Hamburgers, French Fries, and Sundaes. Oh My!

 Ice cream sundaes, French fries, soda, and hamburgers fill menus at fast food restaurants. With all the amazing choices you are bound to find at least one thing that satisfies your cravings. Growing up, a young child never thinks of all the calories they intake, and they shouldn’t. Kids are too young to even be worrying about working out and dieting. I do find it to be the parent’s decision and job to limit their child’s intake on unhealthy foods. I have read in so many places that America is the country with the most obesity rates. Knowing this is crazy to know, but it makes sense knowing how many parents don’t have time to make a home cooked meal and decide to buy fast food for almost every meal.

Growing up fast food had always been a treat to my brothers and I. My parents almost always cooked us a delicious home cooked meal and we would sit at the table and eat as a family. Having some family time during dinner was one of my childhood memories, because we would all sit together and talk about different things. It was rare that my parents would order us pizza or get us a hamburger and French fries. When we did get it, boy was it a treat. My parents would buy us fast food if we were on a road trip and needed a quick bite. They would also treat us to an ice cream sundae if we had been doing extra good in school. Sometimes even if we they were busy with work we would get pizza. My brothers and I looked forward to pizza on the once in a while occasions. I don’t think we would have liked to have fast food or pizza every single day anyways.

Lately I have been trying to eat a little healthier. Fast food is usually not an option for me. When I was in eighth grade it was a requirement to read a certain book that mentions all the bad things about fast food items, because of this the thought of fast food kind of grosses me out. Sometimes the delicious looking pictures on advertisements would sucker me in and I would order something. I probably eat fast food once every 2-3 months. Okay, I lied; I eat In-n-Out about once every 1-2 months, at least. If my family and I are taking a road trip, we sometimes stop at a fast food restaurant, but even then we usually stop at an actual restaurant, depending if it’s not too late. Even then I just get a chicken sandwich with no extras added. Mainly, because fast food makes my stomach feel extremely heavy, full, and as if all the grease will stay in my stomach forever. I know, thinking that is a bit dramatic, but that is really how my stomach feels. I have to admit fast food can be so delicious, even though I have read bad things about fast food places. I crave hamburgers, but making a homemade hamburger tastes so much better to me. If I had the choice between homemade or a hamburger and French fries from a fast food restaurant I would definitely pick homemade. Fast food can be very tempting since it is so easy and inexpensive, but the outcome of eating so much if terrible.

A Leap of Faith

It was a Saturday morning, and I am sitting on the sidelines watching my little cousin’s soccer game, instead of sleeping in. My older cousin was coming into town to surprise my godmother for her birthday. Since my cousin lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, it would also be our first time meeting my new baby cousin Stephen. The second I saw him I fell in love with how adorable he was. I was getting impatient that my mom and godmother got to hold him before me. I tried super hard to be patient. I finally was able to hold his tiny sleeping self in my arms. He was sound asleep wrapped like a burrito in his blanket. Wishing he would wake up I gently touched his cheeks and talked to him. The sun was shining straight in his eyes so he squinted his eyes open and quickly closed them again.

We arrived to my godmother’s house, and all my cousins that did not get to hold Stephen at the game finally got the chance to sit down and hold him for their very first time. I finally got another chance to hold him, this time his dark brown eyes stared right at me. It was now getting later in the day when my little cousins were going to sleep. I was still holding Stephen in my arms after I put him to sleep. My cousin came up to me and asked me how work and school have been. She asked her husband, “Should we ask her now?” Nerves started to fill my body, thinking in my head, what can they possibly want to ask me.

“How would you like to be Stephen’s godmother,” my cousin finally asked. I got a huge smile on my face. Even though this was a very serious thing and of course it would not have been something she would be kidding about, I asked, “are you serious, or are you guys joking?” My cousin and her husband giggled and assured me that it was the truth.  “What? Why me?” I asked in a strange voice from being too excited and curious as well. “Well, we wanted someone who we thought would be a good role model for him. Also, we wanted someone who is responsible and someone that makes good choices in their faith,” my cousin finally said. Of course I said yes!

Being a godmother is a huge responsibility. Buying a child gifts on special holidays and having the privilege of being called a godparent is not at all what it is all about. It is actually a huge responsibility. Since myself and my cousin’s family friend were chosen to be Stephen’s godparents, that meant we would be would taking the responsibility for Stephen if things got tough in his life, and we would also have to show him the way into Gods life. Stephen was baptized in a Catholic church, and we would welcome God into his life. As godparents and his parents it would be our duty to teach him about God and have him build up his faith in God, as he gets older. As godparents, it would also be our duty to guide him back to god if he ever strays away from his parents and his faith in God. Since I was 18 years old, and already considered a young adult, I still felt I was too young for such a huge responsibility. My mom sensed the way I was feeling, and reassured me that I would make a great godmother and being chosen was an honor. I then asked my cousin what I would have to do to be able to baptize my future godson.

A few weeks after the big news I am sitting in on a future godparent class to get all the information I would need to be a great role model and godparent for Stephen. I asked my mom to go to the class with me because I was too nervous to go alone. Did I mention I was the youngest future godparent in the class? The instructors went over a handbook and talked about their experiences of being a godparent. When the class was over we got a certificate saying that we successfully completed our training and were now able to baptize our godchild. Since I have grown up in a Catholic family my whole life, I completed all my sacraments such as my baptism, first Holy Communion, and confirmation; I was able to be a godmother at the age of 18.

The day of Stephen’s baptism was coming near. My parents, brothers and I drove out to Las Vegas. As well for my other family members, they were following ahead or behind us on the road. We got there a few days before his baptism. We arrived at my cousin’s house late Friday night. Stephen was able to try on his tiny white suit that he would be wearing at his baptism on Sunday. Saturday we went back to my cousin’s house to spend the day preparing for Stephens baptism. We talked and caught up on what we have missed from each of our lives. I prepared the fondant crosses that I would garnish Stephen’s baptismal cupcakes with. We then had dinner and had family time. It was getting late and my family and I decided to go to our hotel since we would have to wake up early for Stephen’s big day.

It was 10:05a.m, and I was running up the stair to get into the church. I was supposed to be there at 10a.m. I raced into the waiting room where my cousin, her husband, and my soon to be Godson were waiting. They gave me instructions on what I need to do while we were in mass during the ceremony. My heart started beating, nerves started to fill my body knowing that I would soon be in front of strangers and my family, and if I mess up I would slightly ruin a beautiful memorable ceremony. I blocked the negative thoughts out of my head, took a deep breath and walked into the breath taking church, to the sound of a beautiful pianist playing the piano. All eyes were on us as we walked in behind the priest, I can feel my cheeks burning from being nervous, plus I was in front of more than 100 people.  Knowing that my family would be sitting in the front rows calmed my nerves, seeing that they were there helped me stay calm. If I were to get nervous I looked to them for support and they smiled back at me to show that everything is going just right.

From all the baptisms that I had been to Stephen’s was a bit different. Walking into to the church he had just his diaper on, he was then covered by a white towel. The priest welcomed him to the church and to God. This is where it was different, from the baptisms that I have been to, the babies are clothed in their white outfits, and they are then baptized with holy water poured onto their tiny little heads. This is what actually happened, Stephens diaper and towel were removed and soon his cold little body was exposed to the whole audience to see. He was then dunked in a gold bowl filled with holy water that was in the front of the church. When I say dunked, I really mean dunked. His whole body fully unclothed from top to bottom was dunked into room temperature holy water. Stephen started to pout with his eyes starting to water, but not a sound came out. His face was priceless, but I could not help but feel bad for how cold he must have been. The priest then said a short prayer and Stephen was then officially welcomed to the Catholic Church, and he was now a Son of God.

Stephen was now officially my godson, we were now able to take him to the waiting room where we started off to dry him off and but his tiny warm suit on. He was too handsome. We all exchanged our thoughts about how beautiful his baptism was turning out to be. Once he was clothed again, we walked back into the church ceremony and the priest then blessed him in holy oil. The priest drenched his head in oil. I remember this clearly because the smell was so strong, I was at the time holding him in my arms and the oil that was on his head stained my cardigan that I was wearing at the time. I now have a little souvenir stained onto a piece of clothing of one of the greatest days of my life, becoming a godmother.

After the ceremony, we took pictures with the guest of honor from the church ceremony, Stephen. As other people that attended the mass began to leave the church, they congratulated us, on such a blessed event. After the pictures were taken and the smiles and laughs were shared in the church, we headed back to my cousins house to celebrate this special event with all our loved ones. On our way to my cousin’s house, I could not stop smiling from all the joy I had. Knowing that I was now a godmother to this precious child made me feel extremely blessed and thankful that my cousin and her husband believed in me to take on this huge responsibility.

We were now at my cousin’s house, and I finished preparing his celebration cupcakes. They were vanilla with white frosting, topped with a baby blue cross that was decorated with edible pearls. Everyone devoured them, I assumed because they were so delicious. We ate, shared laughs and conversations about how beautiful the ceremony was. I got a little pep talk from my older relatives on how I will be a great godmother to Stephen. Hearing this made me a lot more confident, knowing how supportive my family was and how they believed that I am capable of such a huge responsibility. It soon got later and we had to return home. It was so hard leaving, not knowing when I will visit again. Thankfully my cousin and I are up to date on latest technology and she is able to send me videos and pictures of him almost everyday.

Stephen is now a year old, and he is walking everywhere. He is such a happy baby, and seeing him smile melts my heart. He can really make some ones gloomy day turn around. I have gotten to see him a lot more lately. My family and I just returned from a weekend trip to Las Vegas, to celebrate his first birthday. The theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I made cake pops and shaped them into a caterpillar. I am so thankful that we got the chance to visit them, and spend his birthday with him. The weekend went by too fast, and once again I was heartbroken having to say my goodbyes.

Looking back at life, I am truly glad that I have always tried my best to be responsible, and never get into bad habits. I say this because, if I had fallen off the right past, I probably would have never been seen to be a responsible and good role model for Stephen. Having strong faith in God, I know that he will help me, to continue being a responsible and good role model for Stephen. Even though I never did anything illegal, I feel like I need to be extra careful with anything that I do because I feel like it will affect me and not allow me to be a good role model for him. With that said, I will just have to do all things positive, and keep a good head on my shoulders. Now that I am a godmother, I feel that I was nervous and doubted myself for no reason. I know that I can be someone that he can look up to and I will always be here for him if he ever needs anything. I am now just truly blessed that my cousin and her husband gave me such a huge and great blessing in my life, and I will continue to be the best godmother that I can be.

Once Upon a Marriage

Marriage in my opinion is a huge commitment to both God and to your future spouse. I do feel marriage is still alive, but I also feel like marriage is not taken as serious as it should. In my opinion marriage is a huge step in a relationship. It does not just mean that you get to live with your spouse. It basically means that a couple now has a new future together, to make a living, begin a family, and to support each other’s decisions and to have each other through their lives, pretty much a new journey spent together.

Times from the past and now have definitely changed. There are so many teenagers having children when they are still kids themselves, and they feel the need to marry one another for the baby. When in reality they may not be meant for each other and it may lead the teenagers to get an early divorce. Some people do not take the phrase “I love you” seriously, I feel like it is said and not really meant. I say this because some teens feel like they truly are in love and decide to get married at such a young age, and they forget about their future goals, and just stay focused on their young love.

Then again, teens look up to celebrities, and some are not the greatest role models. Many social medias and magazines, mostly always publicize a celebrity’s second marriage, or even that a couple is getting a divorce. For young teens celebrities are who they look up to, so they may think that marriage is not a big deal and getting a divorce is perfectly okay. I also find that couples spend way too much money on weddings, and do not really keep in mind what a wedding is truly about. I am not saying that if you have an expensive wedding you don’t understand the meaning. I just feel like a small amount of people throw a huge wedding for publicity and don’t get the true meaning of a marriage.

I really enjoyed Rivera’s essay, but I have mixed feelings about temporary marriages. In a way it is good for young unsure couples that want a feel for how marriage will be. Like I said, marriage is a huge commitment and some people may not like having to be faithful to one person. One of the biggest reasons I would not agree with temporary marriages is because I feel like some people already do not take marriage seriously. I feel like having temporary marriages would lead a lot more people to think that marriage is not a big deal and it is. Marriage is a huge commitment for a reason, and it is not like marriage is forced upon people. Having temporary marriages would lose the meaning of getting married; it would not be special for those who truly want to spend the rest of their lives together. With that said, I feel that temporary marriages are more of a bad idea than a good one. 

Not Jazzmin, it's Hasmean

My name is Jasmin Servin de la Mora. My first name sounds like Jazz-min in English, but my parents named me Jasmin, meant to be said in Spanish. Since my parents are Hispanic, my name sounded better to them in Spanish, plus it made it sound like a completely different name, instead of having a common name. My name is pronounced Haz-mean. My fourteen letter last name, Servin de la Mora, originated in Spain. A few years ago one of my moms friends was interested in names and decided to look up our last name. She found out that it meant servant of the law, or servant of the boysenberry. I am not exactly sure what the meaning of my last name is, but having it been originated from Spain sounds cool to say.  

If you add an ‘e’ to the end of my name it spells Jasmine. Jasmine is a small white flower, which in my opinion smells a little weird. Even though a Jasmine flower is not one of my favorites, it was one of my parents’ favorites. I have asked them before why they named me Jasmin, and they told me it was because they had many Jasmine flowers outside their house, and they always loved the smell of them. When my mom found out she was pregnant she had told my dad if she had a girl she would name her Jasmin. So now, here I am, named Jasmin, like the funky smelling flower.

I am pretty sure I struggled a lot when I was learning to write my name. Most likely it was also very difficult for me to pronounce. My oldest brother has a middle name, but since he would complain that his full name was too long my parents decided not to give myself and my other brother a middle name. Some of my brother’s friends called him five names, and it some how traveled to me. If I had the chance I do not think I would change my name or last name because they both are very unique. My first name is unique in my opinion because it isn’t just Jasmine, it is pronounced in Spanish. Even though Jasmin is not a rare name, I always get complements from people saying I have a pretty name. Little do they know that it is just Jasmine said in Spanish.

My last name is super long in my opinion and I would always be embarrassed when teachers would say my last name because it was always so long and hard for them to pronounce. Since my last name has spaces in between it is always said wrong. Either it be said Servin, just Mora, and even De La Mora. When I was younger I always wished I had a shorter last name, but as I got older I really did not get embarrassed to say my almost sentence long last name, because it was who I was. I got used to my name being so long. Since I am still in school, I get anxious to hear how professors say my last name during role call, usually they just say my name and take a long pause before saying my last name, so I say “here” before they get the chance to say it.