Stacy+Calabro

My Own Coming into Language Reading and writing; it’s something you don’t have to think about before doing it. What about before you knew how to read and write? Did you have a hard time or did it just come naturally to you? Most people learn to read and write as a child in elementary school. Others might have just learned a few years ago. Let’s make it simple; my introduction to the English language originated as a young child. I had attended pre-school at the age of three. I was a bit younger than the rest of my classmates due to a late birthday. I can remember like it was yesterday. My teacher would hold up flashcards of letters from the alphabet and we would shout out the letter. In kindergarten I learned the sounds of letters together; for example, SH, TH and WH and so on. I was a quick learner and by the age of 5 I was able to recognize my own name as well as my sisters’. Once as a young girl, I was sitting on my father’s lap admiring the tattoos on his arm. I understood the words spelt the names “Kristen” and “Stephanie,” my two older sisters. I then asked, “Where is my name, Daddy?” He was in the dog house with me, but made it up by getting my named tattooed on his arm. Soon I started first grade; this year was huge for reading and writing. We focused on pronouncing and spelling simple words like cat, hat and bat. I hardly struggled with learning and found myself a new hobby. My mother frequently took me to my second home; William Hall Library. We would read together for hours on end. It became a habit of me to fall asleep while reading. I was hooked like a drug and couldn’t put it down. Throughout my years in school I developed more skills in storytelling and creative writing. It was almost as if I was a natural born. As I continue getting older, my skills are still growing and strengthening. Therefore, in this class I look forward to broaden and expand my talent, may they be hidden or not.

My First Semester at College My first semester at the Community College of Rhode Island was tough. I was never one to do well in school to begin with. I knew I could do the work, the commitment was my issue. Why should I spend hours on boring homework when I can have more fun playing video games? Eventually I dropped out of high school, received my GED and took a year out of school to work full time. When I thought I was finally ready to go back to school, I decided to attend CCRI. Two weeks before the semester started my boyfriend left for Basic Military Training for the Air Force. This way I knew I could devote myself one hundred percent to school. I did well in the beginning; achieved good grades on quizzes and did not miss a class. About four weeks into the semester is when everything slowly starting going downhill. I was in class when I felt my phone vibrate. I did not recognize the out of state number but still stepped out of the room to answer. It was Jimmy, my boyfriend, calling from San Antonio, Texas. When the call ended I proceeded into the classroom to pack up. I was so excited to hear from him I could not pay attention to the lesson and went home. The following week I returned to class to find myself lost and confused. I left early the week before and became behind. I was so far behind that I would skip class regularly in fear of looking dumb if the professor were to call on me. The eighth week of school was the week Jimmy would graduate basic training so I took the week off to fly to San Antonio. When I returned to Rhode Island, I realized I was no longer focused and had more problems. Seeing Jimmy made me so joyful but being back home without him made it all worse. How was I going to get motivated when half my heart was two thousand miles away? The times that I would attend class, I would write letters to mail him instead of listening to the lecture. At that time, he was the only thing on my mind. I had dug my own grave and was trapped inside. Since I was going to school full time I worked as much as I could but still it wasn’t enough. I was able to pay my bills but it left me with no extra money for gas or any necessities. Meanwhile, I was training to become a certified shift manager at my job which added to my stress and frustration. I felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. I came up with a plan that I thought would be easy. I started going to my classes again and talked to the professors to see if I could do extra work. Unfortunately I missed too many classes and there was not a great deal that I could do. Once I was home, I talked to my mother and explained how going back to school was a mistake. I withdrew from school wanting nothing to do with the Knight Campus. I started working full time again until I felt secure enough to give it another try.

My Cultural Misunderstand People in Wichita Falls, Texas are friendlier than people in Rhode Island. I was a few miles from Sheppard Air Force base sitting outside a tattoo shop. My boyfriend and I were soaking up the June sun smoking cigarettes while talking to each other. A man sat on the ground near us and asked Jimmy, “Excuse me, where are you from?” He picked up our accents right away and carried on a conversation with him. My boyfriend exchanged stories with this man as if he was an old friend. I thought it was odd some stranger would just talk to people he didn’t know. Where I come from, if a stranger were to come up to me and chat as if I knew them, I would be worried. My first thought would be that they want money from me. Another accusation would be that they are trying to either get my phone number or ask me on a date. In that situation I would tell them I am engaged and scurry away. Most people here just do not have casual conversation with unfamiliar people. About an hour later, I was sitting in a chair watching Jimmy get a tattoo. The artist asked Jimmy a little about himself when he also was able to tell we were not from Texas. He had asked if we were from New York. Once he understood we are from Rhode Island, his facial expression implied that he was relieved. He then said, “Oh! That explains it. My next question was going to be if you are in the mafia.” I found myself to be amused that thought we talked funny. I was in a state where, to me, everyone else had accents, not me. Later in the evening, Jimmy and I were sitting outside the local Pizza Hut waiting for a taxi and discussing future plans. Another man walking by had said to Jimmy, “Thank you for serving our country,” and preceded his journey. I was amazing how he knew we were associated with the military. Jimmy was not in uniform so there was no obvious giveaway. I thought maybe, it was the balled chain around his neck containing his dog tags. It was dark out and the dog tags were tucked under his shirt so I knew that couldn’t have been it. I pondered to myself for a moment when I came to the conclusion; I guess we just stick out like a sore thumb.

How to Deal With a Nosy Person Everyone has a friend who asks questions you would prefer not to answer. Some people know how to avoid the question while others don’t. For the ones who have trouble, there are several different things you can do. First, if the nosy person calls, you could simply saying, “Sorry, I can’t talk right now, I just got to work.” That way you can avoid a conversation with hours to spare while you “work.” Second, if you are with the nosy person who asks a question you do not feel comfortable answering, then you could answer their question with another question. For example you could say, “Why does it matter?” usually the nosy person will realize that it does not matter to them and move on. Next, never leave your phone unattended around them. They would most likely go through your phone and read personal or important text messages therefore obtaining private information. Finally, let them do all the talking and try not to say too much. When the person is telling you a story, give short responses like “oh” or “cool.” Try not to share a related incident because a nosy person would want details and ask many questions. The less you say to them, the less interesting you seem. This would give them the impression that you are boring and have no juicy gossip forcing them to stick their noise in someone else’s business.

The Process of Becoming an Airman To become an Airman, it requires hard work and dedication. Every person in the military had to go through many changes to get where they are now. It all starts with deciding which branch to go into. There is the Army, Marines, Air Force, or Navy. Each of them has their own focus, but all work together. Once decided, a recruiter is needed to get all the paperwork prepared so someone can swear into the designated branch of service. Next, a person would go to Basic Military Training (BMT) which is eight weeks long. For the Air Force, it is located in San Antonio, Texas. The first week of training is called week zero. This consist of military haircuts, learning how to wear the uniform and massive amounts of yelling from the training instructors, commonly called T.I. Everyone is issued a military photo identification card and given immunizations shots to prevent illness. In week one, the Airman Basic (AB) learn how to correctly fold and place personal items in their lockers which are subject to inspections. Also they become skilled at how to properly march which enforces teamwork and discipline. In week two, the AB attends class which teaches him or her ranks, customs and much more. In this week, the Airman is issued their training weapon which is an M16. They are taught each piece to the gun, how to clean it, how to disassemble and assemble it and most importantly, the safety of a weapon. Self aid buddy care is taught in week three which is used throughout training and tested on in week six. The Airman is trained how to provide care to injuries that could occur outside of BMT. The obstacle course is introduced in week four. It tests the Airman Basic’s reaction to heights, water and limited spaces. Also, weapons evaluation is conducted in this week. In week five, self defense is taught with the use of pugil sticks. Everything taught the previous two weeks is finalized in week five and jobs are assigned as well. Week six is called Beast Week which stands for Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training. The AB spends a week in the woods and will be introduced to an unknown force which may be an enemy or friendly. This will train them how to deal with air or ground attacks. Week seven focuses on academic classes which will prepare the Airman for finances and ethnics. It also allows the AB to decide what type of work they want to do whether it is a technician or pilot. The final and last week is week eight which is the most important week: Graduation. For the first time in eight weeks, the Airman gets to see their loved ones. They participate in something called Airman’s Run. It celebrates their achievements of BMT and allows family members to attend. Also there is a coin ceremony which represents appreciations for all the training the AB has done. The follow day is the actual graduation where the Airman gets their rank stitched onto their sleeves and is now officially an Airman.

Living with Roommates Living with roommates makes attending college difficult. I thought living with friends would be fun until every night was a party. A couple nights a week, my roommates have a party which cuts back on time to study or to get homework done. Also, the people and music are loud which breaks my concentration. On the quiet evenings, when nobody is home, I am allowed to study and sleep early. But my roommates always come home late and are very loud which interrupts my sleep. Another reason why living with a roommate makes college difficult is because she always unplugs my alarm. I attend early morning classes while she has late afternoon classes. My roommate likes to sleep in but can’t when my alarm sounds, therefore she unplugs or turns it off after I have fallen asleep. By the time I wake up my class has already started and I miss the lecture. The worst part about living with friends is we share a car. I am always late to class because my roommates are constantly misplacing the keys. Neither of my friends uses the key holder forcing me to tear apart the apartment until I find them. If that’s not the scenario, then they borrowed the car the previous night but did not come home. I am left to wake up to an unpleasant surprise of having no access to a vehicle to get to school. I think it might be time for me to move home.

The Person I Praise the Most Who encourages you the most? Everybody has someone that they look up to whether their inspiration is a famous actor, musician, athlete, teacher, friend or even a family member. Personally, I look up to my mom. She is a strong woman with a big and kind heart. She’s been on a bumpy ride but that still didn’t bring her down. It doesn’t matter if she’s having a good or bad day; she always has a smile on her face. I praise my mother because she has raised my two older sisters and me to be mature, respectful and responsible young adults. As I continue to age, I will try to follow the path she has made. As a young child at only the age of five, my older sister Kristen, who was seven at the time, became very ill. She had suffered aneurism-like symptoms and became hospitalized for several months. My mother, who was in absolute horror, had handled the situation as if she was in control of what happened next. She stayed strong for me and my eldest sister, Stephanie, by not letting us see her cry. My mom stayed calm and happy around us, assuring us everything was going to be alright. Some years after, as I grew slightly older and got involved with multiple sports and friends, my mom was always there for me. She would bring me to my basketball games and practices in the winter and soccer in the fall. In the spring time my mom managed to take me from a soccer game on one end of the city to the opposite side without being late for my softball game. Not only did she transport me from one athletic activity to the next, she stay for each and every practice or game. My number one fan was there to cheer me on for each sport I was committed to. On the days I didn’t have a game or practice, my mom would do me favors by bringing me to my friends’ house or picking them up so they could come to our home. On multiple occasions, when she was not feeling well and wanted to lay in bed, my mom would put on her smile and help her daughters so they could be happy. When I was fourteen, I completely understood the responsibility of having a job and being in the working life. My mom taught me to be ambitious and to chase after what I want. Because of that I nabbed a job at the local, privately owned pharmacy. Being such a young age with no urgent bills to pay, my mother taught me how to budget and save my money. She made me realize that I would be getting my driver’s license in year or two and how expensive cars were. Time flew by and the next thing I knew, I was in the driver’s seat of my mom’s car learning to drive. By this time my mom taught me all aspects of the road and what to be cautious of. Also I learned how to properly manage money and had saved enough money to purchase my first car. Since the day I was born, my mother has always been there for me. As I grow up, I know she will always be there to support me no matter what I do. My mom has cared for me, showed me love, taught me responsibility and how to wear a big smile even at my weakest moments. I praise my mother and hope to, one day, be an amazing woman like her, having my children look up to me as well.

My Worst Date The worst date I have ever been on, by far, was with Justin. What I thought was going to be a night in heaven turned out to be a day from hell. First he picked me up from my house in his mom’s red Mustang convertible with a license plate that said “BRAT.” He took me to a miniature golf course in a town I did not recognize. The gentleman who I thought he was, was actually a cheapskate and did not pay for me. Each hole we went to, Justin would whack the ball so hard it would go of course. Once, he set the ball airborne and it hit me so hard in the head I had a lump for days. After golfing, he took me to get ice cream. We were sitting side by side on a bench when Justin’s top scoop fell from the cone and landed on my brand new shirt. He tried to help wipe off the mess but just smeared it even more. Later on we went to see the 6 o’clock movie, but did not get there until 6:45 because Justin got lost on the way to the theater. Once we finally arrived, I walked up to the ticket booth with my wallet ready. Since he did not pay for miniature golf I did not expect him to pay for my movie ticket either. Then he tells me that he spent all of his money on ice cream and golfing and that I would need to pay for his ticket to the movie we were already almost an hour late to. During the movie I was embarrassed a few times because Justin kept screaming during all of the scary parts of the movie. After the movie was over he decided to put down the top to the convertible on the ride home. Despite the fact that I was shivering in the passenger seat, he refused to close the top. Finally we arrived at my house and sat in the car for several minutes recapping our date. Before the night came to an end I sat for a moment waiting for a kiss that would make up for all of the bad events but instead received nothing more than a friendly handshake. I will not be seeing Justin ever again.