my family

                Coming from a Christian home, I’ve been raised to embrace the teachings of the bible. My parents in particular are extremely Christian and have always wanted me to continue in their beliefs. But there comes a time when a choice has to be made: continue or turn away?

                When I was younger, I had always listened to what my parents had to say about religion. I never second guessed it and I was always seemed to be happy where I was. In between all those brothers, all that love and warmth I felt every Friday and Sunday night. It was a place where it was ok to be all that you could be for god. But it became a place where that was the ONLY thing you could be. It was the ONLY way to live your life.

                As I grew, my cognitive dissonance expanded. I began to question miniscule verses of the bible and of the religion itself. Why must a woman always be submissive to her husband? Why does this religion translate the bible in a different way than other religions and where do these translations hail from? There were so many questions that couldn’t be answered. After I researched this religion for myself, I opted to discontinue following it. This was a well-kept secret of mine for a very long time, until I exposed it to my family.

                At first, my father was very hesitant of my discontinued attendance to the kingdom hall. He mentioned to me that I needed to notify the elders of my leaving, be a man, and step up to what I was going to decide for my life. But I was reluctant, and didn’t do anything about it. He was also somewhat displeased at the hair growing under my chin, which I think makes me an individual. My mom was more accepting to my departure. She told me “I respect your opinion and your views and I know that I’m going to need to tolerate your decisions as an adult”. My sister was very supportive. She gladly continued to accept me as the person I continue to proudly be.

                As you read this story, you find that it’s not much about family. In fact, it’s more about a young kids struggle to find himself in this world. But even though the immediate context may be about myself, the underlying message that this essay contains is the following: acceptance. My family has always had a plan for me. They wanted me to grow up to be someone I don’t want to be. They want me to follow something I don’t truly believe in. But despite all of that, they still accept me, and they still love me for who I am and respect my opinions about life. 

Jesse Sepulvada

 My classmate has always been a fighter. Ever since he graduated Channel Islands High School in 2001, he's had to fight his way through life. By never giving up, and overcoming the obstacles that have confronted him, he's been able to make wise decisions after years of experience.
 Jesse was born in Hueneme and was raised in Oxnard. He became a father at a very young age, and many responsibilities were quickly hurled toward him. He soon got a job as a sales associate at a phone company. He was earning a good wage there but one day bumped heads with a manager and lost the job. He then got a job at a third party insurance company, but there was little business so he was laid off. He now attends college and wants to work with athletes or something that has to do with working out because his dream has always been to "get paid to work out". Just like his role model, Bruce Lee, he practices martial arts, and works with kids at a gym that teaches what he loves.
 He considers himself a "down to earth guy", and in the future he seems himself graduating college with a career. He also wants to own a car and possibly own a home. In ten years he wants to have his own business, and have two more kids. Jesse would very much like to stay single because baby mama's are too much drama to deal with.

past, present, future

  My past is a short story filled with many beautiful childhood memories, a struggling adolescence and years of a lie that became what has made me today. When i was a child, I remember going to many theme parks and vacations with my family. I am grateful that my mother and father were able to afford a family trip once a year so my sister and I could have many happy moments together. I was a happy child, smothered with love and raised around people that would never hurt me physically or psychologically. When I hit seventh grade, I began trying to find myself. I got involved with the local gang members and began hanging out with the wrong crowd. I realize now that I only wanted to be cool and accepted. In eighth grade, one of my teachers gave me a reality check and I refused to continue being "cool". I began hanging out with these two other kids, Hugo and Hector. They opened my eyes to heavy metal music. I liked it a lot, and began listening to sub-genres that were derived from metal music.
  As I entered high school, I was a little scared, and still sort of had a "I wanna be cool" mindset. I made many friends, and I was always the funny guy. Throughout my high school years my interests in life, music, and religion evolved. I felt like a free spirit and wanted to experience everything I could. The pressures of high school and acceptance drew me to experiment with drugs and prescribed pills. I got caught up in drugs a lot, and I would do them almost on a daily basis. I preferred to do them before school, so the disgusting reality and drama of my reality would go away. In a way I was lost because I had a good family, I had good friends, I had a good life, but something about getting high just called my attention. I enjoyed leaving this world. I think the worse part is I dragged my new girlfriend in with me while I experimented, which led to her trying everything I tried as well. But my past has been well lived, and I have had  no regrets. 
   Although I've been raised very well since birth, I struggled (and am still struggling) a lot during my teenage years. My parents have always been extremely religious, and have always instigated it in my brain that I have to love God and I must partake in the faith they have chosen. But I've learned that all religion is flawed. There cant be a perfect religion because man is not perfect. I've stopped attending church regularly and I can say that my life is as normal as it was when I was attending regularly. My present also has to do a lot with my girlfriend Tami. She helps a lot when it comes to my problems at home, as do I with her. We help each other a lot, and without her this life would be a lot more difficult. I have stopped using drugs on a daily basis, and so has Tami, and it feels good to be free of those harmful products I would ingest. I currently work as a screen printer at a small family owned business called Ablaze Artworks. I like it there because the hours I work permit me to attend school, and also give me personal time to socialize with friends and peers. My present is an every day fight, an every day battle, an every day war to seek out what sort of meaning this life has to offer me.
  I have no idea what will become of my future. Whatever it is I hope its good. I do have some short term goals though. One is to pass all of my classes at Oxnard College and transfer to a University. I also want to purchase a vehicle out of my own pocket in the next three to four months, but hopefully sooner. I want to get married, and have three children with Tami and have a nice humble home somewhere that is NOT Oxnard. I want to get out of this city, and see the world before settling down and becoming a father. As far as a career or job goes, I still don't know what I want to do. Maybe a psychiatrist or psychologist because I am really good at listening to what people have to say. Whatever becomes of my future I hope its filled with positivity and lightheartedness, because I know this world is filled with hate and anger. I'm going to fight for everything i want just like I've been doing so far.