Author Archives: Dina

Take My Advice – Dina Cantor

Leave a reply

” Know you’re worth” “if he respects you, he wouldn’t make you do that” “school comes first always ” “you’re too young to date” ” focus on school and not guys” “you’ll have time for guys later” ” trust me I’ve been there I know” “be happy it was nothing serious” “better safe than sorry” “should have listened to me” “did he use protection” “guys come and go but family doesn’t” “that’s what they all say” ” you deserve better” “once it’s gone it’s gone forever” “respect yourself” “did you catch feelings for him” “be the bigger person” “god sees everything” “I wish I was like you” “suck it up and don’t complain” “you’re amazing ” “I’ll be there ” ” you’re so close don’t give up” “I believe in you” “thing’s aren’t the same anymore” “you’re a little weird” “off the phone” ” nothing comes easy” “I want you to enjoy your youth” “enjoy being single” “but you need a degree” “you’re beautiful” “you’ll thank me later” “nothing last forever” ” it’s me not you” ” but we can still be friends” “kill them with kindness” “worry about yourself” “he seems different this one” ” guys only want one thing from you” ” they all lie” “they’re all the same” ” focus on school and not guys” ” act like you don’t care” “take things slow” “get to know him first” ” you need to be realistic” ” you won’t be able to do it” “you’ll end up like your sisters” ” you’re different” ” you got this” ” I wanna see you happy” ” watch it be too much to handle” “but you like your freedom too much” ” you’re gonna regret this later watch” .

Mystical & Magical-Dina

Leave a reply

I walked down this path, and It was like walking down memory lane. I looked to my right and I saw the times I allowed for myself to be treated less then what I was. I saw the times I justified to be treated less then what I was worth by others. I saw the times I was taken for granted by others, I saw the times I gave my all and was returned with broken promises and emptiness. I saw the times I had the facts in front of me and, I refused to listen, I saw the times I was doubted, second guessed and was expected to fail. I saw the times I put others needs before mine, I saw the times I questioned my ability to get through tough situations. At the end of the path, I came across another path. As I looked up, I saw a fresh start filled with nothing but positivity and, I thought to myself ” I’m leaving behind the girl that doesn’t know her worth back there and, I’m starting a new path.” As I started a new path, I realized my worth. I realized that I should always put myself first. I realized that I choose my own path, therefore I shouldn’t let others try to push me off my own path. From here on out, I will not let others step over me. I will be strong and bold and not let be told otherwise . I will not look back and dwell on the past but focus on this new path .

Music CATW Practice- Dina

Leave a reply

I listen to music all the time when I’m getting ready for school in the mornings, when I’m going to school , when I’m coming home from school and, even when I’m doing homework. I also listen to music when I’m going through some hard times. It’s easy to say music plays an important role in our lives. In the article “Is Music a good tool for health ?” by Elizabeth Scott, Scott discusses the effect that music has on the body and mind of people and helping them heal. The role that music therapy has played with cancer patients, children that have difficulty focusing , pain management and depression.I concur that music is a good tool for ones being and helps with concentrating and is good stress reliever.

Listening to music can help one heal and help them control stress. For example,”Hospitals are beginning to use music therapy to help with pain management, depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to ease muscle tension and other benefits”. In other words, listening to music has had it’s positive impacts in the medical field. Where it has helped patients heal or see improvements .To emphasize, I can relate to this because when it seems like I’m in a funk , I turn to music. I listen to music that has a uplifting beat to it or a fun meaning to it, and then I see a change in my mood afterwards. Therefore this is one of the positive impacts that music has on ones health.

Another impact is, listening to music can also help one sit down and focus . For example,” research has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to synchronize with the beat. Faster beats bring sharper concentration and more alert thinking. Slower beats promote a calm, meditative state.” In other words, It has been proven that by listening to music it can help one clear their mind and be able to focus more. To emphasize, I can relate to this because I listen to music and do homework. I find that by listening to music I can block out my surroundings, since my home tends to get noisy and be able to concentrate on getting my homework done. This is another way that music plays as an important tool for ones health.

Music plays an important role in our every day lives, from helping in the medical field with music therapy. It has helped patients with pain management ,depression, and to calm patients. Not only that but it has also helped people focus more to get things done.

 

 

Dear Stuff-Dina

Leave a reply

Dear Blanket,

You and I have come a very long way, for you were given to me as a gift when my godparents came to visit me in the hospital when I was born. Since I was a baby, I’ve slept with you every night. Even when we would take our family trips to Mexico, when I was younger my mom made sure to pack you along with us. If not I could not sleep at all and I would be up all night tossing and be turning. I even had you included in my sweet 15!, instead of using a doll that I just bought just for the purpose of the ultima muneca. I felt like it wouldn’t be as meaningful, using a doll I just bought; when I already have a prized possession from my childhood. Although my mom hated the idea of using you instead of doing a ultima muneca , I insisted on using you. You’ve been through it all with me, from family deaths to arguments with my family and break ups. In all those situations, I came to you to cry on, I would lock myself in my room lay down on my bed and wrap myself in you. At the end of a long day, I enjoy the soft feeling of you that runs through my fingertips; It makes me feel at ease honestly. I want to thank you for always being there for me when I needed to let it all out. And even though everyone in my family insists that I get rid of you because you are so old and are almost falling apart by the threads. I can’t because you hold a very special place in my heart . Getting rid of you is like getting rid of my childhood memories and I plan to keep you around long enough so that my kids can even use you .

Memo – Dina

Leave a reply

After taking the practice CATW and got a look at the midterm exam I was able to detect what I need improvement in still . For the CATW I need help with transition words so that my paragraphs are organized. I also need help with explaining the importance of evidence, and therefore elaborating so that it can support my thesis. Lastly I need help putting things in my own words when doing the summary portion where I’m not just repeating the article . As for the midterm exam, I need help telling apart what a complex sentence and conjunction adverb sentence is . I also need help telling apart the mechanics such as commas and semicolons and when I should use them .

Alexie and Me – Dina

Leave a reply

A person who gives me strength and hope for my future has to be my sister. She gives me strength and hope for my future because although she struggled being a teen mom .She’s turned out to be the most successful in my family and of all my siblings.  I look back at her journey throughout high school and college, how hard she studied to get her bachelors of science in human services and all she has achieved and it gives me strength and hope. I constantly think to myself if my sister who was a teen mom was able to be an amazing mom to my nephew and keep her grades up there. At the same time doing her internship and working, multitasking it all I have hope for myself and I know I can do it as well without a problem. When I am overwhelmed or I feel like giving up I think of my sister and how she was able to do it and it gives me strength and motivation to carry on with my studies. Having my sister giving me strength and hope will help me later on in the future because I won’t give up easily when life throws an obstacle my way.

Superman and me – Dina Cantor

Leave a reply

1. A smart Indian is considered a ” dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed” because with knowledge you can conquer anything . Non-Indians would adopt this opinion because they expected the Indian children to be stupid . Therefore when you have a smart Indian it’s considered a threat in their eyes . Indian children would adopt to this self-defending idea because it benefits them . They’ll have more self confident and knowledge when it comes to non-Indians trying to suppress them .
2. What the author means in paragraph 7 by ” I was trying to save my life” is that by learning to read he was then able to learn more and go beyond the expectations of what non-Indians had . They expected Indians to be stupid and by learning to read he broke those boundaries because being educated can be powerful. With this point is he emphasizing the importance of reading books and educating oneself .
3. The outward support that a person needs to break free of stereotypes and dead ends and forge a path to success. Is to have a influential background, in this case the authors father was his biggest influencer . His father, who attended college and was a big collector of books from different genres helped the author become the reader he was .
4. The metaphor that the author uses in paragraph 3, ” a paragraph was a fence that held worlds.” Did in fact help me understand what the purpose of a paragraph was. It helped because the metaphor created a visual in my head of what a paragraph is . I would explain the purpose of the paragraph as a structure that holds sentences together but that have to do with some specific idea that adds organization .

The time my school got exposed

Leave a reply

The night before graduation I laid out my cap and gown across my bed and reality finally hit me that I was finally graduating high school. Due to the fact that both of my sisters were teen moms and, only one of my two sisters went onto finishing high school and went on to college. Many in my family expected the same from me, that I would become a teen mom and never finish high school on time. But there I was the day of graduation in my white cap and gown, I had imagined the day of graduation over a hundred times throughout my senior year, but I couldn’t believe it was finally happening. Before the ceremony began my classmates and I got ready in our economic classroom, everyone was in such high spirits. We all showed each other our caps and how we ended up decorating them. All I could hear from my classmates is “we did it !” ” This is it ! the moment is finally here !” and “I just want my diploma and I’m out !”. We were all very excited and anxious to graduate, for senior was a lot of stress. Between the college application process, class assignments and my crazy economics teacher Ms.Bienavides we were more then ready to graduate.  As the ceremony began only a hand full of us, including myself, received academic awards and certificate of honors . As my classmates who didn’t receive any kind of award sat in their seats I couldn’t help but feel some what bad. But then I thought everyone is going to be acknowledge once they call our names for when we get our diplomas individually and walk the stage. Just like we had rehearsed over and over again the day before. But to my surprise no ones name was called,as we stood in the rows I saw my classmates simply walking the stage and being handed rolls of paper tied with a ribbon on it without anyone’s name being called. I looked around in disbelief of what was happening. When it came to my turn to walk the stage I waited to be called by my guidance counselor. But all she did was give this rather fake smile and clapped . Eventually my classmates called out ” Dina walk ! you’re holding us up”. As I walked the stage I looked out the audience to my mother, my sister and my cousin clapping and cheering my name. Seeing their reaction and the excitement on their faces made me happy for a brief moment . As I sat down for the rest of the ceremony I couldn’t help but to feel angry, how could they not call our names when we walked up to get our diplomas ? . I found it unfair to my classmates who didn’t receive an award because they weren’t acknowledged at all, it’s like they didn’t even graduate . As the ceremony ended and we were announced the graduating class of 2017. All my classmates and I screamed ” we made it, finally !”. The seats emptied and everyone rushed to find their family and friends for pictures. Though It was a very happy moment, in the back of my mind I couldn’t help but to think what my school did to us wasn’t right . Though I wasn’t surprised due to the fact, that the four years I attended school there my school administrators were always up to sneaky things. Such as changing test grades so that they could get students to graduate, extending due dates on assignments for some students only and allow students to make a whole marking period worth of work by doing one assignment.

Later on that weekend, while at dinner at Sugar Factory that my friends mom treated us too to celebrate . While dogging down my pasta alfredo, my cousin got a text message from a mutual friend from school of ours. My cousin’s jaw quickly dropped in disbelief ” ohhh my god” she said with her mouth full of her bacon cheese burger. I was too busy eating to care until my cousin handed me her phone . On the phone I saw a picture of my graduation ceremony of my principal handing one of my classmates a rolled up piece of paper and shaking their hand. The article said “Principal gives teen who cut class an easy pass”. I soon discovered that the article was meant to expose the wrong doings of my school and them grade fixing grades on students transcripts . In the article it explained how grade fixing has been an issue around most high schools in NYC to help boost a high schools graduation rates. In the article it also explained how my principal allowed for a student to make up work for a class he cut regularly in one sitting in front of computer in a few periods days before graduation. The article went on to talk about our graduation ceremony and the students at my school. And the time my classmates got caught with a group chat sharing other students work. Once I finished reading the article I turned to my cousin and said ” Did we really make it ?”. After reading that article, I lost my appetite I wasn’t hungry anymore. I couldn’t help but feel like my graduation ceremony was all an act because of the way the article drew my school out. The article made it seem like all the students at my school cheated their way to graduate and that wasn’t the case at all, a lot of us worked really hard all senior year to graduate.

“Girl” Collage – Dina

Leave a reply

” Know you’re worth” “if he respects you, he wouldn’t make you do that” “school comes first always ” “you’re too young to date” ” focus on school and not guys” “you’ll have time for guys later” ” trust me I’ve been their I know” “be happy it was nothing serious” “better safe than sorry” “should have listened to me” “did he use protection” “guys come and go but family doesn’t” “that’s what they all say” ” you deserve better” “once it’s gone it’s gone forever” “respect yourself” “did you catch feelings for him” “be the bigger person” “god sees everything” “I wish I was like you” “suck it up and don’t complain” “you’re amazing ” “I’ll be there ” ” you’re so close don’t give up” “I believe in you” “thing’s aren’t the same anymore” “you’re a little weird” “off the phone” ” nothing comes easy” “I want you to enjoy your youth” “enjoy being single” “but you need a degree” “you’re beautiful” “you’ll thank me later” “nothing last forever” ” it’s me not you” ” but we can still be friends” “kill them with kindness” “worry about yourself” “he seems different this one” ” guys only want one thing from you” ” they all lie” “they’re all the same” ” focus on school and not guys” ” act like you don’t care” “take things slow” “get to know him first” ” you need to be realistic” ” you won’t be able to do it” “you’ll end up like your sisters” ” you’re different” ” you got this” ” I wanna see you happy” ” watch it be too much to handle” “but you like your freedom too much” ” you’re gonna regret this later watch” .

 

About College-Dina

Leave a reply

My biggest concern about college is spending the time and money to get a degree and then not being able to get a job. For instance my cousin received her bachelors in the criminal justice field and it’s been a month since she’s graduated and she has yet to get a job. Therefore one of my concerns is questioning if I chose the right major, Human Services. Another one of my concerns about college is time management, If I will be able to manage going to school, working, having a relationship and time for myself. And If I can’t handle all those main priorities it will blow up in my face. Lastly If I can’t handle the pressure of finals , papers and midterms and crack under pressure. My goal in college is to build bridges with my professors and then be able to go to them if I have trouble with any assignment and maybe helpful when it comes to the work field and I need references. Another goal I have for college is afterwards I want to be able to get a job that I enjoy doing while making good money.

My biggest obstacle would have to be the lack of confidence I have in myself. I don’t work well under pressure and I’m always second guessing myself on the decision I made to attend college. Due to the fact that my sister received her bachelors even after she was a teen mom. She continued her studies throughout high school and onto college and she was able to graduate only one semester more when she was suppose to .On top of all this hassle she had my nephew who was such a kick ass mom too! . So you can imagine the pressure I am under, I have no kids and if my sister was able to do it there is no way I won’t be able to do it . Everyone just expects it to be easy for me and I wouldn’t want to let anyone down.