Thoughts, Reflections, and Experiences

I am brown.  What does that mean?  I believe the answer lies within my narrative and the narrative of my people.  Who are my people? As I seek to understand my history, my place in society, my identity as a Latina, I realize something. I realize that in order to understand that, I must also understand what it means to be a person of color. Brown, black, yellow, whatever color makes us "different than." I am not blinded to the hurt and pain of my fellow black brothers and sisters. I see their pain. I do not understand their pain as much as I sometimes wish I did, or sometimes even believe I do. But as a Christian and as a Latina, I believe it my responsibility to seek to understand more. For me, for them, for us. The struggle of being a Hispanic-American woman in this country is not just rooted in my being Hispanic. It is rooted in America's history. In America's treatment of Native Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans, Middle Eastern Americans....

15 Latino Documentaries You Should Steam on Netflix Maybe I can post reviews if I watch any of these!

More on this tomorrow...rather, later today. It's 2:30am and time for bed.

Yo Soy Mimi. My face is brown, and my eyes are dark. My hair is black, with some rays of light. My height is short, and my feet are small. My language is Spanish. My heart is colored. My family united. My blood is mixed. My identity, also. My strength in the divide. In the divide. Spanish or English? American or Ecuadorian? Here or there? Why not everywhere? In the divide. In the divide, I consider myself blessed. Blessed to stand with people like Esther, Paul, and Jesus. Blessed to look up to those that have stood in the divide. Oh, am I blessed. Blessed to have an education. Blessed to have a job. Blessed to have a chance to vote. Blessed to have my faith on God. Blessed to know one day, equality will be restored. Blessed to know in Christ, there is hope. Hope. Hope for days when my brothers and sisters stop dying on the streets. Hope for days when my mothers and fathers stop being seen as "less than"

First page. I'm excited already (: I feel like I've been seeing Díaz 's name around lately, so I'm glad that the hold I placed on this book is now available!

...so it's been over 7 days since I've written anything... I am excusing myself due to the fact that I cut off a small piece of my finger off last Saturday night [9/24]. Nothing major, mostly just the fat and skin, but I completely cut it off! Of course I still went to work 2 hours later. Being the new girl who just got off orientation means you should probably be a team player and suck up the fact that your finger is bandaged and bloody and just go help them babies! Of course, I later realized it wasn't the best to be working under those conditions, but I made do. I'm writing this without my left pointer finger, and let me tell you -- it's so hard not to push the keys with my injured finger.  -- I'm currently reading two books: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents  and The Line of the Sun .  I'm not the best at finishing books, so telling you all that I'm reading these two books will hopefully motivate me to get reading! --...

I am nothing and no one else I am the possibility of everything... -Víctor Hernández Cruz

"You just remember to keep writing, Esperanza. You must keep writing. It will keep you free..." -The House on Mango Street

Read more about some pretty legit Ecuadorian women:  8 Ecuadorian Women to Celebrate During Women's History Month Reading this makes me very proud to be Ecuadorian. I realize the difficulties that are being faced in my country right now. The earthquakes have been so devastating. They have not only taken the lives of many, but are also costing my country millions of dollars to rebuild what was lost. I pray God would bring generous givers and help things to run smoothly and quickly in the stages of repair. I'm grateful I come from a history of strong women. Women who changed the world and made a mark in history. I pray I, too, can be such a woman.

We are now a few days into Hispanic Heritage Month! Yay! A chance to celebrate my people. (: My desire for this season of life, along with learning more about myself, is to create more. I want to dance more, play more, and write more. I recently got a free piano, not in the greatest shape, but at least it plays. My fingers and heart love the feel of the keys. And my desire is to write at least once a week during this month. (: Until soon...

"The daughter claimed she'd been taught that a writer needs quiet, privacy, and long stretches of solitude to think. The father decided too much college and too many gringo friends had ruined her. In a way he was right. In a way she was right. When she thinks to herself in her father's language, she knows sons and daughters don't leave their parents' house until they marry. When she thinks in English, she knows she should've been on her own since eighteen." -The House on Mango Street   Sandra Cisneros I am so excited to re-read this book. I think back to the first time I read it. I was assigned to read it for my middle school Spanish class. Since I was a native Spanish-speaker, I was given "harder" assignments than my classmates, which included reading this book in Spanish. What young teenage me didn't know at the time was how much I would grow in between that first time I was made to read it and now when I oh so long to read i...