Fast Food

Fast Food

Fast food is more becoming more convenient than ever these days. When I was a young child, I grew up with my parents, siblings and grandparents. Because I was living with my grandparents there was rarely nights where we would eat fast food. Actually, the only fast food meal I can recall is the nights when we would get pizza and that was only on certain spontaneous occasions. Therefore, this definitely was considered a treat in my book. Although I stayed away from fast food while I was young, once my parents, siblings and I moved out, fast food became more popular for our meals. The reason for this being was the fact we didn’t have someone at the house all the time, my parents schedules were so strict, and they each got home at a later hour. My mother would still cook but not nearly as much as she did when she got home at our old place. I think the reasoning for this was my grandparents were not there to help prep for the meals or go out and get the supplies for home-cooked meals. My family and I were definitely having fast food two to three times a week for dinner for a good chunk of time. The fast food restaurants were mainly Carl’s Jr. and Jack in the Box. With that being said, when I was in middle school we moved once again. This time we moved to Oxnard somehow making it easier for my both my parents to contribute to making dinners narrowing our fast food visits down to once a week. I noticed the amount of feeling healthier or more “in shape” I felt after losing the fast food habits.

            These days, things are much harder and time is very limited. Everyone in the house works full time and there is rarely time for someone to come home and really feel up to cooking a meal. My father is now the only one who has the time to cook at a decent hour and he does as often as he can, which is very nice. Fast food is definitely becoming more involved with my family again, but it’s all we can really do since the finances and time are so tight and bounded. I honestly despise fast food, but the fact it is supremely easy to get and extremely inexpensive makes it that more enticing. I hope one day I can be less dependent on these disgusting chains we call fast food. Until my family and I get a more open and wide schedule fast food will most likely stay a member of our life. I know that sounds bad but I know some people can relate to my situation. Soon but not soon enough, I will be eating home-cooked meals every night again.

Alex Gonzales

Hello, my name is Alexander Gonzales. I am eighteen years old and throughout my short time living I have lived between the cities of Ventura and Oxnard. As a child, I believe I grew up with the last generation that played outside until dusk. I have two brothers, one being twenty-two, and the other being fourteen, thus leaving me to be the middle child. Throughout my K-12 schooling career, I went to Portola Elementary, Anacapa Middle School, and graduated from Buena High School. During my time going to Buena, I noticed many of my friends looking to go to universities and trying to become some kind of specialist. While they were all thinking far into the future I was worrying too much about what I was going to do since I had no real thoughts on what I could see myself doing for a lifetime.

            Luckily for me, I actually found a job that I would like to turn into a career.  Currently I am working for the City of Ventura on the Urban Forestry crew as a Tree Maintenance worker. Every morning I wake up at six and leave at four. For some, work may be something people might find dreadful or tedious, but for me I absolutely love doing what I do. Just do not call me a tree hugger. Besides work, I am a caring for two juvenile bearded dragons. I recently got the two critters after years of wanting some. These guys are almost as hard as taking care of a newborn child. On top of work and school, I am currently working on my Commercial Driver’s License. It is all very stressful when added one after another, but in the end  I know all my hard work and determination will pay off for me.

            For my not so distant future, I plan on getting an AA degree and putting in the extra time and work to become a certified arborist. As far as going to a university, that is still to be determined… I hope to remain with the City of Ventura and helping the forest grow. However the question, “where do I see myself in a few years?”, is a question I think only a few people can answer. Anything can happen meaning anything can change. I live day by day only to see what opportunities arise and what unfolds. This is just a little information I thought would help you get a feeling of what kind of person I am. Thank you for your time.