Interview Blog

            My interview was with Luis Roberto Candido. Luis is from Puerto Rican and El Salvadorian descent. He migrated from El Salvador at the young age of 8. When Luis and his family made it to the states, they settled in El Rio, Ca.  He is the eldest of 3 children and a mentor to his younger brother and sister. He describes himself as egocentric, intelligent, and very ambitious. Luis’s motto is “Get it done.” He likes to keep busy to get ahead and would like to make good money one day.

            Luis has always been enthusiastic about school….having a GPA of 3.8 in high school. Always striving to have good grades; knowing one day it would get him somewhere. Although he did go to college right after high school, he did not do very well. So he decided to take a couple of years off.  Then he decided to return to school, knowing that he wanted to receive a degree. He decided to attend Oxnard College because it was local and the easy access. Although, he states that improvements could be made to the clustered parking lots.

            He is currently employed and enjoys his job because it allows him to utilize his ideas. At times, the corporation will give him projects that he is willing and eager to do. Projects allow Luis to show his many talents and fabulous ideas at work.  Luis’s mentor is his boss Susan; which he admires greatly because of her intelligence.

            Luis is influenced by his culture to stay focused and obtain a degree. So that one day, he can pursue his dream in business administration or project management. He is also determined to have a job that he enjoys in an area that not many Latinos have entered.  In 10 years, he sees himself as a project manager for the company he currently works for.

Returning to school after 20 years……

            It was about three years ago, a flier to go back to school, all expenses paid presented

itself in the pharmacy. It was around 3:00p.m., the day was winding down. I was tired and not

 paying much attention to the flier. The pharmacy was quiet, fax machine was going and

 everyone was racing around trying to get their work done by the end of the day. I thought to

 myself of all the repeated work I had performed for 12 years and how I could do much more

 with myself and for others.

            Veronica, a co-worker of mine, blonde-haired, green-eyed average height women

 approached me. She said, “Yvonne, there is an opportunity to go back to school all expenses

paid.” The flier stated that prerequisite classes were being offered for nursing. I asked, “How

much is it really going to cost us?” “Nothing is ever free.” she replied, “Our union for St. John’s

will be paying for all costs.” Veronica was very optimistic and enthusiastic about going back to

school. She was always looking for better opportunities to better herself and help others do the

same.

            I recalled back in my high school years doing really well in school, and I had a GPA of

 3.75. Honestly, it was quite scary, thinking of returning to school with all of these

 young, intelligent individuals fresh out of high school. I thought to myself, “My school days are

 over.” How could I possibly go back to school with having to care for three children and a

 husband? “Impossible”, is the word that came to mind. Finally, after giving this matter a lot of

thought, I said to Veronica, “I think we can do this.” You know, go back to school and maybe

even become registered nurses. She paused and looked at me with admiration in her eyes and

said, “You really think we can become RN’s?” I said, “We can be anything we want to be.”

Now, I felt nervous about placing myself first and going back to school. I had always

 been conscientious about my children doing well in school and helping them with their studies.

I was not use to placing my personal needs first. When Veronica approached me with going back

to school, I truly was not interested. I was still thinking to myself, “How am I going to

pull this off?” Managing going to work full time, school, and attending to a family of five is no

easy task.

            My first day at school was quite awkward. I felt out of place and thought I should be at

 home with my family. I could be cooking, cleaning, and helping the children with their studies.

I felt guilty in a way, even though I had explained to them why I was going back to school. I felt

I was abandoning them and being selfish. My husband was very supportive of my choice .We

both knew it was a great opportunity for me.

            Once I had convinced myself that I was going to return to school, the classes

 flowed one after another, challenging my brain to think once again. Starting with a Biology

 course was not easy to accomplish. I tried my best and received a “B” in the  class. I thought to

 myself, not bad for starting off after 20 years. My studies continued with Anatomy, Physiology,

 Chemistry, and Microbiology just to name a few. I began to feel very proud of myself receiving

“A’s” and “B’s” for grades and never allowing myself to receive anything less. Stimulating my

brain and challenging myself, I brought out one of my best abilities. The ability to learn once

 again.

I thought to myself, I work in a hospital setting which will allow me to get experience for

the career I plan on pursuing. What more can I ask for you. This is a calling for me. A new

 career, doing something that I enjoy rather than doing something I have to do to survive.

            My workplace allows me to see nurses interact with patients and how the healing

process takes place. It is quite interesting and you need to be knowledgeable to interact with the

 physicians. When a physician requests something of you, you will need to respond quickly and

 with all precaution. You are dealing with delicate lives and want to make the safest and most

 responsible decision for the patient you are caring for.

             Examples of registered nurses duties are: interacting with families regarding their

loved ones and making sure the patient gets the right care and correct medication. This type of

work truly interests me and so I continue to complete my courses. Pursuing my dream of one

 day becoming a registered nurse, I continue going to school. I am now one course away from

 getting into a nursing program. I never thought this day would come. I am anxious and scared

 but once I start something, I must finish it.

            At the end of each day, I still have the same dream until I reach my goal. I will continue

 with my courses until I receive a bachelor’s degree in nursing. As encouragement for students

 deciding to go to college, education will open many opportunities for you in your life as it has in

 mine. Whatever field you choose to enter, make sure it is rewarding for you. You want to be

 able to make a difference and be glad you made the right decision to go into that field.

Texting while driving

Texting while driving…….will it be banned?


Texting is a convenient form of communication. It allows you to have hands on access to communicating without having to hear a conversation between two individuals. This is an excellent form of communication if you want privacy. Parents utilize this feature to communicate with their children to know their whereabouts and safety.

On another note, texting while driving is a whole different issue. Individuals may think what harm is there in texting while driving. Just to name a few, it causes accidents to occur, it is a distraction, and a fine is imposed if you are pulled over by the police in some states. You may think, what is one ticket for texting while driving. It carries double the fine than talking on a cell phone. First offense is a $50.00 fine, plus administrative fees which will end up costing you around $350.00. On the second offense, the fine doubles to $700.00. So in reality, it is not worth the trouble to text while you drive.

Eighteen states have adopted the new law to ban cell phone use whether calling or texting. In my opinion, banning cell phone use while driving is a realistic approach to saving lives. It will mean less accidents and less distraction. It promotes safety for all individuals on the road.

Blog #3 Reality TV

Reality shows entertain…..……

Many young and mature adults are obsessed over reality television shows. The reality show “Jersey Shore” is one of the most popular this season. I do watch certain reality shows that I find appealing. Examples of two reality shows that I watch are “American Idol” and “Dancing with the stars”. These two particular shows can be quite addicting.

I enjoy watching young people try out to become singing sensations. I also enjoy mature adults becoming fantastic dancers over a course of a couple of weeks. As the contestants become better performers, the addiction to reality shows become greater. As a religious viewer, you choose your favorites by calling and voting on who you think is the best contestant. There are times where you feel like you are capable of dancing and singing just like them.

I believe that reality shows are guilty pleasures. The reality show will reel you in. Once you are hooked, you have to see the show religiously every night it is showing. For example, when young adults watch “The Hills” or “Jersey Shore”, they start believing in the gossip, bikinis, plastic surgery, break-ups and hook-ups that these celebrities go through. For a mature group of adults, “Jon and Kate plus Eight” was the show to watch. Once the drawn out messy divorce came about, the ratings dropped. Many of these reality show celebrities end up in bad situations due to the high publicity, drug use, divorce, scandal, and even death.

Some reality shows can be harmful to society and in other ways people can learn from them. As a parent you do not want your young children watching shows that are vulgar and obscene. Yet, on the other hand, you want your children to know what is healthy and what is not. When watching these young adult reality shows you have to wonder who gives these people money to pay rent, utilities or to go out to clubs. Some young people watching these shows believe that they can live the same lifestyle as reality shows. Once the true reality sets in, young viewers will find out that life is harder than what the show displays. Unfortunately, these young viewers will be in for a rude awakening.

Reality shows do affect society as most of us have been influenced by them. Whether good or bad, reality shows have become an established entertainment business.