By Anonymous

What is the world coming to when men are abusive to women? Millions of women are abused every minute of every day. Women are abused mentally and physically. People beating are on the opposite sex.

The most important thing is when children are involved in this physical activity. If I could count the times children see abuse in their homes, I would probably be out numbered.

Abuse is one of the causes of death. It is highly numbered in the United States. People are either murdered by the abusers or the turn to suicide because of abuse.

I have personally spoken to a woman who was abused for many years. She said one of the reasons women don't leave their abusers, is they are scared of what the abuser might do to victim or the victims family. The are also scared of being alone. Scared no one will want them if they know about their past.

So I ask myself, what is this world coming too? Abuse effects your outlook on life. You will never feel worth anything if you stay with your abuser. So take the first step to leave your abusive relationship. Your life is worth a lot more than you think!

By Corina Armijo

My life changed tremendously when I met my husband. He brought out a part in me that I never knew existed. I felt completed the day we were married. Although I am very thankful for my new husband and baby on the way it can be a bit overwhelming to take all at once.

My husband and I were married on August the fifteenth of this year. It was a very stressful, but very wonderful time in my life. Both of our families can be a little overbearing, so it got a little hectic. Especially since this was the first time they had met. When it all came down to it every thing turned out perfect. All the planning, stress, and nervous breakdowns had paid off. It was the most romantic and emotional day in my life.

We didn't really plan to have a baby now, but you have to take the hand that you've been dealt. It is very hard do deal with and accept at times. I see it putting a lot of stress on my husband and I. It can be very hard on our relationship, but it also very wonderful. Nothing is more special than being able to share this experience with the one you love. It's a wonderful feeling to have my husband there to hear the heartbeat, feel him kick, and see the ultrasound. I think it ultimately brings us closer together.

Many things in my life have changed in a very short time. Although they have all been good changes, it can be very hard to accept at times. I had a very hard time right after I was married. I guess I was just in shock. I still am sometimes. It's hard for me to think of myself as a wife and a mother. Sometimes I just want to run away. Maybe I'm just afraid of getting too comfortable or being too happy.

I think I am very lucky for the way my life has turned out. I have a wonderful husband and a blessed little baby on the way. Even though I feel like I'm going to lose my mind half of the time, I wouldn't change a thing. I am very happy with my new life.

By Sam Atencio

All cars have special needs that need to be met. Cars need to have the basic checkup at least once a week. Check your radiator, brake fluid, power steering fluid, oil, and your transmission fluid. These check ups will keep your car running good. Make sure you put caps and dipsticks back where they go. Cars are used to make life easier. The better you take care of your car the longer it will run.

People use cars every day. That means a lot of wear and tear. You take your kids to school, practice, or to where ever they need to go everyday. You also go to work, and you've always got to stop and go. When you stop and go your oil gets used a lot more. This is when you need to check your oil, add some if you need some, or do an oil change.

Old cars from the fifties to the mid-eighties, the bodies of the cars were made of steel, and they were more durable. In the nineties cars are made of fiberglass, and plastic. The dents might pop out easier, but they are not as durable as the old cars. Accidents in the nineties the car gets more smashed up. That means accidents get messier.

The car is made to get you from place to place. When you horse beat your car it's less likely to get you from point A to B. Only official sports cars are made to be taken to the limit. Sports cars need to be taken care of more specifically. They also break down more often. Sports cars need more money and care when they break down.

As we all know we are glad to have a car or we would have a lot of walking and horseback riding. When you take care of something it will last longer. Cars are an essential part of our everyday life.

By Veronica Cruz

I 'm tired of people whispering and staring and throwing us young mothers down. I am seventeen years old and my daughter is two. I had her when I was fifteen.

When I was pregnant, I would go to the store. People would whisper and stare. I would go pay and they would stay staring to see what I would go pay with.

One time I went to the doctor. Some lady said, "Here comes another welfare case. I looked at her and said "Just because I am young dose not mean I am on welfare. If I was, it is none of your business!"

A lot of people judge us young mom’s just by looking at one. Were not all the same.

Right now I am going to school to get my G.E.D. I am a wife and a full-time mom. I've got a lot of things to worry about in my life. So please don’t judge me!

By Karen Duran

The person who is successful in my life is my cousin Rafealita Logan Fontaine. Rafealita came from Alamorgorado, New Mexico. In 1981, Rafealita came to Los Lunas, New Mexico where she lived with her grandmother, Abby Montoya. There, Rafealita went to Los Lunas Schools. Rafealita then became a cheerleader for the Los Lunas Tigers.

My cousin was and still is successful in everything she has done in her life. Rafealita graduated from the Los Lunas High School, with the class of 1990. Some of the organizations that Rafealita participated in while attending Los Lunas High School were Girls State, Mock Trial, and Golden Key National Honors Society.

In 1994, Rafealita became treasure of Golden Key, and in 1995, she became PRESIDENT of Golden Key!! Rafealita attended the International Convention, in Washington D.C. on August.13, 1995.

Rafealita attended the U.N.M.-Valencia Campus for two years, part-time. She was on the Dean’s list. Then Rafealita went to college at the U.N.M. Alburquerque Campus, in New Mexico. Rafealita studied long and hard for five years, earning herself a Business Bachelors Degree in Accounting.

Rafealita graduated college with HONORS, in April of 1998. In between school and work, which is Citibank, Rafealita made it to be a financial analyist, in Alburquerque, New Mexico.

Rafealita Logan, became Rafealita Fontaine, married to Denny Fontaine. They have one daughter and two sons that are adorable TWINS.

My family is very proud of her. So am I.

By Nathan Hoffman

Poverty is wrong and could be dealt with a lot better than anyone has handled it. Poverty is also wrong because everyone should have a chance at a good life. Also the governments haven't done everything they can to help out the poverty situation.

Poverty in America is a serious problem. Over 30 million Americans live below the government's official poverty level. That's 14% of the population, and that number increases each year. 3.9 million Americans over the age of 65 live in poverty. There are many reasons why people live in poverty these days. Older people don't or can't save for retirement and social security doesn't cover the cost of living today. Another reason older people are poor is because when they were young they didn't need a high school education but now you do.

Why are people poor? Most of the world wants to destroy poverty. They also want to provide a better, happier, and more worth while life for their people. Advanced ways of living have made some skills or jobs obsolete. Also some people have been trained in certain areas of the place on welfare, social security, or have made them homeless. In the history of the world, poverty has often been caused by political problems. The way the system is set up, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In this belief the government puts higher taxes on the middle and lower class, knowing that either they won't be able to pay or will struggle paying the taxes. The upper class usually doesn't have to pay as much, but could pay the tax very easily if they needed to or had to.

The capitalist system causes poverty. The Union Party, a socialist organization advocates the control of the US government and economy by the workers. It is the New Union Party's belief that while capitalism can produce wealth and poverty unequally. The government uses statistical guidelines that set levels of consumption considered minimally adequate. The government estimates that more than 33 million Americans are poor. In addition 20 to 30 million are needy which would be at or near the poverty line. In other words a full 25% of the population live a bleak life and nothing more. This figure alone is enough to discredit any claim that America is a well off society and that free enterprise is the most effective poverty eliminating system imaginable.

In this day and age poverty seems life a hopeless situation but if the government would just care about the people and try their hardest to eradicate poverty. Poverty is very wrong and the government hasn't put themselves through a little pain for a short time so the poverty levels drop, and people will get off welfare and social security. The basic underlying theme of this paper is that something should be done because obviously something is not being done or else the poverty level wouldn't increase every year; it would decline. If everyone had at least a good chance at life, then people would be so much better off. Another thing is if the government stopped making the rich richer and the poor poorer and started making things equal then a lot more people would have that good chance in life.

By Tanya Melton

There are many types and styles of art. Art is a common form of expression from the artist. The many types of art I am referring to are the classifications of art. Painting, sculpture, music, poetry and dance are called fine arts. Minor arts are ceramics, pottery and glassware.

Art forms with drawing, painting and etching are graphic arts. Some paintings and drawings are two-dimensional meaning a flat surface. Sculpture and pottery are three-dimensional meaning it sticks out; you can touch it.

The style of art is a way the artists express themselves. When certain elements appear in the same artist's work, the style is called personal or individual style. If common styles are found in many artists' work, then it's called national trait.

The many styles and types of art are apart of our daily lives. We express art in our choice of clothing, jewelry, household furnishings, books, and musical interests. Therefore art is a common form of expression.

About Making Tortillas

By Elsie Otero

Tortillas are flat and round.  They’re all sizes too.

You can eat them almost in everything, like in a sandwich, tacos, dip them in soup, and make burritos too, and as fried bread. Here is my recipe to make tortillas. You get flour in a round bowl, and salt, and baking powder. 

Steps to making tortillas

 flour: 4 cups

salt: 1/4 teaspoon

baking powder: 1/4 teaspoon

oil: 1 tablespoon

You mix it until you make the dough, then you make them into balls of dough. You roll them one by one with a rolling pin. You cook them on a hot plate. It will make about two dozen tortillas. 

When I was a child, my grandma and my mother taught me to make tortillas. I was only about six years old when I started to make them.

 When my grandchildren come over, it’s my turn to teach them. We all stand around the table, and start making them.  One by one and eat them with butter and jelly while they’re hot. They all laugh and say, “Grandma they are so good, home made tortillas.’’

Wicca

Some people used to believe in witches. Witches were known to be women who would sell their souls to the devil in return for magical powers that most ordinary people don't usually have. By using witchcraft they could make their enemies sicken and die. They could go through locked doors, turn themselves into animals, and ride through the air on broomsticks. But later a new religion was formed. It was known as Wicca. Wicca is an neo-pagan religion which is based on the pre-Christian traditions of England.

Wicca is not at all like witchcraft. With witchcraft you have good magic, evil, and in between. Black magic being the worst, grey being in between, and white is healing and good. But in Wicca, it's all good, and all natural. They are mainly into nature, fertility, peace, and happiness.

Wicca is a sort of a revival religion. Wiccans are not like any other religion; it doesn't look down on any other religions or traditions, even though the other way around is unfortunately the case at times. Wicca is not anti-Christ, but it does not believe in the existence of sin, the devil, or a judgmental God and defined by Christianity.

Wicca encourages free thought, artistic creativity, and psychic growth. It is a celebration of the cycle of seasons and of life. Wicca is respecting and living in harmony with all living things. Most Wiccans and neo-pagans are alike and agree that magic might appear to be supernatural. It is a power or force that is very natural.

Wicca is a nature religion based upon what is believed to be the practices of ancient religions, especially the Catholic tradition. Wiccans are thought to be more accurate to see them as saving a spiritual basis, in nature and natural phenomena.

Wiccans don't have a written creed which the orthodox must adhere to, no stone temples or Churches to worship in. They practice their rituals in parks, gardens, and forest yards on hillsides, in the great outdoors.

The wiccaning ritual is a wiccan birth rite by which a newborn baby is given a legal name and/or a craft name, by his/her parents, and then spiritually purified and blessed in the divine name of the goddess. In some ways, it is like a modern witches' version of the Christian Baptismal Ceremony.

The Wiccans religion, is not a demonic religion like most people think of it to be. This religion really sounds pretty nice to me. Reading about it and being open minded, has helped me to really understand their points and ways, and it really isn't a horrible life style, they are just like any other person - they laugh, they cry, they're happy. I really feel strongly that people should not be so closed minded towards other people, life-styles, or religion, because who knows what religion is right?

By Kevin Rolfe

Television, for some it is a way to get away. Come home and sit in front of the TV for hours at a time. Myself, I think television is a vast wasteland. Television prevents many people from thinking for themselves. It also keeps many people tied to their couches and not to their responsibilities. Worst of all, it can be influential to people in how they act and what they do.

In billions of homes all across the world, people sit in front of their televisions and get sucked in. Television promotes not thinking for yourself. When you watch TV, you see thousands of people in a few hours, all telling you what to think. With so many commercials all aimed at the consumer, a person may get confused. A confused person may let the things that they hear and see, influence them more than they should. With all of this, a person can much easier sit in front of the TV and not have to think at all. All they have to know is what's funny and entertaining.

Many people, male and female, get addicted to television and it's hundreds and hundreds of entertaining shows. This prevents these people from doing their duties. Many people will sit in front of the TV for hours. Thus, blowing off their responsibilities and sometimes their children. People want to cast away from everything. Their jobs, their family, all things that they are able to escape from. They do this with TV, and they may do it for extensive periods of time. Therefore, nothing gets done by these people; they are trapped.

The worst thing about television is it's power to influence. Millions of people do not have the power to think for themselves, over the ideas that TV puts into their heads. The sex, violence, and drug use on TV is especially inviting to young adults and children. This is especially bad, since many parents leave their children in front of the television as a babysitter. Children can be very intrigued by the people and personalities that are on TV They may want to be like them and act like them so they can be cool. Though many of the TV personalities are bad influences, by using vulgar language, violence, and drugs, our children still look up to them. So, mostly used as an escape, the television is a harmful appliance. While poisoning our children's minds and corrupting our future, some say the television is indeed the only escape possible.

By Lisa Jean Snider

There are some people who are on a mission in life. Those who try to work on their goals in life. There are also those who just walk through life waiting for something to come to them. I'm one who sets my lifetime goals and I'm trying to accomplish as many as I can.

One of my most important goals in life is to be a good mother to my son, Andrew James. I want to provide him with security and safety. He's a little spoiled right now, but he is only one year and a half. And he is my only child. I'm trying to raise him with good morals and good judgment. I want him to know right from wrong.

My second most important goal in life is to be a good wife to my husband, Andy. I plan on living a truthful, loyal, and decent marriage. I want to provide my husband with a sense of security and truthfulness on my part. I just want to have the same expectations and the same family morals that a simple, honest family should have.

I've got more goals I'd like to accomplish, but those are the most important to me in my life. Being a good mother and a good wife. My husband and my little boy mean everything to me. I just want to live a comfortable, happy, and simple life. As simple as can be.

By Daniel Tarin

Dreams, everybody has them. Everybody needs them. They are a good way to express your imagination in the best easiest way, while you sleep. They open the gates to a whole new personal world only you can see and control.

There are different kinds of dreams. The good and the bad ones. The good ones you dream you won the lottery. You dream you married a fine supermodel. The good ones you dream you wish they could come true. But in reality there is a good chance that they won't come true. But it's nice to dream and think they will.

The bad ones, nightmares can freak the h--- out of you. You can see yourself die in a car wreck, watch yourself get your arms chopped off and so on. But when you wake up, you know it was only a dream. Your in your bed the same the same place you went to sleep the night before.

So in closing dreams are dreams, reality is reality. But they are a nice way to get away from reality when you need to.

By Daniel White

I work at the Village Inn in Los Lunas. I've been working there for about three years. I started on the Fourth of July to be exact. That's a long time to work at a restaurant for me. I've been getting tired of working their, so I went to try and get my G.E.D.

Since I have worked their I have seen three general managers, four assistants managers, and a lot of fellow coworkers come and go, but I somehow have managed to stay working there.

I heard about the job from my brother in law, who also works there. I guess that's why I still work there. That and the fact that I pretty much get to do what ever I want at work, I guess it's because I worked there for so long that I have the managers wrapped around my fingers you could say. That's not the only reason I also get along with my fellow employees which is easy for me to do because my friends work their also.