All in the Family.

In the third and last unit of the Cure course, we studied the revolution that happened in Western Medicine with the discovery of vaccines, turning medicine to the direction of prevention. In Math, we studied equations, and connecting them with real-life scenarios.  The last action project was to take on the role of a very specific kind of doctor which would be yourself , your own "prevention doctor", empowering yourself to make healthy choices regarding nutrition and complementary approaches to leading a healthy life. We created a video to represent that. I talked about Diabetes because it does run in my family, I wanted to address how people can prevent it from happening to them. I really enjoyed this whole course. I loved learning about taking taking a different option on medicine and how there are so many different ways that you can cure yourself without going to the doctor in some cases. For our last field experience we had a guest speaker who taught us about plant medicine, she showed and taught us how to make Fire Cider, and Healing balm. Which are two alternative ways to treat yourself when you are sick or hurt. I learned so much throughout this course and also improved in math which I am proud of myself for that.

The Original?

During the first unit in the Humanities Food For Thought class I learned how and why humans gathered food; how they domesticated food; how food has changed over time; and how humans and food depend on each other. I learned that we are “walking corn.” I say that because we depend on corn so much. Corn is one of the first and most important foods that we domesticated because literally almost everything is made up of corn. This Action Project was to pick a vegetable or fruit and write an autobiography in first person. I pretended that I was cilantro. I also had to find a way to connect cilantro to my family’s food culture. I chose cilantro because it is mainly used in Mexican dishes and my family uses it a lot. What I learned about my family’s food history is that we mainly like Hispanic dishes because I am Mexican and Puerto Rican. Look at my family food tree that I created down below!

Created by JV "Family Food Tree" 2014*

Think of me as a leader of all spices, I am an original. My name? Well I am Cilantro, also known as Coriander, but that was a long time ago and I have changed since then. I have been used for over 7000 years, and I am one of the oldest spices recorded in history. I am from Southwestern Asia and I have been used by Egyptians and many other cultures. But Egyptians were the first ones to notice me. They used me as food in the afterlife for the departed which was alright, I guess. When the Israelites were freed from Egypt they spread me basically all over the world and changed my life. I was in the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe. It was pretty amazing to be used in other countries and for different reasons. I wasn’t only used for the afterlife, which by the way sucked because I saw dead people and had to feed them - yuck! I was also used for medical reasons and as a culinary herb. People loved eating me raw, baked, and made into paste - you name it. I am also good for health reasons and I help body odor.

My flavor is fresh with hints of citrus, and believe me, I am strong! My specialty? Being used in Mexican food! My favorite dish to be mixed into is guacamole, which is also my family’s favorite. I know they only eat guacamole on special occasions, because I’m always made for holidays and I overheard them talking about how special I am. I love being made into a paste to spread over baked chicken. I am put into tacos for favor,and I am used in green juices, which are some of my owner’s favorites. I love to grow during the spring when it is 70 to 80 degrees. This weather is perfect for me and I enjoy the intense sunshine. I like to get my tan on.

In the United States, I am grown in California and Florida then, I get shipped to local grocery stores. Once I’m there, people will buy me like crazy and put me in many different kinds of dishes and I love it. I’m not only used on one side of the world anymore but everywhere. I would like to thank my creators, the Egyptians and Israelites, for discovering me and changing me. If I was never discovered I would have died off and wouldn’t be where I am today. Mexican food would basically be nothing without me. I give so much life and favor to so many dishes. People also wouldn’t be as healthy without me and let’s face it, they would smell really bad. My life has been full of flavor and I am so thankful to be a part of this world.

Sources:

“Brief History of Israel and the Jewish people”. science.co.il. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Cilantro”. College of Agricultural Sciences. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Herb Profiles: Cilantro/ Chinese Parsley/Coriander.” herbinfosite. N.D. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Kitchen Dictionary: Cilantro.” food.com. N.D. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Who Are You?

The purpose of this action project in the Humanities class Who am I? was to come up with a guiding question that can guide my life. My Guiding Question is Who are you? I came up with this question because I think a lot of people think about this in their lives. What was most challenging was coming up with a guiding question because I didn't want mine to be too confusing. What I am most proud of is how my essay came out. I think it is really interesting. I will like to grow as a writer, that is why I chose to write an essay rather than doing a slide show. I hope my guiding question inspires you to find out who the people in your life are.

                        David Brooks. Who You Are then What You Do. 28 May 2012. Internet: SWiVELtime.com. 10 Feb 2014.

Who are you? On the Truman show, Truman Burbank was a real life reality TV star not knowing who he was. Truman became suspicious of his perceived reality and embarked on a quest to discover the truth about his life . Truman’s wife did not love Truman because she was an actor, she was just a part of the play. While, one of the actresses on the show, Sylvia, who really did care about Truman was kicked out of Truman’s world (The Truman Show) for attempting to tell him the truth about his reality. She made Truman think about his life. What if the people that come in and out of your life are like Sylvia? What if they were kicked off the show because they were trying to tell you that your life was fake? Who are the people in your everyday life? Do you think the people in your life care about you? Or are they all actors? Are you part of the Truman show?

I want you to think about the people in your life. Do you ever have scruple about the idea of people being real to you? Perception allows you to see the people around you in different ways, how do you know if people are lying? How do you know what people really want from you? How do you know if someone is sincere? A psychiatrist can help a person with paranoia, and offer that person medication and weekly meetings to help them understand the people in their life. A social worker can help people overcome trauma or past experiences and help them perceive the world in a different way. They can also tell you to meditate. Which is to calm your body and mind, to be at peace with yourself. 

WHO ARE YOU? Do you doubt who you are? What do the people in your life want from you? What do they expect? Do the people in your life truly love you do they care about your feelings? Do they care if anything will happen to you? This question is important to me because I think I know the people in my life. Or are they all lying to me? What risks will you take to find out? I would examine people around me at all times. I know many people around the world have the same question. This goes for all humanity because we need to know the people around us. We do not know when people are lying or if they are telling the truth. The people in your life can be like Truman’s wife they can just act like they love you or care about you. Is someone watching your life? Are you on the other side of the TV? Is every single person in your life true to you? Have you ever taken any risks to find out? Have you ever look around you to find out who you are?