portfolio

Hallmark 1

The significance of this article is that we value life as an ongoing spiritual, journey of deepening relationship with oneself. I believe this is important because connecting to oneself and reflecting is very important. I attended the prayer service on November 11th because I really enjoyed the Dia de Los Muertos prayer service. Throughout the service I reflect on life and think about what I can do to make my environment around me important.

Hallmark one states that we proclaim by our lives even more than by our words that God is good. This belongs in this section because this this hallmark reflects on one's journey and deepening relationships on one self. During the service the pastor talked about how much we need to value life and continue to proceed to creating new memories with others.

Hallmark 2

The significance of hallmark two support one another while dedicating time to another’s person hobbies. Hallmark two states that we honor the dignity and sacredness of each person. I included this in my portfolio because supporting my friends is very important to me. I like to know that my friends know that I can support them in what I do. Including this in my portfolio can show that my friends are important to me.

This event I attended belongs to this section because this section describes that we create environments that encourage the development of the whole person. Attending my friend’s soccer game showed that I dedicated time to support someone's personal journey. While supporting my friends game I not only cheered her on but I flaunted her journey on my social media account of snapchat.

Hallmark 3

The significance of this article is that we ourselves create relationships within our learning community. Also, that article is about integrate classroom learning with civic and cultural interactions. Hallmark three states that we educate for and on behalf of justice and peace in the world. This event I included in this part of my portfolio because we not only learn the knowledge of others but also we share our knowledge with others. Also, we are creating a relationships with our learning community.

This event belongs in this section of my portfolio because we are educating ourselves with the trivia night. The tpumps and trivia night taught me things and re-taught me things that I forgot about but others knew the answer. Enjoying others company and learning at the same time with a group of people made it more exciting.

Hallmark 4

The significance of this article is that we are giving back to our community in a co-curricular activity. Also, it is about incorporating this process into our service learning commitments. Hallmark four states that we commit ourselves to community service. I included Call to Action day to my portfolio because it was service learning project that was a very good day.

Call to Action day belongs with this section because we partnered with a community agency to spend the day with people whom are our age and a little older with disabilities. Spending time with these young adults we know that they had a great time. I personally enjoyed this day because it made me feel like it was a great day because they were happy and seemed like they enjoyed it as well.

Hallmark 5

The significance of this article is that we celebrate and acknowledge everyone’s different culture and faith traditions. Hallmark five states that we embrace the gift of diversity. In this part of my portfolio I included the Dia de Los Muertos service at the church. I included this because it was about my culture and a day that I celebrate since I was a young girl. This event was very important for me to attend because I was not able to go back home and celebrate it the usual way I do.

Dia de Los Muertos belongs in this section because this hallmark talks about how we should embrace the diversity. This event had me reflect on the ones I lost recently and how much I hope they are okay. Losing my grandmother at a young age had a big affect on life and made me a stronger person. My culture celebrates day of the dead to honor the ones we lost and never forget about them..

Hallmark 6

The significance about hallmark six is that we create an atmosphere of open and direct communication. Also, we foster a spirit of friendship as foundational to our learning community relationships. Hallmark six states that we create community among those with whom we work and with those we serve. I included the pizza party my RA organized for us because it was at the beginning of the semester when we were creating our community. This event belongs in this section because we are trying to create a community. Getting to know our neighbors on campus and building a friendship with our RA.

Call to Action day Reflection

Before starting school here I previously was working with kids. I used to teach kids how to drum and dance after school in different schools. There were always one or two developmentally challenged kids in each of my classrooms. Sometimes it was a bit harder to work with them but coming to this event I kind of knew what to expect. I do plan to work with developmentally challenged kids in my future so you can say I was excited when Mr. Fitzgerald told us that our day was going to be spent with something I wish to pursue in my future.  Obviously, our group were older than whom I used to work with but there was not much of a difference. Most people don’t know that these are just regular people like anybody else they just have to try a bit harder. I wish I was more happy and as excited for everything as some of the people we met on Tuesday were. Watching how excited they were to do karaoke and when we were in the gym was amazing to see how involved they were. I wish that I was as carefree as they are about what people think about them. At the end of the day as we were saying good bye, Daniel had told me that he had a good time with us and that warmed my heart. Just him saying that made me happy to know that I was involved in making someone's day with the rest of my classmates.

three good things

The best thing that happened each day were:
9/1: I got to sleep in after my one morning class since I got the day off
9/2: Enjoyed time with friends at a bonfire
9/3: got to see my best friends and my brothers back at home
9/4: got to close the store early because of the holiday
9/5: got my tpumps Tuesday drink
9/6: went to my favorite store Target to shop
9/7: Got payed through direct deposit
9/8: Got what wing-stop which I was craving all week
9/9: Saw one of my best friends after three weeks of not seeing her
9/10: First Sunday off in three months!
9/11: Got my first tattoo
9/12: Got my tpumps Tuesday drink
9/13: Cleaned my room and finished homework at a reasonable time
9/14: Had free time to Face-time my mother
9/15: After selling a lot of the pre-orders for the new Iphone I got to see my best friend Eva
9/16: Found a good place with Carne Asada fries
9/17: Got to celebrate my heritage at the Nicaraguan Festival
9/18: Found my outfit for the concert this week at the mall
9/19: Got my tpumps Tuesday drink
9/20: While doing a double at work I got to finish homework and study
9/21: Saw my favorite artist perform at the concert Last Day of Summer
9/22: Got to sleep in after a long night
9/23: Got off work early and got to go back home while taking family out to eat
9/24: Took my friend out to eat to celebrate their birthday at Red Lobster
9/25: Went to bed early
9/26: Got my tpumps Tuesday drink
9/27: Realized I did all my homework
9/28: Got to FaceTime my grandfather
9/29: Got payed through direct deposit
9/30: Did a double shift at work

The one day in September that was most memorable was the day of the concert. It was one of the best nights I have had in awhile. While I am always working and school I rarely have time to go out let alone hang out with friends. Though there were a few complications while getting to the concert it was a concert that was spent with fun people by my side. My September was spent most of the time working but I am glad I got to take a break for the night and hang out with my friends whom I missed so much. Watching my favorite artist whom is from New York and only time coming perform was totally worth every penny I payed for.

Result of strength challenge

Vanessa Baltodano
9/25/17

      My strength I choose to practice on was honesty, and honestly I failed. I knew the biggest challenge for me was going to be to tell my mom I got my first tattoo behind her back and without telling her first. I thought it was going to be easy for as I told my brother whom I tell everything to that I was going to tell our mother. He didn't think it was a good idea, since he thought it would end with my mother and I in a screaming match. I never had the best relationship with my mom due to honesty and always going behind her back or lying to her to get my way. As of recently my mom and I have grown a deeper bond where I voluntarily shared my location with her so she knows where I am at all times. Also, I have started telling her everything I do but, the tattoo I could not tell her about for some odd reason. It's not like my tattoo is a stupid impulsive one, I would think she would love it since it's about her but I have this feeling that she would just get upset with me since I did it behind her back without letting her know. As I invited my family out to dinner this weekend I started to ease into the conversation by asking a question, “mom what would you do if I got a tattoo with your initials and the infinity sign?” I did not know what her response would be but then I thought telling her was not such a good idea when she said, “I will beat your ass.” I started laughing immediately and I could not take her serious but a part of me told me not to tell her. Honesty is easy for me because I hate, “sugar coding” stuff for people when I know it is best to just tell them the truth. I do plan on telling my mom but maybe I will just tell her through FaceTime instead of dealing with a possible screaming match in person.

Character test

Vanessa Baltodano
9/18/17

One of my top five character strengths that I choose to pursue is honesty. Honesty is presented as presenting oneself in a genuine way and acting in a sincere way. This character in particular excites me because I am honest in general. My personal experiences have made me believe that honesty is the only way you can you can truly be at peace with oneself. Though honesty hurts at times I work hard to be as gentle on the way I deliver my honesty. Honesty came out as number two on my top five and honestly I have never felt so good to know that one of my strengths is something I truly believe in. The true test is going to be this next week to really live up to my character strength. As I got my first tattoo with out telling my mom while letting it pass a week. My mom is the only person I have truly struggled to be honest with until I turned 18. Until recently I started to really be honest with my mother about everything. But seeing my mom this weekend will be the true test of my character and honestly I could not be more nervous than ever.