{"id":1,"date":"2017-04-17T04:52:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T04:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/?p=1"},"modified":"2017-04-19T06:53:17","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T06:53:17","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/2017\/04\/17\/hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning in the Real World"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Mom and Dad, my first teachers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As long as I can remember, my life has revolved around learning. \u00a0As the daughter of a first grade teacher, this is probably fitting. \u00a0My mom knew exactly what a developing brain needed, so we played learning games and pointed out letters and colors wherever we went; but, she wasn\u2019t my only teacher. \u00a0By the time I was in the first grade, my dad had taught me multiplication and would make me worksheets to do on the weekends. \u00a0I remember one day, he took me to the library. \u00a0We picked out an easy chapter book, but at that age it was difficult book to read. \u00a0Being the patient man that he is, we worked through that book for what seemed like forever, but I read it! \u00a0He was so proud of me, and I was proud of myself too. \u00a0I learned that hard work paid off, and I could do anything I wanted to. \u00a0I had no excuse not to do well in school, and so I did.<\/p>\n

Our learning didn\u2019t only come from books. \u00a0We would sing songs, go to the playground, paint and learn how to play instruments. \u00a0My brother, sister, and I also had a lot of freedom to play on our own\u00a0and make mistakes. \u00a0A lot of times I was told to \u201cfigure it out.\u201d \u00a0Although sometimes I hated it, I built valuable problem-solving and critical thinking skills and self-confidence. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My early background in learning led to an intense curiosity. \u00a0I was always up for a new experience and a challenge. \u00a0As long as I thought I could handle it and kept my grades up, my parents never said no. \u00a0I did karate and basketball, theatre, student council, school trips, piano classes, part-time jobs and more. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
In Boston during Harvard Model Congress<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During high school, my school sponsored a trip to Boston to participate in Harvard Model Congress. \u00a0I knew very little about congress and had never been away from home, but it was an opportunity for an adventure, so I went. \u00a0I loved every second it. \u00a0Being on my own\u00a0away from my parents, going somewhere new, learning about something I knew nothing about, and meeting people from all kinds of different places was exciting, and I wanted more. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, I learned about a program through my hometown, Montebello, CA. \u00a0Montebello has a sister-city in Ashiya, Japan and sends two student ambassadors every year. \u00a0I applied, and in the summer of 2014, I traveled to Ashiya, Japan, met the mayor, did presentations at schools, represented Montebello at different cultural events, and built strong bonds with my host families and others from Ashiya. \u00a0Throughout my stay, I noticed the differences between an individualistic culture such as my own in the United States, and a more community-centered culture in Japan. \u00a0I appreciated the sense of order and not being wasteful. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Making cranes to leave in Hiroshima as a sign of peace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Meeting a survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next year, I went on an immersion trip to Cuba through the Food and Agribusiness Institute at Santa Clara University. \u00a0The purpose of our trip was to learn about organic agriculture in Cuba and how it can be sustainable for a large population. \u00a0The topic had nothing to do with my major, but I was interested nonetheless. I met people\u00a0in the community, college students, families, farmers, and famous baseball players! \u00a0I loved their sense of community, openness, and creativity. \u00a0I noticed how so\u00a0many things\u00a0in life that I thought of as \u201cnecessities,\u201d really weren\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Playing dominos with a tobacco farmer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Working on on an organic farm in Cuba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
At La Tomatina in Spain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last summer, I was inspired to take a trip on my own, outside of any kind of structured program like I had before. \u00a0While my sorority sisters studied abroad in Spain and France, I took advantage and went out to visit them. \u00a0I attended La\u00a0Tomatina (a giant tomato-fight in Spain), saw countless landmarks, and had more setbacks thrown my way than I could count. \u00a0I had no choice but to be adaptable, spontaneous, and laugh through the pain. \u00a0These new experiences are what I love the best about traveling. \u00a0I took what I had learned in school and in the real-world, applied it, and learned more. \u00a0I was proven wrong about some things, challenged about others and had a lot of fun in between. \u00a0Throughout my life I\u2019ve discovered that learning happens beyond the classroom, and no knowledge, however random, is useless. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If it wasn\u2019t obvious yet, I am passionate about learning and education, particularly because of its implications towards social justice. \u00a0When I heard about the Global Social Benefit Fellowship, it was a clear fit for me. \u00a0I want to do my part in creating a more just world. \u00a0I am excited to apply my talents, skills, and fresh perspective to a whole new field, one that can improve the lives of many. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have had an amazing education in my lifetime (and continue to do so), and I want to help as many people as possible have the same experiences in travel and education that I have had. \u00a0For that reason, I continue to be an active member and help raise funds for the sister-city association that sent me to Japan. \u00a0In the future, \u00a0I hope to become a lawyer in the field of education, and advocate for the rights of all students. \u00a0Along the way, I plan on traveling around the world and learning a whole lot more. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As long as I can remember, my life has revolved around learning. \u00a0As the daughter of a first grade teacher, this is probably fitting. \u00a0My mom knew exactly what a developing brain needed, so we played learning games and pointed out letters and colors wherever we went; but, she wasn\u2019t my only teacher. \u00a0By the … Continue reading Learning in the Real World<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1734,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"gutentor_comment":1,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"jperales","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/author\/jperales\/"},"qubely_comment":1,"qubely_category":"Uncategorized<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"As long as I can remember, my life has revolved around learning. \u00a0As the daughter of a first grade teacher, this is probably fitting. \u00a0My mom knew exactly what a developing brain needed, so we played learning games and pointed out letters and colors wherever we went; but, she wasn\u2019t my only teacher. \u00a0By the…","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1734"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/jperales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}