Advice for Future Students

The most important advice that I can give for Professor Croker’s students is to not procrastinate! As long as you give yourself enough time to do assignments, you will be good and pass the class. Yes, it’s a lot of essays and a lot of reading, but they’re fun to do. This is coming from a guy who hadn’t even opened the pages of a book since Jr. High. The reading is interesting and it is full of shocking facts that will keep you reading until you finish. As for the essays, they aren’t long, three pages may seem like a lot to some people, but you will get them done in less than two hours. The topics are fun topics that don’t really require you looking up stuff, except for the research paper. A lot of the essays are more like story-telling, so you know you won’t run into writer’s block as long as you choose a subject that won’t get you stuck. One thing that I cannot stress enough is DO NOT PROCRASTINATE ON THE RESEARCH PAPER!!!! You won’t get it done if you leave it until the last minute and, if you do, it won’t be as good as it would have if you would’ve given yourself enough time. My advice is simply don’t procrastinate. Get your stuff done on time and I guarantee you will pass this class.  

Looking Back

In the beginning of the semester, I thought blogging was going to be just another boring class assignment that I didn’t look forward to doing. After doing the first blog, however, I found it interesting to read other people’s blogs and comment on them so I then looked at the future assignments in order to see if the rest were going to be just as interesting. To my amazement, they were. I not only enjoyed writing mine, but I also enjoyed reading my fellow classmate’s blogs. I don’t think I will keep my blog going only because I doubt that I will have topics to write about. If I do, however, they will most likely be about how life is after taking English 101 or maybe car related stuff. I hope some of my classmates will keep their blogs going so I can look at their blogs and see how they’re doing. My final words to my classmates are to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with many blessings and hope you all enjoy your holidays with your loved ones. Hope to see you guys again soon.

One of the Best Times I’ve Ever Had

One of the best times I’ve had recently was this past Thanksgiving. I spend it at my girlfriend’s house, with her family and our son. I already knew who was going to be there and that we were going to say our thank yous just like we did last year, but I didn’t know what I was going to say. As the night came upon us, the turkey was ready and Sheila’s brother and I had to go get the tables from their backyard. We set up the tables and chair in Sheila’s living room as Sheila, her mom, aunt, and cousin were all serving us the plates. Once everything was set up and ready to eat, we all sat down and got ready to say what we were going to say. Her mom started off with a prayer for all of us, and then one of her aunts said what she was thankful for. Next was her brother, then her, then her cousin, aunts, uncle, sister, and it was finally my turn. Since I didn’t know what to say, I said the first thing that came to my head which was that I was thankful for not only my son’s health, but all of our health. By all of our health I meant everybody that was present and even my family, who were back home having their dinner with my mom’s friend. After saying I was thankful for our health, my eyes started to get watery because of what I was going to say next. I tried to stop the tears from coming out but I couldn’t so I started to cry as I said that one of the things I was most thankful for was Sheila’s parents. I was thankful for them accepting me as part of their family, they treated me like one of their own and it made me feel loved.

I Would Be Nowhere Without These People

              My dad has always been there for me when I have needed him the most. Whether it is about soccer, relationships, or school, I can talk to him about almost anything. He is my role model. Since I was born, my dad worked in the same place up until recently. The company changed name over time but it was most recently known as Solar World. Seeing as to how he was there for 20 years before it went out of business, it showed how much of a hard worker he was. He worked whenever he was told to work, even on holidays. Even after going out of business, my dad isn’t just sitting at home doing nothing while he gets unemployment. Even though he does get unemployment, he has been going to school so he won’t just be home. He has always told me he wants me to be a professional and graduate from a university, just like my older sister recently did. If he would just be at home not doing anything, I would do the same thing but he wants the best for his kids so he does what’s best for him so we can follow in his footsteps.

            Another important person in my life is my girlfriend, Sheila. Without her, I would just go to school then back home to doing nothing at all, maybe just playing video games all day long. As soon as I got with her, my life started changing for the better. Before, all I did was go to school, go home to do homework, then watch TV or play PlayStation all day long until it was time to go back to sleep and do the same thing all over again the next day. After, however, I still went to school and did homework, but I no longer sat to watch TV. I started going outside and getting more active, living a healthier lifestyle. She encourages me to eat healthy and I stay fit, not only for my own good, but also for her enjoyment. A big change came to me when we found out Sheila was pregnant. This also changed me for the better. I knew I was going to be my son’s role model.

            The last important person is Christopher Giovanni, my son. There are many reasons why my little homie is important to me but the biggest one is that he is the reason why I am still in school today. I never saw myself going to college, let alone to a university, but when Chris was born, I decided I had to go to college in order for me to get a good career and get my son anything he asked for, just like my dad did for me. Now, I find myself in my third year of college, getting ready to go to California State University, Channel Islands, where I plan to major in either Business or English so I can get a career which I enjoy. I hope to be happy with my career in order to make baby Chris happy in life.

HTC Evo V

The HTC Evo V, previously known as the Evo 3D on Sprint, is perhaps one of the two best cell phones on the Virgin Mobile prepaid network, with the other being the iPhone. I have owned the phone since August and have had time to get to know it in order to be able to review it. Although many might say the iPhone is better, it also costs twice the Evo’s price. The Evo is $250 and the iPhone is $450 for the 4s and 16 GB memory and $350 for the 4 with 8 GB of memory. With the price being so much more for the iPhone, the Evo V is sure to be a favorite for those who have Virgin Mobile. The main feature is the 3D feature. The Evo V can take pictures and record and watch videos in 3D. Also, if you pay an extra monthly fee of $15, it is a mobile hotspot, meaning you can share your internet connection with any Wi-Fi capable device. It also has a front-facing camera. Like any other android device, you have the Play Store, previously known as the Android Market. The Play store is used to get games or applications. Even though some cost money, there are many apps and games that are completely free. There are games for people of many ages and apps for almost anything that you can think of.  One other big feature that the Evo has and that the iPhone doesn’t is that the Evo runs on Sprint’s 4G network and the iPhone runs on the 3G network. This means that the Evo browses on the internet faster than the iPhone does. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone is a great phone, but if you don’t want to waste too much money, the Evo is the way to go. It costs less and it even has some features that the iPhone doesn’t.

No More Fast Food?

Reading the book Fast Food Nation has completely changed my view of Fast Food. Before reading it, I never even thought about who made the food or what was in it, but now I do. When I first learned that we were going to have to read a book aside from our textbook, I thought it would be just another boring book and that I would hate reading it. That, however, wasn't the case at all. No matter how disgusted I was, I found myself reading and reading, page after page and learning more information about where the food we eat on the streets actually comes from. Before this class, I would get hungry when I wasn't home and stop by a McDonald's or Burger King that was near without even giving it some thought. When I learned what was actually in it, however, I stopped being so quick to get my Big Mac. Now, after reading the whole book, I think twice, but I still do eat fast food. It is just so hard to resist with at least one fast food restaurant almost anywhere you go. I do, however, prefer a home made meal over one that was made with cow.

My Semester So Far

Last week's blog we were supposed to do 5 lies and 1 truth and I accidentaly did it backwards. I posted 5 truths and 1 lie but I'll give the answer to the lie. The lie was that I have a Mustang, everything else was true. I love Mustangs, I have a son, etc. Anywho, my semester so far is going by pretty good, and fast. I think all of my classes are easy, but that's because I actually pay attention and get my work done. The only class I have a hard time with is History of the U.S only because the professor does pure powerpoints and basically reads off of them. We don't do any activities or other stuff like that which will help us understand the material better. Other than that, all my other classes are simple and I have an easy time doing the assignments and don't hesitate with any of the material given. Another complaint, however, is my Introduction to Logic teacher. Don't get me wrong, he's a funny guy and he knows what he's talking about, but he's always getting to class 10 minutes late and takes roll until the end of class, which makes us leave 10 minutes late. I would understand if he was on time and we had a lot of things to cover, but that isn't the case. He is always late and we leave late because he couldn't make it on time. What keeps me going through this are a few people in my life. Those people are my sister, parents, girlfriend, and, most importantly, my son. My sister has succeeded in her studies and is a proud UCSB graduate. I, along with my parents, want to be just like her. I want to get a good-paying career, not a “job”, but a career that I wouldn't mind doing for the rest of my life. The reason I want this is for my girlfriend, Sheila, and my son, Christopher Giovanni. I need to succeed in my studies in order for them to have the life that many can only dream of.

Week 10

1. I love Mustangs.
2. I have a Mustang.
3. I have a son.
4. I'm twenty years old.
5. I have a mustache.
6. My favorite football team is Steelers.

Brown Eyed Girl

This song reminds me of my girlfriend, Sheila, cuz she has brown eyes and I would always sing it to her when it would come out on the radio.

"Brown Eyed Girl"Royalty (feat. Carlos)

Heyyyyy....
Aoooooo...

My Brown Eyed Girl...[2x]
Could you be my

[CHORUS]
Brown Eyed Girl
Baby ur a stunna'
Saw u from my humma'
You can have my numba'

Brown eyed girl...
Hotter than the summa'
Round you I get dumber
I can be ur wonda'
Brown eyed girl...

[Royalty]
Now..She's my baby beauty,
Such a cutie,
eyes look like a bag from Louie,
picture perfect she's a tan,
she's my lover she's my friend.

She's the other half no other girl can never match,
she's the lighter, I'm the flame,
she's the heartbreak, I'm the pain.

We just go together so forever,
nobody can know me better,
nobody can luv you better.

"L" has never been my letter,
till today, now I say,
I luv you, you luv me too.

She's my baby, I'm her boo.
Come here brown eyes,
I luv you...

[CHORUS 2x]
Brown Eyed Girl
Baby ur a stunna'
Saw u from my humma'
You can have my numba'

Brown eyed girl...
Hotter than the summa'
Round you I get dumber
I can be ur wonda'
Brown eyed girl...

[Royalty]
I got it from her for me,
could u be my shawty, I could be ur god,
because that's my baby, she got me hypnotized.

The was she moves her body side to side,
never seems like its so fly
She the type I want to try
(Can I make you my)
Brown eyed baby, so crazy
u got me falling in luv.
I know u dangerous,
but I just can't get enough

The way you put it down (down)
Got me givin' you the crown (crown)
Greetings[?] when I come to town (townnnn)
Holler if ur eyes are brown

[CHORUS 2x]
Brown Eyed Girl
Baby ur a stunna'
Saw u from my humma'
You can have my numba'

Brown eyed girl...
Hotter than the summa'
Round you I get dumber
I can be ur wonda'
Brown eyed girl...

[Royalty]
Te amo me amor,
never felt like this before,
she's the one that I adore,
she's the one for me I'm sure

(Te amo me amor,
never felt like this before,
she's the one that I adore,
she's the one for me I'm sure...)

[CHORUS]
Brown Eyed Girl
Baby ur a stunna' (baby ur a stunna...)
Saw u from my humma'
You can have my numba' (owwwuoo...)

Brown eyed girl...
Hotter than the summa'
Round you I get dumber (Round you I get dumber..Yeaa)
I can be ur wonda' (I can be ur one...I can be ur one.. heyy)
Brown eyed girl...

baby ur a stunna'
saw u from my humma
u can have my numba

Brown eyed Girl,
Hotter than the summer (cud u be my..)
(baby cud u be my..)
Proud u like it dumber
I can be ur wonder (cud u be my...)
Brown eyed girl

I gotta have u girl,
I gotta have u girllll... (Brown eyed girl)
I gotta have u girl.

Would u be my Brown Eyed Girl?

Blog 8

Ever since I was a little boy, I loved motorcycles and always said my first vehicle would be a Yamaha R1. Almost every toy that I had at the age was either a motorcycle, or another toy that came with one. My parents always thought it was just some stage I was going through and I would someday get over them and choose a car. That, however, wasn’t the case until much later. Even when I was 16 years old, I would beg my dad to let me get my Yamaha R1 and he would try to convince me that motorcycles are dangerous. I never listened to him and I would continue to bug them about it. When it was time for me to get my license, my dad told me to choose a car that I wanted and not a motorcycle. We had a small conversation and he told me that if I crash in a motorcycle, I have more chances of dying then if I would’ve crashed in a car. While doing so, he started showing me videos of motorcycle accidents on YouTube and everybody that was involved in the accidents either died, or ended up hospitalized for a long time. I finally realized he was right and ended up actually getting a car. That car was a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta, but then I later sold that and got a 2005 Honda Civic. Even though a motorcycle isn’t my number one vehicle anymore, I still like them but my new dream car is either a 2003 Ford Mustang Cobra, or a 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca. Since they’re actually cars and not a motorcycle, my parents no longer have to worry about me being in the type of danger that I would’ve been in with the Yamaha R1.

 

Family

Family is the most important thing in many people’s life, whether it is immediate family or someone they consider family, even if they don’t share the same blood. My family consists of six people. These six people are my parents, my two sisters, my brother, my girlfriend, and my son. Without these people, I wouldn’t be where I am today. My parents have pushed me to do the best I can to be successful in life and they are the main reason I come to college. My girlfriend and son made me realize my parents made me come to college so we can all have a better life, so I won’t be making minimum wage my whole life. My sister, on the other hand, is one of my main motivations. She recently graduated from UCSB and seeing her walk the line and done with school made me want to be next. From what she told me, the minimum that she’ll make an hour with her degree is at least $20. That is a far step from $8. My little brother and little sister have always looked up to me. They come to me for advice or whenever they need something and I am happy to give it to them. The way I see family is people that will always be there for you no matter what the situation is. They will never let you down and only want the best for you. They can sometimes get annoying, but if you really think about why they do the things they do, you’ll know why they do them and put so much stress on it. When I first realized this was when my dad would always tell me that I better go to a university and get a degree so I can make more money than I do now. At first, I thought he just wanted me to go to not have me at the house, like my sister who had an apartment close to UCSB. After thinking about it and talking to him why he wanted me to go so bad, he told me he wants me to make more money than I do now. That way, I could buy whatever I wanted for me and my family, my girlfriend and son. Realizing that he was right, I decided that I want to transfer to CSUCI and, once I graduate and get a well-paying job, I want to buy the car of my dreams, a Shelby GT500, and my girlfriend whatever kind of car she wants. These dreams are big, but my family has taught me that no dream is too big to accomplish.

Interview

I got to interview a girl named Martha Herrera. Martha has two older sister, one finished with her studies and the other one about to finish, and two younger brothers. She still lives with her parents, but she doesn't depend on them to provide her with what she needs. Martha gets her own money by working part-time at The Habit. Her motivation to attend college is her two older sisters. She has a busy schedule, she works in the mornings and comes to school in the afternoons but gets through it all with a positive attitude and just balances everything out. Her role models are her sisters and her dad, who came from Mexico with nothing and now owns his own business, and she sees herself as a role model to her little brother. She describes herself as positive, hard-working, and motivated. In ten years, she would like to have her degree and her own house but she knows it's going to be stressful at times. What she likes the most about Oxnard College is that we get to pick our own schedules and there's tutoring for almost every subject. The reason she wants to be successful in her studies is because none of her family members, besides her sisters, have went to college and she wants to prove that she can do it.

Bye Bye Jetta

 My first car had a special place in my heart, just as everybody else's first car did. My reason, however, was because I will never forget the day my parents surprised me with it as a gift they bought me with their money. It was on the same day that I got my driver's license. What this meant was, if anybody asked me when I bought it, I could just pull out my license and I could tell them the exact date. The exact date was on the fourth of April, 2011. The hardest decision I ever had with this car was having to get rid of it.

Ever since day one of using my 2001 Volkswagen Jetta, I knew it was the perfect first car. It was everything I wanted in a car. It was a 4-door, didn't have too many miles, and it ran like it was supposed to. As time passed by, I got more and more used to it. I would literally drive around all of Oxnard in it and sometimes to the Ventura Pacific View Mall, and about a whole summer I would go to work to Camarillo every weekday from Monday through Friday. Everything was good until the engine started making this noise less than a year after I got it. Starting to worry, I took the car to my dad, who knows his mechanics. He told me it was going to need a new water pump and timing belt. My dad told me it was going to be mostly the timing belt. We both pitched in to gather a timing belt kit that cost us around $105 and worked on the car together, along with his friend that happened to be a mechanic. Once that was all said and done, the noise went away. Happy as I could be, I was once again cruising in my Jetta. A month later, the noise comes back and I had the hardest choice of my 19 year old life to make.

“You either sell it, or keep spending money fixing it,” my dad said.

“I'll think about it,” I replied.

The next few days were spent in my room doing nothing but thinking. I had finally got a car of my own and now I had to choose whether I wanted to sell it or keep spending more money than I should on it. A lot of thinking was done before I started to sell it. As I saw it, this was an opportunity to get a new car. With my mind made up, I went to my dad to tell him what I decided.

“I'm putting it on Craigslist,” I said.

“Fine with me.”

That night, I put an ad to sell my car and just waited for phone calls. Finally, I got a call and it was from a man that was looking to buy the car for his son. We greeted each other with a simple hello and took the conversation from there.

“I'm calling about the Jetta, do you still have it?” He asked.

“Yes, I barely put that ad up last night.”

“Okay, great. Has anybody smoked in it? Have any pets been inside of it? Any accidents? What's the mileage on it?” He asked all at once.

Having a hard time remembering all of the questions, I answered as best as I could.

“No smokers, no pets, no accidents, and 143,000 miles.”

“Great, I'll go take a look at it in about an hour,” he said as we hung up the phones.

I waited for him at my house patiently. I was nervous and all that was running through my head was could this be my last day with the car I had always wanted? I was really nervous until the man showed up and took it for a test drive. When he got back, I asked him what he thought about it.

“It seems good but I think I'll call my mechanic so he can come see it before I make any decisions,” was how he responded.

He never showed up again. The good thing was that I kept getting at least four or five calls regarding my car every day. The bad thing, however, was that they would all end up telling me the same thing. Each and every one of them would tell me that they wanted their mechanic to take a look at it first. Just like the first guy, none would ever come back. This happened so much, that I got used to it and still expected to have my car for a lot longer. One day, however, I got a call from a guy and he seemed more interested than all the others that came before him. The reason I say this is because he went to my house to see the Volkswagen right away when he got out of work.

Being used to nobody buying it, I was just expecting this guy test drive it and leave, just like everybody else had done. When he arrived at my house, he wasn't alone. The man that wanted the car was short and Mexican. He came with another man that was dressed in mechanic clothes. This other man was his mechanic. Standing on my driveway, I opened up the doors to the car so they could take a look inside of it. While they took it for a test drive, I stayed on my driveway just looking at them while the palm trees were moving side to side due to the wind. Once they came back, they were still interested in taking the car.

“What's the cheapest you'll give it?” Asked the man that wanted it.

“Well $3,200 isn't a lot, bro.”

“I'll give you $2,800 right now.”

As soon as he said that, I knew the car was no longer going to be mine. With hesitation, I called my dad to help me make the choice. My dad came outside and they started a conversation about the price.

“I'm telling your son that I'll give him $2,800 right now on the spot.”

“Well it's a good car and it doesn't have that many miles, give him at least $3,000.”

“$2,900 and it's off your hands now.”

“Deal,” my dad said while I stood there in disbelief.

The man handed me the money and he and my dad filled out the paperwork. Once they were done, the man drove away with the first car I had ever had as I waved goodbye to it. Less than a year later after getting it, I no longer had a car, but I had the money for a new one. Even though I was carless for over a month, all the money was used to buy my current 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid. Thanks to that car, I have no regrets about my decision to sell the 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. My Civic is all the Jetta was, and more.

Texting

Texting can be either good or bad depending on how you use it and when. The good things about texting can be when you’re too busy, you can easily write and send a text. Even if your phone is out of minutes to talk, most plans come with unlimited messaging so you can still communicate when you can’t talk on the phone. A lot of people have the ability to send text messages to other people, more than the people that have house phones. The reason I think this is so is because people would rather send a text than answer the phone and be there distracted not being able to do anything else. With texts, you can simply send one and do something else while you wait for that person to respond.

The bad thing about texting, however, is that it can be very distracting, and it has even caused lives. The way that it causes lives the most is when people text and drive. Texting and driving isn’t a good combination and it is very dangerous. A person can be reading a text message that says “hi” and when they look up, there’s another car right in front of them and they can crash and get seriously injured, or may even die. Even though texting can be a good thing, it can also be a bad thing and one has to have a limit of how much and when they text. Texting too much can become a big distraction no matter where it’s done.

Reality Television

Reality television has never really played a big role in my life. Growing up with a Mexican family, the only thing close to reality television that has been watched in our household is novelas, or Mexican soap operas. My mom would always, and still does, watch them each and every night until the last one was over. They never caught my attention, until now. Ever since I got with my girlfriend, she would spend her afternoons watching them. When I would go visit her and my son, her whole family would be in the living room watching their novelas. I didn’t pay much attention to them, but one day I finally gave them a chance. It got really interesting and I have been watching them with her ever since. Even though we all know reality TV is fake, it can still catch a person’s attention with suspense and just wanting to know what’s going to happen next.

                Another thing that my girlfriend got me into watching is Teen Mom. Being teen parents ourselves, we figured we would give the show a chance to see if we could relate to anything going on in the show. As stated before, it’s all fake. The reason we started watching it was to see if we could relate, but that was definitely not the case. In the show, the mom and dad of the baby are either no longer together, or there is always some kind of problem with the dad not being there for the baby. I think these types of shows are bad for the society. They are bad for the society because they make dads, or at least teen dads, look like bad people.

                As soon as I saw that they were making the dads look bad, I tried to avoid the show as much as possible. The reason being that I am a teen dad myself and I act nothing like they make us look on TV. They make the dad look like a mean and aggressive person that doesn’t want to be with the mom or just doesn’t want to be a dad. I became a dad at the age of 18 and I am now going on 20 and I’m still with my girlfriend and our almost 2 year old baby. What these shows do is try to make people believe that, if you have a baby at a young age, you will either leave the mom or just leave both of them and not be there for either one of them. By doing that, it gives females the belief that there is not one guy out there that they can trust and be with for the rest of their life. In my opinion, instead of making the guys look bad, they should do a show called Teen Parents, which shows both of the parents still being together and still being there for their son or daughter and going out of their way to do whatever they can to make their baby live a good and healthy life.

Fast Food

As a young child, the only times me and my family would go to fast food restaurants would be on the weekends, mostly on Sundays. We would wake up early, at around, 8 A.M to go to church at 9. Me and my brother and sisters would hate waking up early if it wasn't for school. The only way our parents could get us out of bed to go to church was if they told us we were going out after. As soon as the church would finish, we would all ask our parents “Where are we going to eat?” and they would tell us wherever we all agreed to go. We would go to different fast food restaurants every week and eat there until we were all finished eating. The restaurants we would go were McDonald's, Burger King, Pollo Loco, Chinese Food, and Carl's JR. Since the restaurants varied every week, what we would order would also vary. My favorite restaurant to go to was Burger King. I would always get a Kid's meal just for the toy, just as any other kid probably did.

Now, my fast food habits are a bit different. I think I tend to eat fast food a lot more than when I was young. That reason being that I now have my own transportation and money. I go maybe twice a week now and get the big meals, since I am no longer a kid. The times I go now are on any random day whenever I am hungry and I am not at home. It can be on my way home from school or work, while at grocery stores, or the mall. Once I get hungry, I don't even stop and think if my mom has prepared a meal for me at home, I just go to a fast food restaurant and get something to eat there. I eat there and when I get home, my mom has, of course, made food for me and offers me some. I answer her that I already ate In N Out, McDonald's, or Burger King. Once hearing this, my mom tells me that I need to stop eating so much fast food and just go home and eat, and if she hasn't made anything is when she'll actually give me permission to eat whatever I want.

I, however, don't think I rely on it. Although I do eat it a lot, I can live without it. As a matter of fact, that's what I try to do now. Eating fast food once in a while is okay, but eating it all the time and every day can cause health problems. It can cause weight gain and sicknesses such as diabetes. What I try to do now is start eating less little by little. I have always been a skinny, healthy guy but, since I started eating fast food more often, I have started gaining more weight and I recently realized that I can't really exercise as much as I used to. Another reason I try not to eat as much is because my dad recently discovered that he has diabetes and told me and my brother and sisters that, if we don't change our eating habits, we can also get it.

Past, Present, and Future

 

I was born as Giovanni Prado on October 9, 1992. I am the second oldest of four children. I have an older sister named Ana that is 21 years old, then it's me at 19, a little brother that's 13, and finally my little sister that is 5. Our parents names are Jose and Lourdes Prado. As a young kid and teenager, I was an athletic guy. I have played flag football, basketball, and soccer. Both flag football and basketball were for my elementary school's team. However, I only played flag football for one year, when I was in 4^th grade. Basketball interested me more and I played when I was in 5^th and 6^th grade. When I played in 6^th grade was the most memorable season. Our team went undefeated the whole season and we went on to win a 1^st place trophy, which I still have. I played soccer for a local league called American Youth Soccer Organization, or AYSO. I played for 3 years and went undefeated in Oxnard for the last year. We finally lost and our season was over when we went to play against the Santa Barbara league. I now, and always have, lived in Ventura County. I was born in the old St. John's Hospital and lived with my uncle in their house. When I was just 6 months, we moved to Port Hueneme and have lived there ever since.

I am now 19 years old and attend Oxnard College as a full time student. I have a son that is a year and a half old. His name is Christopher Giovanni Prado. I like to spend as much time as I can with him and do what I can to keep him healthy. For him, I am currently a part time employee at Pep Boys. I am still in a relationship with my baby's mom and I plan to keep it that way. They are both the world to me and I can't stand being away from them, but I have to in order to give them all their necessities. I still live with my parents, but I am mostly always at my girlfriend's house, since my son lives with her. I own a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid and I have had it for about 3 or 4 months. It is, however, not my first car. My first car was a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. I use my current car all the time for things such as school, work, and my son's and girlfriend's doctor's appointments.

I plan to transfer from Oxnard College over to California State University, Channel Islands. I want to graduate from there with a bachelor's degree in Business. Once I accomplish that goal, I would love to get a career in which I won't get bored. My dream job is one where I will always be doing something that will take time and effort in order to make the days go by faster. The schedule I would love to have is during the day, one where I would be home by around 5 or 6 P.M. A house I would like to live in would have to be mine, not rented or and apartment. I would like to have a big two story house with a pool in the backyard. However, that would be too big of a house to be my first house and too big for just me, my girlfriend, and our son. What I would like to have as a first house would be something simple like a 2 or 3 bedroom. I would also settle for an apartment as my first place. In order to accomplish these future goals, I would need to accomplish my current goals first.