The team teaching project that I had done with my group was on How to Write a Good Essay. I learned a lot while doing the research for this assignment.
First step on how to write a great essay is on figuring out what you want to write about. And what kind of essay you would like to write about. There are a lot of types of essay you can choose from. For example: 5 paragraph essay, admissions essay, personal essay and informal essay. There are several more.
After you have decided what you want to talk about. Then you have to start organizing your ideas on what you want to say. You can make a diagram or outline. This process is called brainstorming. You can make a list of things you would like to say. What I like to do it just start writing what I am thinking. And I’ll have random paragraphs on things or just small sentences. And in the end ill combine them all.
You then write your introduction. It should be eye catching. The person reading it should get hooked and want to read more. Next you have to decide what is going to be your main point. What you are trying to argue. It has to be strong and it has to be something someone can argue. This is going to be your thesis. It is mostly found in the beginning of the essay but it can be found in the end of the essay too.
Now it is time to get the body paragraphs. These should be the supporting paragraphs for your argument you’re making. These should keep on one topic. And when you plan on switching topics that’s when you start a new paragraph.
Last but not least, the conclusion, this should be the whole sum up. This is when you sum everything your saying. You restate your thesis and main points. You say your last thoughts on the subject you are talking about. And you end it off with a good note.
First Draft
Word Count: 340
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Blog 3/4 Friendship Bracelets (Final Draft)
So I thought why not teach everyone how they can make friendship bracelets. It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a guy, anyone can make them. Guys can make them for their girlfriends and have matching ones. I think it is cute and girls would like that. (I would)
I learned how to make the first design I’m going to show you in my College for Success class I took here at Woodland Community College during the summer of 2009, right after I graduated from high school. I made some friends in that class. It was two girls who were still in high school and they were in a program called Upward Bound. They were making these bracelets and I wanted to learn so they taught me before class started. From then on I have been making theses bracelets for my brother, his friends and my little sister. Oh and not to forget, I have been making them for Tom, too.
The second set I’m going to show you, I just made up. I didn’t like the bracelet so thin so I just started adding more and more strings and it turned out cute. So you can do as many colors you want, it will just become wider.
Last but not least, the third set. I learned this one at work. I work at the YMCA as a preschool teacher. They have this summer camp at The Y and it is for older kids. I was asked to work there for an hour because they were short on staff. I was talking to some girls who were 7 years old and they were making this design taught me how to make it, too.
You Will Need:
• Embroidery Thread
• A clip board or some kind of surface, a toe will work as well
• Safety pin
• Scissors
• Tape
Step 1: Pick out three favorite colors or just any three colors that look good all together. I am using Purple, Red, and Orange.
Step 2: Measure to see how much you will need. I usually have a spot that I marked on my dressing table so I just measure there every time. I would say for your first time, use about twenty inches.
Step 3: Cut doubles. So it should be 2 purples, 2 Reds and 2 oranges. (You do not have to do doubles; you can do singles, which is how I learned the first time. But I like doubles better)
Step 4: Align all the strings together and tie a knot at one end.
Step 5: Next you have a lot of options on how to start making the bracelet. You can tape it to a flat surface (I find this harder). You can put a safety pin through the knot and pin the safety pin to the leg on your pants or on your bed sheets or, what I like to do, is hold it down with my toe.
I am going to use the safety pin for this process
Step 6: Pin it where you would like to.
Step 7: You can make the bracelet in any color order you would like. I am going to do purple first, Orange second, Red third.
Step 8: You take the purples and put it over the Orange and make a 4. Just like this 4.
Step 9: The hanging string of the purple, you take it under the orange and in through the 4.
Step 10: You hold the purple up high and stretch out the orange as tight as you can. (Tighter the better!) You do this one more time, so a total of 2 times.
Step 11: Then you do the same thing to the red. Take the purple and make a 4….. (Look at step 9)
The purple goes to the end on the line now (right hand side), and Orange is the first one in line (left hand side).
Repeat Step 9 and then step 10 with orange.
So you take orange and make a four with it with red and then purple.
Then orange is at the end of the line. And red is in the beginning of the line.
Repeat step 9 and then 10 again with Red.
Keep that going till your done with that and the end result should look like this.
Second bracelet: You do the same thing for the first bracelet, but this time, get a lot more colors. But remember the more colors the wider the bracelet will become.
I used 5 colors this time. And I didn’t use the safety pin for this process I used tape, so you can see the difference.
You do the same steps all over again.
I’ll go over only the beginning
The Light Green is going to make a 4 two times
• First with the Light Blue
• Second with White
• Third with Dark Green
• Last with the Dark Blue
And the light green will be at the end of the row on the right hand side
And runner up is on the left side and it will be light blue
Keep these going till you’re all the way done and it should come out to look like this!
This bracelet is a different design.
Step 1: Pick out some colors I would say the more the better. So I am picking 5 and my colors are Pink, Blue, Purple, Orange and Green.
Step 2: Make a knot.
Step 3: Separate Pink, and hold all the other colors all together make a 4 with the pink eight times (or as many more or less you would like).
Step 4: Then do it with the next color which in this case I’m doing blue eight times.
Step 5: Do orange (repeat step4).
Step 6: Do purple (repeat step 4).
Keep this going till you have it as long as you want.
In the end it should look like this!
First Draft
Word Count:1003
I learned how to make the first design I’m going to show you in my College for Success class I took here at Woodland Community College during the summer of 2009, right after I graduated from high school. I made some friends in that class. It was two girls who were still in high school and they were in a program called Upward Bound. They were making these bracelets and I wanted to learn so they taught me before class started. From then on I have been making theses bracelets for my brother, his friends and my little sister. Oh and not to forget, I have been making them for Tom, too.
The second set I’m going to show you, I just made up. I didn’t like the bracelet so thin so I just started adding more and more strings and it turned out cute. So you can do as many colors you want, it will just become wider.
Last but not least, the third set. I learned this one at work. I work at the YMCA as a preschool teacher. They have this summer camp at The Y and it is for older kids. I was asked to work there for an hour because they were short on staff. I was talking to some girls who were 7 years old and they were making this design taught me how to make it, too.
You Will Need:
• Embroidery Thread
• A clip board or some kind of surface, a toe will work as well
• Safety pin
• Scissors
• Tape
Step 1: Pick out three favorite colors or just any three colors that look good all together. I am using Purple, Red, and Orange.
Step 2: Measure to see how much you will need. I usually have a spot that I marked on my dressing table so I just measure there every time. I would say for your first time, use about twenty inches.
Step 3: Cut doubles. So it should be 2 purples, 2 Reds and 2 oranges. (You do not have to do doubles; you can do singles, which is how I learned the first time. But I like doubles better)
Step 4: Align all the strings together and tie a knot at one end.
Step 5: Next you have a lot of options on how to start making the bracelet. You can tape it to a flat surface (I find this harder). You can put a safety pin through the knot and pin the safety pin to the leg on your pants or on your bed sheets or, what I like to do, is hold it down with my toe.I am going to use the safety pin for this process
Step 6: Pin it where you would like to.
Step 7: You can make the bracelet in any color order you would like. I am going to do purple first, Orange second, Red third.
Step 8: You take the purples and put it over the Orange and make a 4. Just like this 4.
Step 9: The hanging string of the purple, you take it under the orange and in through the 4.
Step 10: You hold the purple up high and stretch out the orange as tight as you can. (Tighter the better!) You do this one more time, so a total of 2 times.
Step 11: Then you do the same thing to the red. Take the purple and make a 4….. (Look at step 9)
The purple goes to the end on the line now (right hand side), and Orange is the first one in line (left hand side).
Repeat Step 9 and then step 10 with orange.
So you take orange and make a four with it with red and then purple.
Then orange is at the end of the line. And red is in the beginning of the line.
Repeat step 9 and then 10 again with Red.
Keep that going till your done with that and the end result should look like this.
Second bracelet: You do the same thing for the first bracelet, but this time, get a lot more colors. But remember the more colors the wider the bracelet will become.
I used 5 colors this time. And I didn’t use the safety pin for this process I used tape, so you can see the difference.
You do the same steps all over again.
I’ll go over only the beginning
The Light Green is going to make a 4 two times
• First with the Light Blue
• Second with White
• Third with Dark Green
• Last with the Dark Blue
And the light green will be at the end of the row on the right hand side
And runner up is on the left side and it will be light blue
Keep these going till you’re all the way done and it should come out to look like this!
This bracelet is a different design.
Step 1: Pick out some colors I would say the more the better. So I am picking 5 and my colors are Pink, Blue, Purple, Orange and Green.
Step 2: Make a knot.
Step 3: Separate Pink, and hold all the other colors all together make a 4 with the pink eight times (or as many more or less you would like).
Step 4: Then do it with the next color which in this case I’m doing blue eight times.
Step 5: Do orange (repeat step4).
Step 6: Do purple (repeat step 4).
Keep this going till you have it as long as you want.
In the end it should look like this!
First Draft
Word Count:1003
Blog 2/4 How to Make Felt Flowers (Final Draft)
I am going to show you guys how to make Felt Hair Flowers. When I use to work at St. Paul’s preschool, I became friends with a coworker. She made me a Felt Flower for my birthday. And just recently she taught me how to make them to. We usually get together to do crafty things. Like make bracelets, flowers, and earring hangers out of a picture frames and we even make purses. You can make this flower for a girl, doesn’t matter who. This is a good present to give out on birthdays, or Christmas.
There are many different flower designs you can make. You can make a rose ect… I am just going to show you guys a simple design that everyone can make.
You will need:
• Felt
• Hot glue gun
• Hair clip
• A button, stud. Or anything you would like to put in the middle
Plug in the hot glue gun and put a piece of paper under the glue gun
Step 1 Pick out a felt color.
I am using Purple
Step 2 Draw petals on the felt.
I am using a total of 10 petals. There are going to be seven big petals and three smaller size petals.
Step 3 Cut them out.
Decide how you are going to place the petals and what your flower is going to look like.
Be careful whole using the hot glue gun it is very hot.
Step 4 Glue two petals together.
Step 5 Keep this going till you get all seven petals hot glued and it looks like a flower with a hole in the middle.
Step 6 Now glue the three small pieces on top.
You can make as many layers you want. But I am only going to do two layers.
Let that sit for about one minute
Step 7 Now put what you would like in the middle of the flower.
For this flower I am going to put a piece of fabric I found that was cute.
Step 8 Hot glue that in.
Step 9 Hot glue the flower on the clip.
Let it sit and dry for a minute
And….
You are done!
Here are different colors of flowers I have and they have different things in the middle.
First Draft
Word Count: 382
There are many different flower designs you can make. You can make a rose ect… I am just going to show you guys a simple design that everyone can make.
You will need:
• Felt
• Hot glue gun
• Hair clip
• A button, stud. Or anything you would like to put in the middle
Plug in the hot glue gun and put a piece of paper under the glue gun
Step 1 Pick out a felt color.
I am using Purple
Step 2 Draw petals on the felt.
I am using a total of 10 petals. There are going to be seven big petals and three smaller size petals.
Step 3 Cut them out.
Decide how you are going to place the petals and what your flower is going to look like.
Be careful whole using the hot glue gun it is very hot.
Step 4 Glue two petals together.
Step 5 Keep this going till you get all seven petals hot glued and it looks like a flower with a hole in the middle.
Step 6 Now glue the three small pieces on top.
You can make as many layers you want. But I am only going to do two layers.
Let that sit for about one minute
Step 7 Now put what you would like in the middle of the flower.
For this flower I am going to put a piece of fabric I found that was cute.
Step 8 Hot glue that in.
Step 9 Hot glue the flower on the clip.
Let it sit and dry for a minute
And….
You are done!
Here are different colors of flowers I have and they have different things in the middle.
First Draft
Word Count: 382
Blog 1/4 Shaz's Restaurant Review (Final Draft)
My older brother took my sister and I out to eat to a new restaurant that he had heard about. It is called Shaz. It has Pakistani and Indian food. The address is 4333 Airport Drive
Sacramento, CA 95821-7112. Telephone number 1916-488-
When we turned onto Airport Drive, there was a sign that said Welcome to Shaz! We drove into the parking lot the first thing I noticed that there was huge; we parked and walked towards the restaurant. The restaurant looked decent from the outside and there were table and chairs. We walked in and were greeted by two men. One of the men introduced himself to us as Roberto. I looked around and there were a lot of tables, of different size, so if there were bigger groups of people they can get the bigger tables. He asked us if we would like to sit in the front or the back of the restaurant, we choose the back. We got our table right away didn’t have to wait at all! That was a great thing! He told us he was the owner and asked us what we would like to drink. My brother and sister ordered soda and I ordered water. We took a look at the menu and everything on there was $10 and under.
He told us that there was a buffet going on because it was lunch time. He said we could go up and get our food whenever we are ready. We went towards the buffet area and the foods was organized nicely and smelled very good. Plates, spoons, forks and knifes on one side and food on the other table. The first thing I noticed was the Chicken Tikki Masala. This is my all time favorite food to eat! I went for that first and then I got some white rice. I got some lettuce and cucumbers, too. There were a lot more dishes but I didn’t want to try anything else yet. I wanted to try my favorite one first. When I got back to the table our drinks were there already. We got down to eating the Nan that was already brought. (Nan is like a bread or tortilla to eat the chicken Tikki Masala with).
I broke off a piece of Nan and dipped it into the Chicken Tikki Masala. I ate it! And let me tell you, it tasted really really delicious! I ate that up and then ate the rice and mixed some Chicken Tikki Masala with it. The owner came by and brought more water and Nan.
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The restaurant was quiet and peaceful. There was a music video playing on T.V which was my favorite song ever. All the other songs played after those were all the songs I listen too! That was awesome! I went back for seconds and ate some more Chicken Tikki Masala. Then the owner came by and asked how the food was. I gave him two thumbs up and told him it was great! Something about the owner gave me a good feeling. He was really friendly and just made us feel really comfortable like we were at home. There were also desserts. It was located by the buffet but I didn’t have any I was too full!
I went to the restroom to wash my hands after eating the excellent food. There was one for women and one for men. It was very nicely clean. I washed my hands and dried them with a napkin. There was a sign informing all the employees to wash hands before going back to work. As I walked back to the table, the workers looked clean and groomed. They were properly dressed. I could point out who were customers and who were the workers.
We paid for our food, were given a business card and a menu to take home. There also were candy mints by the cashiers table. They cater for weddings, parties or any event. There is also a hall right in the same building but a different room that you can reserve for any kind of event. They also do take-outs and deliver food. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone. If you want to try out Pakistani food it is a great place for first timers. It is not too spicy or plain, just perfect! There was excellent service and I think anyone who goes here would say the same as me.
First Draft
Word Count: 744
Sacramento, CA 95821-7112. Telephone number 1916-488-
When we turned onto Airport Drive, there was a sign that said Welcome to Shaz! We drove into the parking lot the first thing I noticed that there was huge; we parked and walked towards the restaurant. The restaurant looked decent from the outside and there were table and chairs. We walked in and were greeted by two men. One of the men introduced himself to us as Roberto. I looked around and there were a lot of tables, of different size, so if there were bigger groups of people they can get the bigger tables. He asked us if we would like to sit in the front or the back of the restaurant, we choose the back. We got our table right away didn’t have to wait at all! That was a great thing! He told us he was the owner and asked us what we would like to drink. My brother and sister ordered soda and I ordered water. We took a look at the menu and everything on there was $10 and under.
He told us that there was a buffet going on because it was lunch time. He said we could go up and get our food whenever we are ready. We went towards the buffet area and the foods was organized nicely and smelled very good. Plates, spoons, forks and knifes on one side and food on the other table. The first thing I noticed was the Chicken Tikki Masala. This is my all time favorite food to eat! I went for that first and then I got some white rice. I got some lettuce and cucumbers, too. There were a lot more dishes but I didn’t want to try anything else yet. I wanted to try my favorite one first. When I got back to the table our drinks were there already. We got down to eating the Nan that was already brought. (Nan is like a bread or tortilla to eat the chicken Tikki Masala with).
I broke off a piece of Nan and dipped it into the Chicken Tikki Masala. I ate it! And let me tell you, it tasted really really delicious! I ate that up and then ate the rice and mixed some Chicken Tikki Masala with it. The owner came by and brought more water and Nan.
.jpg)
The restaurant was quiet and peaceful. There was a music video playing on T.V which was my favorite song ever. All the other songs played after those were all the songs I listen too! That was awesome! I went back for seconds and ate some more Chicken Tikki Masala. Then the owner came by and asked how the food was. I gave him two thumbs up and told him it was great! Something about the owner gave me a good feeling. He was really friendly and just made us feel really comfortable like we were at home. There were also desserts. It was located by the buffet but I didn’t have any I was too full!
I went to the restroom to wash my hands after eating the excellent food. There was one for women and one for men. It was very nicely clean. I washed my hands and dried them with a napkin. There was a sign informing all the employees to wash hands before going back to work. As I walked back to the table, the workers looked clean and groomed. They were properly dressed. I could point out who were customers and who were the workers.
We paid for our food, were given a business card and a menu to take home. There also were candy mints by the cashiers table. They cater for weddings, parties or any event. There is also a hall right in the same building but a different room that you can reserve for any kind of event. They also do take-outs and deliver food. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone. If you want to try out Pakistani food it is a great place for first timers. It is not too spicy or plain, just perfect! There was excellent service and I think anyone who goes here would say the same as me.
First Draft
Word Count: 744
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Happiness: Money Does Not Buy Happiness (Final Draft)
Happiness, we all have it in our lives. We just do not realize that the little things we have bring us that happiness. Happiness doesn’t come from money, fame, or how wealthy we are. Happiness comes from being loved or giving love.
Andrew Shapter posted an article that has a list of 99 definitions of happiness to others. Some of the things listed in this article that I believe bring happiness are: “Watching the sun creep out of the water as it rise into a new day” knowing we have been given another day on this earth to be a better person. “Unconditional Love”, “Enjoying what you have”, “Remembering that life is short and that each moment counts.” There are plenty more that I really enjoyed. I think this is an excellent article because here people do not care about the money. All they think about is little things that bring them happiness. That’s what should matter to everyone. We should all appreciate what we have because what we have, some people are not even close to having.
Jen Angel says there are 10 Things Science Says Will Make Us Happy. The first one that I think is a great one is, “Pause now and then to smell a rose” you can be surprised to see what can put a smile on your face. Smelling a rose not only can bring happiness, but it can also make us appreciate that we have a nose to smell and eyes see a beautiful rose. During spring of 2010 I was going to school here at Woodland Community College. I was with my friend, Cowboy Tom and we were heading to our cars after a long day of class. Tom told me to take a tour of the Rose Garden on campus. So we went there and smelled all the pretty roses, saw all the different kinds and what they were named. I was pretty impressed by these entire roses and just inhaling the smell put a smile on my face. Knowing that something so small can bring a smile on my face was a good thing to experience. Jen also says to put money low on the list. As we can see here money is listed, but it is said that science says, “People who put money high on their list are more at risk for depression.” Yes! Finally someone that agrees with me. Money does cause depression, it causes greediness. People who spend their whole lives trying to make money and trying to be wealthier are the ones who are not loved, or have a life full of happiness. They think that money will bring them happiness. But money cannot give you love, joy or someone who cares about you. Also smile, even when you do not feel like it. Just smile it will make you feel good. And it will put a smile on someone else’s face. Whenever I go through rough nights, the next day I wake up hoping that today will be a good day. I go to work with a smile on my face. And just smiling I forget all the problems and I feel good.
David Myers makes a list of things that are the Secret to Happiness. We need to have close, supportive relationships, positive traits and flow. Money cannot bring these things! “Optimism, self esteem and perceived control over one’s life are among the traits that mark happy experiences and happy lives.” Davis also talks about how money does not bring happiness he says, “We are twice as rich and not happier” People who are rich have the money to buy what they want, that will make them happy, but how long will this happiness last? When they get tired there going to want more and more that’s how it keeps working. Take me for example: I really wanted a car last summer. And I told my parents it doesn’t matter what color, size, or shape I just want a car. I told myself that if I get a car I’ll be happy, I’ll be doing whatever I want to do. I was certain that my life would change with a car. So I saved up and got a car. It’s barely been a year this July and now I am asking for a new one. Because I am tired of this one and it’s been causing problems. But the truth is this car gets me places and I need to appreciate it. As you can see materialistic things well not make me happy for long.
7 Ways to Be Happy by Judy Dutton gives 7 ways to be happy. Lighten up, get moving, and look for a joy buddy. Who likes to be around people who are downers and never smile? “Studies show that happiness comes with certain states of mind and heart such as generosity, kindness or gratitude.” Ask yourself, can money bring any of these things? No it cannot. This stuff comes from within us. Also being very still, this means having time to yourself. It’s about “Reminding yourself that life isn’t about racing as fast as you can.” It’s about enjoying each moment you live like it is your last. Do a song or dance. Now that can help research says, “That an organ in the inner ear is connected to a part of the brain that registers pleasure.” So singing can make us happier. My siblings and I always sing in the car when we are driving places. And we are laughing and singing. Laughing at how stupid we sound, but just enjoying ourselves. There has never been a time when we sing that we are sad.
In the next hour be happy. It has seven tips listed some are: boost your energy, reach out to friends, create a calmer environment and do a good deed. All of the things listed here are just little things you can do for yourself. As you can see here none of the things listed in any of the articles that I have listed say that you have to have money to be happy. None say that be rich, or it’s all about being wealthy. All of these articles have things you can do for yourself just to make your life easier, happier and enjoyable. That’s what truly matters and that’s what these and plenty other articles say.
When I was younger, I was a happy person. I didn’t have to worry about anything. I never had a car, or bills to pay. When I started working and I started making money, I was like YES! I’m going to be happy that I have money and I’ll buy whatever I want and do whatever I want with this money because it’s my money. I was wrong. When I started working I had to save up money for a car so I didn’t get to spend the paychecks I would get. Also dealing with the bank and understanding how everything works was a headache. I will tell you the truth that I still cannot deal with the bank stuff my brother does it for me. And then my car got messed up and I had to spend money to get it fixed. And still now to this day every time before I get paid I always tell myself, “Yes finally a check now I’ll go shopping.” That never happens something comes up that just ruins it all. So as you can see here money caused all this stress. I thought with money life was going to be perfect, but it’s not. I got bills to pay and my car to fix. I understood it’s not about money, which is not what counts. It’s about enjoying, helping others and being happy. And I am very happy where I am in life. I love my job, I am surrounded by people who care about me and I am thankful that I have a good life to live.
I believe that happiness is in everyone’s lives. If something bad happens in life it is for us to decide how we react to this situation. There are a few seconds in between that we can say, “I’m not going to let this one thing affect my mood or my life” or we can cry, whine and be sad about it. We choose to be happy or sad. So we all can have happiness in our lives, it is a choice! Happiness comes from within us; no materialistic thing can make us happy. There are times when things can give us the illusion of being happy, but that is not real happiness. People believe that happiness is hard to find and a big reason for that is because people do not know how to find it, or where to start. We all have it! We forget about what we have and we always “want” more. There are little things that we have that others do not have. We should be happy we have a life to live; we have a home to be safe in, clothes to wear, food to eat, and a bed to sleep on. Some people are not lucky to have these kinds of things. So we are fortunate that we are given these things.
Works Cited
"10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy by Jen Angel — YES! Magazine." YES! Magazine — Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions — YES! Magazine. Web. 19 July 2010. .
"7 Simple Ways to Be Happier - Healthy Living - Health.com." Healthy Living - Healthy Living - Health.com. Web. 19 July 2010. .
"Andrew Shapter: 99 Definitions of Happiness." Breaking News and Opinion on the Huffington Post. Web. 19 July 2010. .
Myers, David. "The Secret to Happiness by David Myers - YES! Magazine." YES! Magazine — Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions — YES! Magazine. Web. 19 July 2010. .
"Seven Tips for Making Yourself Happier IN THE NEXT HOUR." The Happiness Project. Web. 19 July 2010.
Word Count: 1661
My Story: Beginnings of Life (Final Draft)
Friday July 8th 2005 I was awoken by a phone call on my cell phone at 2a.m. It was my aunt she said she was having contractions. I was thirteen years old at the time and I had no idea what the process of a pregnancy was. I was a very innocent sixth grader and I didn’t know what the word pregnant meant! So, you can see how innocent I was. I had been going to my aunt’s prenatal care appointments from the beginning of her pregnancy this was because she did not speak English and I would go with her to translate. For me this was a new experience in which I learned about new terms and tools. It was an exciting experience, but nerve-racking at the same time.
That night when she called me I asked her how apart the contractions were and if her water had broken or if she had seen any blood. I called Woodland Memorial Hospital and asked to be transferred to Labor and Delivery. I told them my aunt’s situation and told them it was her first baby. They told me to bring her in so they could check to see if she was dilated. I woke my mom up and we headed out to go pick my aunt up from her house. When I went inside to get her I could tell she was in a lot of pain, mostly by the sounds she was making. We pulled up to the emergency room and they got my aunt a wheel chair and wheeled her up to the second floor. The nurses put a belt around her stomach and it was monitoring the baby’s heart rate, the contractions and how big the contractions were. The midwife checked to see if she was dilated, but she was not. My aunt had to be dialed 4 centimeters for them to admit her in the hospital. We stayed at the hospital till 5A.M and were sent home. We dropped my aunt off back home and my mom and I went to our house. I went back to bed and woke up again at 8am.
When my sister was younger we did this thing, where we would lay with our mom on her bed. After I woke up I went and lay down on my mom’s bed with my sister. The sun was shining in my mom’s room and I remember she had blue and white bed sheets on, around 10am the phone rang. My mom answered, it was her sister-in-law telling her that my dad’s brother (mom’s brother-in- law) who lived in Pakistan had thrown up blood and his family was going to take him to the hospital. She also said, “Everyone is worried and to keep him in our prayers.” After she hung up she told me what happen, and I could tell she was worried too. As the day went on there was no call from my aunt about her breaking her water, or going into labor. It was 6 P.M and my parents were not at home, my brother was at work and I was home with my sister. During those days at my house we had dial up internet, and we could not use the phone while being on the internet. I was trying to get online, but I was having a hard time, it kept logging me off. Then all the sudden the phone rang, it was my cousin he said my uncle passed away. I was in complete shock. I called my parents right away and told them what happen. They said they were coming home. I called my brother at work and told him that uncle passed away and we were going to pick him up and go to grandma’s house. When my parents got home we left to pick up my brother from his work. On the way there my dad told us to keep an eye on him because he was not feeling well. When he is under some sort of stress or tension he could have a seizure. We got to my grandma’s house and all of the family was over. Everyone was crying a lot. My dad started to have seizures. When my dad had gone to Pakistan for vacation he and his brother got into an argument and before he came back to America they did not speak to each other. He regretted it.
About thirty minutes later my aunt called me and said her contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and when she went to the bathroom a gush of water came out. I told her that I would be on my way to take her to the hospital. My cousin dropped my brother and I off to my aunt’s house and we took her to the hospital. They admitted her right away because she was 6 centimeters, shortly afterwards my mom also arrived. They had my aunt hooked up to a bunch of machines and they were being used to monitor her and the baby’s health. As time went by her pain got worse and she told me that she wanted some medicine that would reduce the pain. When it was time to give her the epidural I explained to my aunt what she had to do. I watched the anesthesiologist set up and clean her back with this red thing and then he inserted a needle in her back. I was standing in front of my aunt while she laid her head in my stomach. As we were waiting for the baby to come, my aunt’s blood pressure was increasing and the baby’s heart rate started to drop. The nurse’s would put pillows under her so that would help the baby’s heart rate. After a while with struggling to keep the baby’s heart rate up the midwife wanted my aunt to start pushing the baby. I held one of my aunt’s leg and a nurses held the other. I would count for my aunt and tell her to push. It was easier for her to understand when I told her, then for the midwife to say it in English. The baby would not come out so the midwife said that it was time for an emergency C-section. The midwife wanted to try one more time before they did it. My aunt pushed one more time when she felt a contraction coming. And then the top of the baby’s head started to show. I was amazed! The midwife asked me to touch it, but I did not want to.
All the sudden the heart rate started to drop again, the nurses put an oxygen mask on my aunt so she could breathe better and then she asked my aunt to push again, but the baby did not want to come out. So, the midwife got a vacuum extractor to pull the baby out with. As all this was going on I explained to my aunt everything. At this point she did not care how they got the baby out. She was falling asleep and I had to keep talking to her to keep her awake. My mom who was also in the room at the time was not watching any of this. I don’t know why, but I think it was because she was scared. She told me to look away too, but I insisted I would not and I was going to continue to watch. So as the midwife pulled the baby out I held my aunts hand. I looked at the computer next to me and it said 4:59 am. It was a boy!
The midwife placed the baby boy on my aunt’s stomach and asked me if I would like to cut the umbilical cord. My answer was absolutely yes, after watching the process of birth why not I thought, to end it with me cutting off the cord of this baby and doing the finishing touches. I was excited and scared at the same time what if I hurt him, but I knew I had to do this so, I cut his cord. At this moment there were a lot of emotions in the room. My mom and I cried, not just to see this baby come into the world but also cried because we were mourning the loss of my uncle.
It was then time to have the baby checked. The nurse took him to see if he reached all the points for the Apgar scale. I did not know what the Apgar scale was, but I learned when the nurse explained it to me. I watched her clean him and check his temperature. While she did everything she was explaining to me what she was doing. She then asked at loud to her coworkers, “What time was he born” I proudly said, “4:59.” I was the only one in that room who looked at the time when he came out. Everyone was concerned about the baby when he came out that no one checked to see what time it was. It was great feeling knowing that I was involved in this whole process and I felt so good. I followed the nurse to the nursery and watched her check his hearing. I was the first one to hold him and he was beautiful. His eyes wide open, his dark black hair and his prefect clean skin. I was amazed at how something to small could be so precious.
This is when it all hit me. When one life passed, another was born and the circle of life came into full circle for me. It was amazing, sad, and hard to grasp all at once. I had lost an uncle a few hours ago and a cousin was born a few hours later and coincidentally enough this all happened July 9 of 2005, 5 years ago.
After going through this whole process I am the one in my family who is there for anyone’s pregnancy. I have seen six births and been in the room for one C-section. You know what’s the odd thing in writing this paper? Another aunt of mine is pregnant and could go into labor at any moment during this paper. I am expecting a call and I well be there in a heartbeat to help with the process of birth all over again. This experience has taught me a lot and really shown me what I want to do in life. Not only from the birth experience, but having my dad being sick and taking care of him. I want to go into the medical field and do something in helping others. I’m not a 100% sure what kind of doctor I want to be, but I do know I’m going to be a doctor.
This is him a year ago
Word count: 1802
First Draft This is him a year ago
Word count: 1802
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