Growing up I never really had the childhood I ever wanted . When I was 5 my parents got a divorce. They went their separate way. My father went to stay at his sister house. My mother moved back with her parents. And as for me and two youngest siblings, we stayed with our mother. When my parents separated we was too young to understand or know the reason why. We just know that my parents hated each other. They never spoke about it. Nor the family. All i ever saw was when my father came to visit my mother never spoke to him. She acts if he’s not there. As days passes my parents never spoke to each other. My father didn’t come as much and my mother moved on and didn’t care as much.

   When my father left I never understood why he had to. He and my mother should of slept in different rooms. It would of made things better.  When he came to visit the only time I ever saw him was every two weeks or every other month. Whenever he came he would take me and my brothers out shopping, out to eat and do all the other stuff. When he was done he would leave and we would not see him until the next two weeks or month . He always told us before he left that he was going to work to make money to take us out again. The hours we spent with my dad were the best times ever. We did so many things and it was one of the most unforgettable things ever. Even though he wasn't around like he was suppose to he would always talk to us. Tell us how we should be. Don't be like him and my mom . He wanted us to Grow up and be somebody. Have a good life . Go to school . And to make sure I listen to my grandmother"Everything he told us,we would listen . My father wasn't a bad father, even though he wasn't around he would tell us right from wrong .

  I remembered when he took us fishing it was something really unexpected. Before we got to the place I pictured it with trees,  the lake and a deck where we can sit and fish. But Instead of that when we got there, comes to find out we were at the back of the airport at a dirty river fishing for fun. We never really caught anything. But we did still enjoyed ourselves. Another time was when we went to his sister house. She had a party and he thought us how to climb on the walls in the hallway where we would put one foot up against one side of the wall as the other foot on the other side of the wall . And we would repeat the same steps until we touched the ceiling. We kept doing until we grew tired of playing. That night when we stop his sister started to scream out my fathers name and it scared the hell out of us because we thought something had happen to her. But instead she was screaming his name because there were foot prints all over the side of each wall from our dirty feet. She just kept yelling and yelling and yelling until my dad agreed to buy paint and repaint the walls.  It was hilarious because as my father was painting he still would crack jokes and make everything more exciting.  Although my father wasn't around as he was suppose to, he still acted like one. He would still come around take us out, and made sure we make the best of it.

 My mother on the other hand. She wasn't around as much as she was suppose to nor how my dad was . Even though we lived in the same house. When we moved to our grandparents house I barely saw my mother . She would work, And after work she would go out and get  a couple of drinks with her friends. On the weekend she would go out, come home late, and sometimes she would not come back home until the next day, or sometimes weeks. I remembered when she took us out over her friends house and we slept over there because she was too drunk to come back home. When we got back to our grandparents house my grandmother was screaming because she was worried sick about my brothers and I. I remembered he saying “why would you take the kids with you if you know you wasn’t gonna come back home. You are drinking and taking your kids with you something bad could of happen. My grandmother used to get mad everyday and every night, because my mom would always go out. She would scream at everyone because my mother would never come home . It was like ever since my parents split my mother was a different person. She drinks more, goes out everyday, she was never home. I never understood her feelings at the time or how she was reacting at that time. But not only hurting herself but she was hurting my grandmother.

  My grandmother would be very stressed because at the time my family didn't have much . She went to work, she made sure my brothers and I was well taken cared of. But other than that living in a 3 bedroom house apartment with like 10 people living there was really difficult. My grandmother was a family person. It didn't really matter to her how many people was living with her. She just love the family being together. My grandmother loved her kids and her grand kids she did everything for us and was very over protective. It used to drive everyone crazy. Especially me. She never wanted me to go outside because she thinks something bad might happen to me. Even If she would go to work she would tell our neighbor and her friends to make sure I stay in the house. But I really didn't care because I always had my brothers to play with. I never blamed my grandmother for doing the things she did because she always wanted to make sure I'm on the right tract and don't end up like my mother and father. My grandmother practically raised my brother and I growing up, after my mom left and father. She taught me many things, showed me how should I handle and do things. How I should not end up like my mother leaving her kids.

As I got older I started to realize that I don't need my parents anymore. Even if they came around once in the blue moon. I would go to school, come home, eat , do my homework, help my brother with his homework and play with my baby brother. My grandmother always told me "As a big sister , my duties are to go to school, come home do my homework, eat, and make sure my little brothers are ok because I would be like another mother to them" and I was only 12 when my grandmother told me that. I know that it may sound weird but it was really true.

  As years come I was about 15 years old my mom and dad started to come around more they started to show my brother in I more attention when we didn't need it anymore. It was really hard really hard for my brothers and I to reconnect with parents. I till this day don’t blame them for leaving us. They was young , married,  having kids , going threw a break up.

  Now as years comes my parents has gotten along, but they are still split. My father has his own house and mother has a new husband and a child. And she does not live with us anymore.  My brothers and i are still living with my grandparents because we chose not to live with any of our parents. Everything is not that confusing anymore now that i am older and now that I am a young mother, who is married. about to graduate high school  , and have a baby, I don't want to follow the same foot step my mother and father has done.  I want to make sure even if I gone thru a break up I would not let my emotions, feelings, or anything affect my relationship with my child. Or even if it stresses me so bad, to the point where I'm about to lose my mind I will never leave my baby. Everything that I have gone thru with my parents barely around has taught me to be a better parent to my child.  Looking at my child grow each day sometimes makes me question myself why would my parents want to leave my brothers and I . Do they love me , as much as I love my child. No because they actually left my brothers and i with my grandparents. Than decided to come back in our life when we are old enough to understand things and how we are able to take care of ourselves and live on our own. Everything does not matter to me. The only thing that those is my own little family that i have. I would always remember those words that my grandmother told me. To never be like my parents, to be strong, and believe that their are better.

 Selfies i believe shows the person emotions. Give people some idea of how their mood is during that day or at that moment. #Selfies is something that describes the person feelings at that moment also. Whether their mood is being happy, sad, hungry, and or just being bored. Each #selfies that is shown above just shows my mood of that day. The first photo describes me home doing my homework after i was done i just decided the take a selfie to say hi to the IG (instagram) world. The second photo describes me in the school bath room taking a photo with my new head band a friend made for me, so i wanted to show the world how it looked on me. And how they should buy it. The third photo just shows how i made it to Delaware, how happy i was, and how badly i’m about ready to get in the pool and i decided to strike a pose to tell the IG world to let them know what i’m about to do. 

Stir Fried Beef and Vegetable 

“It’s not that bad to have a little meat and vegetables together”

Ingredients: 

Stir Fried Beef and Vegetables 

(Can feed 8-10 people) 

- 1 Table spoon of Olive Oil 

- 1 Table spoon of chop garlic 

- 1 lb of beef 

- Salt and Pepper 

- 2 table spoon of Chicken soup base 

- 2 table spoon of light sou sauce

- 2 table spoon of sugar (just in case its a little bit salty)

- 2 table spoon of Houstin Souce 

- 1 Ib of Broccoli 

- 1 lb of String beans 

- Ib of Celery

- Ib of Green peppers or Red peppers

Any other vegetables of your choice

Prepping:

Break the garlic peel it , and slice them , then grind them to little pieces. 

Chop the Broccoli in half  

Chop the String beans slanted in the middle  

Chop the Celery quarter size (bite sizes) 

When chopping the green peppers and red peppers, you chop off the parts you don't eat. After chopping the parts you don't eat then you cut each peppers into four. When you cut each peppers into fours then you take each slices and cut it into bite sizes. 

When chopping the meat , you cut them into bite size  

The Cooking:

Put the Flat non-stick pan over medium heat on the stove, wait until the pan gets a little hot. Then you add 1 table spoon of Olive Oil. Add the chopped garlic at the same time you put the garlic.

As you put the garlic in, you stir it until you  the garlic has a brown color. 

While the garlic is still in the pan, you then put the ingredients in. 

Salt and Pepper 

Add 2 table spoon of Chicken soup base

Then add 2 table spoon of light sou sauce

after that then you add 2 table spoon of sugar (just in case its a little bit salty)

last you add  2 table spoon of Houstin Souce 

   While all the ingredients are in the pan you than mixed them together. Let it set for 1 min. When waiting you can clean the meat after you are done cleaning the meat you than put it into the pan together with the other stuff. When the meat are in the pan you than stir everything together. Since the meat is beef it would only take about 5 min to cook. Let it sit there. As you are waiting for the meat to cook you start to clean all of your vegetables and set them out till it is ready to be put in with the meat. After you see that the meat is close to finish you put in all the vegetables in with the meat into the pan. While you are cooking it together you would want to cook the vegetables nice and soft. So you stir it for 15-20 mins. After 15-20 mins your meal is cooked and its ready to be served. 

The Tradition: 

  This meal is like a tradition to my family. A lot of asian cultures are well known to this meal. It is very popular but made in so many different ways. Some people use different ingredients and put different amounts  But these are the ingredients that my grandma use and how she thought me to make it. The ingredients that i learned i believe was passed from my grandmothers mother. We really don’t know the history of it but all we know is that it is traditional made the way it is. Since a lot of Asian culture make this food made in so many different ways. Many different kind of ingredients and many different types of meat and etc. 

 Cost of Vegetables 

- 1 Ib of Broccoli $2.00

- 1 Ib of String beans $2.00

- Ib of Celery $1.99

• Ib of Green peppers or Red peppers $4.00 

(The rest of the ingredients i already had them at home.) 

Personal Reflection:

  Threw out this course i have learned a lot about the different types of ways of healthy eating. Before doing this project i used to eat every min. I really didn’t care how i was eating until this course. It started to make me think about my health a lot. Not only that i have gained so much weight during birth and after birth because of the way i eat. After this course i start to think about everything. Now that i am on a diet it is really difficult to lose the weight because after the birth i was in a habit of eating the same amount of food during my pregnancy nine month ago. I believe after my pregnancy if i was on a diet than i believe i would be at the shape and size i want to be. But doing this benchmarks have thought me a lot about what can happen when you become obese and etc. Ever since i learned about that i thought about the ways of how i was eating and thinking about it i can really get there and be that size. So now that i am on a diet i would watch what i eat , the amount of what i eat, and the kinds of stuff i eat. Now i believe i am on the right track and my eating habits are slowing down. I can say that this course has thought me a lot and showed me a lot of what can happen if i eat the way i eat.  

How does writing help you connect. 

     Writing help you connect with a lot of things. Such as your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and etc. Wrting shows your thoughts about what you thing about the quote, story, or the actual subject without saying it out loud in class.  Writing is not only that it helps you connect by showing the readers what are the important things, but it shows other readers your thought, and what you feel is best. Writing is just a better way to answer question without saying them out loud. Another example is a diary. Writing it down in a book and not express you feelings to life you can just express it in writing. Thats how i connect. 

 Hamlet by William Shakespeare has become one of his most popular play written by him. Him in his name William Shakespeare. In most of his plays it seems it has all dealt with war, death, and love. But what makes his plays more fascinating, more interesting is his writings. It seems difficult for us in todays word to understand because we use and speak english in a different way. Since William Shakespeare writes his plays, in his plays it show a lot of emotions and feelings. And When he does that it shows a good way to also understand what the play is about and what he is trying to say. 

  One of the scene from the book to connect is when one of the character name Laertes talks to his sister Ophelia about her boyfriend Hamlet. He wanted to let her know about the type of person Hamlet was and he wanted her to be careful with him. A quote from it is “For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primary nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute. No more.” This scene is from Act 1 Scene 3 Line 9-11.  To translate exactly what Laertes was telling his sister was “For Hamlet and his attentions to you, just consider it a big flirtation, the temporary phase of a hot-blooded youth. It won’t last. It’s sweet, but his affection will fade after a minute. Not a second more.” So the whole point of this line was just a heads up for his sister Ophelia. He didn’t want his sister to be hurt or make wrong descions and soon would be hurt at the end.  

   Shakespeare written most of his plays in an old fashion english. So it is more difficult for people in the modern days to read and understand what the play mean, and or what the character is trying to say. For example in the play Hamlet the entire play is written in old english and when we read it we would have to analyze what the character are saying, an example to prove is from one of the scene in Act 1 Scene 3 Line 15-19 when Laertes tells his sister Ophelia “Think it no more. For nature, crescent, does not grow alone In thews and bulk, but, as this temple waxes, The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now, And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch The virtue of his will, but you must fear.” What this quote is saying  is Laertes is telling his sister Ophelia to think bigger. The translation is “Try to think of it like that, anyway. When a youth grows into a man, he doesn’t just get bigger in his body—his responsibilities grow too. He may love you now, and may have only the best intentions, but you have to be on your guard.” So basically what Laertes is telling his sister is to beware of Hamlet. For her to watch what she does and for her to have her guard up with him. 

   In Shakespeare his writing are really great. This is because i believe when he writes his plays he makes it very interesting. I believe he wants people to see his plays as something exciting, something for someone to think about. Like for example how his old fashion english makes us think about what he is trying to say because now its modern english. in his play writes it shows a lot of details and emotion so that people who don’t understand ca understand by watching. Shakespeare is one of the great play write, that has pass on from years into todays worlds where we analyze his plays and also act it out our selves. 

• What surprised you most about this information?
•  What seemed quite obvious about explaining this data set?
• Looking at the overall trend and incorporating what you know about the US presently, predict and defend the immigration trend for the next two decades.
• Describe how you made a decision on how to visually represent the information.
• What parts of group work were challenging?
• What would you do differently if you had this project to do over?
  
  1. The thing that had surprise me the most in the project was learning how many people would immigrate to the united state each year, and the reason why they came. 
  2. What had seem really obvious about explaining the data was how i kept getting te same reason why people all over the would would come to America. 
  3. Looking at the overall all i can see that the U.S now is that you ca see that people from all over the world live in the U.S everywhere. People from different places are having money to some and or either running over to get here. And i believe in the next 2 decade people all over the world who has money can come to the U.S with/out a green card or their pass port. 
  4. I had to use different idea and opinion about what was the same reason and what was different. 
  5. Putting the work together when one of us is not here. 
  6. Put more work, and effort then i did here because i had less time.  
  
  
  
  

Maleena Mel

Benchmark/ Gold Stream

My life as a Cambodian

"Omg look at that Chinese girl hair. That shit long."

"Thank You, I Said"

"The lady have to hurry up with my food mane, she is taking for ever…. Ayo Chinese girl can you

Speak Chinese and tell them to hurry up with my food because they taken forever."

"Not to be disrespectful but I aint Chinese… So can you get my race right because its annoying me."

"What?"

"You herd what I said"

"Oh This Chinese girl really tough… She sounds a little black…."

"You mix wit black, Because You sound like it"

"Look listen, I aint Chinese, nor black, I am Cambodian."

The girl looked at me really hard, and she looked really mad. So I asked her what was she looking at and is she "okay? What is a Cambodian?" I didn't explain to her what Cambodian was, so I just kept it as that and I just left and walked out of the Chinese store. Later on that day when I was walking to my cousin house my grandmother had called me. My grandmother dosen’t understand English. Really so I was speaking to her…

"Hello?"

"Gah Lena, Tewh Nah?" (Where are you going?)

"Yom Tewh Tih Monica" (Im going to Monica house)

"Tewh Twuh aye?"(Why are you going there?)

"Yom Ock Sop" (Im bored)

"Okay, Mow Tieh Mouwng tuwp" (Okay come home at 10:00 o'clock)

"Okay"

A little girl had asked me was that Chinese I was speaking. And I told her no. She said why were you talking so fast? I told her to go home because didn't your mom ever tell you not to talk to strangers? She said okay Chinese lady.

When I got to my cousins house she had a friend over and she was Puerto Rican, and when I was talking to my cousin mom her friend said were you speaking Chinese, I told her your like the 3000^th person who asked me that. Than she said are you? I responded back no, do I sound or look like I'm Chinese. And she had the nerves to say yes. I told her where was she at, and she said Monica’s house. So I asked her what was her race? She responded back Cambodian. Than I asked her this is a Cambodian home right? And she said yea. So I said now think about the question you just ask me? Than she was like oh? You still sound like your Chinese because you talk just like them, fast and never take a deep breath. I replied back with anger. So I just kept the conversation as that. My cousin tried to not make it as a big deal, but all I see is a woman that was trying to be funny. When she wasn’t. I had told Monica that it was not funny and she tried to be funny, and when it comes to my race, culture, and language I speak. People like her should not just say things out of there mouth like she did because people like me wouldn’t like it. Later that day I ignored her friend all day until finally as soon as I was getting ready to leave she came out of nowhere and apologized to me and told me that she was wrong for doing what she did, she thought it was funny but than it wasn’t because she didn’t know I would of taken it that way. I told her I take things like that seriously and she dosen’t even know me so she shouldn’t just come out of the blue with it. Afterwards I just went home and slept.

Ewe.  Swine. Ugh that nasty. I hate it I hate it I HATE IT…

The nasty thick layer of meat, from the nasty little fat dirty pig. Where they lay around in the mud. It’s like lying around in their own poop. No mom for the last time I hate pork,

They eat trash,

They are dirty,

They eat poop,

 And they even eat their own throw up!

So can you please make me something better to eat?

What Leena? … Baby since when did you become Muslim?

Moms I never became nothing. I just don’t eat pork.

Like people just don’t know what they feed them pigs and then we eat them. It’s like eating our poop, nasty trash, and mud. Not only that, pigs has worms that live in their body. From all them disgusting thing they be eating. Most people don’t believe it but I do. People just are so into them pork chop, bacon, hot dog, Jell-O, that they don’t even care about what the pork has in them. But they will believe that later on in their life they would have worms living in their bodies.

Sweetie that is all non-since, some people just feel bad for the little pigs, that’s why they said that.

Mom you just don’t understand. Don’t you just ever think about what you eat?

Leena look listen I’m not gone sit here and listen to what your gone say because you is just crazy, and yes sweetie I know what pigs eat, and that’s why they are just so fat and good.

Ewwwww mom… Omg you’re so nasty.

Aha its really good you want to try it. Well I guess you would be eating just plain old rice for dinner, since you don’t want to eat this pork chop I made.

Omg mom, your just the best mom in the world. Dang pork eater. From this day on I will not eat your meat anymore. I will make my own food to eat.

Since thanksgiving is coming up sometimes this month, you better find, or make your own food to eat. Since you said you would not eat any food I make.

Whoosh, Hello mom I was just kidding you see. I was just trying to tell you that pork isn’t good for you that’s all. All i'm saying is that on thanksgiving you should just make everything out of chicken and turkey.

Leena your just something else do you know that.

Yes mom I understand, that’s why i'm your daughter and you’re gone have to deal with it.

That’s why you need to go upstairs and close your room door, before I beat the crap out of you. And I would like to enjoy my dinner without you talking about pork and how delisious it is. Than she starts to laugh.

Okay, mom I’m sorry … enjoy your Swine love you.

Now, now head on up stairs before I kill you.

Than I ran upstairs and shut my door. Just can’t believe she chased me with a fork. Now I’m sitting here starving. Ugh mom. 

I remember when I was in ninth grade, well last year I had got in trouble by Mr. Lehman. But it wasn’t just me; it was I, and Nuri. It was just the two of us who always get in trouble over the weirdest reason and it was really dumb. First it was when we went to the store and we weren’t supposed to go and the second time was when we wouldn’t sign our name on the paper. The problem started when we were around people that were playing in the café and some how, some way we had got insoluble. So officer Bird old us to write our name on the paper. But we refuse to. So she told us if we wouldn’t she would tell Mr. Lehman. We told her we didn’t care if she dad or not because we didn’t do anything wrong. So she got mad and told us to leave and go home.

     The next day when we went to school, in the middle of class we herd our name on the loud speaker telling us to go to the office. So as we were on our way to the office, we were told that Mr. Lehman wanted us inside his office. So when we enter his office, it was he and Officer Bird. So we already knew what was going to happen.

Office Bird said: “Yup it’s these two. I'm going to leave and let you handle these two.”

Mr. Lehman: “Are you serious, you guys again!!!!!”

Nuri & I: “Oh No!!”

Mr. Lehman: “Sit down… matter fact stand up until I’m done with you… so give me a good reason why you guys are in my office again”

Me: “Officer Bird told me I had to write my name on the paper because she said I was playing around and disturbing people while they was working in the lunch room after school, when I wasn’t. I was just sitting there around the people that was playing around and she assume I was with them playing around. And I told her no I wasn’t putting my name on the paper because I wasn’t gona get in trouble for something I didn’t do.”

Nuri: “Well Mr. Lehman I was sitting there minding my own business and officer Bird came up to me and told me to write my name on the paper and I said why and she said because I was playing, disrupting the people that stayed after school to finish some of there work. And I told her no because I wasn’t playing and I didn’t do anything wrong. So I didn’t write my name.”

Mr. Lehman: (Shouting) “ ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS, OVER THIS LITTLLE THING AND YOU GUYS JUST DIDN’T WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE PAPER. IF YOU GUYS JUST WROTE YOUR NAME AND TOLD ME THE REASON YOU WOULD OF MADE MY JOB EASY, BUT YOU GUYS CHOSE TO MAKE THINGS SO HARD, FOR ME AND FOR YOU. YOU KNOW WHAT … (Silent moment) YOU GUYS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE IN THE CAFÉ FOR TWO WEEKS… GET OUT OF MY ROOM”

   I have never seen Mr. Lehman face so red in my life. It was kind of funny but I knew it was wrong, but the good thing was that he didn’t tell our parents. He gave another chance. But the next time if he does hear about us it wouldn’t be excuses, he would just suspend us for a week and give us detention for a month.

    What I leaned was instead of making things so difficult, and getting in trouble for the dumbest reasons, and making it a big problem when I can just make it easy and just do what they tell me and solve the problem later. And not only that if I’m around people that I see play I would leave so I wont get trouble.