So What's So Bad About Being So-So?

Lisa Wilson Strick's purpose in writing So What's So Bad About Being So-So is too inform us about how the things we used to do for fun (hobbies) are all taken way too seriously now.  If your hobby is swimming, there are people who automatically tell you that you don't know the proper techniques on how to swim.  A hobby used to be just to have fun or have something to do; now some people when they start a hobby they expect to excel on it.   I strongly agree with her viewpoint because all the hobbies I enjoy; I'm absolutely terrible at them.  .

I love drawing, singing, skateboarding, bike riding, cooking, dancing, painting, and photo taking.  All these hobbies I love to do, but I'm no good at them.  On a nice rainy day I love to go on bike rides with my girlfriend, but honestly all you ever see is me swerving and falling onto concrete or into a bush.  When I fall, I always get up with a big smile on my face and twigs in my hair.  When it comes to drawing, the best I can draw is a stick figure and even sometimes those don’t even come out right.  Just imagine lines trying to be put together to make a “person” but end up looking like an oddly shaped, mutated alien (well not really, but you get what I mean).  I love to cook, but everybody knows I’m not really good at it, but that doesn’t stop me. 

My friend loves to do everything I do, but unlike me, she has to excel in all of it.  A couple years ago, it was raining cats and dogs and we decided to go on a bike.  This was a really bad idea and not because it was raining!  We decided we should race to see who could get to the park (this was about two miles or so).  My friend is way too competitive and when she realized that she was losing, she pushed me and I landed face first into a bush.  The thing she didn’t realize is that she had shoved me into a thorny rose bush!  I had cuts all over my face and there was blood everywhere. If you think this stopped my friend from winning then you are mistaken.  She made it all the way to the park and when she turned back and saw that I wasn’t behind her, she went back.  There I was standing, soaking wet and blood dripping from my face!  She felt horrible, but she still rubbed it in my face that she had won.  To this day she is still too competitive and I still haven’t forgiven her.  I guess what had happened to me didn’t teach her a lesson.

Hobbies shouldn't be taken seriously; they should just be enjoyed.  If you want to take a hobby seriously then join a club.  There's swimming clubs, drawing clubs, painting clubs, etc.  Why can't people just be competitive in those clubs and leave us so-so people alone.

"Stuff is Not Salvation"

Anna's purpose in writing "Stuff is Not Salvation" is to let us know how much our society have been spending so much money on their wants and not their needs.  She says that our society buys things that they think will make them happy because they need to have it.  Families who buy their children everything they want is not showing them love and affection.  It is showing them to be selfish and they'll never learn how to appreciate things.  Anna's solution to the problem of out-of-control consumption was to start spending money on what we truly need and learn to appreciate the small things that we have already.  

Personally, I have way too many shirts.  If there's a shirt that I like; I will buy it.  I don't care how much it is, but I need to have it.  If i go shopping, I will spent about $200 on just shirts just because I like them.  I don't buy anything but shirts.  Most of the shirts that I have, I don't even wear anymore.  All this money I've spent, I could have helped my mom pay off some bills or save up for something i truly needed. Now that I have started school, I can't buy all the shirts I want because all the money I get, I spend it on gas to get me to school.  If I would have saved up money, I wouldn't have to rely on my mom to give me money.

Fish Cheeks!!

Amy Tan's purpose in writing "Fish Cheeks" was to show us that we shouldn't be ashamed of who we are or where we come from.  She learned that she should never be ashamed of her Chinese culture.  Anybody can relate to a time where they have felt out of place, or ashamed of being who they are or where we come from.
I understand Amy's purpose because in my freshman year of high school, I let everybody know exactly who I was.

I remember it like it was just yesterday.  The sun was out and all I could hear was my heart beating faster and faster as I thought of the right way to tell my friends.  I looked up and I mumbled, "I'm gay".  Everybody grew quiet and they all stared at me.  I didn't speak to any of them for the rest of the day because I was afraid that they would tell me I could no longer hang out with them.  I got home and I told my parents the exact same thing.  My parents was exactly what I expected.  They didn't speak to me for a couple of months and what's even worse is that they wouldn't even look me in the eyes.  At school, the word spread out that I was gay and most of my classmates and even teachers looked at me differently.  For a while I was ashamed of being gay.  I hated myself for liking girls.  Why couldn't I feel the same way towards guys like I did for girls?  Luckily my friends never left my side and were always there to support me.  Through all of this I met my wonderful girlfriend, Tasha.
To this day my parents still have a hard time accepting me for me.  It get really hard at times knowing I don't have my parent's support.  I learned that I will never care what people think/say about me. I am who I am and I love it.  People can call me whatever they like, I don't care.  I'm weird, different and even strange.  It's what makes me, Celene!

Oh You Know =]

    Hey people, the name is Celene.  This is my first quarter here at The Arts Institute.  I'm working on getting my Associates Degree in the Baking & Pastry program.  My goal is to have a successful pastry shop.  I was actually born in La Piedad, Michoacan.  I came to California when I was about five years old and I went to school in Arbuckle(a very small town).  I am currently living in Dunnigan with my girlfriend, Tasha. We've been together for almost 5 years. She's my high school sweetheart.

    My parents divorced about two years ago and for some reason I still can't accept it.  I have three sisters and 2 brothers. I am a very shy person but once I get comfortable around you, you can't get me to stop talking.  I have no favorite color! I love them all the same!!  I am very impulsive, but I tend to get distracted easily.  I DO NOT judge anyone and I dislike people who do.  I find it ridiculous and annoying.  Some of my hobbies are baking, eating, and hanging out with my peeps, dyeing my hair and of course spending time with my girlfriend.  I have a huge zombie and ninja obsession!! Tim Burton and George A. Romero are my heroes!! I love everything about nature! I love driving in the rain! I love to take pictures of trees and clouds!  I love standing outside and just feeling the wind surround me.  That's probably all I have to say for now!