Fake news

I discover that some of these pictures where hard to categorized as fake or real. In some cases I was just guessing. Digital technology is very advanced and cheats our eyes. I am critical of online information if I don't know or trust the source. In today's world some people are motivated only by profit and they would do anything to get heavy traffic on their web-sides. We need to be skeptical not to get into a fake news trap.

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Things I want:

• Elliptical,
• Lasik eye surgery,
• New AC
• New computer
• New haircut
• Gym membership with daycare
• Iron cast pots
• Enough time to sleep

The Jury is Still Out

• Parental skills
• Cars
• If I enjoy more to listen to the radio or watch TV
• Where to go on vacation? Somewhere by the sea or mountains?
• Should I stay at home with kids or go to work?
• Are vitamins beneficial for our health (the one from bottle, not food)
• Are teacher’s unions good for community 

My Media and My Obsessions 

LIKE:

• “Charlie Rose”
• “SNL”
• “This old house”
• “Arthur” cartoon
• “Dancing in a dark” and Bjork
• “Walk to beautiful” documentary
• Ravel, Bolero

DISLIKE:

• The Tonight Show
• “Open Water” movie
• Phil
• The Simpsons
• Lana Del Ray
• The Wendy Williams Show

Things That Bother Me:

• Easy access to guns. It bothers and scares me that almost everybody can be a gun owner. I come from a place where people don’t have guns except hunters and it works for us. There are no mass shootings. So many lives are lost in this country due to gun violence and there is no real solution. Sadly it is becoming a common thing.
• Big corporations lobbing in Washington DC. It bothers me because big money can buy and change a lot in favor of these companies. Regular people don’t have that kind of power and their problems are rarely addressed.
• Stereotyping and racism. It’s not fair that because of your skin tone you are more likely to be stopped by police and get arrested or even put in death row. It’s not fair that because of your religion people assume you are a terrorist when in fact you are the most peaceful person.

Part II

Easy access to guns

When I first came to the U.S.A I didn’t have any opinion about guns. It was not something I spent time thinking about. I didn’t realized how easy it is to buy a gun. I found out about it after watching reports from gun massacres sites. I also met people who lost close family members due to gun violence. They felt helpless and angry that guns changed their lives forever but nothing in this matter was about to change. I didn’t understand why people need guns and not just some simple ones but also semi automatic ones? Now I think there is deeply rooted gun culture. Some people don’t feel safe. I am not surprise, because I don’t feel safe as well. How can I feel safe when I know that so many people around me have guns? However, I don’t want to own a gun. Recently there was a shooting in a dollar store where I often go with my kids. Somebody died. What’s shocking is that after mass shootings gun sales surge. I often compere European countries to U.S.A. I rarely hear about any shootings there. Countries that had mass shootings (Australia, Great Britain, Germany) changed laws to limit access to guns. That didn’t totally eliminate the problem, but they greatly reduced it.

The hardest choice- final draft

            Anna was sitting on a wooden swing in a backyard of her house. She was smiling as she watched her three school-age grandchildren joyfully jumping on a trampoline. She really embraced being a grandma. Her own children were around the same age when she had to leave them with their father and move to Italy to work. It was a really hard decision to make, but she didn’t want her daughters to grow up the way she did- in poor living conditions with no money to persuade their dreams.

            Twenty years earlier the bus arrived at the bus station in her home town- Bilgoraj located in southeastern Poland.  Her three children and a husband were with her. The driver got out of the brand new looking bus and opened the trunk.  Anna’s husband placed her little suitcase in there while she hugged and kissed her kids. “Don’t cry,” she asked them in a warm voice, ”I will be back soon.” She didn’t give them any hint that inside her body she was crying more than them. She was really scared of moving to an unknown country- Italy, living with strangers and not knowing their language. However, the scariest part was to be separated from her daughters. Was her husband up to this challenge? Are her kids going to be fine? Battling her own thoughts she entered the bus. She sat down and looked at her family who were standing there waving to her. She had to stay strong because she was doing it for them.

            Life didn’t spoil Anna. She grew up in a village called Zurawnica in the poorest region of Poland. By the age of eight cooking meals for the family, feeding livestock and milking cows and collecting wood were her daily duties. That didn’t really bother her, but she was rather content that she could support her sick mother. Her favorite part of the day was school. To get there, she had to take an hour walk on a gravel road regardless of the weather, but it was worth it.  She loved to learn new things. Studying let her escape a gray reality, broaden her horizons, dream and hope that one day these dreams will come true. She finished high school at the top of her class. Anna’s teachers were advising her go to Marie Curie-Sklodowska University but sadly that wasn’t an option. The reality was that her family could barely afford to put food on the table. That’s why she got a two-year diploma in a nearby collage. During that time she started seeing Henry- a handsome graduate student from a nearby village. When after 6 months of dating he asked her to marry her and she said, “yes”. That was not because she was in love but it was expected of her to get married and move out of the family home.

First months in Italy were a nightmare. When Anna met her arranged employer- a middle-aged woman called Francesca, she got rejected. Francesca looked at Anna with piercing eyes and with contempt tone compared her to a model. The truth was that Anna was very pretty. She had blond, curly hair in ponytail, deep blue eyes and flawless skin. She was petite and skinny. The woman was clearly jealous of her beauty. This situation didn’t break Anna’s motivation. She was even more determined to find another job, work hard and earn some much needed money. With a help of a friend she finally got a job as a housekeeper and PCA for an elderly couple that lived in Frascati- a town within a short distance from Rome.

            Weeks were going slowly.  Anna missed her kids and kept waiting for Sunday- her only day off, to hear their sweet voices asking  “Mom when are you coming back?”  The truth was that she didn’t know the answer.  All she knew was that her family desperately needed a new place to live. They were renting a very old, one-bedroom apartment. Whenever it was raining, water was dripping from the celling like there was no roof. Anna used to put pots all over the apartment to catch the water. Now it was her husband’s job. Her goal was to save enough money to give her daughters a better place to live.

            From Monday To Saturday she wasn’t allowed to go outside the house. She felt like she was locked in a prison cell gasping for fresh air. She would wake up at 6 am and study Italian. Afterwards she would leave her room and go upstairs to cook, serve, vacuum, scrub, wipe and help her handicapped employer- Laura with personal care.  Anna could finally go back to her tiny basement room at 8 pm where, despite being exhausted, she would study for a few more hours.  After the month was up, she got her first paycheck– 800 lire. The next day she went to Rome and spent 50 lire on clothes for her daughters. She didn’t buy anything for herself. The rest of the money had to be put away.           

            In August 2000 Anna went to spent summer vacation with her family. That was her yearly routine now - to work for 11 months and come back to Poland for a month. Her daughters were very exited to finally see her. By then they were used to living without their mom. Anna was proud how independent and mature they became. They reminded her of herself when she was growing up. The whole family was also intensively looking to buy their dream house. When they finally saw it, it was like a love at a first sight- they didn’t notice any imperfections, only the potential. It was a four bedroom, three-story brick house with a huge yard located in a very good neighborhood. Anna couldn’t enjoy her purchase. Her thoughts where already in Italy and how the next 11 months filled with 70-hour working week would put a severe strain on her body.  She was trying to cover up those worries with positive thoughts. She was proud of herself to be able to reach her goal. She was proud of her daughters becoming ambitious, focused and hard working young ladies. She had to push herself a little more to pay for their education and renovating their new home.

            Suddenly Anna’s journey back to past was interrupted by her daughter’s voice. “Mom I knew I’m going to find you here. It’s time for lunch”, Agata said with a smile. She helped her mom to get up from a swing and after calling the kids, they all headed inside where the table was set.

            

The hardest choice- rough draft

            Anna was sitting on a wooden swing in a backyard of her house. She was smiling as she watched her three school-age grandchildren joyfully jumping on a trampoline. She really embraced being a grandma. Her own children were around the same age when she had to leave them with their father and move to Italy to work. It was a really hard decision to make, but she didn’t want her daughters to grow up the way she did- in poor living conditions with no money to persuade their dreams.

            Twenty years earlier the bus arrived at the bus station in her home town- Bilgoraj.  Her three children and a husband were with her. The driver got out of the brand new looking bus and opened the trunk.  Anna’s husband placed her little suitcase in there while she hugged and kissed her kids. “Don’t cry,” she asked them in a warm voice, ”I will be back soon.” She didn’t give them any hint that inside her body she was crying more than them. She was really scared of moving to unknown country- Italy, living with strangers and not knowing their language. However, the scariest part was to be separated from her daughters. Was her husband up to this challenge? Are her kids going to be fine? Battling her own thoughts she entered the bus. She sat down and looked at her waving family. She had to stay strong because she was doing it for them.

            Live wasn’t spoiling Anna. She grew up in a village called Zurawnica in the poorest region of Poland. By the age of 8 she was doing all the farm chores that should be done by adults. That didn’t really bother her, but she was rather content that she could support her sick mother. Her favorite part of day was school. To get there she had to take an hour walk on a gravel road regardless of the weather, but it was worth it.  She loved to learn new things. Studying let her escape a gray reality, broaden her horizons, dream and hope that one day these dreams will come true. She finished high school on the top of her class. Anna’s teachers were advising her go to Maria Curie-Sklodowska University but sadly that wasn’t an option. The reality was that her family could barely afford food on the table. That’s why she got a two-year diploma in a nearby collage. During the same time she started seeing Henryk- a handsome graduate student from a nearby village. When after 6 months of dating he asked her to marry her she said, “yes”, not because of big love but rather a need of change for the better.

            First months in Italy were a nightmare. When Anna met her arranged employer- middle-aged women called Francesca, she got rejected. Francesca looked at Anna with pricing sight and with contempt tone compered her to a model. The truth was that Anna was very pretty. She had a blond, curly hair put in ponytail, deep blue eyes and a flawless skin. She was petite size and skinny. The woman was clearly jealous of her beauty. This situation didn’t break Anna’s motivation. She was even more determined to find another job, work hard and earn much needed money. With a help of her friend she finally got a job as a housekeeper and PCA for an elderly couple that lived in Frascati- a town within a short distance from Rome.

            Weeks were going slowly.  Anna missed her kids and kept waiting for Sunday- her only day off, to hear their sweet voices asking  “Mom when are you coming back?”  The truth was that she didn’t know the answer.  All she knew was that her family desperately needed a new place to live. They were renting a very old one-bedroom apartment. Whenever it was raining drops where falling from a celling like there was no roof. Anna use to put pots all over apartment to protect it from unwanted water. Now it was her husband’s job. Her goal was to save enough money to give her daughters a better place to live.

            From Monday To Saturday she wasn’t allowed to go outside the house. She felt like she’s locked in a prison gasping for fresh air. She would wake up at 6 am and study Italian. After that she would leave her room and go upstairs to cook, serve, vacuum, scrub, wipe and help her handicapped employer- Laura with personal care.  She could go back to her room at 8 pm where despite being exhausted, she would study for a few hours.  After four weeks, she got her first cash – 800 lire. The next day she went to Rome and spent 50 lire on clothes for her daughter. She didn’t buy herself anything. The rest of her money had to be was saved.       

            In August 1998 Anna went to spent summer vacation with her family. That was her yearly routine now - to work for 11 months and come back to Poland for a month. Her daughters were very exited to finally see her. By then they were use to living without their mom. Anna was proud how independent and mature they became. They reminded her of herself when she was growing up. The whole family was also intensively looking to buy a dream house. When they finally saw it, it was like a love at a first sight- they didn’t notice any imperfections, only possibilities. It was a four bedroom, three-story brick house with a huge yard located in a very good neighborhood. Anna couldn’t enjoy her purchase. Her thoughts where already in Italy and how the next 11 months filled with 70-hour workweek will put a severe strain on her body.  She was trying to cover up those worries with positive thoughts. She was proud of herself to be able to reach her goal. She was proud of her daughters becoming ambitious, focused and hard working young ladies. She had to push herself little more to pay for their education and renovating their new home.

            It’s been 3 years since Anna came back to Poland. Her daughters finished colleges and build their own business. They don’t know what it means to be separated from their kids. They don’t know how it feels to have their days filled with physical work.

Profile essay interview

            For a profile essay I decided to interview Anna- my mom’s best friend. She is like a part of our family- always supportive and helpful. I know that she had a pretty tough live, but she remains a strong, positive and loving self. She spent almost two decades being separated from her family so she could earn money and improve her daughter’s lives.

            Due to the fact that she lives in Poland the interview was conducted over the phone.  Here are some questions that I asked:

·      Why did you decide to work abroad?
·      How was your family doing when you weren’t with them?
·      How did your typical working day looked like?
·      What kept you going?
·      Do you remember any stories related to your work?
·      What was the worst experience working abroad?
·      What do you think about the choice that you made now?           

Although I thought I knew Anna quite well, I found out some new facts and stories from Anna’s life. I feel confident that I got enough material to write profile essay.