Applicant failed to complete turn correctly.......SMH

Today I took my driving test and I must say I am beyond upset that I didn’t pass. I feel as though taking the test was a complete waste of my time and I believe that I would have passed if the instructors weren’t so impatient with first time drivers. The worst part about the situation is that I have to wait a whole month just to take the test over again. For all of that I might as well not even take it. Just thinking about what happened today raises my blood pressure to a boil. Its times like these that make one of the most important days of a teenager’s life turn sour.

Making Connections

While at my meeting with my sponsor I was able to make a connection that I believe will help make my presentation a bit more interesting not only for the audience but, for me as well. During our meeting I planted a couple of seeds, cucumber seeds to be exact, that I intend to grow. I must say I was pleased with the activity and I can’t wait to see how much of a “green thumb” I really do have. If I did everything correctly I should see a sprout in 5-10 days. It seems as if this wait is going to be endless.

Field Trip #11

During my visit with my sponsor, Mrs. Hilinski, we talked about my research paper and some details for my presentation. While in our meeting we were able to do a little trail run for an activity that I am suppose to do during my presentation. As of right now everything went smoothly now we just have to wait for a couple of days to see if there is any progress. Mrs. Hilinski believes that it would be a great idea to take pictures of my “activity” to show growth and hopefully after a couple of weeks I will be able to use my trail run and incorporate it into my presentation.

Mingling With Moreland #11

During my visit with my mentor, Mr. Moreland, we discussed my research paper and my presentation. Mr. Moreland was able to add a couple of revisions to my paper after we came back from our spring break. I spoke to Mr. Moreland about my presentation date and some ideas that I had for it. Mr. Moreland gave me a few tips about some sources that I could use and to make sure that I have alternate ones just in case. Our meeting was pretty brief but, on the bright side it was very productive.

Mingling With Moreland #10

During my meeting with my mentor, Mr. Moreland, we discussed my research paper and my presentation. I told Mr. Moreland that Mrs. Pricilla, the founder of the Garden Project, emailed me the answers to my interview questions and that I could put the body of my research paper together. I also explained to Mr. Moreland that I plan on completing my research paper over the break and that I wanted him to revise it before I turned my paper in. Mr. Moreland suggested that I use other sources in my paper besides the interview questions. He also thinks that it would be a good idea to use the interview questions in my presentation as well. I informed Mr. Moreland about the date of my presentation and I also told him about my visit to the Garden Project this weekend.   

Field Trip #10

During my weekly meeting with my sponsor, Mrs. Hilinski, we discussed our visit to the Garden Project this weekend and taking the proper precautions to get ready for my presentation. I thought that our visit to the Garden project was a little dry but, it wasn’t pointless. I was able to hold a baby chicken a couple of times and I must say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. We noticed how people that we met in the beginning of the program are starting to leave and new people are beginning to show up. Mrs. Hilinski thinks that it would be a great idea to do a test run for my presentation just to make sure everything runs smoothly during my actual presentation. I believe that the test run is going to give me a pretty good idea of the things that we are going to need to change and during my presentation and the things that are going to stay the same.

My Good Friend Pete!!!!

I wrote in a previous blog that I took my monthly visit to the Garden Project and although we were unable to do actual gardening on Saturday, I still did a couple of activities that I enjoyed. One of the activities allowed me to make a paper pot that was good for the environment and was a great way to water any type of plant. The second thing that I did and enjoyed the most at the Garden Project was my alone time that I had with a baby chicken. I think I am going to call him Pete (lol). He was one of the more mellow chicks that were brought to the Garden Project by a frequent volunteer who actually breeds and farms different animals. I tried to show Marrisa some pictures of Pete and me but, that didn’t really work out. I can see why she loves animals so much especially after I got a chance to bond with my little buddy. I just hope that my next visit will allow me to get my hands dirty because I’m really looking forward to planting in the Garden.

INS?!?!?

While in art class first period this morning, I was talking to a friend of mine and she was telling me how April is supposed to be the month that immigration takes all of the immigrants out of the U.S. While listening to her story, she explained to me how a young woman’s boyfriend was escorted out of the court house not to long ago after his custody hearing. He was there to receive visitation rights to see his child so that he could be in its life. Unfortunately, he will not have that privilege anymore because he is no longer in the U.S. The part that really caught my attention was that Hispanic people that were born in the U.S or obtained citizenship here have to carry around their papers so that they are not rushed out of the country. I feel terrible for the child that is involved in the situation because the baby no longer has the opportunity to get to know its father. Situations like these really make you wonder about the “land of the free and the home of the brave”.

Out of Commission!!!

Today I was supposed to take my driving test!!! But, unfortunately that didn’t work the way that I planned. It turns out that my car is messed up and it has to go in the shop. The car would be out of commission when I need it the most. I think that deep down my mother didn’t get the car fixed on purpose. She keeps trying to make it seem like I’m not ready for the test but, I think that she’s not ready to see me grow up (lol). I guess it is a good thing that I had to reschedule my test because it was raining all day anyway. I just hope that when the 26^th of this month hits, it will be a bright beautiful sunny day. But, more importantly, I hope that the car is fixed so that I will actually be able to take my test.

Mingling With Moreland #9

During my weekly meeting with my mentor, Mr. Moreland, we talked about my field trip with my sponsor and my visit that we are taking to the Garden project this weekend. I explained to Mr. Moreland my plans for my presentation and my paper. He thinks that my horticultural therapy session is a great idea and that the information that I receive from Mrs. Pricilla will help make the information more accurate for my paper. I believe that everything is going well so far and that everything is coming together like I planned for a change. I can’t wait to get in the dirt this weekend and I hope that I get that feeling that I had when I planted in the garden when I was younger.

Grandma's Garden

While writing about my “field trip” with my sponsor I had an epiphany and came up with my connection for this week. In my previous blog entry, I mentioned that it has been a while since I’ve been in the garden. My grandmother was the one that turned me on and off to gardening because she used to make us plant flowers with her in the splintering hot summer each year. At first, it was a lot fun because my sisters, my aunt, my cousin and I were able to bond and have fun while my grandma sat back and sipped on her iced tea. But, toward the end we all started getting older and we began to realize that we didn’t really get much out of planting the flowers but a serious tan and no pay for all of our hard work. It took me all of this time to realize why my grandmother made us do all of that hard manual labor all of those summers. She wanted to teach us that bonding with family was important and that hard work benefits you in the long run. I’ve noticed that since all of that “tough love” stopped our family has been a little distant and we don’t really have that bond that we use to have. It turns out that all of the hard work wasn’t just to make grandma’s garden look beautiful. It actually helped shape us into the people that we are today. I don’t think that I would ever want to take back those long hot summers simply because it was the glue that helped keep us all connected. Another lesson learned from Momma Lou. 

Field Trip #9

During my meeting with my sponsor, Mrs. Hilinski, we discussed the materials that I need for my presentation and how I am doing on my research paper. Mrs. Hilinski suggested that I make sure that I gather all of my information for my research paper so we will be able to work on it the next meeting that we have. We also talked about our visit that we are going to take to the Garden Project this weekend and how we are finally going to get the chance to get our hands dirty. I can’t wait to actually get into the garden and plant something. It’s been quite some time since I’ve planting something to be quite honest, the last time I actually got my hands in the dirt was when I was about eight years old. It is going to be an exciting and a little strange to get in the garden again after all of these years.