snookums08’s blog

Everyone knows there are going to be questions in life that will never be answered...and lately, my question has always been, "Why?"  Why do the things that happen, happen? Why has so much tragedy happened on our Pueblo?  Why are all these things happening?

Chances are, my questions will never be answered...why?

Lately, a lot of things have been happening on my little reservation and because of what is happening, it is scaring me so much....because in a couple of days, I am supposed to be leaving home and entering college life as an incoming freshman at New Mexico State University.  Knowing that, I am getting scared because I am going to have to leave my security blankets at home (a.k.a, mom and dad). Knowing that I will be responsible for my own decisions is something that is very frightening...because I keep thinking, "What if I make the wrong decision?" Its hard for me to be on my own because I have always had someone there to help me through the tough times and someone to guide me in the right direction....I guess this is a test of how strong a person can be when they are in unfamiliar territory. 

I knew this day was coming, I just didn't know how fast it was going to arrive. But overall, I know that I am ready. We all have to let the security blanket go someday, and for some, that day comes sooner than expected. All we have to do it take one step at a time....

Imagine that you have a job that will take you on an all-expenses paid trip to California....well if you don't have this job, then you are surely missing out.  Last week, my co-workers and I traveled to California as a part of an Experimental Learning program. What that means is that we do a lot of hands on projects in order to understand and grow. 

On Monday, July 25th, we flew out to Salt Lake City, Utah from Albuquerque at 6:05 am. We arrived in SLC and we had an hour layover. Finally we boarded the plain to Burbank, California and arrived around 10:30 am.  When you go to a place that is known for their beauty, you expect blue skies and a beautiful atmosphere....well I was in for a big shock.  When I walked outside, I was really surprised by how much smog was in the air. I mean I felt bad and I also felt sad...but what can we do...I know its because of all the vehicles coming and going....

Next we went to the Hilton Hotel in beautiful Universal City. Unfortunately, the hotel didn't have our rooms ready by the time that we wanted to check in.  So what we ended up doing was going up to the City Walk and eating lunch at this little Italian Restaurant. It was so great...the serving sizes at that restaurant were enormous!!! We had ordered a pizza and it was sooooo good. Then after we ate, we went back to the hotel then we were on the move again. We had went to UCLA to do a little scavenger hunt.  The purpose of that, was to let us be independent and let us be responsible for finding and doing things for ourselves, because all of my co-workers and I, are going to be heading off to college in the fall of this year, and we aren't going to have anyone there to tell us or hold our hand the whole way through. So it was a great experience that I know will help us when we go to school. The campus was very beautiful and there were alot of students there.  The student staff were very helpful and very cooperative when we asked for help. Now thats a very good environment that any student would want to be in.

  Later that evening, we had a guest by the name of Mike Brown come and talk to us about positive community change and women in non-traditional leadership positions...and actually conversing with him, was very interesting.  I had learned alot, and actually understand more and more about everything. Mike also explained to us about the gang problem in South Central, which we were going to be visiting the next day, and explained to us what his role was.  Honestly, going to California, knowing that we would be visiting South Central, I was scared. Scared that something bad would happen...and I realized, that the only reason that I was really scared was because the media has led people to believe that South Central is a really bad neighborhood, when in reality, its just a regular community that has problems that need fixing, just like any other. Why does society classify these different neighborhoods as some place bad?

Later that evening, we went back up to the city walk to eat at this Spanish restaurant, which was totally fun...then we headed back to the hotel, where we went swimming. Then we headed back up to the room and got ready for the next day....

On Tuesday, we had started the day like any other, we got up and got dressed and went down to breakfast. You would think that being a guest in the Hilton Hotel, their meals would be good for the price they were charging...but it was the exact opposite. The food was good and all, but I was expecting an array of different foods just so I could say that I tried something new.  Anyways....they charged us $20.00 each, but it was funny.

After eating, we headed down to the lobby to meet up that way we could leave to South Central. The ride there took about 45 mins and was something to see.  Along the way, I noticed a change in the atmosphere.  I noticed there was a lot more trash and a lot of grafitti along the highway. Then we stopped at a little fast food place called Fat Burger.  The food was really good. We had stopped there to waste time. After eating, we headed to the Youth Justice Coalition. When we arrived, there were people there that were studying and trying to get their education.

The Youth Justice Coalition offers many services that range from high school education to legal education. With the schooling education, they offer many classes to the youth that have dropped out of high school because of the various problems that have and are going on in that particular neighborhood. With the "legal consultation", they try to educate the youth of their rights as people, even if they are in a gang or not. Honestly, the people that talked to us about their experiences were very nice and very informative. It made me realize that the youth are no different from me...they have just had a more challenging background and are trying to do right....which is the most awesomest (not a real word) feeling that any person can have, because it makes me feel good knowing there are other youth trying to do the same thing that my friends and I are trying to do.

About two hours later, we left back to Burbank and relaxed for awhile, before heading to Santa Monica Pier, where we enjoyed the beach water at our feet, which smelled like fish, and the sunset was so beautiful, but of course with beauty, there is bound to be disaster....and that disaster happened to be the waves crashing at our feet and my pants getting soaked...so it looked like I peed in my pants...and so it was a little embarrasing, but the problem was solved because I bought a pair of sweats....so I changed right away and I felt so comfortable....about 30 mins later, we were headed back to the hotel and showered to get ready for the next day.....which was Disneyland!!!!!!

On Wednesday,we had to get up early to get dressed and be out of the hotel by 9:30 that way we wouldn't get stuck in traffic....which didn't work..lol. But we had an appointment to visit the animation studios, that was apart of the Disney/Pixar studios. We talked to a gentleman that was in a high position.  He showed us what he does, and how he got started.  Then he asked my friends and myself what we were going to going to school for....and amazingly, all the fields that we had told him, somehow intertwined with Disney and he told us that we could have a job in the Disney Company. After talking to him, we were on our way to the theatre to watch the musical/play of Aladin....which was totally AWESOME!!!!!! What really amazed me was all the creativity behind the backdrops, the props, costumes, everything......it was so amazing.......and I would go see it over and over again. After the play, we were taken on a backstage tour by the nice people behind the mechanical magic....and it was amazing to see how much work and such precision has to go behind each and every scene. It was amazing, but it was so great.

After the show, it was time to go and have fun. We had went into Disneyland first and it was so amazing to see everything...to see such happiness. Just think, this was the vision of one man, to see families be happy and together. Now if that is not seen as an accomplishment, then I don't know what is. This just goes to show the legacy of one man going to live on for many generations.

After we went through Disneyland, we went to the California Adventure part...which was so much fun. We were just having so much fun. Then we were supposed to watch the fireworks that night, but there was a delay and so we decided to ride the Pirates of the Carribean ride which was totally worth skipping the fireworks. Then it was time for the Fantasmic show which was totally awesome. I mean we had some of the best seats there. But I have never seen a water show like the one we saw that night. Even to this day, I am still speechless. it was that good. Then after the showing, we went to go ride one last ride that we heard was a really good ride, which was the Indiana Jones ride. It was funny because of the way that it is set up just to get to riding part, it took you 10 minutes just to walk to the actual station where you get in the ride.....but in the end, it was worth it. That ride was so awesome, and I would go through the whole thing again just to ride again.

After the ride was over, we knew it was time to pack it up, and go back to the hotel because we wanted to go to the beach back at santa monica, and we knew that we were going to have to leave early to beat traffic, but like I said earlier, even though we left early, other people left earlier....so we were stuck in traffic for a while. But eventually we made it to the beach and we had so much fun. We slowly got in the beach but we were disgusted by the seaweed that was getting tangled around our ankles, but we still had fun.

After hitting up the beach, we went to go get some chow....and we went to a little cafe` that was nice as they seated us, but they "forgot" that we were there...and so we didn't get served until like 20 minutes later. So that was a little upsetting.

after breakfast, we went back to the hotel and got ready to come home. We packed everything and got dressed, well we showered of course, then checked out of the hotel and went to the airport. We left and arrived in Salt Lake City, waited, then finally headed into Albuquerque.

What this trip has made me realize is there are many things that need fixing and when you try your hardest, you can achieve anything you want. Like with the youth justice coalition, they don't have that much funds going into their program, but they still go there everyday, day after day, hoping and knowing they are changing the lives of young people one at a time. That concept is the mission statement for many organizations today, and now I fully understand why the youth is such a vital role in this line of work.......

This summer has been filled with ups and downs. Everybody told me to be ready for the real world, but I thought that was going to start as soon as I went to college. I thought that I wouldn't have to worry about anything just yet. But, truth is, reality was waiting right outside my door.  About the middle of June, my boyfriend broke up with me, and I was devastaded because he told me that he would be there to support me when I went off to school. And to experience that he was only saying words just to make me happy, totally sucked. I felt like he didn't care about what we had. I wasted a year and five months, just to be hurt...AGAIN! But I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I just didn't expect it to happen as fast.

Then just this past week, some pretty amazing things happened...I started talking to one of my friends that I hadn't seen in a long time.  Turns out we had a lot more in common than we did a year ago...and it was nice talking to him. Right from the start, there was a instant connection...and everything felt right and as a result, we are now together and loving every minute of it.

This past Saturday, I was playing with my sister and her team in a slow pitch softball tournament. It was fun and all. The only bad part was that after the games, her team started drinking...a lot!! So my sister told me that I was going to be the designated driver, even though I don't have my license, but I do have the experience.  So later that night, I was ready to go home and my main focus was to get home...SAFELY! But my sister had different plans...she wanted to be the one to drive home because she was scared that I was going to get caught and be cited for not having my license. The problem, i was already driving. So she was trying to grab the wheel and make me pull over. But being the person that was sober and smart, I told her no. As a result, she got mad and grabbed the wheel and tried to pull us over. But I didn't want her to drive because I didn't want her to hurt herself or any other person. So we got into a physical altercation. And she got the keys and started driving. Luckly, I was walking to one the villages and was lucky to wave someone down to help me. so she took off and I went home. so I knew that I had to tell my parents. And as a result, she lost her car and the trust from my parents.

I know that I did the right thing, but I know that my sister doesn't want to speak to me anytime soon.

This summer I have dealt with things that I never thought that I would have to. I dealt with less things in high school, compared to this summer. it just goes to show, that reality is waiting outside your door. What really sucks though, is that we can't hide from it. If we do, our problems will only get bigger.

These experiences have helped me to become a stronger, and smarter person.

This week we are working on the Informative video about the Traditional Cultural Property ordinance granted to the five pueblos, to help preserve the land that is sacred to us, the Native Americans.  Working on this project has its ups and downs, and in betweens. The highlight of researching this important, but hot topic, is reading articles and comments made by non-Natives.  Sometimes I get soooo mad at what these people have to say....these people think we want to build a Casino on top of the Mountain. C'mon people....why do you think this? We are not doing this to make money!!! What we value, we fight to protect. Its like, say if someone or a group of people were wanting to dig around a church that you have been going to, or that you are most important because you have that connection, you would do anything to protect it, right?

If so, then you would understand that we are doing the same. Because in our hearts...we value our tradition, our culture. Most importantly, or history and background. We just want to preserve what is important to us.

Yesterday at work, we had a guest speaker by the name of Eduardo Martinez, who works with The New Mexico Forum For Youth.  He came to talk to us about the non-profit organization world. A non-profit organization is an organization that is not established for the purpose of making a profit, but established to help a cause.

There are 27 different types of non-profit organizations but the most common one is the C3.  Non-profit organizations can consist of social, public, and private organizations, but the biggest are the private organizations.

Honestly, I am still a little confused about the whole non-profit organization operations, but I understand a little more about what the Laguna Education Foundation is trying to do.  I am a youth board member, and being in that position for the first time, I did not understand what they were doing or what their purpose was.

From my understanding of a non-profit organization is it is created for the purpose of bringing a positive change to a community and making sure that the community benefits from the organizations purpose. 

I know that some 18 year old kids do not think of this at their age, they think about having fun and be thinking about what to wear for the summer, getting ready to go to college or getting ready to enter the work force.  Being a girl in my in the position that I am in, is an incredible accomplishment.  Knowing that I am one of a few people in my community that likes to do projects that will help better my community. 

If a couple of ordinary teenagers have the passion and perseverance to do this for a living, why can't other teenagers feel the same way?  Why does it take a lifetime to find out that our community needs more people to help better it? Why can't the youth be more involved?

A couple weeks ago, we were given an assignment to make a Public Service Announcement about tobacco usage.  We had already recorded two PSA's and they came out really, really cool.  I really like doing something that will help our community.  Well last week, it was my turn to record and make mine.  It was simple, but yet, funny.  Well, I haven't exactly finished editing, but it is coming out good.

Doing PSAs has really made me think about my community and I am sad but happy to say that only a few people are doing what my friends and myself, like to do. 

While looking up ideas for PSAs, it was hard trying to decide what was going to be effective, and what wasn't.  The most effective PSAs are the ones that gross and freak people out.  I know when I was watching some ot the PSAs that were available on YouTube, I kept wondering how many PSAs do people have to do in order to make people think about what they are doing to their bodies? Its like "HELLO!!! Did you know that you are killing yourself, just in order to look cool? To be seen as awesome?

You know whats awesome? People that can have fun without harming their bodies.

Last Friday my friends and I cleaned up in our communities by doing something so simple, we picked up trash that was lying on the ground.  We went up to Acoma, where my friend lives.  To our surprise, Acoma was really, really, clean.  So we didn't have to do much.  What I really enjoyed when we went up to Acoma was the view. When we were up on the rock, everything was so tranquil, quiet, and peaceful.  It was if nothing could go wrong, and all your worries disappear.  It was like a home away from home. 
Next we headed to Laguna Village and picked up a lot of trash there.  Its kind of sad when your own community is so dirty, and its also sad when not a lot of youth get involved in cleaning up.  But it makes me feel good, know that there is youth that do community service for the better of the community.  I am proud to say that I am one of those people.

Being a woman in a small town, from a small family, I am often watched with loving eyes by my parents, my grandparents, my friends, my community members, and also my boyfriend. When I achieve something great, those people are proud of me....and knowing that they see me as I am, I feel good about myself.  Like I said, coming from a small town, word is spread fast.

But what happens when we leave the small town for someplace different?  We are often overlooked.  We are just seen as weak, and always needed to be taken care of.

I beg to differ though.  Woman are more powerful than men expect them to be.  I know there are men that look down on women, and I ask those who do, to look again.  For the men that respect women, I thank you.

I believe women aren't given enough credit because I believe society was lead to believe that men are the strong ones that will get things done.  Society thinks that women should be in the house, taking care of children, cooking and cleaning.  Times are changing and society is going to have to change with it. Shouldn't we commend our mothers for holding us, and sacraficing their bodies, so that way we could have life?

I know what I would like to see in this world....i would like to see all the women rise above and be known for our accomplishments, instead of our cooking...I hope to see that happen in my lifetime....

I am proud to write this piece on Ms. Delores Huerta, not only is she a woman of greatness, but also because she is a woman with a dream.  A dream to see that things start changing within the nation, and hopefully around the world.  I chose Ms. Huerta because she is an advocate for Hispanic rights, and being Mexican-American, I have come to respect this woman for her actions. 

In 1955, Huerta co-founded the Sacramento chapter of the Community Service Organization, and in 1960 co-founded the Agricultural Workers Association. In 1962, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chávez, which would later become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee and still later, the UFW, when it merged with Philip Vera Cruz and Larry Itliong's Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. In 1966, she negotiated a contract between the UFWOC and Schenley Wine Company, marking the first time that farmworkers were able to successfully collectively bargain with an agricultural enterprise.

In September of 1988 in front of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Huerta was severely beaten by San Francisco Police officers during a peaceful and lawful protest of the policies/platform of then-candidate for president George H.W. Bush. The baton-beating caused significant internal injuries to her torso, resulting in several broken ribs and necessitating the removal of her spleen in emergency surgery. The beating was caught on videotape and broadcast widely on local television news, including the clear ramming of the butt end of a baton into Huerta's torso by one of the helmeted officers. Later, Huerta won a large judgment against the SFPD and the City of San Francisco, the proceeds of which were used in benefit of farm workers. The assault is credited with starting yet another movement to change SFPD crowd-control policies, as well as the manner in which officer discipline is handled.

Every person that speaks his or her thoughts is at risk of being criticized, threatened, hurt, or even killed.  My question is though, is why do people always turn to violence when someone wants to speak? When we are little, aren't we taught to speak our minds, to not be afraid?  When this type of response occurs, it contradicts everything that we have been taught? 

I commend this woman for doing what she did. In my book, she is the number one woman that I would like to be like...helping others, even if it meant putting herself in danger.  Because I know that if something that small could move the world, then people will stop and wonder, "What can we do as human beings to help our community?"