Author: Brian Ortiz (Page 1 of 3)

Unit 1

Growing up, there was one specific word that just stuck with me,Till this day it still does. I honestly use this word very frequently, which later on as I explain the meaning behind this word isn’t such a good thing. The word I am speaking about is “hueva”. You might be asking yourself, what does this word mean? Give it some thought. Sure it may sound like the spanish word “huevo” which stands for eggs in english, I can assure you it isn’t that. If you look up the word on google you’ll see it stands for “roe”. In the hispanic  community we use this word whenever someone is feeling lethargic.

Tracing back  the time I first encountered this word was actually a very  enticing moment . It was  a very dull day, perfect for what I had been doing. I remember playing my playstation 3, not a care in the world. When all  of a sudden I hear my name cry out loud, “BRIANNN” I pay no mind just focused in my own little world. My mom ended up coming into my room upset at the fact that I ignored her the first few times. She had asked me to do chores, I of course was too lazy to do anything and just wanted to be cooped up in my bed and ended up doing chores which only lead to more. For some reason after completing my chores I was energetic and motivated, I remember telling my mom how we still needed to go to the supermarket to go buy for tonight’s dinner. To my surprise she had forgotten about it and replied with the words, “ay tengo hueva”. I was dumbfounded by the words my mother muttered, not knowing what she said exactly, thinking it was a Spanish curse word.

I looked at her confused and asked her what exactly she said, the first thing that came into mind was “did she just say a curse word” and wondering if what she had said was intentional or not. My mother proceeds to say it again thinking I would get it the second time but I couldn’t  put it together. I looked around wondering if there were any eggs near because I thought that’s what she was talking about. After much thinking I finally understood what she meant. I was even more shocked to learn that she was too lazy to go out. I asked her where she learned that word or where it came from, funny enough she didn’t know and just told me she learned it from her parents back in Mexico. Later on that day, my father came home from work and I proceeded to ask if he had “hueva” to go to work. He laughed and bluntly said “always ahaha”. After that day whenever I was loafing around my father would say “ven para que se te quite la hueva” (come so you can remove that laziness), and we’d go around the park or just walk around our neighborhood to get my head up.   

I remember being all happy because the word itself sounded funny so I was excited to use the word. Sometime in middle school I remember hearing that word again in my class by one of my friends and was surprised he had known it too. I asked him where he heard about that word and he replied saying “ahaha my father says that word a lot”. At this point I came to the conclusion that there is probably a very large amount of people out there that know what “hueva” means and it excites me knowing there are always people out there who go and say “tengo hueva”, I find that very amusing. It isn’t so bad having “hueva” from time to time, everyone in this world can get lethargic, but having “hueva” too many times isn’t a good habit. As I am typing this I ask you the reader if you’ve recently felt like you had “hueva”. 

I find myself using “hueva”more frequently than before which I come to realize isn’t so good. Every Time I need to do something or am asked to go somewhere I reply with “tengo hueva”. I’ve been noticing that I am becoming more and more antisocial and just very lazy in general, passing time by playing games or just being on my phone which is very unhealthy for my mental and physical health. I began noticing this change in me when I started my second year in college. The workload overwhelmed me and so I began to erase things from my “schudule” which included things like, going to the gym, and hanging out with friends. Every week just became a boring cycle, class, homework, and work. I was just very “huevon” (an unenthusiastic person). Getting online for class, doing homework if there was any and if there wasn’t then just be cooped up in my room because there wasn’t enough time to hangout with my friends, and whenever there was time it was just spent on school/homework. Being an engineering major really has pushed me a lot by focusing a lot in school which is a good thing, but has also led me to develop bad habits which I am in the process of fixing.

Nonetheless, it is amazing that there are words in each community that take a word and change its meaning or just have a word that means a lot to that community. I am part of many communities; it was honestly difficult picking a specific word to write about. I was sitting in my chair and muttered the words, “agh tengo mucha hueva” (I am feeling lazy). I realized what I had said and thought, yeah that’s the perfect word to write about, and that’s how I ended choosing the word “hueva”.  I was very curious as to where the word originated from and why many people in Mexico started to use this word more instead of others like “flojera” which also had the same meaning.

Unit 2

Crime in New York City

To many tourists, New York City may look like a friendly and welcoming city to travel to, with a wide variety of attractions to come and visit. Still, those who live here every day know that the city has a significant problem. Day after day, New York City has been flooded with crime, and it’s only getting significantly worse. I usually don’t find myself looking things up. However, I have been finding myself looking up incidents going around all over New York City, especially around my neighborhood. It is absurd how much crime has gone over the last year, and nothing is being done to fix it. What could be the problem? Why is everyone talking about bail reform?. I am not trying to make this an article solely on just crime in the city but more like a wake-up call to those who still don’t know how bad crime is getting in the city.

With that being said, Crime in New York City is at an all-time high with no signs of slowing down. With the recent mass shooting in Brooklyn that took place recently, many people are beginning to open their eyes. Mayor Eric Adams promises a safer city, but many people still fear being targeted. In an article by CNN, they interviewed new yorkers on how they feel about the increase in crime, many with common responses like “What will happen to me if I take the train? Or if I walk on the wrong street? Or when I take a ride on my bike?” “ It’s a horrible way to live,” (Dana Aber) said. She isn’t wrong; I ask myself the same question whenever I come out of work, which is usually around 11 pm. 

According to statistics released by the New York Police department, “The city has recorded a 42.7% increase in major crimes this year through April 24 compared to the same period in 2021″. Many began blaming New York’s new bail reform legislation. The 2019 reform law allowed most nonviolent felonies ineligible for bail while allowing judges to set bail for violent ones. Later in 2020, lawmakers rolled bail reform back by making more than a dozen charges eligible for bail. Just recently, New York State rolled back criminal justice reforms. In short, nothing really changed besides making it harder for gun-related offenses not to be set for bail. Although all this talk on the bail law, it was never about preventing crime. It was more than that.

Mayor Eric Adams proposed more policing in more areas at night and in subways. Many argue that more policing isn’t the answer, and they have a point. More policing can alienate and even have an adverse effect on communities of color, meaning more people of color can be racially profiled. Mayor Eric Adams has been receiving a lot of backlashes for his proposals regarding fighting crime. When he proposed to remove all the homeless from the streets and subways, many argued that it wasn’t going to solve anything but create another problem.

Overall, it’s essential to be informed of what is going around in your city; in this case, the more people are aware of the situation, the more people will get together to speak on the issue. It is absurd how someone can commit a crime and still be able to walk free after a few weeks. Something must be done to make sure we keep people who are a danger off the street. New Yorkers are hurting, they are fed up, and they want to be able to walk through their neighborhood without constantly looking over their shoulder all the time. 

Article Source: New York: Residents grapple with fear and anxiety, as the NYPD struggles to rein in crime – CNN

Article Source: Major crime in NYC rising as Eric Adams looks to save city (nypost.com)

Article Source: Crime rates keeping workers out of NYC offices not COVID, study shows | Fox News

Article Source: It’s Time to Take a Clearer Look at Bail Reform – The Appeal

Article Source: How New York State Just Rolled Back Criminal Justice Reforms – New York Focus (nysfocus.com)

Reflection

One could argue that this class wasn’t challenging, but it was to me. Writing was never something I enjoyed, and I am more of a math person, so this class was challenging. I’d often find myself staring at my wall, computer, or phone, trying to get an idea. I would waste hours thinking of something, and nothing would come up. Honestly, that’s how I got so behind on assignments. I don’t blame anyone but myself. On top of that, my classes became harder, so I focused more on those and had completely forgotten about the assignments I needed to do for this class. The class was interesting, and I appreciated how the professor wanted us to write about things we were comfortable with. 

Every day I felt guilty because I knew it could’ve been done if I had just spent the day coming up with ideas to write. Unit 2 was the beginning of my downfall. At first, I was confused, but later I realized that I needed to write something I found myself googling. I don’t find myself looking up things that “interested” me, and I recently found myself looking up crime in the city, so that’s what I ended up writing about. It took a very long time to finish it because I was confused about putting what I had in mind into “paper.” 

My favorite unit was Unit 1, and I put everything I had into it. Although I encountered the same problem with Unit 2, I kept asking myself, “what the hell do I write” but unlike Unit 2, I figured it out faster, and I do think I executed it well. I had fun writing about a specific word I use, and looking back, that word still sticks with me heavily. I kept pushing myself back, using that word as an excuse, telling myself that I had time, but time didn’t wait. Time never waits for anyone, and I knew that already. I should’ve known better. The next thing I knew, I was behind 6,7,8 assignments. I gave myself more work than needed, and it could’ve been all avoided if I had just focused. I still remember the day when I finally realized I had screwed up. It wasn’t long ago; as a matter a fact, it was just a week ago, looking at the floor on my way from work wondering why I didn’t just put my mind to it. I was going to give up and start over; I was going to drop this class, but someone very important to me kept pushing me to never give up, and now here I am. 

Writing isn’t something someone should be stressing a lot about. In fact, it’s something someone should be passionate about. My impression of writing has changed. This was the first time I felt so stupid and clueless, it’s tough, but once you get what exactly you want to write, you just don’t stop as ideas flow through your head. Thats how I felt after realizing what I needed to do for Unit 2  and for Unit 1

 As I am writing this reflection, I come to realize that it’s more of a reflection of my wrongdoings instead of what I learned. I will say that I did learn a lot. I would be lying if I said I didn’t learn anything. Writing isn’t only about putting fancy words and making it look pretty and long but also a way to express yourself and learn as you write. You have to be happy with what you write, confidence grows from what you write. It’s not just about deadlines but about you.  Thank You for the class it sure was a rollercoaster of emotions for me.