Community: ___________________________________________________________


To begin visualizing this group of people as a particular shape with particular functions and characteristics, Pre-write about this community. If you get stuck or aren’t sure what to write, answer some of the questions below and see where they take you:

· Who are the members of the community? How do they interact? What is central to their membership? Do members choose to be a part of this community or are they members because of other reasons (geography, ethnicity, religion, etc.)

· What are the community’s characteristics? Its benefits? Its disadvantages? Its successes? Its problems?

· What do you enjoy about the community? What do you dislike about it?

The community I belong to is a basketball team called the rebels. There is 7 of us who make up this community. We all have been playing basketball since freshmen year in high school. Now we run a summer league team out of Manteca, CA. Everyone chose to be part of this team since we formed it together. The only thing asked is to practice when we can during the off seasons. The characteristics are different among all of us due to the fact that we all contribute in different ways. For instance I have my jumping ability and my mid-range jumper. I am a great rebounder and having the ability to use my body well. The benefits is that it keeps all of us together even after graduation. The disadvantages is gas since I don't live out there anymore. All and all number one requirement is to love the game of basketball

Done with one, on to the next!

What are some of the things you learned about yourself as a student or a professional in Module I? Did you surprise yourself in any way? Were you proud of yourself? Were you at all disappointed in yourself? Why?

In the first module I learned that I am a excellent student when I put my mind to it. I am going to receive my first college "A" in a actual college class. In the first section I only missed one homework assignment out of both my tech class as well as business communication class. I was also proud of myself to be able to wake up everyday with a smile on my face and dress up in business attire. I am also proud that I don't need to use my phone every second of the day like it is attached to my hand. Any time I needed help I would check in with my instructor or if I had questions about my grade so I always knew where I would stand. I am proud of the work and effort I put into my PowerPoint final. Putting together sound and pictures and text really made or great. I really did have fun making a presentation about my life in Year Up. I also stayed focus throughout the first semester in order to get my hard earned A. Some things I need to work on is never getting a infraction for homework. I went 7 weeks almost before getting my first infraction. I also need to work on my timing as far as when and where I talk. I need to become more professional at all times. I have a lot to work on but I am up for the challenge.

Make Me Like Damian

To what extent does a person’s neighborhood shape who she or he is?

Write a post on your blog-in which you talk about your surroundings and how this environment has affected you as a person:
Briefly describe your neighborhood.
Which statement best fits you and why?
I am who I am because of the neighborhood I live(d) in.
I am who I am despite the neighborhood I live(d) in.

I am who I am because of the neighborhood I lived in. I grew up in a city that back then wasn't bad at all. When I moved out of that city to the suburbs, it was a whole new feeling compared to the city. There was mostly whites and Latinos in the suburbs I moved to. But the schooling was great, which is why I make that statement of I am who I am because of the neighborhood I lived in. There wasn't a lot of violence in Manteca. The type of housing I lived in was spacious homes in a very quiet community. The loudest things or people were the kids at the park playing or maybe it was the thunderstorms. But I definitely will say I am who I am because of the community I lived in.The community that is Manteca, was all about cleanliness and keeping up with the look of the city. My school had a clean campus reward, which I think throughout my high school career only got maybe once, but it was when the campus was clean enough to get an extension on our bunches. Back to the neighborhoods, each community had a park. Some parks better than other, like some had basketball courts and some have playgrounds and some have huge grass areas for soccer games and football games. As far as the weather, Manteca has some crazy weather. During the summer it gets up to 100 degrees and during the winter it can get so foggy to the point you cant see anything in front of you. I still remember after a basketball game I had to get a ride to my car from one of my teammates because of the fact the parking lot had flooded. There isn't much to do in Manteca, so what everyone focused on was sports. Kids went to school sporting events and so did the parents. The focus was to make everything a family environment since that's what Manteca was. More times than not your next door neighbor was a family.

Read A Contract!

There are many people who are in poverty and are exploited by businesses who want to make a quick dollar. Businesses charge the poor higher tax rates on loans because of the fact that the profit on taxes alone would build capital faster than the rich paying off the loan.

“Federal Reserve data show that in relative terms, that debt is getting more expensive.  In 1989 households earning $30,000 or less a year paid an average annual interest rate on auto loans that was 16.8% higher than households earning more than $90,000 a year paid.”

Do you think that the fault of these interest rates and debts of poor people or the companies providing the services to the people?

I believe that it is the peoples fault because instead of the people reading the contract before they sign things they decide to listen to a salesman words. Of course they are going to tell you what you want to hear because salesmen get a commission of what they sale you. If they can’t read the contract then they should pay in full or just not get it at all. Companies stay on the poor side because they know that the poor won’t be able to pay in full for any expensive loans. So to capitalize on the market, they go to the poor areas giving loans to all of them just because they know they get residual income. Over the course of 5 years a company would make more money with a person taking out a loan than a person who pays off the item right then. Companies should be more benevolent because then they will get business from both sides of the opportunity divide, both the poor and the rich will benefit from companies being of goodwill. If profit margin is a problem for companies they should think of both rich and poor in my book.

The Life of A "Baller"

The definition of a "baller" is a successful person. I am Damian and I am 21 years old. I was born to a mother named Sharon. I come from a big family that I know very little about. I believe that I have a total of 13 or 14 brothers and sisters combined. I grew up with one of my brothers named Darren who is 18 years of age. We usually don't get along because of the fact that we think so much differently. My family mostly comes from the south, Arkansas to be exact. My mom still has that southern hospitality in her at times. I was born in Oakland, CA and moved to Hayward, CA at a very young age. My mom was offered a job in Atlanta, GA and so we moved there. I graduated high school in Manteca, CA at a school called Sierra High School. My hobbies in high school and still today are basketball, both playing and watching, computers, both being on the computer as well as fixing and building them, and also coaching basketball. I have coached ages 8-17 year old kids. I played basketball since I was 6 years old. I also played CYO basketball which is Catholic Youth Organization basketball. My future goals are running my own business, an airliner to be exact. Also I plan on having my own property management company. I also plan on starting my own AAU (amateur athletics union) basketball team to give back to the community I came from. I am also going to continue to get my bachelors and soon my master's degree.