Entry #8

 

The struggle was really REAL!

When I started this semester, I was confident that life would slow down a bit and not be as crazy as usual. Who was I trying to fool! Started off strong then of course this thing we call life has no limitations or remorse. It just butts right on in and does not hold back. Being a single parent of 3 kids ages 15, 12 and 11 is already a full-time job. Little did I know I was about to be tested to THE MAX!  If this was the Oprah show and she was throwing out struggles, I was the one catching them all. I had no idea how hard life would get until I knew.

You got this!

October 1^st comes and not only are bills due, but now my soon has a broken ankle. It required emergency surgery then a SECOND surgery. He has 2 pins and 6 screws. He’s young and is expected to make a full recovery, however, he is still in tons of pain and limited on what he can and cannot do. I don’t believe I have recovered from the downward spiral I was about to fall into. Shortly after that, my daughter is at cheer and has an accident. She falls hits her head and is now on concussion protocol. Now I have two kids home from school that need attending to. I work remotely and start to fall behind at work and in retrospect fall behind on homework. Eventually, they both can go back to school and return to our everyday routines. So, I thought! Here comes another injury. My other daughter slips on the basketball court at school and hits her head and now we have another concussion protocol.

Keep Going

This being my first semester and all the injuries and inconveniences thrown at me I believe I handled it the best that I possibly could. I give all the praise to parents choosing to continue their education because these last couple of months and the many situations that arose tested my every last nerve and patience. Remembering my WHY and not forgetting the goals I have set for myself to provide a better life for my children has kept me going when I was so close to throwing in the towel. I am now confident that a glass of wine and daily affirmations can get me through what may come in the following semesters because I CANNOT fall or fail. Soon we will look back on these hard times and know they happened for a reason, but we made it to the end!

Finish Line

 

Entry #7

 

Consumers Beware

    I’ve never actually sat down and gave deep thought as to how we get our food. The film Fresh matters and has made a huge different in how I see things when grocery shopping. This film sheds let on the farming industry and is targeting consumers to try to persuade them to buy from local farmers. It is important to shop local from your local farmers markets because the quality of meat is worth the higher price then it would be buying from a large grocery store. After seeing the care these farmers give to the cows, chickens and pigs makes perfect sense why we would benefit from purchasing from local farmers instead of feed lots. Hearing about the horror that goes on in the feed lots is terrifying and sickening.

 

    The sanitation problems that come from feed lots and how many different diseases like E. coli, salmonella, and mad cow disease and that these diseases kill people is unsettling. Learning that cows were fed dead cows that lead to the mad cow disease is heartbreaking to hear that animals must endure this kind of treatment. Not only are the animals not treated properly, but farmers are also having to use pesticides to be able to grow the most produce as possible. The idea of pesticides on the food we eat is concerning as it is not good for the environment, the farmers, consumers, and rural communities. Not only are there sanitation problems, diseases spread throughout the livestock but now these issues fall into an even bigger issue which is pollution.

 

    It is critical that Americans are made aware of all these concerning conditions when it comes to the meat and produce that we eat. Things like added hormones and antibiotics given to animals in feed lots should be taken seriously the next time consumers go grocery shopping at large branch chain grocery stores instead of buying from local farmers. Americans should care about what is happening to the raise the food that we eat and how it can affect consumers. The known fact that these issues can kill a consumer should be enough for Americans to make a change on who or where they buy their meat and produce from. Joe Salatin made a very important statement that he says his father would say which is “if you’re committed to healing the land then you can do something different” and that could not be more accurate.

Entry #6

Shenanigans 

As parents all of our focus is on our children as it is a full time job in itself. We are caretakers, maids, chefs, tutors, teachers, mentors, counselors, friends, chauffeurs. Everything we do is planned and organized around our children and their schedule. Sometimes we lose ourselves in making sure our children are well taken care of. It’s important to take time to ourselves as adults to take a break and regroup.





Sometimes there can be a negative persona about parents taking some time to themselves to relax, rejuvenate, regroup and recenter. I think it’s vital for parents, especially single parents to take some time to themselves. Just to check out for a small period of time. It allows us a chance to take care of ourselves. When we take good care of ourselves we take even better care of our children. Our health is key to living longer healthier lives for our children. This allows us to think clearly and make better decisions while not getting overwhelmed. 



This is insight that was passed down to me and I cannot begin to say how effective it is to maintain a healthy balance of family life with a little bit of adult time on the side. Whether you choose to enjoy your time alone, with some friends, at a salon, or however you may seem fitting it is much needed. I call it my night of shenanigans and I typically like to spend my time outside of home with one of my sisters enjoying sushi and sake bombers or catch a dinner and some drinks with friends.

 



Parents work so hard to provide for and take care of our children and if we are always so busy doing so, who will take care of you? You is who takes care of you. How we choose to spend our time is of our choosing because parents deserve it so get out there and enjoy your shenanigans!

Entry #3

 The Cooling Odor Blasters

You’ve just enjoyed your lunch as you usually do every day. Today you decided to indulge in some extra onions on your cheeseburger, so you stop at your local convenience store to grab some breath refreshers. You’re overwhelmed by how many options there are of dissolving natural antibacterial herbs that just melt away in your mouth. You decide to go with the small round white and blue container of cooling crystals.

You open the container and poor one into your hand. It’s small, white with blue cooling crystals, round and sugar free. You pop it in your mouth and instantly feel your mouth watering. It has a sweet taste that triggers a chilly affect. As it dissolves you notice what might be a spicy sensation as the blue crystals start to break down.

The natural antibacterial herb leaves your mouth feeling clean. The onions you just devoured for lunch didn’t stand a chance. The small, white and blue, round odor blasters left your mouth feeling cool, fragrant and refreshed. You can now proceed with confidence that you nor anyone else will be reminded of what you ate for lunch.

Entry #5

  

Beauty Blogger

Social media is full of beauty bloggers and influencers of all kinds. The context of this ad is to show that accidents can happen at any time including fires from a straightener while recording a blog. The author wants to audience to be drawn in by comedic gestures of the actor who is a man, in a suit, sitting at a make-up desk with different kinds of beauty brushes on it, in a room that looks to be one of a blogger. You see him recording himself as a blogger would while holding a flat iron to his hair with under eye patches on. As he is straightening his hair he says, “this mermaid hair how to - wow it’s gonna get me a lot of likes but leaving this burning hot hair straightener on this towel, that’s a thumbs down emoji and if you’ve got the wrong home insurance coverage that’s gone leave a mark” in a very cool, calm tone as he puts the flat iron down, pitches the idea of having the right homeowner’s insurance then the towel catches fires. 

He has a cut on his forehead that is covered with a bandage. It is to aid in the idea of accidents can happen that lead to injuries and the idea that not having the right home insurance coverage can leave a mark like an injury would. The cut on his forehead is a symbol of a "mark" that is left from "mayhem". of not having proper home insurance At the end he proceeds to put on a pair of white sunglasses saying get better protected from mayhem by getting Allstate. At the very end, the screen turns all blue and you see the Allstate logo and “Are you in good hands?” in white lettering.

 

This ad is to target the audience of bloggers and influencers as we have all seen on social media platforms accidents like this can and do happen. The actor pulls the audience in with the humor of pretending to be a beauty blogger while relating to real life incidents that have occurred while creating a beauty blog. The home insurance world has changed and has had to adapt to the new reality of people working from home. Bloggers and influencers in this day and age is now also be their place of work.             

Entry #4

 Thank you for your service!

The Forgotten Promise

As the daughter of a veteran and a healthcare worker, I have seen firsthand how our veterans are mistreated. There are over 19 million US veterans with 13% of that being women. Thinking about our veterans and raising public awareness, the percentage of veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as the other percentage who now have disabilities as a direct result of their service of fighting for OUR country is alarming. It’s heartbreaking. The most patriotic thing one can do in America is serve your country, yet we underserve our vets. Suicide is already a crisis in its own, however, 22 veterans commit suicide on a daily basis with 1 suicide occurring around every 80 minutes. 30% of veterans have some kind of disability that comes from being in the service and of that 30%, 13-20% suffer from PTSD with the numbers being higher for those who served in Special Forces. Over 48,000 vets are either already homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. 22% of our veterans have been diagnosed with Depressive Disorder. Since 2002, over 200,000 of our service men and women suffered from Traumatic brain injuries where 1/3 of them need some type of mental health treatment.

 

I have worked in the healthcare industry for over 13 years and worked directly with veterans for more then 4 years. I have seen the complete disregard and pure disrespect that comes from our healthcare workers when working with and for our vets. As a nation, we should be saluting and thanking our vets every chance we get, yet we don’t. Recently, my father fell ill, and I was responsible for taking him to our local Veteran's Affairs care facility for treatment. Let me start off by saying, just to get ahold of anyone via telephone is a complete nightmare. The runaround is never ending. Long story short, we go to the ER at the VA, where we were greeted and directed where to go. My father was seen by a medical care provider and instead of trying to figure out the cause of his pain he was given opioids and sent on his way. Weeks go by and he is still the same. We try contacting the VA, with no luck yet another runaround. Back to the ER we went for the same thing to happen, he’s given more pain medications and sent home. By this point the frustration and urgency has forced us to see a non-VA doctor that gave him the information and care that he needed.

Thank You Veterans

In my experience with working with veterans as a health care professional, also as a daughter of a veteran, our government should be ashamed. The nightmare of trying to get the care my father needed was so extreme that he gave up. It made me give up working with the Veteran’s Affairs and I decided to seek help for him outside of the VA with a public commercial doctor. The care he received at the VA was little to none and while I was with him each time, I quickly realized not one person working at the VA thanked any of our veterans for their service. I have not served and do not suffer from the disabilities and disorders that our service men and women suffer from, yet I gave up seeking help from our Veteran's Affairs medical center. Imagine being one of these service men and women suffering from illnesses, trying to seek help with no avail and you give up. Now the risk of suicide is even higher as it’s that hard for them to get the proper care and treatment. Our nation needs to do better to provide the resources and care that is needed by our vets along with showing our gratitude and respects to each vet who has served by thanking them for their service.

Entry #2

 In the heart of the home

the kitchen

 It’s the heart of the home. That’s where is all happens, in the kitchen. Whether you are cooking a Sunday dinner or talking about one’s day, we always seem to find ourselves gathering around the kitchen to enjoy one another. We eat and drink together. We sing and dance together. It’s where we laugh and sometimes cry together. Majority of our memories, good and/or bad, are made in the kitchen. Around the holidays the kitchen is always full of family making traditional recipes or even trying new ones. Times like these are moments that can never be erased or forgotten and if they somehow get lost, there are plenty photos to remind us.

family dinner

Sometimes we are alone, in the early morning hours, brewing a hot cup of coffee in silence to collect our thoughts and plan out our days. Scheduling appointments or tasks that need to be completed. It’s where so many great ideas are made. Sitting at the dining table for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner time, talking amongst ourselves about work, school, goals, or ideas are the moments that you will grow to love and cherish. It’s a place where all are welcome, and everyone is treated like family. It's the kitchen, the heart of the home.