Personal Narrative: Cruz

“Do you like your job mom?” My son Matthew asks me casually looking up at me from his wooden desk chair. I’m working on cooking our family dinner and he’s currently working on a 10th grade essay, where he describes what he wants to become when he grows up. I always have thought that term “growing up” was funny, because through everything I certainly never have. I smiled down at him and answered “Yes, Matthew, I love it very much.” “Can I interview you about it please, it’s part of the assignment?” he replied. I nod and make my way over to the matching desk chair and sit down. “Just answer my questions about your job” He said. “Wait Matt, don’t you have to write this down?” “UGH mom this isn’t 2016, no one writes anymore. Gosh. My IPhone 17

We had just gotten back from vacation in Florida. We decided to get a few hours of sleep after we got home late at night. We had wake up early to start driving up to Joliet for the race. When we started getting close we became excited. We pulled into the parking area and started going crazy.

This year has been a contentious year for WV legislators and teachers. For teachers, we have been fighting to keep our health insurance costs down, are pay up, and seniority intact. Legislators have been dealing with the heat from our fire and trying to give us what we need to put that fire out. To deal with my eternal fire, I posted to Facebook saying, "I will never claim to understand politics as I would hope most politicians wouldn't claim to understand teaching. I think we need to fix this. Maybe we need to walk a day in each other's shoes. I don't mean spend an hour walking around. I mean a day, maybe even two." I went on to explain the life of a teacher and decided that a Facebook post seen by my friends wasn't enough. I decided to put my money where my mouth was. I created a paper invitation and a small note then mailed one to every member of the Senate, House of Delegates, and to the Governor's office. In this

I voted for Donald Trump. Before that, I voted for Senator John McCain. So, I have been voting Republican in recent presidential elections. My parents were Republican voters and I voted Republican until I left home and joined the military. I vote for the nominee I think should be president and not as a staunch party supporter. I research the issues of all the nominees to be fair. I voted Democrat in 1980 because I researched the issues of both parties. But, my information was biased from the mostly Democrat party information available to me. When I was preparing to vote in the 1980 election I wanted to start with all the facts and get the views of both the Republican and Democrat parties.

It is true in life that everything happens for a reason. It is also true to say that sometimes it is all about being in the right place, at the right time. There was never a more prominent example of this than a traumatic summers evening, only a few years ago.

@ Joe. Glad to see you are still taking time to convey your ideas to us.

It was the end of the school year, and I was super excited to go home, jump on the couch and have the snuggly feeling I had last summer. When my dad came home he called me up to his room,

With everything going on in the news and the new administration, I have been feeling the urge to do something. I happened to come across an online site where it talked about taking action. So, I decided to organize a Stockton Huddle, which is a 90-minute gathering for people of all walks of life to sit and calmly discuss their concerns about the new administration and its policies. Huddles are the second of 10-planned actions in the First 100 days of this presidency, which launched at the Women’s March in Washington D.C.

The second tool that has proven beneficial is the President’s Challenge. In the months prior to attending CPOA, I was sedentary, lacked motivation and required a jumpstart. The President’s Challenge did just that for me, catapulting and pushing me towards achieving my health and fitness goals. By the end of week two, I achieved the 12,000 point target. This could not have been accomplished without the support of my team or the fitness program that the academy faculty developed. The CPOA instructors led the class through comprehensive and vigorous routines, opening our minds to new methods for obtaining our goals. Routines included: swimming, spin, circuit training, TRX, interval runs and Fit Deck. As a result, it has ignited a new found passion

In my Government class, junior year, naturally, we discussed politics a lot. Outnumbered by liberals, I was typically on my own to defend conservative values. I was used to this and typically enjoyed the lively discussions, as they were civil and my best forum for sharing what I truly believe in. Although, my teacher always went against me too, which became very frustrating as he controlled the conversation. One class I was emboldened to ask him why he felt the need to argue against my position every time, he brushed me off and said that he could be the devil’s advocate for any position I had. So, I retorted, “The Holocaust was bad.” My goal was to show him how ridiculous his statement was and that he could not in fact counter every view

I didn’t make any mistakes. I was the perfect gentleman every girl likes to talk about, but would run for the hills if they had to put up with a blank piece of paper. Well, the evening was over now and I was pulling up to her front door. To my surprise, her parents were waiting for the two of us with bright smiles.

Haha, I understand that my disdain for Trump is subtle sometimes, but I’m glad that you picked up on it and know not to get me started. Additionally, I have a low tolerance level for Hillary bashing (just so you know), based on the fact that she’s worked hard all her life to improve the lives of others (in sharp contrast to the sociopath, who was born on 3rd and thinks he hit a triple).

"Mason, let's go before they catch us !" Liam shouted . Mason replied in a shouted distinct voice " Stop yelling they are gonna hear us. Liam I'm telling you we will be safe here stop taking a chance let's just wait it out man ." "I'll catch you boys don't worry !" While hiding in a student lockers, they were communicating through the inside wall. One had a math test for this week and one had the English test for next week. Liam and Mason were trouble makers and always down to do dirty stuff which no one were expecting.

Growing up in a very conservative household within an increasingly liberal society, I've had difficulty identifying my own political beliefs. I’ve been taught to pick a side: the left or right. That mindset has always left me torn and confused, but I have discovered that I don’t want to choose. I am a moderate. For me, politics is about my own values and my own ideologies, not whether my values are specifically conservative or liberal. I have a more liberal view on issues such as same-sex marriage, the death penalty, and abortion. And I have more conservative views on taxes, the free market system, and welfare. What I believe should not be swayed by trying to affiliate myself with a particular political party. I don’t fit perfectly into the

I was sooooooooooo excited. I got down from my silver Subaru with my grey jacket lagging in my hand. I called over to my mom ,who was packing our bags for the day in the back of our car,