Delta Winds: A Magazine of Student Essays A Publication of San Joaquin Delta College 2008

Table of Contents

• Letter from the Editors
  
• Devotion
  Rogene Reynolds pays tribute to the loving relationship of an elderly couple on Roberts Island.
• My Life in the Footsteps of Technology
  Shaunna Branham recalls the travails she faced as a teenager persuading her mother to invest in anything mechanical.
• School Bully
  Mary White explores her childhood search for popularity and respect and the only avenue she found available.
• The Fine Art of Procrastination
  Greg Patchen discusses how one student can postpone homework until the very last minute.
• Scrubbing Bubbles
  Michael Kost finds himself enamored by a product claiming to leave his shower spotless.
• Taboo
  Steven Stewart discusses how weight factors into one's personal appearance and the tendency to be judged by others.
• The Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs
  Michael Scott studies the consequences of steroids for athletes from the high school to the professional level.
• Women Like Me
  Rosaline Smith examines the relationship between a traditional mother and a rebellious daughter in an Edwidge Danticat short story.
• Is Wal-Mart Good for Small Town America?
  Ken Lambert analyzes the outcomes, both positive and negative, in a giant retailer's presence in Lodi, California.
• America the Promised Land
  Oskar describes the melting pot metaphor as more of a "sizzling cauldron" for immigrants who face a loss of cultural identity.
• What I Believe Was Our Last Commute
  Mary Guillory recounts with wry humor the highlights of family trips from Louisiana to California.
• Wreck the Hall with Antique Vases
  Nina Peñalosa rekindles the confusion felt when, as a four-year-old, she was accused unjustly.
• Beauty is the Beast
  Kellie R. Corber questions the fascination with cosmetic surgery and the price individuals have paid.