I have been fortunate enough to have traveled around the world and I will admit that California embellishes the soul in a unique way, apart from the rest of the world.
I have lived on the blue corner house at in California on and off for as long as I can remember. My next door neighbors at the time were two Caucasian older women. They were thin and very tall, with shoulder length brown hair, with fine age lines covering their faces, necks and hands. In front of my house lived an Asian family of 5, who was always curteous enough to greet me and next to them lived Becky and Pat. Becky and Pat were great, she ran a childcare center from her house and he was a cop, they had two beautiful children.
At age 11 there really wasn’t much I could do to make money, so I did whatever it took, well almost, I tried staying away from housework. I remember washing my mother’s car for a couple of dollars but that was not enough for me to pay my way into Star Skate on a Friday night. I had to make “ends meet” as I saw it, so I decided to ask Becky for a job in her childcare center; at the time I was not really a kid-person, as a matter of fact I get annoyed by crying babies and winning toddlers but I thought it was worth a shot. I started working with Becky around 4:20 PM on Fridays, I would make sure all of the toys were picked up and in the mini plastic pool where I would sterilize them. I would scrub them with bleach and soap until my eyes started watering and...
The idea of that California is the state to come to where your dreams come true is a very real thing. Also writers, from newspapers, magazines, and even books have a tendency to write the upside of the good things and then tend to leave some of the bad things to chance. Some writers have called California the vanishing dream. The myth of California being a good and bad goes back to the time of the Gold Rush and Dust Bowl. The Gold Rush is a example of the California myth because people were finding gold. There was a problem with people finding gold. People were coming to California for gold, but they found out that once they got here, there wasn’t as much gold as they had hoped to find. When the people were finding gold it was not enough to support any kind of life that was promised. The people wanted to have the luxurious life that went along with finding this mineral. Gold was not at the high price that everyone thought it would be at. Don’t get me wrong some people did do well from finding this mineral, but not a lot. Another incident that California is a myth is the Dust Bowl.
California represents is not as easy to attain as they once thought. The characters in The Day of the
David Goodman eked out a minimal living for his family by working for a tailor in a sweatshop. To help alleviate the family’s poverty, the children were urged to work as soon as they were old enough.
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. I lived in a very welcoming neighborhood. As a child, I had many friends on my street. We would ride bikes, climb trees, visit the playground at the local park district, and stay outside until the streetlights turned on. The families on my street always looked out for each other, so we didn't worry too much about safety. All of my friends attended the same school and participated in the Chicago Park District's activities such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, music and dance lessons, and open gym events. The park district hosted an annual gym show so the kids could perform for their families. Residents would get together on most Sundays to talk about issues in the neighborhood and share meals and stories.
...ting older as days went by. I began to realize that businesses were built on child labor, child labor was what kept big businesses and companies running and without that, they were nothing. The government was so selfish, they looked to make great profits and have to pay so little. Children like me were exactly what they wanted because we were minors and at that time did not think of starting a union. What really upset me was that the factory where I was working treated me as an adult and they were treating me so harshly. I was so young and being treated like dirt, constantly commanding me, working with no breaks and getting paid so little. I had to do it though and I had no other options so I followed all the orders I was given. I needed the job more than anything. My life wasn’t getting any better as time went by. I just tried to survive and provide for my family.
California, just like the rest of the states of this country is unique. The large populated country known as California has history, an economy and other things that make California the special country that it is today.
At the tender age of seven years old, my Grandmother taught me how to play blackjack. My Grandma on my Dads side would teach me how to bet and maximize my earnings. I remember how my Aunts and Uncles would tell each other and my Grandma that it was not a good idea to show me how to gamble. Every time we would visit my Grandparents I would always bring my money. In order to fund my card playing, I had to find ways to earn money. I would collect cans and bottles from neighbors. Just a few years later, I was mowing lawns, raking leaves, watching after pets, watering lawns and even waxing cars all over the neighborhood. My Dad would always complain about his lawn mower getting pushed up and down several different streets. As time went on, I started
...he rest of the world views California as the “ideal place to live.” However, if California continues to infringe the negative, discriminatory political view its immigrants, the “California Dream” will no longer subsist.
California was an exciting place to experience knowing that I could go to all of these ecosystems in one trip. Driving down the interstate you could see these gigantic mountains above the city of Fresno. Also one thing I noticed was how much of California is actually just farm land. The view above the plane was full of fields that were in perfect squares for farming. Realizing this I was actually shocked because I never knew how much of California is actually used for farming. Usually in movies you see, that are based in California, there are beaches and an ocean. Being in the western United States for the first time I was surprised also by how much desert there actually is. I’ve always heard people mess around and call California the land of “Fruit and Nuts” but it’s actually true. California leads the country in producing most of nuts in America and some fruits like strawberries and
... many different religions and cultures. California has an extensive Asian community, as well as Hispanic community, African American community and additionally, the dominate, Caucasian community. Here instead of two main similar religions there are many different religions, such as Buddhist, Muslims, Catholics, Mormons, Jewish, Jehovah Witness etc., many of these religions vary in their core beliefs as well as in their celebrations. Baba did not like living in America he missed his friends, his company, his status, he relied on his memories of his time in Kabul to cheer him up when he was sad.
According to the article “A History of Child Labor” reviewed by Milton Fried, a child could work as long as six days a week for up to 18 hours a day, and only make a dollar a week. Child labor was nothing but cheap labor. The big companies loved cheap labor because then they could make an item for not very much money, and make a huge profit margin. Fried continues to state how cheap the labor was, “One glass factory in Massachusetts was fenced with barbed wire ‘to keep the young imps inside.’ These were boys under 12 who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40 cents to $1.10 per night.” Unlike, children today who are in bed sleeping by 8 pm each night, these children had to stay up all night working to make just enough income for their families. Sadly, the children had no choice but to work for very little pay. Their mothers and fathers made so little money in the factory system that they couldn’t afford to let their children enjoy their childhood: “Other working children were indentured—their parents sold their labor to the mill owner for a period of years. Others lived with their families and worked for wages as adults did, for long hours and under hard conditions” (Cleland). The child had no other choice, but to work for these big
Before I analyze how my social location has influenced my experiences, I need to talk about my family’s demographic characteristics in comparison to our community and the larger U.S. society: In my hometown, Asians make up the third largest racial group (23%). Whites make up 51.3% and H...
The bus that took us to the Theme Park was huge, with room for a
The gym where I train and workout, the Dubuque Martial Arts Group, is a place where I know who I am. It is a place I can go to escape my problems for a while and release some stress. It's not the actual physical building, but rather the events that have occurred there over the years. It's where I have formed some of my closest friendships. It is the place I have invested years of hard work for many of my accomplishments. To some it may seem odd that a place associated with sweat, blood and physical pain mean so much to someone. However, in my eyes it's almost like a second home.
From having no work experience and I was not old enough to work; I asked the manager if they needed help. By law in the 1990’s, underage children in Illinois was not able to work until they reach the age of sixteen. I knew that I was not of age to work, but I told the manager that I was willing help out in any way that I can. Based on my determination, the manager gave me a chance. I started helping by cleaning windows, sweeping and mopping floors, and running errands that he or she needed. Eventually, the manager liked how I worked and how determined I was to