Paisley Park Records

“I won’t stand for disobedience, nor am I going to allow you to ruin your sister's wedding, with your acting like a victim.” Mama Elena is a character from the book Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Mama Elena is a ranch owner and a mother of three girls, whose father died of a heart attack. Mama Elena also had a lover who fathered her middle child and was killed. Her husband’s heart attack was brought on upon him hearing this news. Mama Elena is an abusive, evil, and stubborn old…

The story "Sticks" tells the story of a man who always used metal poles as a way to try to communicate his feelings on holidays to his neighbors and family. Although the metal cross is decorated for the holidays, it is the only joy that the father allows in the family other times he is mean. His children grow up and see the same meanness in themselves. Their father is decorating the pole in strange ways. When his wife dies, he decorates it as a tribute to her using talismans belonging to her and…

In the End, it is Always Family Regardless of how many differences we all have with our family, they’re the ones who will always be there for us. They will lift us up when we are down and they’ll straighten our path when our road becomes a little curvy. They will love us unconditionally, no matter how many times you mess up. And that’s the one really good thing about family. You can scream, rip each other’s head off, and mistreat each other, but deep down, nothing can change the love we have in…

When I was a young girl, I begged and pleaded my mom for a phone. "But mom, everyone has a phone," I told her. She always told me that it didn 't matter what everyone else had, I was not them. That always bothered me because I obviously knew I was not them. The rule in our house was that when my siblings and I turned sixteen we would get a phone. Both my siblings already had phones, and it felt like an eternity before I would turn sixteen and receive one. On my thirteenth birthday on…

Tuesday, November 10th: Today I was at Hospice Home. It was the Hospice Home building location, not the home visits. I had a good experience with the nurse I shadowed and learned a lot. I learned quickly that being a Hospice nurse at the Hospice Home is very different than other types of nursing. Right away something that stuck me is that the nurses in this setting have more autonomy in their practice. They make a lot more independent decisions and then just notify the physician as to what they…

Brandon’s Wedding’s Effect On Me During the span of 5 days, I realized how I want to live my life. I started my trip September 10th to go to my cousin Brandon’s wedding. The wedding was in Wisconsin and it was a very chilly couple of days, especially the day before and day of the wedding. Only a select few members of the family weren’t attending. During this trip, I realized how important family and God is to our lives. On September 10th, I arrived in Wisconsin at about 11 a.m. My mom and I…

In the picture, it is December 2005, close to Christmas. My family and I are visiting my dad’s side of the family in Chadron, Nebraska, for a family Christmas party. The cheerful atmosphere is captured in the smiles on my cousin Spencer and I. The one in the front is me, and I am six years old. I am playing with Spencer and his guinea pig. While we were playing, my mom snapped a picture, capturing the silly moment when Spencer put the guinea pig on my head. When I was as young as I am in the…

In my own words, I believe that there are so many issues that I’ve experienced personally when it comes to dealing with autonomous and positive face creating conflicts. Some of the issues that I can relate to, was a moment that I came to concerning the things that I loved doing. Continuing this new ideal thoughts as part of my truly needed some sort of a time away from family. This became an issue toward my parents mainly since I never really came forth face to face and told my why I’ve been…

Family Matters Oh, how the times have changed. Whether it is socially, politically, or environmentally, the world is evolving. Some of the changes are for the better and some for the worse. One adjustment that has seemed to be put aside in society recently, is how much time families spend together. The main source of familial bonding is normally dinnertime. However, many families do not take advantage of this opportunity. Only about forty percent of American families eat dinner together more…

Parental Leave Laws are an extremely important but overwhelmingly overlooked necessity in America. Other countries have proven for years that Paid and Protected Parental Leave strengthen the family unit, as well as the economic and corporate structures. The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns. We must make Parental Leave Laws a priority for all parents if we wish to improve the standard quality of life in this country and…