Introduction-This ePortfolio showcases my time around Farmville in 3 short essays as well as a photo essay
Table of contents
Restaurant Review
Travel essay
Video Game Argument
Photo Essay
Restaurant Review
Bradley Correa
Professor Magill
Digital writing
11/21/23
Bandidos
From the second you see the raw stone walls and the cow skulls on the outside of the rusted green metal that jumps out from the bleak red brick that constructs most of FarmVille, you know that you are in for a treat. As soon as you walk into the small building all you can see is decorations from wall to wall spanning from intricate glass sculptures and South American art to tequila bottles and Christmas lights. There are lights and TVs everywhere giving off a Sportsbar feel yet the room is always in a soft blue and yellow tone thanks to the large neon sign in the center of the restaurant giving off a calm and inviting vibe. Whenever I choose to dine there, I am greeted seconds after walking through the door and seated placing my pink lemonade order the moment am handed my menu while fresh chips, salsa, and queso are placed centered on the table. Banditos queso is not your typical queso, it is a blend of freshly melted white cheddar, pepperjack and provolone cheese that seems to coat the chip perfectly and has a spicy kick that excites your tastebuds and gets your mouth watering waiting for your main course. When it comes to the main dish the options are plentiful, making it extremely difficult to select just one item from the menu.
Throughout my dining experiences here I have amassed a love for two of their specialty dishes, the Papa Loca, and the Burrito King Kong. In my opinion these two meals fully showcase how versatile and much care these workers put into this quaint small-town restaurant. My go to meal happens to be the biggest option they have for a burrito, hence the King Kong name. The burrito King Kong is a 17 inch freshly pressed flour tortilla Stuffed with flame grilled chicken, strips of ribeye steak, chorizo, carnitas, brown rice, red beans, fresh romaine lettuce, topped with three different sauces sour cream and garnished with Pico de Gallo. This $25 burrito uses almost every ingredient and is more than enough to feed 2 or more people. The way the chefs can make all these flavors seamlessly blend together to form a fiesta is your mouth every bite is truly a skill that only the workers of bandidos possess. While this is my favorite dish it is not my go to as the price and size is unreasonable for a quick lunch or take out order, however the Papa Loca is the perfect substitute. Perfectly seasoned flank steak and chicken are taken off the grill and placed on a bed of mashed potatoes topped with caramelized onions, bell peppers and diced cherry tomatoes topped with a Queso Blanco sauce and melted cheese. This is not a traditionally Hispanic dish but the way they season the vegetables and meat give the perfect spicy immersive flavor. Bandidos is the Hispanic heart of this 2-college town bringing culture and great food to an otherwise bland area.
Work cited
http://www.bandidosva.com/menu.html
Travel Essay
Bradley Correa
Professor Magill
Digital writing
11/21/23
The Ride Back
Leaving Longwood and the quaint small-town college environment that is Farmville is truly a love-hate relationship. The process starts with me packing up my belongings, only what is necessary for me while I’m back home. This typically consists of my black bookbag stuffed to its absolute capacity with clothes for the break, my water bottle and a few smaller necessities like my toothbrush and deodorant. Once my bag is packed my journey officially begins with the trek to my car parked in Lancer Park. This is honestly my favorite part of the trip, just me and my music turned all the way up in my Air Pods taking in my last views of this campus that has been my home for the past few months. The walk to Lancer Park is about a mile and takes you straight through the heart of the campus and past all the student housing where you can see remnants of the parties thrown the night before until you reach the bridge. After the bridge you are welcomed by a large sign labeling the giant parking lot and football field as Lancer Park. From here it is time to truly start the adventure back to my real home, only an hour and a half away but it feels so much longer sitting in my parked car prepping everything for the ride. After I have my playlist ready with all my favorite driving songs queued up and the GPS ready to guide me along my way, I take one last breath of the crisp Farmville air and pull out into the stretch of slow 25 mph speed limits until it finally reaches 45 and the roads begin to open up, empty and surrounded by trees with the occasional pasture filled with cows. At this point I’m locked in, driving almost subconsciously, just above the speed limit as I watch the rural roads ever so slightly become more urban as I approach my hometown. The Industrialization gives me a sense of home as more and more vehicles begin driving alongside of me and the 1 lane road opens up to 3. Around halfway through the drive I start to feel familiar with my surroundings, noticing certain landmarks and stores I have visited throughout the years; this is normally where I stop at the WAWA to get gas and a snack to carry me the rest of the distance. After refilling my car as well as my stomach I start the most familiar part of the drive yet, Hull Street, 6 lanes of stupid drivers and an accident every 5 miles but it means I am only 20 minutes away from my destination. It is a short stretch that I am on this road but it’s always the most action packed as I watch cars in front of me swerve from lane to lane and slam the gas to not get stopped at the redlights placed every mile or so. After I make it to my exit I’m truly home, passing my high school and first job as I pull into my neighborhood. It’s a weird mix of nostalgia and a reminder that, despite all the newfound independence and responsibilities, some things never change. As I reach my driveway my mom is always waiting for me outside with my dog eagerly trying to get off the leash and into my car before I even have a chance to open my door. Once I can make it into my front door, I am officially home.
Work cited
“Maps.” Google Maps, Google, maps.google.com/.
Video Game Argument
Bradley Correa
Professor Magill
Digital writing
11/21/23
GTA=Violence?
It is no mystery that the imagery, words, and environment a child is raised around will affect their personality and mental state. If you heavily shelter a child, they will be very shy and dependent on others compared to a kid who has free range of their neighborhood who is likely to be more social and self-reliant. When looking into the videogame portion of this subject, specifically violent ones, it’s clear why some people are advocating to ban these or have a more enforced age policy for them. The number one video game brought up in criminal children’s cases is Grand Theft Auto V. one case in particular deals with an 11-year-old who had just played GTA and decided to go try driving in real life as it was easy in the game. This chain of events led to an impaired driving report against the 11-year-old that consequently led to a police chase as in the game running from police is quite easy, however the authorities were able to stop him. The arresting officer had this to say, “Here we have an influence of a video game making kids try
things without their parent’s knowledge or proper knowledge of legality.” (City News) Now when looking at the game itself as a cause for the problem all the evidence is right in the first mission. From the moment you open the game you are thrown into a bank robbery with hostages, and you are forced to shoot and kill multiple police officers while driving erratically in an attempt to escape. When in the world of GTA you are a normal civilian, you start with no money, no car, no house, all you have is a pistol. This leaves you with essentially one option, to rob a store in order to make a few dollars and start off your life. The entirety of the game is based on criminal activity with little to no consequences. When an underdeveloped young mind is exposed to this type of behavior it becomes imbedded in their brain similar to how kids who grew up around domestic violence have a challenging time removing those actions and memories causing them to become unhealthy habits later in life. When you let an 8-year-old play a video game for hours where you can kill innocent people drive with no laws and have almost zero repercussions it tarnishes the brain and mental state as well as providing a false sense of legality and even a potential false sense of life as you respawn as soon as you die in game.
In conclusion when looking at the effects of violence in video games, the correlation to violent and illegal thoughts in underdeveloped minds of children is clear. These kids are spending hours at a time pumping their brains with visuals meant only for older audiences hence why the game is rated M for mature. The games developers knew of the possible effects and placed this lable on their game for a reason, however people between the ages of 10-20 are currently the majority of online players. These players will be subjected to profanity, violence, crime, drugs, sex and other mature themes unsuitable for those under that 18+ threshold.
Work cited
Staff, News. “11-Year-Old Takes Parent’s Car for Joyride after Playing Grand Theft Auto.” CityNews Toronto, 27 Nov. 2016, toronto.citynews.ca/2016/11/27/11-year-old-takes-parents-car-playing-grand-theft-auto/.
Rockstar Games. “Grand Theft Auto V.” Rockstar Games, www.rockstargames.com/gta-v.
Grodzinski, Alison. “Do Video Games Influence Violent Behavior?” Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center, 14 Dec. 2015, yvpc.sph.umich.edu/video-games-influence-violent-behavior/.
Photo Essay of The ride back
Work Cited
http://www.bandidosva.com/menu.html
Staff, News. “11-Year-Old Takes Parent’s Car for Joyride after Playing Grand Theft Auto.” CityNews Toronto, 27 Nov. 2016, toronto.citynews.ca/2016/11/27/11-year-old-takes-parents-car-playing-grand-theft-auto/.
Rockstar Games. “Grand Theft Auto V.” Rockstar Games, www.rockstargames.com/gta-v.
Grodzinski, Alison. “Do Video Games Influence Violent Behavior?” Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center, 14 Dec. 2015, yvpc.sph.umich.edu/video-games-influence-violent-behavior/.
“Maps.” Google Maps, Google, maps.google.com/.
Pictures by:Bradley Correa