The End, The Beginning :)

Through this project, I believe that I have learned a lot from the activities I have done and others I have thought about. My goal was to learn more about myself and throughout the time I started, I have lost and gain friends and experiences and had a chance to see myself in a different way. In the beginning, I was a lot less confident about myself and I thought that what I did "was not good enough" and now I have came out of this with a stronger sense of myself and a much more happier and peaceful person in general. I learned ways I could spread peace and create it within and this has shown to be very therapeutic for me and that's been a great thing for me.

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”

DVI 2/3 30 points

Interview a family member Learn about your family roots, ask a parent or relative for more information about your family past, the culture of the time, the current events, the history, the family secret.

I have to do a project for English class where we have to prepare a dish that best reminds us of our childhood and i decided to talk to grandmother and i came up with a dish that reminds me of being young and while doing this i also started to learn more about my Portuguese side. i learned things like my grandfather served as a commander in the Portuguese army and he was a police officer before coming to america on july 4 of all days as well as other interesting things.

SHASH 2/2 30 points

Find someone you like and share in turns: “A goal I have”,Brainstorm the first step for each and meet again to monitor your progress.

A goal I have is to graduate high school and start college and continue through with all my plans so one day I could potentially help the world with my goals. Sometimes, I tend to be flaky and I really want to improve that and get on with my life being stronger and happier.

CHATUR 2/2 30 points

In a group of 4, explore your “buttons” the things that trigger feelings of anger and sadness and explore ways you can calm or comfort yourself when triggered.

My buttons can be triggered from things like:

• something that reminds me of someone who has died or moved away
• someone who bullies somebody else/ has no respect for anyone or anything, uses slurs, etc.

An example of this could be animal cruelty. there is nothing i could do to punish the owner but I could save the animal from danger by spending time with them which calms me down from the anger i feel because of their former owner's actions.

DVI 2/4 30 points

Read the list of emotions and make sure you are familiar with each one, look them up if needed. Pick the way you feel right now, how you felt yesterday and for each emotion on the list, ask yourself if and when you ever felt that.

Yesterday, I definitely felt self-sabotaging because a teacher gave me compliments on the way I cleaned,finished  and organized his work since I am his Teacher's Assistant. While he was complementing it, I couldn't help but to pick out the flaws in the way I did everything. I know I need to work my self-confidence and I think that the further along I get in this project; I get to see a new side of myself, more confident and proud of what I can do.Today, I felt invulnerable because I felt so confident in the work that I turned in to my teachers was something I could be happy with and I walked with confidence that what I did was good and succeeded with not sabotaging myself again.

DVI 2/2 30 points

All of me. Examine the different roles you have in your life. Daughter or son, student, big sibling, friend…Make a drawing, a video, a dance or a song with all of them represented.

TRI 2/4 30 points

In a group of 4, ask yourselves

What is the meaning of harmony?  How does it feel, look or sound?  Describe the idea of harmony as it relates to an individual, a family, or a community What are some areas of you life or school that you feel need harmonizing?  What steps could you take to help accomplish this? 

Harmony to me means a peaceful, calm feeling like waking up on a Saturday morning without a care in the world or lounging out and drinking your favorite cup of tea and reading a good book without worrying about the world's problems. I think we could all use a day to relax and take a break from all of the school work and college planning.

NAVA 2/3 25 points

With another person ask: What does it mean to be free?  What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility?  How can you be in a prison of your own making?  How do you experience freedom within structures, laws, rules, guidelines?  In your opinion, do you have too much or too little freedom?

In my opinion, we have a lot of freedom here in the United States. I think this could tie in to being politically free to vote and make a difference but about half the people in this country don't vote which is part of their civic responsibility and so many people around the world don't have that luxury and i think we take it for granted. We have the ability to vote, assemble and do so many things and we just take it for granted and we lose our freedom just by being too lazy to vote once a year to have our voice be heard by everyone no matter who we vote for.

CHATUR 2/1 30 points

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow. -Chinese proverb. Discuss in a group of 4 a time when you wished you had been more patient.

The example I came up with was my relationship with my ex-boyfriend. I wished I could have been more patient with him because he was not really ready to be in a fully committed long term relationship but I wish i would have worked harder to keep it going instead of getting irritated over little things and ruining a 2 year relationship.

PANCHA 1/9 20 points

Reconnect with an old friend you used to be close to but got distanced from because of life circumstances.

Well, I used to be close to my great graandmother, but she moved to back to nicaragua and now, I could talk to her again because I am here. She was living in the United States for a long time but she decided it would be better for her if she moved back to the country she is from to be close to her brothers and sisters and enjoy the timel eft she has on this planet. I miss her and im glad that I could see her again.

P.S There are and will be several post around the same time because I was in Nicaragua and did not have computer access over there

DVI 1/2 20 points

As Queen Latifah recommends, Take a little risk every day:

Try saying NO to something that you feel pressured to do but is not good for you, that depletes you. You might feel a little guilty but say NO anyway.

Today in nicaragua, was faced with seeing people that are less fortunate than I am and I felt compelled to give them money but, I said no and ijust walked by. I felt so bad but I thought about it and the best thing anyone could do for them is to give them a job instead of some money. The money you give them will not last, but the job you give could last a while and could end their suffering of begging for money and food on the street.

ASHTA 1/1 20 points

Find another person and share in turns on the following topic: ”Something I've done that I am proud of.”

Talk for 3 minutes while the other person listens without interrupting or commenting, then take turns

I did this in Nicaragua with someone who only speaks Spanish and so it was a bit difficult at times but it was very helpful and I realized I did have things that I'm proud of and so do other people. Some people are proud of the heritage other are proud of the their accomplishments and it really helps to open your eyes to what other people do and what you could do with their influence.

PANCHA 1/3 20 points

Pair up with one person who is very different from you and make a list of all the things you have in common.

I paired up with this guy named Jacob.

• We both speak Spanish
• We both take Spanish 7-8 together
• We both have dark hair
• We both are of latin heritage
• We both go to terra nova
• We both live in pacifica
• We both have 2 brothers

DASHA 1/1 20 points

How do you care for your school, the community you live in, the world, the environment? In a group of 4, each decide on one small project you can do together after school.

Here at Terra Nova, every year the seniors have the pranks that they pull on the underclassmen and Students. I was brainstorming with Brigid and some other people and we thought it would be a good idea to plant a tree instead of doing something destructive to the school. like a legacy our class of 2011 would leave the school without being harmful to anyone.

TRI 1/2 20 points

Go to the farmers market and find a fruit you have never tasted, buy one and ask the seller how it is chosen and prepared. Go home and try it.

While I was in Nicaragua last week,I stumbled upon this fruit called the jocote. they are little green or red balls of fruit that you eat with or without the skin as long as you clean them really well. they are very tasty especially when they are juicy with a thin green/red  skin and have the taste of a sweet plum/peach.

ASHTA 1/6 20 points

For 5 minutes, be completely silent and listen to the sounds around you. Don’t judge or try to identify them, just listen and be completely present. Close your eyes and open them again, do you hear differently?

When I close my eyes, I feel like I can hear more things than I could before. Once, I heard that when one sense is sabotaged then another is heightened and I believe that its true because I experienced it personally.

TRI 1/3 10 points

Remember what gave you the most joy when you were 5. Try to recreate the mood. Do a cartwheel, skip around the house, do finger painting, play with marbles or legos.

When I was 5, I did not have may toys so I would draw. Drawing was something I could without having an expensive toy or something I could do that made me happy and would keep me from bothering my parents
.

I am putting up many posts because I wrote them and I haven't had time to post them :)

EKA1/5 10 points

Observe your feet with care and appreciation. They hold you all day, get squeezed into shoes, run, walk and don't usually get noticed. Soak them in hot water and give yourself a foot massage. Observe the sensations in your feet, the toes. If any emotions come up, observe them also.

Yesterday, I wore flip flops and they felt less restricted. When I walked they felt more free and nice because of the nice weather. I later got a pedicure and it felt so nice when the jets in the tub were massaging my feet and it made me happy because I feel so relieved when the pressure is gone.

CHATUR 1/1 20 points

In a group of 4, brainstorm all the legitimate reasons someone might have misbehaved: - one prisoner’s wife said she would visit, she does not come. Why? Someone pushes you while you are waiting in line. A car rushes past you on the road honking.

• One prisoner’s wife said she would visit, she does not come: She might have been abused by her husband and she finally had the courage to leave him since he is locked up.
• Someone pushes you while you are waiting in line: Maybe the person did not mean to do it and it was only because her phone rang and she was expecting an important call from her husband that she hasn't talked to in a while because he has been doing research in the amazon with no cell phone service.
• A car rushes past you on the road honking: Maybe I did not have my lights on because I forgot to turn on my lights on or maybe they weren't working and that driver was just trying to tell me that.

CHATUR 1/2 20 points

Make a list of activities that reward patience, learning an instrument, practicing a sport, a craft. What would you do if you had the patience? Start small but do it!

There are many things that I can do to help with my patience like:

• Tutoring young kids
• Trying out new recipes
• Practice throwing on the potters wheel more
• Talk to people to figure out why the way they are

PANCHA 1/2 20 points

A key principle of nonviolence is the commitment to oppose the deed, not the doer of the deed.

Brainstorm with 3 other people on how this could apply to your lives.

My 3 ways are geared towards prevention and they are:

1.) Meditation opposed to violence

2.) Take time and journal and write out your frustrations

3.) Have a rational conversation with the person to avoid the violence

My argument was that a lot of this could be used for frustrations relating to jealousy, spite, anger, etc. but we could use that to help out our consciousness and help us to be better peaceful people that don't hold grudges for things that won't help us in the long run.

EKA 1/2 5 points

Watch this video about a woman who travels to Iran with her fiancee to get married there Iranian style.

I watched the video and the thing that striked me the most is the words the Iranian man had to say about american people and how we wish to impose our religious views on them, which is not necessarily true.

Peace In Egypt

In the last week or so, there has been many issues in Egypt and other Middle-Eastern countries about political freedoms and the fight for more democratic form of government.

As of today, the protests have becoming more violent and my hope is that this situation resolves itself as soon as possible so that peace could be attained. This crisis can potentially cause a domino effect of political unrest throughout the world which could potentially be dangerous for innocent people who aren't biased and just want to live their lives normally.

I pray that the people are safe and that they could find a better way to combat their indifferences in a way that does not cause any sort of casualties in the world and a more peaceful way to attain their goals .

ASHTA 1/3 20 points

Take time to be with your parent, partner, friend -- spend time listening to each other -- have eye contact for several moments.  

After my last post, I decided to talk to my father about his struggle growing up. Every time he tells it to me, I realize how fortunate I am to have all the things I do and that I didn't and don't have to get a job while I am in school like he did. This talk really helped me to realize that everything I do matters and if I continue to have drive, then I could achieve the things that I want.

SHASH 1/1 20 points

Express appreciation for someone in your life who you might have taken for granted. Say it, draw it, sing it.

I really appreciate my parents but especially my dad.. I rarely ever recognize what they do for me and my brothers. They are willing to sacrifice many of the finer things in life and go into a large debt so I can go to the college I really want to go to. I am really fortunate that they are willing to support me and see that I go through with my plans of going to medical/pharmacy school when they know it will take a long time to pay it back and how they have also been open with their hopes and dreams for me.

Every time I talk to my dad about pursuing a career in medicine, he gets excited that I am the only one of  who wants to be a doctor like he did. ever since I could remember, he has been influencing me to  make a change in this world. he always encouraged me and told me that if I stay dedicated to helping people through medicine, I could possibly create a cure for cancer or some vaccine that could potentially save many lives.

My dad came from Nicaragua and came to this country with 10 years old and had a hard time learning the language and assimilating with all of the other people here but with his dedication and drive, he was able to achieve success in most of the areas that he tries in. Being first generation on both sides, I feel more pressure to achieve more and with his positive influence and guidance, I see it being attainable and I am really thankful for it whether I tell him this all the time or not.

EKA 1/1 20 points

Make a list of at least five ways that you can take better care of yourself.  Practice at least one today.

1.)Trying out Yoga

2.)Sleep Earlier

3.)Stop Procrastinating

4.)Eat Healther

5.)Take My Dog Out For A Walk Everyday

I chose to take my dog out on a walk and I felt so much better afterwards. He was so excited and he is so big that he can pull me now!