her. Many of the stories were not true, as I later discovered, because no one really knew where she was or what she was doing.
We had tried to call her, but her phone remained unanswered. The announcement of her pregnancy struck my heart and I spontaneously asked her if I could plan the baby shower. When I ask her if I could plan the shower I heard her voice quiver through
the phone but I thought little of it.
I held the shower in San Jose where she lived, but when I arrived to her apartment I found myself in utter shock. The apartment, coated with the constricting and stagnant smell of cat urine mixed with aerosol air spray, was small and unfurnished. My friend was alone. She left high school when she turned eighteen to follow some guy to the bay. I never asked who the father was, or what happened to that guy from high school, but I understood her need for help.
The baby shower was supposed to begin at noon, but no one arrived. As we sat eating cake that I made for the occasion talking about the past, I found myself admiring her spirit. I admired my friend because nothing seemed to bring her down even when she shared her deepest hardships. She asked me to return and I told her that I would be tied up with school, but would make time.
My friend called me 3 weeks ago and told me she was in labor. I arrived to the San Jose hospital close to 9 p.m. With each scream my head snapped to look towards the hallway and her room. Then there was silence. The silence began to grow and I started to get nervous.
Then I heard a new cry, a tiny cry. Ella, a beautiful brown-haired, blue-eyed girl, was born. When I was allowed to walk into the room and hold Ella I was honored, but it was when I looked at my friend that I realized the hardship that she endured.
I remember that when I glanced around her recovery room and found it eerie that there were no presents, or balloons – she was just another young, single mother. She will have a difficult journey ahead of her.
The event of my friend giving birth has taught me the value of friendship and courage. I watched my friend grow in maturity in the short five months that I spent with her. Though I am not Ella’s true related Aunt, I believe that I will be something deeper.
My friend was giving birth to her new daughter, my niece. As I sat outside her room my mind tangled around our journey to this hospital. My friend had told me that she was pregnant five months before she gave birth. I was excited as any friend would be, but something struck me as odd. The oddity was that my friend abandoned all of her friends, including me, many years ago and disappeared into the bay area.
During those five months leading up to the birth that she chose to communicate with me I was aware to the fact that she needed a friend, someone to trust. All of her friends, including me, had lost touch with her. During her absence there were stories that were occasionally shared which revolved around her. Many of the stories were not true, as I later discovered, because no one really knew where she was or what she was doing.
We had tried to call her, but her phone remained unanswered. The announcement of her pregnancy struck my heart and I spontaneously asked her if I could plan the baby shower. When I ask her if I could plan the shower I heard her voice quiver through
the phone but I thought little of it.
I held the shower in San Jose where she lived, but when I arrived to her apartment I found myself in utter shock. The apartment, coated with the constricting and stagnant smell of cat urine mixed with aerosol air spray, was small and unfurnished. My friend was alone. She left high school when she turned eighteen to follow some guy to the bay. I never asked who the father was, or what happened to that guy from high school, but I understood her need for help.
The baby shower was supposed to begin at noon, but no one arrived. As we sat eating cake that I made for the occasion talking about the past, I found myself admiring her spirit. I admired my friend because nothing seemed to bring her down even when she shared her deepest hardships. She asked me to return and I told her that I would be tied up with school, but would make time.
My friend called me 3 weeks ago and told me she was in labor. I arrived to the San Jose hospital close to 9 p.m. With each scream my head snapped to look towards the hallway and her room. Then there was silence. The silence began to grow and I started to get nervous.
Then I heard a new cry, a tiny cry. Ella, a beautiful brown-haired, blue-eyed girl, was born. When I was allowed to walk into the room and hold Ella I was honored, but it was when I looked at my friend that I realized the hardship that she endured.
I remember that when I glanced around her recovery room and found it eerie that there were no presents, or balloons – she was just another young, single mother. She will have a difficult journey ahead of her.
The event of my friend giving birth has taught me the value of friendship and courage. I watched my friend grow in maturity in the short five months that I spent with her. Though I am not Ella’s true related Aunt, I believe that I will be something deeper.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Travel
Whether its pristine water bordered by sandy beaches, patches of fluffy snow or the rich vegetation of the rain forest, everyone can get some joy from traveling. If travelers know where to look, not only can they enjoy the natural surroundings of foreign places, but they can appreciate the complexities of a culture more completely.
Becoming acquainted with food, music and language are just a couple of ways that travelers can gain their bearings in a new place.
Traveling is the perfect opportunity to try things you never thought you would. Can anyone say balut? However, immersing yourself into ones culture can be a delicious experience. The tasting of new food is as exotic as it is exciting. New flavors light off your taste buds like little firecrackers that explode in the night.
Another way that travelers can get the most from their experience is to explore the night life of a city. In Spain where most people stay up until the early morning hours, travelers can gain insight into this rich culture by taking part in the festivities long after other travelers have gone to bed.
One of the most important things a traveler can do is put down the travel book that they purchased at Barnes & Noble and really experience the place that they are visiting.
Some travelers briskly walk the streets of well known tourist destinations with a step full of false confidence and are unaware of the treasures that they are missing. These travelers, while making home in luxury suites, remained sheltered in their hotel rooms awaiting expensive tours and delightfully rich meals. They may not even know what they are missing out on.
More seasoned travelers embrace and inhale the culture that surrounds them. They make slow, calculated steps instead of the boorish speed walk of the amateur. To become a seasoned traveler one does not use the examples or suggestions of infrequent travelers but learns from trial and error. Seasoned travelers wake up before dawn touches the land; they do not wait to get accustomed to jet lag, but are thirsty for adventure.
Unlike less experienced travelers, seasoned travelers conjugate early in the morning of the hostels and share their knowledge with other travelers. In their conjugations they share with one another how to get the furthest for the small bit of money they possess and then move on. These travelers move with one bag and are not afraid to make a stale, stained train chair their home for the night in order to save money on hostels as they ride on to their next destination.
However, travelers do not have to go on a national or even international trip to experience cultural differences. While one person may be perfectly content staying at a local beach with friends, others long to see the pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China.
It does not matter how many miles a person ventures from their front door, only that they actually go somewhere and experience something. Like Saint Augustine said “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Becoming acquainted with food, music and language are just a couple of ways that travelers can gain their bearings in a new place.
Traveling is the perfect opportunity to try things you never thought you would. Can anyone say balut? However, immersing yourself into ones culture can be a delicious experience. The tasting of new food is as exotic as it is exciting. New flavors light off your taste buds like little firecrackers that explode in the night.
Another way that travelers can get the most from their experience is to explore the night life of a city. In Spain where most people stay up until the early morning hours, travelers can gain insight into this rich culture by taking part in the festivities long after other travelers have gone to bed.
One of the most important things a traveler can do is put down the travel book that they purchased at Barnes & Noble and really experience the place that they are visiting.
Some travelers briskly walk the streets of well known tourist destinations with a step full of false confidence and are unaware of the treasures that they are missing. These travelers, while making home in luxury suites, remained sheltered in their hotel rooms awaiting expensive tours and delightfully rich meals. They may not even know what they are missing out on.
More seasoned travelers embrace and inhale the culture that surrounds them. They make slow, calculated steps instead of the boorish speed walk of the amateur. To become a seasoned traveler one does not use the examples or suggestions of infrequent travelers but learns from trial and error. Seasoned travelers wake up before dawn touches the land; they do not wait to get accustomed to jet lag, but are thirsty for adventure.
Unlike less experienced travelers, seasoned travelers conjugate early in the morning of the hostels and share their knowledge with other travelers. In their conjugations they share with one another how to get the furthest for the small bit of money they possess and then move on. These travelers move with one bag and are not afraid to make a stale, stained train chair their home for the night in order to save money on hostels as they ride on to their next destination.
However, travelers do not have to go on a national or even international trip to experience cultural differences. While one person may be perfectly content staying at a local beach with friends, others long to see the pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China.
It does not matter how many miles a person ventures from their front door, only that they actually go somewhere and experience something. Like Saint Augustine said “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Monday, September 7, 2009
CSUS Campus Comes Together For Rally Against Fee Increases
This past Wednesday students and professors presented a united front in the library quad while they sang songs, chanted, and spoke from personal experiences about the recent fee increases.
For the Fall 2009 semester students were bombarded by two fee increases, which totaled to a 32 percent increase. The fee increases were delivered by email and left many students scrambling at the last minute to come up with the extra cash.
“I came home from my summer vacation and went on my school account to check my class schedule for the fall,” said CSUS student Nikki Pottier. “I was shocked when I saw the fee increases on my account. At first I thought it was mistake, but then I read the emails. I am lucky that my parents came through with the extra money. I would have been dropped from all my classes. I’m angry and I’m [at this rally] to see what I can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Students were not the only members of the campus community that took a hit this semester. For the first time, CSUS professors have received a 10 percent deduction in pay and have been told they must take furlough days during class times. These mandatory days off make it impossible for students to correct papers or even answer student emails as these things are considered work.
Students joined professors in taking turns expressing how they have been effected personally by the recent changes in the system, as well as what they thought could fix the problem. Students stated that as members of the working class, they were appalled that they were being taxed so heavily when there were other things the money could come from. Many people voiced their opinion that California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and CSU Chancellor Charles Reed were the ones to blame for the situation. ASI President Roberto Torres urged students to march to the capital in the Spring to show representatives that the students are fed up.
The situation is only going to get worse as fee increases are expected to continue to growing over the next couple years. Reed said that tuition will continue to increase to about 5,000 dollars a year.
The situation begs the question: what are the top people doing to ensure that the future of Sacramento State does not look so bleak?
One thing is certain; these officials are not taking pay cuts. According to the Sacramento Bee’s salary database CSUS president Alexander Gonzalez took home 368, 584 dollars in 2008 despite the fact that the campus was expected to have a budget deficit.
While students are dealing with pay increases, bigger classes, or they are one of the students that were not able to even get enrolled as CSUS due to decrease in enrollment, the board of trustees and other school officials are continuing to rake in huge amounts of money.
The message of the rally was clear. The future of higher education is in serious jeopardy and students and professors need to act together to create change.
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