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Jazmine Ibarra

Dr. Sarah Thaller

Fire Cohort

19 March 2021

Week Five-Week Nine: Journals

Journal One (03.15.2021): How do you think it will feel one day to be without spring break

and any other school holidays/breaks? Will you be able to handle it?

It will feel bad to be without spring break or any other school holidays/breaks. I think it is

absolutely necessary to take a break from school and/or work. People get tired and we are only

human. I’m so used to having breaks, but I don’t think the snow days and four-day weekends due

to staff days/planning will be a big dilemma for me. I think that it will definitely take some time

to get used to not having holidays/breaks due to college or a job, etc. We will have to get used to

not having breaks. If the job or situation requires, we have to be flexible and adapt in order to

move forward effectively.

Week Eight, Journal Two (03.12.2021): How do you react in a conflict? Are you

combative? How do you deal with confrontation?

In a conflict, sometimes I am cool and level-headed, but other times I act on how I feel

and that will usually be because I am angry or upset. Sometimes I will get combative or

defensive, for example, in an argument with my mom or my siblings, I will defend myself and

give evidence. In terms of confrontation, I feel as if I don’t deal with confrontation very well, but

other times, I think I do. I’m not good at being assertive when it comes to my feelings because it

makes me feel very vulnerable, which is perfectly normal and okay, but I just don’t like the
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feeling, I guess. All of my sentences sound very uncertain due to my wording choices. These

words and phrases are: sometimes, I think, just, etc.

Week Eight, Journal One (03.08.2021): What is a job you would never want to have? Why?

What would be so terrible about it?

I haven’t thought about jobs and a job I would or would not want to have. Since I haven’t

thought about it, my mind is blank with these questions, so I’ll just write about what’s on my

mind. I’ve been angry and sad for a long time. Sometimes it’s easy for me to mix up those

feelings because I’ve been raised, for the most part, in a home where my feelings and thoughts

weren’t valued very much. The responses and reactions usually varied between anger and

disappointment. I’ve been told I was negative and that I ruined someone’s mood. I’ve been told

that I need to be better because I have two siblings looking up to me. I’ve been told that I have to

do more without being told. Honestly, I don’t believe that I’m the way I am just because of

myself. Of course I want to do well in life, but I also want to be happy. I want to be doing things

that make me happy and do things because I want to do them, not because I’m told. I want to live

in a clean, clutter-free, and organized environment because being around mess and among the

clutter that isn’t mine, is incredibly stressful for me. I want to do well and I want to be around

people who make me feel good about myself. I want to find what I love in life, other than my

family and friends. I want to find what I love in life, in a career and be so passionate and excited

about that job. Ok, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet. At this point, it would be considered brunch.

Week Seven, Journal One (03.01.2021): Are you a good researcher? What makes for strong

research? What do you look for? Why does it matter?

I don’t believe that I am a good researcher, but I try my best to be a good researcher.

Strong research is research with claims that are supported by evidence, not opinions. Another
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thing about strong research is that the researcher is genuinely interested in the topic of research.

Strong research is extremely important, as making claims without evidence can spread

misinformation or be embarrassing for the one sharing it. I don’t see anything wrong with

making mistakes, but if you’re making the same mistake(s) over and over again, there’s a point

where it gets tiring and inexcusable. It’s like the saying or phrase, “Ignorance is bliss.” It can be

due to lack of knowledge or curiosity, or other factors, there is no way of knowing, but it is

always best to do your research. Similar to double-checking your work, it is helpful, and is

worthwhile. For one, you are becoming more informed, maybe you learned something new, etc.

In order to find strong research, I look at multiple sources and make sure the results of the topic

are similar to the previous information. I also look for sites that end in: edu, .gov, .org, and sites

that include citations of the references they used.

Week Six, Journal Two: Do you ever stop and think about all of the weird things we do in

our daily lives without questioning why we do them or how the tradition/custom

originated? (02.26.2021)

I don’t question western customs very often, but if it’s brought up in a conversation, I

will definitely think about it and go down a rabbit hole trying to find the answer to my

question(s). For example, one thing that I was wondering was this: Why is it expected that men

do most things in a relationship (ex. Making the first move, paying for dinner, asking someone

out/confessing their feelings, proposing for marriage, etc.)? Another question that I thought

about was this: Why is it expected that all Asian people are smart just because they are Asian?

Week Six, Journal One: What do you think is the absolute worst type of music? Why?

Justify your choice. (02.22.2021)

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I do not enjoy listening to country music, most electronic music, and rap/hip hop music.

However, the worst type of music is rap/hip hop. I do not enjoy listening to country music since

my taste in music mostly consists of indie music which is softer in tone, as well as some

alternative music. Other times, I’ll listen to early 2000s music from artists such as: Bruno Mars,

Adele, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, and many other artists that were barely beginning to gain

popularity in their music careers. It was a good time to be a part of and grow up in. I do like

some old country songs from artists such as Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban

every once in a while, but that’s it. Electronic music is too much. There are so many things going

on and on top of all those noises, the audience is also trying to listen to the person singing, or in

some cases, a computer singing. As for rap/hip hop, it is the worst because there are so many

sub-genres of rap/hip hop. However, the majority of it is either mumbling, too quiet to hear, or

straight up shouting, which is way too loud.

Week Five, (02.19.2021):​ I’m not sure what the journal was for this week so I’m just going to

write about things that happened over the weekend (03.15.2021). I had a great weekend. Most of

my week consisted of cleaning in preparation of a guest coming over to my house which is never

very fun because I clean by myself. However, the weekend proved to be much better. On

Saturday, I had to do my makeup class for my guitar lessons. Usually my guitar lessons last only

an hour, but since I missed last week’s guitar lesson (family member’s baby shower), I had to do

two hours of guitar lessons. In that time I was able to practice songs I already knew and also

practice on the song I am currently working on mastering: Imagine by John Lennon. It sounds

really nice on guitar, that’s all I have to say. If you think strumming a guitar, I am not doing that.

I am learning an instrumental version of the song, which is just as good, if not better than

strumming and singing along. My boyfriend came over to my house in the afternoon and we put
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together a doughnut puzzle, watched a couple episodes of this anime, Sword Art Online, a

romcom from a trilogy, and we also watched Avengers Endgame, which drew a tear from my

eyes. My boyfriend got to try a Dutch pancake and he liked it. I like Dutch pancakes, too. My

mom cooked a lot on Saturday, but I think that’s because she enjoys it or maybe she’s more

stressed than usual and I didn’t know it. On Sunday, like almost all the Sundays since this

pandemic started, my family and I spent our day with my grandma at her house. While we are

there, I either play Connect 4 with my grandma and try desperately to win, sweep the floor, wipe

the table, wash dishes, and help my cousin or dad with caring for my grandma. Oh, I also

brought my guitar on Sunday (03.14.2021) because I realized I haven’t played a song for my

grandma in what feels like a long time. Anyways, I mostly played the song I am trying to master,

Imagine by John Lennon, and a couple other Beatles songs I know. It was a good day yesterday

and I hope the same could be said for this weekend/this week.