Have you ever walked into a room, and just felt like you are right at home? Like all the stress and troubles you have been carrying are long gone? A place where all you want to do is sit and take a breath of fresh air? That was me, about an hour ago. Midterms are here and I can't seem to concentrate. I tried working at home, at the library, and even outside but nothing seemed to work. I was starting to loose all hope until I remembered there was still one more place to go. The one place I have loved going to with my friends. The Achilles Art Cafe has been my to-go-to spot since I was introduced to this gem by my best friend. We were having a girl's night out and ended up stopping by and it was, and still is, a charmingly delightful place to spend time eating delicious food and catch up.
Brazilian coffee bean fields fill the air. I look past all the chatter and small group circles sitting on the front couches, setting my eyes upon two young college girls sitting towards the back. I make my way towards the two vacant chairs beside their claimed table. "May I sit here?" "Oh, yeah! No problem" "Thanks"
It feels weird being here without any of my friends. I feel alone but at the same time like this is where I need to be to gain my writing mojo back. I have been ignoring my writing assignments for too long and it is time for me to let my fingers fly freely across the keyboard. Running to the tempo of the violin flowing from my headphones to my ears. In this chair, in this very place I breath in and out, and release all the stress. Allowing my body to simply relax as the cool breeze from the AC flows all around me. I let my mind go blank, take off my headphones and listen. I listen to the sound of the buzzing coffee machine, and the smooth pour of coffee. The chatter of two young man, debating whether the creators of FamilyGuy are pure genius or just great comedians. While the two girls in front of me speak in hush tones, speaking to each other ever so often. The girl to the left holds what seems to be a journal. I wander if it's filled with poems or memories of love and adventure or betrayal and grief. She reads it in a rough low voice to her friend, accentuating the moments in which the story becomes intense or full of despair. I tune them out and open up a page and begin to write a scene. The soft buzzing sound is heard all around as the barista creates unimaginable masterpieces for each customer. The air is playful and light, full of smiles and carefree grins. Towards the back a young lady sits smiling as she stares at her phone. A ding is heard from across the room, a young man of early 20's I suppose, steps in to the coffee shop. His eyes scan the room until they land on the young lady sitting towards the back. He grins as he walks towards her. Once he is but a few steps away she looks up from her phone. Her eyes light up, and her smile brightens and her cheeks warm up as he lays a quick kiss on her left cheek. They sit side by side. They talk idly to one another in a sort of carefree sort of way as if they are as light as a feather bouncing from topic to topic. A song begins to play and she places her arms around his torso, embracing him with a warm hug. He holds her as if she were his treasure and stares down into her deep brown eyes. They remain in this embrace for a while, in no hurry to step away from the moment. After a while, his left hand begins to slide up and down her spine in a sort of rhythmic motion, each time moving his hand lower down the curve of her spine. She looks into his eyes and stares at him with a glint of mischief in the corner of her eyes. She places both hands around his neck and kisses him long and slow moving her lips against his as if time stopped and the world around them seized to exist. She moves her body closer to his, wanting his hand to continue down its southern journey. He feels her body against his and allows himself to just feel. Feel her lips caressing his, her hands holding him as close to her as possible, her heart beat rising with every second that passed by. He made his journey down her spine to the curves of her coxic and grinned and marveled at how lucky he must be to have found a girl like her. She kisses him one last time and grins back, knowing he was hers and she was his. Looking back, I supposed this would be the moment I realized I had loved him for a long time. I was a blind fool, thinking I would never catch feelings, but I supposed after 55 years together our love has evolved. We had our highs and lows, our moments of paradise and utter hell, but we were each other's partner and most of all best friend. Not everyone understood us but we understood each other and what we wanted in life and in the end it was our journey and will to fight for each other while humbling ourselves that allowed us to stay together and be here in front of all of you, celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. Hope you enjoyed my small export, now I must get going and finish studying. Hope you all have a lovely week! Until next time my loves, JM
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It has been about a month since I last posted, but all is well on my side of the screen. I am happy to say that I plan to make many more posts this semester than what I did on my last. There is no limit to the things that I could do with this blog, and the places I could take it to. "The possibilities are endless!" I am taking five classes this semester, but they are wonderful. Singing has been my guilty pleasure for as long as I can remember, and I am proud to say I joined my university's Women's Choir. I am taking statistics -_- and the ethics of education. I am reading Haitian literature and books on how children acquire a second language. My life is busy but I find myself sounded with people that care about me and make sure to give me a good laugh whenever I need it. This takes me to my project for this wonderful month of February. Apart from being a month where love and friendship is celebrated on its 14th day, it is also a month where black history is celebrated in America. This is why, for this month, I will try to end my posts each week with some sort of poem or quote to celebrate love and touch base on some history. So without further adue here is my poem of the week. Best of Wishes, JM Your Star My Moon By JM When did you get here? I locked the door long ago And yet here you are. When did you get so close? I had you at arms length And yet here you are. I let you in without realizing it And now here you are. Your laughter is like a melody And your smile is my remedy. When you are not around My mind wonders To a place where you and I are free To a land of wishes, could bees, and dreams, To the land where you are there, To keep me warm, To keep me in your arms. A place where I can be your star And you can be my moon. I would like to start by saying, “I FINISHED MY FALL CLASSES!" With that being said, my countdown till I graduate has officially begun. I have one more year of classes, and I'll hopefully graduate with my Bachelor's Degree in Literature. When I first started college, I thought 4 years would take a long time to pass me by. I thought obtaining my degree would feel like a task that would take me forever to accomplish. But looking back, I can see how quickly time has passed me by. I can remember all the times when I thought I wouldn't make it, and the times when I worked hard and achieved my smaller goals. I honestly can't wait to graduate, but at the same time I don't want it to end. The stress, the professors, the papers, the friendships I have made, it all feels like is coming to its conclusion soon. At the same time, I know that when one chapter ends a new one opens. I want to end this chapter of my life with no regrets. I want this upcoming senior year, to be filled with adventure and choices that will help me see into the future that I want. Above all, I want to have fun, and spend time with the ones I care for the most. I know it won't be an easy year, but it won't be a boring one either. So with these thoughts, I would like to change the topic to a more festive vibe. I hope yoou all have had some happy holidays. Last week was one of the funnest, longest and shortest week of vaction I have had in a long time. I spent 5 days in Puerto Rico with my family so it was a short visit; however, I spent traveling from my home to Puerto Rico around 8 hours between driving to the airport, then the actual plane ride to PR, and then driving from the airport in Aguadillas to my uncle's house in Caguas. Some thought we were crazy for taking 12am and 3am flights but it was an experience we will not forget. My cousin got married and although I told myself I wouldn't cry, I did tear up a little bit. She is the oldest of my cousins from my dad's side of the family and watching her walk down the ailes caused memories of my childhood in PR flash through my mind. Of the times when she would babysit and the times when we would play hide and seek together with our other cousins. It all made me realize just how much time has passed and how many great memories we will always share as a family. I left to come back to the states the night of her wedding, and it was a bitter sweet moment of saying goodbyes to my family from PR, and to saying goodbye to the beautiful island I grew up being in. We came back on the early hours of the morning on the 25th and went staright to my mom's sister's house for her christmas party. It felt weird being in one country one day and the next being in another but that is traveling for you. Overall, my winter break has been going great. Spendng a lot of time with my family and thinking of what life will have in store for me once I graduate. How have the holidays been treating you, anything fun? I have posted bellow some pictures, of my break. Best of wishes and may this holiday bring you joy and may the new year be full of excitement and adventure! Till Next Year,
JM
As a writer, I have come to realize that I enjoy creating pieces of poetry. I enjoy telling stories and sharing pieces of my life with you guys. I used to think being a part of a digital community would be ridiculously hard, and something that only professionals or entrupenuors should do, but here I am staring at the computer screeen, writing a reflection on how my ride as a blogger has been so far. Being a commited blogger can be a handful, there are times when the small number of responces or views can be discouraging, but it is at those times when I realize that I blog for me. I blog so that I can let go of stress, and so that I can share my stories (even if I were the only one looking at them). The trill of clicking the post button is enough to bring a smile on my face. Blogging has brought me joy, and it has inspired me to not only write but to read more. It can be challenging keeping up with a goal of posting something every week, but as long as I have that goal in mind I strive to meet it. When my professor had said I needed to start a blog as part of the class required work, I wouldn't have imagined writing outside of what was assigned, yet I added posts that had less to do about what she wanted me to post and more about what I wanted to express and share, and I plan to continue to blog for the rest of my senior year. Even when I become an educator, I could use blogging as a way to communicate with both parents and students. It could be a source to publish both my own work, and my students' work. I could use blogging as a way to get my students to engage in freewriting, an outlet to their fustrations, jokes, stress, and passions. I would share with them everything I learned this semester about blogging. The possibilities are endless! So to end this reflelction, I would like to leave you guys with some memes that have brought both laughter and inspiration to my heart. This semester was the first time I had heard of memes, and I can't seem to stop using them as a way to place some humor in my posts. I hope you find them funny, and I'll be sure to continue posting. Like I had said in the beginning of this post, this semester brought a wonderful ride into my life, but I enjoyed every single moment. Until next time! Best of wishes and luck to all taking finals, JM
The evening events went as follows. Before the event started, I think I got "lost" like six different times. -_- If I had thought I knew how to get around UCF, I was sadly mistaken. I ended up having to stop along the way, a few times, just to find the place where the event was taking place. I of-course, played it cool and just rolled with it. As my mother would say, "the driver never gets lost, they simply take new routes to get to their destinations." And when I found my destination, I smiled like I had won the biggest prize. I looked at the time and saw we were a good hour and a half early, and the place was
off. There is nothing that could have made the night funnier than seeing my friend covered in bits of little fur balls from the white blanket. He didn't find the humor by I had a good laugh after finding some on me as well.
When we finally made it back to the event, we had a nice time looking through various telescopes. We saw Venus, Mars, the moon, and a smudge of a galaxy. I had such an amazing night, that I was okay with finding out the "star" I had been looking at for the longest of time was actually not a star but a planet, Venus. The memories and the laughs I shared that night was worth finding out my start was a planet. Life is made up of moments. They come and go, and it is up to us to seize them. Yes I got lost, several times, and yes the blanket gave my friend white spots, but we had our laughs and we were able to create a memory of our time with "Knights Under the Stars". That adventure will live on in our memories. In life it is easy to get sucked into a pattern of constant work and no play, but I have learned to make room for a smile, a laugh, and an adventure for it is those moments that I create with friends and family that I will cherish the most. Best of Wishes, JM The world . . . from a different perspective . . . looked at from a different set of "eyes" . . .11/11/2016 |
to enhance student learning. A student doesn't need to hear constant lectures to learn, they can be involved in activities that allow self-learning. One of my favorite teaching tools is called Kahoot (from www.getkahoot.com). It's used to check for understanding in a safe environment where students can learn and have fun together. I have to admit that when my college professors use this tool, my inner middle schooler comes out and says YES! If you have never had the pleasure of using Kahoot as a study tool, then you are missing out. It has you log-in to your inst- |
ructor's quiz, pick a fun username, and compete with your classmates to see who actually understands the material taught. It's great for students because it shows them what they already know or don't know, and it's great for teachers because it shows them what students are struggling with. I would use Kahoot to go over vocabulary or concepts in my future English Language Arts class or as a way to see how well my future students understand Algebraic concepts in my future Mathematics class.
Other tools that I absolutely love are:
- Infographics from Pik to Chart (www.piktochart.com)
- Presentations from Prezi (www.prezi.com) or from Powtoon (www.powtoon.com)
- Writing short graphic novels from Comic Master (http://comicmaster.org.uk/)
- Publishing from WattPad (www.wattpad.com)
As a student, I know how much these tools have helped me improve in my reading, writing, and academic skills. It is important for teachers to have a variation of ways for their students to spend time writing. Often times, time flies in a classroom and time for in-class writing is sacrificed for lesson activities. Allowing students to use Prezi or Powtoon to present their projects is a great way to enhance their digital skills; however, digital technology can have its moments of dis-functionality and that's something teachers would have to keep in mind. Wattpad is my personal favorite tool! I love reading their books (or what I call their "underground books") because the stories published in the cite are at their rawest. They are stories written without the changes an editor would make. Apart from reading, the website encourages its users to write stories, which would be a great way for students to publish their own works of literature.
Other tools that I absolutely love are:
- Infographics from Pik to Chart (www.piktochart.com)
- Presentations from Prezi (www.prezi.com) or from Powtoon (www.powtoon.com)
- Writing short graphic novels from Comic Master (http://comicmaster.org.uk/)
- Publishing from WattPad (www.wattpad.com)
As a student, I know how much these tools have helped me improve in my reading, writing, and academic skills. It is important for teachers to have a variation of ways for their students to spend time writing. Often times, time flies in a classroom and time for in-class writing is sacrificed for lesson activities. Allowing students to use Prezi or Powtoon to present their projects is a great way to enhance their digital skills; however, digital technology can have its moments of dis-functionality and that's something teachers would have to keep in mind. Wattpad is my personal favorite tool! I love reading their books (or what I call their "underground books") because the stories published in the cite are at their rawest. They are stories written without the changes an editor would make. Apart from reading, the website encourages its users to write stories, which would be a great way for students to publish their own works of literature.
What's happening in the teacher-tech world?
A review on Jane Hart's Post . . .
(http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/top100-edu/)
Hart's "Top 100 Tools for Education" is quite fascinating to me. I find it ironic how YouTube is the number one tool that is being used for education and learning, yet it is at times blocked by Florida School Counties. YouTube is a great source to engage students in along side a lesson by making video presentations. I think the rest of the tools in Hart's Top 100 list are great and "on point" for educators. Looking through the list I noticed many tools strive to bring creativity in a student's engagement. Creativity is a key factor for many of these tools. I believe the best way to teach is by allowing students to engage in their own creativity and self-discovery.
Thoughts on digital tool version of Bloom's Taxonomy:
I personally love this digital version of Bloom's Taxonomy. If you have no idea what I am talking bout there is no need to fear, I will explain. Bloom's taxonomy was created by psychologist Benjamin Bloom in 1948. It was originally made as a way to classify educational goals for the student performance evaluation. Bloom's Taxonomy has been revised over the years and is still being used in education today. Knowing this, the digital version of the taxonomy is awesome because it provides with various tools that can help evaluate students on every level.
Somethings teachers should consider when implementing technology in their lesson plans is creating a Plan B. Digital technology can be amazing but like anything, it can fail. Giving the students both digital and non-digital options would both lessen the chances of a technology fall out and the chances of a student not being able to participate due to lack of technology availability at home.
What would I try next?
The more technological tools arise the more my own personal teaching methods will evolve, molding into both my students's learning styles and the time's trend. As of right now, I am experimenting with blogging (as you can see). However, I think I'll try infographics and creating my own memes next! It should be a fun experience. Like my favorite sponge would say . . .
I personally love this digital version of Bloom's Taxonomy. If you have no idea what I am talking bout there is no need to fear, I will explain. Bloom's taxonomy was created by psychologist Benjamin Bloom in 1948. It was originally made as a way to classify educational goals for the student performance evaluation. Bloom's Taxonomy has been revised over the years and is still being used in education today. Knowing this, the digital version of the taxonomy is awesome because it provides with various tools that can help evaluate students on every level.
Somethings teachers should consider when implementing technology in their lesson plans is creating a Plan B. Digital technology can be amazing but like anything, it can fail. Giving the students both digital and non-digital options would both lessen the chances of a technology fall out and the chances of a student not being able to participate due to lack of technology availability at home.
What would I try next?
The more technological tools arise the more my own personal teaching methods will evolve, molding into both my students's learning styles and the time's trend. As of right now, I am experimenting with blogging (as you can see). However, I think I'll try infographics and creating my own memes next! It should be a fun experience. Like my favorite sponge would say . . .
I end this post with some funny videos on:
- Life without mobile technology
- Life as a smart phone addict
Best of Wishes,
JM
I end this post with some funny videos on:
- Life without mobile technology
- Life as a smart phone addict
Best of Wishes,
JM
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While I was in high school, although I thought my life was quite "exciting", it was never nearly as eventful as some of my college days have been. Today was supposed to be a monotonous day for me. I had planned on going to my morning Anthropology course, pick up my interlibrary loan (ILLiad) textbook, drop off the iPad I had checked out from the library and then head out to take my car to the mechanic. However, in life rarely do things go as planned. I have learned that lesson many times.
I was able to drive the one hour commute to UCF, find a good parking spot within 10 minutes of arriving to the parking garage (a new personal record), pick up and drop off my library items, and attend my anthropology class. Everything was going according to plan. My day was going quite wonderfully. Like one of my favorite childhood characters would say . . .
I was able to drive the one hour commute to UCF, find a good parking spot within 10 minutes of arriving to the parking garage (a new personal record), pick up and drop off my library items, and attend my anthropology class. Everything was going according to plan. My day was going quite wonderfully. Like one of my favorite childhood characters would say . . .
I left the UCF parking garage and headed out to Downtown Orlando, towards my mechanic's Auto Body Repair Shop. While in the SR 408 (East-West Expressway), I was jamming to my favorite songs when it began to rain. It appeared that Florida was having another "mood swing". The weather transforming from happy go lucky sunshine to grumpy grey rain clouds. As one song changed into another, a rather unnerving thing happened. My old man (car) began to shake. Then a Magic Kingdom firework explosion was heard. What I did not know was that my old man had just broken a hip. I pulled over, called the insurance company, and then finally checked the damage done.
There is only one way to describe what I saw. It appeared that my car's tire had been skinned off. This may be a weird visual, but it reminded me of the way some Native Indian tribes used to skin the scalp off of their enemies. It was a sad thing to see happen to my old man. My day was officially not going according to the plan . . .
I could have gotten mad, started screaming and yelling out of frustration. I could have become a pessimistic and just look at all the wrong things that were happening but I choose differently. I choose to stay calm, wait until help arrived (one hour and 30 minutes of waiting but it could have been a longer wait, with the weather not cooperating). I choose to sit back, listen to some tunes, call my family and best friend to let them know how everything was going, and to even draw. Even when the cop pulled over to check if everything was alright, I remained calm (it was my first time having a police officer pull over). I was not stressed. I was happy to not have gotten in a car crash (even though it was pouring at the time of the incident). I was ready to get some lunch and get my old man to the doctor's.
Life is unpredictable. Things rarely go as planned and it is in those moments where one either "rolls with it" or gets stuck on the fact that things aren't going the way one would have preferred. As someone that substitute teaches as a part time job, I can not afford to loose my cool when things go unplanned. There are days when I pick up a lesson plan and everything seems to go smoothly until a student gets hurt, or the class takes longer on a section then what was planned. Things don't always go by the book and that is a life lesson we all learn at one point in our lives.
There is only one way to describe what I saw. It appeared that my car's tire had been skinned off. This may be a weird visual, but it reminded me of the way some Native Indian tribes used to skin the scalp off of their enemies. It was a sad thing to see happen to my old man. My day was officially not going according to the plan . . .
I could have gotten mad, started screaming and yelling out of frustration. I could have become a pessimistic and just look at all the wrong things that were happening but I choose differently. I choose to stay calm, wait until help arrived (one hour and 30 minutes of waiting but it could have been a longer wait, with the weather not cooperating). I choose to sit back, listen to some tunes, call my family and best friend to let them know how everything was going, and to even draw. Even when the cop pulled over to check if everything was alright, I remained calm (it was my first time having a police officer pull over). I was not stressed. I was happy to not have gotten in a car crash (even though it was pouring at the time of the incident). I was ready to get some lunch and get my old man to the doctor's.
Life is unpredictable. Things rarely go as planned and it is in those moments where one either "rolls with it" or gets stuck on the fact that things aren't going the way one would have preferred. As someone that substitute teaches as a part time job, I can not afford to loose my cool when things go unplanned. There are days when I pick up a lesson plan and everything seems to go smoothly until a student gets hurt, or the class takes longer on a section then what was planned. Things don't always go by the book and that is a life lesson we all learn at one point in our lives.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
- JM
- JM
In my experience, it is at the moments where I feel the most emotions that I am inspired to write. Inspired to portray those feelings into words, words that formulate sentences which then create stories, poems, journal entries. . .
There are times when the feelings one feels are too strong to be kept in. They need to be expressed, shared, or just plain old let out through the ball point of a pen for if they were to be caged in for one more moment one would just explode. . .
In the good, bad, ugly, crazy, desperate, beautiful, and storming times one most find ways to just let it all out. There are many ways to release it all, but I find writing as my source of freeing and expressing what I hold inside. Sometimes my own unique masterpieces overflow to the tips of my finger as I type, other times they become a jumbling mess in a journal entry. However, once all of my thoughts are released I am weightless. . .
So without further adieu, I would like to share one of my own works. It was written during my first semester as a junior in college, at a time when I was enrolled in a creative writing class and poetry was the focus of the class discussion. Poetry became my channel for my writing, a place where I could explore my own writing abilities. I hope you enjoy reading it, and feel free to share how you channel your thoughts, inspirations, and(or) emotions. . .
There are times when the feelings one feels are too strong to be kept in. They need to be expressed, shared, or just plain old let out through the ball point of a pen for if they were to be caged in for one more moment one would just explode. . .
In the good, bad, ugly, crazy, desperate, beautiful, and storming times one most find ways to just let it all out. There are many ways to release it all, but I find writing as my source of freeing and expressing what I hold inside. Sometimes my own unique masterpieces overflow to the tips of my finger as I type, other times they become a jumbling mess in a journal entry. However, once all of my thoughts are released I am weightless. . .
So without further adieu, I would like to share one of my own works. It was written during my first semester as a junior in college, at a time when I was enrolled in a creative writing class and poetry was the focus of the class discussion. Poetry became my channel for my writing, a place where I could explore my own writing abilities. I hope you enjoy reading it, and feel free to share how you channel your thoughts, inspirations, and(or) emotions. . .
La Sonrisa
I look at the sky and I see him
a smooth and charming young man–
I see the clouds and the sun
creating the never ending path of our game.
I look at the sky and I see you
a lost and broken man from within–
I see the stars and the moon
caging me in the world of what once was you.
A smile and the bird sings
to the rhythm of the unending strings–
a smile and the bird cries
caught in the web of unending lies.
A sonrisa and my heart is pounding
to the rhythm of a drum–
a sonrisa and my heart is murdered
drowned by thoughts of you.
- JM
It begun on the Summer of 2013, two weeks after high school graduation. Fall semester came and it brought with it new friendships, workshops, and lots of course work. Spring came and brought more course work, leaving me tired and ready for a break.
Going to college three semesters in a row can tire anyone; however, I quickly found my own personal remedy. I booked a trip to the Caribbean side of the island of Puerto Rico. I traveled the island for a month, and in that month I visited several cities. I traveled to San Juan, Caguas, Gurabo, Ponce, and Humacao.
Going to college three semesters in a row can tire anyone; however, I quickly found my own personal remedy. I booked a trip to the Caribbean side of the island of Puerto Rico. I traveled the island for a month, and in that month I visited several cities. I traveled to San Juan, Caguas, Gurabo, Ponce, and Humacao.
After spending one month relaxing in the island, I came back to begin my Summer courses. Although I choose to take a summer course, I was still able to take a break and relax. Its important to take breaks, whether they are long ones or short ones. Taking classes every semester without taking some time off to rest the mind can lead to one burning out.
College is meant to be a wonderful new life experience, don't let it burn you out. Take a trip, go travel the world, go travel the city your in, but don't get burned out!
- JM
College is meant to be a wonderful new life experience, don't let it burn you out. Take a trip, go travel the world, go travel the city your in, but don't get burned out!
- JM