Hi, nyob zoo xyoo tsab. Kuv yog Moob Leeg. Peb yog Moob, peb yuav tsum tham lus Moob.
It's an intriguing thought of what my life would be half-way around the world at this very moment. Would I be educated? Would I have a job? Would I have (somewhat) equality? Would I have a family? What would I do for a living? How would others treat me? ...Would I be alive? This reminded me of Angelina Jolie's speech.

At first, this was just a thought for my facebook profile photo, but it really hit me five minutes later. At my age in Thailand, I would’ve been married around age 16 and have about four children by now. Maybe my husband might love me, maybe not because polygamy was practiced regularly. Education was and still is limited to the Hmong community and villages in Thailand, where I was born. My duty would be a stay-at-home mother. At least I would know how to be a better cook, kinda? I don’t think I would’ve had the option to pursue an education. My life would be different, but it wouldn’t change my heart and determination to give it my all.

Maybe I won’t be as … aggressive, assertive, demanding, dominant, independent... Crazy? As Thanksgiving comes to an end, I am grateful that I am in a different situation. I am grateful for the sacrifices my parents made to raise me in a better environment. I am grateful for my crazy family. If I didn’t have strong sisters and other female role models, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I am grateful for education that has helped me become and advocate for myself, the world I live in, and my beliefs. I am grateful for sports I participated in that has shaped me to be competitive and to give 200% everytime. I am grateful for relationships that has helped me reflect who I am, how I am, and how I work with another person. Unfortunately, it’ll take a few frogs to prepare myself for Prince Charming :P that’s for a different entry to come later. I am grateful for the hard times, for they’ve made me stronger each time, loved more each time, give more each time, work more, and appreciate more. Thank you everyone that has been on my side through the ups and downs of my life. Thank you for understanding when you go from #1 to #100 and sometimes, non-existent. Thank you. Ua tsaug.

Thinking out loud of my favorite movies:
I'm thinking about watching this documentary sometime this year.
This movie was one of my first memories with my grandma. This was how the girls in our family was called "The King's 7 Princesses." Sweet movie. Sweet memories.
I never get sick of this movie
This is a classic. It still makes me laugh
I fell in love with Takeshi Keneshiro here
The first Jet Li movie I saw and I was influenced!
inspired!
Sunita!
Our potatoes!
Just funny
The REAL Jeremy Liin

I didn’t want to start blogging because I like to take my time. And that means at least an hour or two, but I’ll try to make this short and sweet.

Instead of Black Friday shopping, I went to the the MN Hmong New Year. I originally wanted to do short interviews (I’ll aim for that at my next HNY), but vlogging takes time and I was distracted. The difficult part was recording while you’re trying to enjoy the event, live in the moment, ya know? At one point, I had to bite the holder of my airpro as I filmed with the Nikon at the same time. I’m pretty sure I charged my iphone all night, but after an hour in, it was dead. I used the outlets in the building, but it wouldn’t charged. I decided to go to Andrew L Xiong and Kou Moua Photographys’ booth to use their Macs. They were very kind to let me charge it for about an hour and it lasted for the rest of the day. Watch the video to find out another Facebook ‘celebrity’ I ran into, 10k+ fb likes make the cut for me and that’s kind of the record at the moment. In fact, I think it’ll be a challenge for Hmong to compete in the social media field because the Hmong population is almost 1 million. On top of that, some of them do not have access to the internet. Ok, I’ll stop there and save that thought for a different entry.

This video took me three hours to edit last night and another two this morning. Why? Like writing a paper, you have to read your work from beginning to end, over and over again. This video doesn’t have all the clips I wanted to use. I uploaded the video five times on youtube before releasing it live to the public. Each time I reviewed the video, I noticed small changes to make. Once I made the change on iMovie, I had to wait about 30 minutes for it to completely upload on youtube. In fact, I’m only writing until the final version is ready to go live and I’ll post this entry up with the video link. I also had Lee Chang give me some feedback. He filmed one of the short scripts I wrote recently, so stay tune for that! Go like him on Facebook already! If you don’t know, he also does all the camera and editing for Lor Chang’s music and videos. See how easily off track I get? That’s a video compilation timeline for you :D.

If you don't have time for a 15 minute video, check out my 15secs instagrams. I hate to say it, but you have to watch it because you will learn some new things. I promise it'll be good and you'll be in for a surprise.

At work, I’ve been working on the registration site for an event coming up. It has been quite a journey in this process to make sure the site runs smoothly. For now, it’s working great, until I encounter new problems. Of course there were great lessons learned :D!

I found that I have a lot of ideas, and most of them are not formed because the old one wasn’t good, I just think things can be done differently. I mean, if you’re going to start something, do it right, right? (This is probably why sometimes I can be a quitter when I reach the point that I’m not doing it right) For example, you can’t start a relationship with someone just for because it’s convenient or the other person is awesome in XYZ ways. jux saiyan. When I started the site, I simply copied the old one from the year before that was done by the person before me. Most of the settings were already great, but I just wanted the site to be better for users.

The event has 3 sessions with workshops and users can only select one. The original site allowed users to check mark as many sessions as they want, only to find out once they click next that they can’t continue because they chose more than one. To make this change and easier for users, I changed the setting from selection to radio. I didn’t look up what radio meant at that time; I just understood the difference. This made the site easier to use because the radio option chose the option users choose last before they continue to the payment page. This meant that each session required a 'no' option too.

The other edit I made was add a reminder in red to make sure users checked the box for their Saturday attendance to be included for the workshops, otherwise I would have to call them later and they have to go through their wallet again to make a payment. I also made that one of the first option on the registration page too. Overall, it was a great learning experience that reminded me so much of my past job experiences. My boss was very flexible and laid back through the whole process. She let me take the wheels, also because she doesn't like to micro-manage.

Once all the changes were made, the site was finally released to go live for people to register to attend the event. This was where all the trial and errors and learning finally happened. The first problem was the fees not showing up. Second was a session with conflicting time. Third was not being able to deselect an option. They sound simple to fix, but I was the phone for 30 minutes to resolve this immediately because people were registering as I made those changes and it’s a big event that couldn't wait another day to fix it.

This trial and error theme got me reflecting on my life journey so far. (For this blog, I've learned to write in googledocs, correct it in WORD, and then paste it in BlogSpot.) I've had job and relationship experiences to help form the best of me for a better person in all aspects of life (family, work, school, community, leadership). Take everything as a lesson (Dali Lama). My last position started at 7:30am and that meant I had to at least be up by 7am at the latest. My current job starts at 8:30pm. A whole hour makes a big difference. I wake up happier :D and I get enough sleep even if I stay up late. The one before that was at 8am. Now I know that 8:30am is the perfect starting time for me. One position had me working until 5pm every day and I did not like that at all. I felt like I didn't have a life. But age is also a factor. Getting off at 5pm works out for a lot of older people, but that wasn't what I needed at that time. As I get older, I know I’ll be ready for the 8-5 thaang.

The other thing I do every day is check my email that’s subscribed to the jobcenter. I have a job, but I’m still curious about what’s out there, what’s next, how do I move up, how do I gain more, what kind is going to make/help me grow? I’m not a hopper in the workforce; I’m an adventurer. As I browsed through some of those jobs, it made me conscious of my current situation. Education and experiences is what can help you control the cards you are dealt with, which was from Jerry Yang when he came to speak at UW-Whitewater. Some people have reached a point in their life that they are willing to work for someone else, whatever the pay may be, and it’s great that works out for them. One day we will all get there, whether if it’s working for someone or being our own boss, I just hope it’s something we believe in and only aim to make things better for everyone.

No one can take my education was often said by our parents. So many of us are fortunate we can still control what we make out of our lives through education. I’m not sure what anyone’s situation is, but it starts with believing in yourself and some hope. One thing you’ll need for sure is a support system. Let go of people who are dragging you down. I have a friend who was a single mom around age 22 and she completed her B.A. and Masters already. My sister also went back to school full time and she has four children. My other sister took the longest break after high school and she went back around age 28. Education is already making an impact in their lives. We can stay where we're comfortable or get more schooling to change our situations. The decision is yours. You are in control.

Many of us do not have any other obligations like our parents. We can invest in ourselves as much as we want to learn so many things to be whatever we want to be. Why do you think I am blogging about finding adventures and learning new things? I don't want to live with any regrets. If you’re not there yet, I hope you’ll get there. If you’re already there, I hope you can be there for those who need your guidance. Thank you for reading. Like. Share. Comment. I’ll take it all.

It's rare to find a Hmong artist, or art that displays Hmong. WI artist Lao Lao was featured at University of Wisconsin - Marathon County along with the UW-Stevens Point documentary, Finding the Middle Way. Since I only work a door away from the art gallery, I decided to use that opportunity to capture Hmong art as I work on my "film" skills.
This video took me about 15 minutes to record a few clips from different angles and photos. Editing the video took the longest; 1.5 hours ( and I've been working on this blog for another hour). The reason for that is because I listen to a lot of songs for the right fit. Following that, the right part has to play for the right section. It's the timing that takes time. There were a few messages I wanted to make sure I showed. I wanted to voice over it, but I think the drawings are pretty strong already. I'll just reflect on my song choices.
I'm working on #thehmonginme, so I featured Hmong music in the video. The local radios are great, but I have a hard time figuring out the titles to the songs played. It's not like I can just google it, or maybe I can and I just never tried...A lot of videos that I'll be working on will be about exploring the Hmong in me. This is something my father told me I was good at when he saw my first documentary for the NHD competition in 2008. Nay, parents are always right. If you are following me on instagram, you will see that hashtag often.

1. Touly Vakhue - This is the song that I've been plucking on the guitar. I don't remember which Hmong movie it came from, but that was where I heard it. Be thankful for the hard times, for they have made you (The Man In The Iron Mask). Before there was enough money to buy everyone their own technology devices, everyone in the house had to share. Part of that was sharing the VCR (yes, I linked it for anyone born in the 2000's) with my grandma. This song brings memories of watching movies with her. She felt a lot of emotions from the movies, and I didn't. Now I realized that she lived through so much to understand and comprehend the movies to feel what she felt. When I saw The Notebook (2004) at 17, I thought it was the most stupid romance movie ever, Yes, go cry a river Rachel McAdams! Two years later, I watched it again and it was so sad. Then I watched it ten more times,"I want all of you, forever, you and me." Whoaa, that was way off track! Back to the concept of limited, it was a blessing in disguise. We were all stuck watching the same movies, so we had a lot of inside jokes and lines. Hmong dubb movies was one of the reasons I also learned most of my Hmong. Yes, the appropriate ones if you're wondering. My family also shared one computer and it was on dial up too. If you don't know, you might have to google this one. Sometimes my dad took us to the public library; lots of stories about that for a later post. Who else lived those days? When we finally got a computer at home, we always fought over it. Eventually my dad told us to share it by the hour. But who was I to complain? Those were first world problems.

2. The Sounders - Pom ib Plias & Pus Yoj Kuv - These song just had a funky feel to it. It brings me back to those night parties in the 90's with the disco lights in the background, women in shoulder padded blazers, and silly dances! I also like The Sounders in general. The first song I heard was from Lub Paj Rose and I was hooked, especially the rapping part! If I can recall, I think my sister even danced to it!

3. Maim Lis - I danced to this song in the student organization, SAO, during my undergraduate at UW-Whitewater. That song is really sweet! The girl's asking if she's dreaming or not as she sees him. He confirms that it's real life and it's finally their fate to be together and if there was anyone else in her heart. She said that she never desired anyone else other than him ever since he left, dreaming and waiting for him only, waiting to see if there will ever be a chance to be with him. He said that she's still the same person and to die in his chest, he won't let her get away and will love her forever :D!

4. Destiny - I fell in love with their music when it was featured in Friends, which starred Won Bin! I didn't blog as much today. I blog best when I'm in my room.

English Language Leaners (ELL) was also known as English as a Second Language.

From working as the ELL aid and what I've heard in my personal life, I've received mixed reviews about ELL. Some students don't like the program because they feel they are seen as incompetent with their peers, and that leads them to exit from the program. Students who have excited are often not very independent in their academics. One student has often complained that he has been "kept" in the program all because of a test, ACCESS. One student I worked with was very independent, but was restricted from other courses due to her ACCESS level. Sure, her ACCESS score shows her writing and thinking on demand, but it didn't show her determination, motivation, and ability to absorb new information. At her junior conference, I told her to take an AP course her senior year.

When it comes to education, language can be a factor, but if one is willing to put in the heart and patience to learn, why stop them? Sometimes, I feel like classes should be organized by that. I've seen great amazing students excel, but they're not pushed by anyone else, so they stay on the mainstream track.

Two students were also dissatisfied about the tests, that it should be inclusive. Just because one's native language is English, doesn't make them proficient, which is the issue for Hmong people that I see now. Some native English speakers might not even test out, and this could be a great way to integrate learning, and remove any stereotypes that all minorities only have problems with ELL

Based on the article, the testing process is redundant. A lot of students hate tests to begin with, and students who are ELL has to take additional ones; who'd want that label? The mother's defense that she didn't want her daughter to miss out on learning opportunities was the same reason one my sister dislike ELL. My sister felt that she missed other and higher opportunities due to her ELL identification.

As an ELL assistant, I've seen the common English grammars and mistakes, and part of me believe the need for it. However, the structure needs work. It really depends on how each school instructs their ELL course. For some, it's just a studyhall. For others, it's structured lessons. The development of any student who are ELL doesn't rely ONLY on the ELL teacher, it relies on all the teachers they interact with. Too many times, it's only the ELL teacher that does their part to help the student grow. The problem is not the ELL program or teacher, it is anyone in the school that does not interact with the student on their end. If a science teacher simply encouraged their student, maybe the student might speak up more in class, lead to confidence, which would lead them to so many other opportunities :D

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