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Voyage to Brazil

January 31, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I would’ve never thought that I’d actually get selected to travel to Brazil to study its culture. For months, the applicants for the traveling program with Brotherhood/Sistersol did projects and participated in different activities to see who would be a good fit to go to Brazil. I knew that once I was chosen, my life would change forever…and it has.

Traveling to Brazil:

My first obstacle was surviving the 11 hour plane ride to Rio De Janeiro. I remember how emotional I was that day, because I had never really been away from my mother  and would be traveling throughout Brazil for three weeks. She and my stepdad were practically the last parents to be waiting with me and the others at the airport. When it was time for us to go through security check,  I hugged my mom tightly and just started crying. This caused her to cry and as I walked away I kept looking back until they were gone.

Arriving and Traveling Throughout Brazil:

The plane ride wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be, except I rarely got  to sleep. As soon as we landed, we went straight to work. The first thing we did was stop by our house to drop off our luggage and personal belongings. Afterwards, we went to eat and visited the iconic Jesus statue — this was the best thing ever! I’ve seen this statue in movies and was in awe of being fortunate to visit this place. We had to walk up a lot of stairs until we finally made it to the top, but the work out was worth it. The sight was absolutely breathtaking and from that altitude you are able to have a panoramic view of the city. It was during this moment that it finally hit me and knew I was in Brazil.

We traveled to a total of 5 cities: Rio, Miguel Pereira, Paraty, Salvador, and Arembepe. My trip to Brazil was not a luxurious vacation, but a fun educational experience. In each city, we conducted research and worked on community projects, which were presented to the rest of the group. We visited favelas (slums atop of mountains), quilombos (communities where descendants of slaves live), and we interacted with the local youth. One project included presenting Brazilian topics in a creative way to the rest of our group and another project included studying and investigating life in the quilombos. Our last project had to be presented when we returned from Brazil and included showcasing everything we learned from our travels.

Even though we worked hard, we did find time to relax and have fun. In Rio, we went to a hip hop club and I actually danced there. In Miguel Pereira, we went to a kids’ square dancing party, but we were hesitant to have fun once we entered and saw the kids in costumes. This quickly changed as soon as the music began to play. We tried our best to mingle with the youth and we line danced with them.

In Paraty, we would lay in the hammocks at the place we were staying and walk on the beach located across the street. In Salvador, we finally were able to go and swim at the beach. Lastly, in Arembepe, we befriended these boys who were part of a Brotherhood chapter in Brazil. The organization I went to Brazil with is called the Brotherhood/Sistersol. One of the co-founders lives in Brazil and he created an all boys group there and we hung out with these boys from time to time. I kind of had a crush on one of the boys.

All in all, this was one of the best experiences of my life. I keep saying that I may move to Brazil in the future. I’m even trying to learn more Portuguese. It was nice to get out of the United States for a while and see what else is out there. I really found myself in Brazil. Whenever we had time to relax, I would gaze out into the water, depending where we were, and just reflect on my time there. Living with 13 other teenagers proved to be highly difficult since there was always drama, but we somehow made it work. When I came home from Brazil, I was ready to take my senior year by storm.
Filed Under: Girls, Latina Beat for Girls, Passport for Girls

College Tips for Juniors

July 1, 2012 By 1 Comment

Latina Girl Writing - Latinitas

Junior year in high school means being bombarded with college materials. Normally, you’d think senior year is when you have to worry about colleges. The truth is that you should start thinking about college at least in your sophomore year.

Some schools offer college guidance classes where students discuss their college interests, research different majors, cost of attendance, admissions requirements, and work on outlining college essays. For those unable to take college guidance classes, you can visit Websites like CollegeBoard.com, which is the mecca for researching colleges with your specific major in mind.

In order to guarantee a stress-free senior year, follow these tips:

Choose a Major:
Research different college majors. Majors help you specialize in a certain field. It does not guarantee what you will be focusing on that after college, unless you want it that way. There are majors for just about any field like Creative Writing, Marine Biology,  Criminal Justice, and much more.

College Admissions:
Find out what admission tests your college requires. Depending on which colleges you’d like to attend, they may require, SAT, SAT Subject Test or ACT. Try your best to attend SAT prep classes. You can take the SAT in your Junior year and Senior year about 4 times altogether. If you can’t attend a course, look for tutorials online. CollegeBoard.com has a great deal of information about the requirements and deadlines for colleges.

Writing the Perfect College Essay:
Think about interesting aspects of your life, influential people and important obstacles. These are good topics to include in a college essay. Write from your heart and soul. Do not write what you think the colleges want to hear. They like originality.

Financial Aid:
Research different types of Financial Aid. Most likely, you’re going to need it. Look into Scholarships. There is no limit to how many scholarships  you can get. Some colleges offer their own scholarships when applying and then there are other scholarships that you have to find on your own. There are scholarships for pretty much anything.

Start Early
“The college process is very annoying. It is better if you start early, so you can get everything done and know with time where you wanna go. There’s a lot of paper work and you need patience.” – Jessica Garcia, 17, High school graduate

Stay Confident
“I mean applying to college was the most exciting/frightening time of my life. I had colleges telling me how much they would love to have me while others were telling me I was not good enough for their establishment. It breaks or makes your ego for a while.” – Alexis Killeen, 19, Sophomore in College

Filed Under: 411, College, Teens

Advice: Ask Alexis

June 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Dear Latinitas,

For the past few weeks, my best friend and I haven’t really been talking. We treat each other as if we don’t know each other. I want our friendship to go back to what it was. What can I do?

Dear Friend,

I have been in your same situation. One of the best things to do is pull your friend to the side, or contact her somehow, and just talk about things. Talk about how your friendship once was and bring up good memories. Then, talk about what happened to cause all of this to fade away. You two should be able to have reasons as to why there has been distance. It would be sad to lose a best friend because of miscommunication.

Dear Latinitas,

My best friend is trying to change who she is for a boy. How can I tell her that she shouldn’t do it?

Dear Friend,

The nicest way to tell your friend to not change her personality for a boy is to tell her in private. Do not make a big scene and call her out in front of others. It is best to confront her privately and have a discussion about her actions. Make sure to tell her about your concerns and how much you care for her. Also, try to give an opinion of the boy, but not too much because you don’t want to upset your friend. Make sure to remind your friend that she is fine the way she is and that she should not change for anyone.

Dear Latinitas,

My friend is always hanging out with the wrong people. How do I tell her what she’s doing is wrong?

Dear Friend,

What you can do is pull your friend to the side, talk to her, and give her examples of her reckless actions. The examples would only be needed if she can clearly not understand your point of view.  Make sure that you tell her how much you care about her, the friendship, and her well being. I’m not saying that this will be an easy task and she’ll come running back to you. However, it does not hurt to try since you truly believe the crowd she is hanging with is bad.


Dear Latinitas,

My friends are always telling me to change my looks and personality. How do I tell them I don’t want to change?

Dear Friend,

Well, the  first thing to do is to ask your friends about their reasoning. Why do they want you to change your looks and personality? Ask them for an honest opinion of you.  I say this because everyone has a reason for their beliefs. They should be able to have a legitimate reason to want you to change yourself.  When I say legitimate reason, I mean that they should have an honest and caring opinion about the way you look. They should want you to change in order to benefit yourself and your self esteem. After they answer you, you have to think whether or not you can actually trust their judgement. What matters most at the end of the day is how you feel about yourself. If you are fine with how you are, you can explain this to them and that you see nothing wrong with how you carry yourself.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Queridas Latinitas,

Durante las últimas semanas, mi mejor amiga y yo casi no hemos hablado.  Nos tratamos como si fuéramos extrañas.  Quisiera que nuestra amistad volviera a ser como antes.  ¿Qué puedo hacer?

Querida Amiga,

Yo he estado en la misma situación.  La mejor cosa que puedes hacer es hablar a solas con tu amiga sobre lo que está pasando.  Hablen sobre su amistad y recuérdale buenas memorias de cosas que pasaron juntas.  Luego, hablen sobre lo que ocasionó que se distanciaran.  Las dos deben saber que es lo que paso para que se dejaran de hablar.  Sería muy triste que su amistad terminara por un malentendido.

Queridas Latinitas,

Mi  mejor amiga esta intentando cambiar por un chico.  ¿Cómo le digo que no debería hacerlo?

Querida Amiga,

La mejor manera de decirle a tu amiga que no cambie su personalidad por un chico es decirle en privado.  No hagas un drama enfrente de otras personas.  Es mejor que la confrontes en privado para poder tener una discusión sobre sus acciones.  Asegúrate de informarle tu preocupación por ella y muéstrale que ella te importa.  También exprésale tu opinión acerca del chico pero no al punto de que tu amiga se moleste.  Recuérdale a tu amiga que está bien como esta y que no debería cambiar por nadie.

Queridas Latinitas,

Mi amiga se está juntando con las personas equivocadas.  ¿Cómo le digo que lo que está haciendo es un error?

Querida Amiga,

Lo que puedes hacer es hablar con tu amiga y dale ejemplos de sus acciones.  Los ejemplos serian necesarios solamente si ella no entiende tu punto de vista.  Asegúrate de decirle cuanto te importa ella y su amistad al igual que su bien estar.  No te aseguro que ella va volver a ser la misma de antes inmediatamente pero, no pierdes nada en tratar de convencerla si es que en verdad crees que las personas con las que se junta la pueden dañar.

Queridas Latinitas,

Mis amigas siempre me dicen que debo cambiar mi apariencia y mi personalidad.  ¿Cómo les digo que yo no quiero cambiar?

Querida Amiga,

La primera cosa que debes hacer es preguntarles sus razones.  ¿Por qué deberías cambiar tu apariencia y personalidad?  Pídeles su más sincera opinión sobre ti.  Te lo digo porque todos tenemos una razón detrás de nuestras opiniones.  Tus amigas deben tener una razón legítima para pedirte que cambies.  Por legítima me refiero a que deben tener una opinión honesta sobre tu apariencia.  Deben  querer que cambies para beneficiarte a ti y a tu autoestima.  Cuando respondan a tus preguntas, entonces puedes pensar si puedes confiar en sus formas de pensar.  Al final, lo que importa es como te sientes tú contigo misma.  Si tú te sientes bien, entonces explícales que no vez nada malo en la forma en que te presentas.

 

 

Dear Latinitas, 

For the past few weeks, my best friend and I haven’t really been talking. We treat each other like if we don’t know each other. I want our friendship to go back to what it was. What can I do?

Dear Friend,

I have been in your same situation. One of the best things to do is to pull your friend to the side or contact her somehow and just talk about things. Talk about how your friendship once was and bring up good memories. Then, talk about what happened to cause all of this to fade away. You two should be able to have reasons as to why there has been distance. It would be sad to lose a best friend because of miscommunication.

Dear Latinitas,

My best friend is trying to change who she is for a boy. How can I tell her that she shouldn’t do it?

Dear Friend,

The nicest way to tell your friend to not change her personality for a boy is to tell her in private. Do not make a big scene and call her out in front of others. It is best to confront her privately and have a discussion about her actions. Make sure to tell her about your concerns and how much you care for her. Also, try to give an opinion of the boy, but not too much because you don’t want to upset your friend. Make sure to remind your friend that she is fine the way she is and that she should not change for anyone.

Dear Latinitas,

My friend is always hanging out with the wrong people. How do I tell her what she’s doing wrong?

Dear Friend,

What you can do is pull your friend to the side, talk to her, and give her examples of her reckless actions. The examples would only be needed if she can clearly not understand your point of view. Make sure that you tell her how much you care about her and the friendship and her well being. I’m not saying that this will be an easy task and she’ll come running back to you. However, it does not hurt to try since you truly believe the crowd she is hanging with is bad.

 

Dear Latinitas,

My friends are always telling me to change my look and personality. How do I tell them I don’t want to change?

Dear Friend,

Well, the  first thing to do is to ask your friends about their reasoning. Why do they want you to change your looks and personality? Ask them for an honest opinion of you.  I say this because everyone has a reason for their beliefs. They should be able to have a legitimate reason to want you to change yourself.  When I say legitimate reason, I mean that they should have an honest and caring opinion about the way you look. They should want you to change in order to benefit yourself and your self esteem. After they answer you, you have to think whether or not you can actually trust their judgement. What matters most at the end of the day is how you feel about yourself. If you are fine with how you are, you can explain this to them and that you see nothing wrong with how you carry yourself.

 

Queridas Latinitas,

Durante las últimas semanas, mi mejor amiga y yo casi no hemos hablado.  Nos tratamos como si fuéramos extrañas.  Quisiera que nuestra amistad volviera a ser como antes.  ¿Qué puedo hacer?

Querida Amiga,

Yo he estado en la misma situación.  La mejor cosa que puedes hacer es hablar a solas con tu amiga sobre lo que está pasando.  Hablen sobre su amistad y recuérdale buenas memorias de cosas que pasaron juntas.  Luego, hablen sobre lo que ocasionó que se distanciaran.  Las dos deben saber que es lo que paso para que se dejaran de hablar.  Sería muy triste que su amistad terminara por un malentendido.

Queridas Latinitas,

Mi  mejor amiga esta intentando cambiar por un chico.  ¿Cómo le digo que no debería hacerlo?

Querida Amiga,

La mejor manera de decirle a tu amiga que no cambie su personalidad por un chico es decirle en privado.  No hagas un drama enfrente de otras personas.  Es mejor que la confrontes en privado para poder tener una discusión sobre sus acciones.  Asegúrate de informarle tu preocupación por ella y muéstrale que ella te importa.  También exprésale tu opinión acerca del chico pero no al punto de que tu amiga se moleste.  Recuérdale a tu amiga que está bien como esta y que no debería cambiar por nadie.

Queridas Latinitas,

Mi amiga se está juntando con las personas equivocadas.  ¿Cómo le digo que lo que está haciendo es un error?

Querida Amiga,

Lo que puedes hacer es hablar con tu amiga y dale ejemplos de sus acciones.  Los ejemplos serian necesarios solamente si ella no entiende tu punto de vista.  Asegúrate de decirle cuanto te importa ella y su amistad al igual que su bien estar.  No te aseguro que ella va volver a ser la misma de antes inmediatamente pero, no pierdes nada en tratar de convencerla si es que en verdad crees que las personas con las que se junta la pueden dañar.

Queridas Latinitas,

Mis amigas siempre me dicen que debo cambiar mi apariencia y mi personalidad.  ¿Cómo les digo que yo no quiero cambiar?

Querida Amiga,

La primera cosa que debes hacer es preguntarles sus razones.  ¿Por qué deberías cambiar tu apariencia y personalidad?  Pídeles su más sincera opinión sobre ti.  Te lo digo porque todos tenemos una razón detrás de nuestras opiniones.  Tus amigas deben tener una razón legítima para pedirte que cambies.  Por legítima me refiero a que deben tener una opinión honesta sobre tu apariencia.  Deben  querer que cambies para beneficiarte a ti y a tu autoestima.  Cuando respondan a tus preguntas, entonces puedes pensar si puedes confiar en sus formas de pensar.  Al final, lo que importa es como te sientes tú contigo misma.  Si tú te sientes bien, entonces explícales que no vez nada malo en la forma en que te presentas.

 

Filed Under: Advice for Girls, Get Real for Girls, Girls

4 Warning Signs of a Toxic Friend

May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We believe that friends have our backs and that friendships will remain strong. In some instances, not everyone that we befriend is right for us. These type of friends are often referred to as toxic friends. Toxic friends tend to have their own agenda and cause emotional pain. Luckily, toxic friends are easy to spot. These are four warning signs to find out if your friendship or friend is toxic and how to fix it:

1. Distance

Think about how you and your friend usually act together and how frequently you guys talk.  If you notice that your friend is paying less attention to you or even paying more attention to others, this might be a sign of trouble. Distance always means that something is wrong, but the reasoning behind it may not be so simple. Distance can mean they need space, you have offended them, or  they  have not found a way to tell you that you have hurt them. Friendship is not one-sided and the best thing you can do is confront your friend about it and talk things through to clear the air. Confronting your friend about this problem will not make you seem needy.  If you talk to your friend about this and they have a bad attitude about it or put you down for it, then this friendship may be toxic. A good friend always listens.

2. Acting Differently

There are many variations of this. Think about how your friend normally acts when she is with you. Changing can sometimes be a good thing. If they have a “mean-streak” and start acting “nicer,” then this is an acceptable change. A toxic friend is someone who starts to change by acting out, having an unpleasant attitude, or simply acting differently to impress others. Acting differently can mean that they are not the same person you originally befriended.  As a result of this, they can be seen as a perfect stranger to you and could potentially be a bad influence. If they are acting like a different person around you or other people, ask them why they’re acting differently.  Determining whether or not they are a toxic friend is based on the reaction to this question. If they avoid the question or continue acting like someone else, then you should watch out.

3. Telling secrets

A big part of a toxic friend is whether or not they spill your secrets. Keep track of who you tell your secrets to, since this will surely come in handy. If you notice that other people are aware of your secrets, then make sure to confront your friends. You have to confront them in order to see who has been leaking your secrets. A good friend will never let your secrets be heard, because they have your trust and are responsible for maintaining that trust by keeping your secrets.

4. Boyfriend Troubles

A huge warning sign of a toxic friend is if she changes her personality for a boyfriend. Your friend has a boyfriend, but is she acting differently now that she is with him? Take notice of any behavioral changes. Is she any different than before? Is she distant? Talk to your friend about this. If she overreacts and believes that you are jealous,  calmly talk with her. If she still thinks you are being jealous, it might be an indicator that the friendship is on the rocks.  A boyfriend and a friend accepts you for who you are, which means a boy, or anyone else,  should never change someone or ruin a good friendship.

Filed Under: Dealing for Girls, Get Real for Girls, Girls

My Thoughts on LGBT Stereotypes

April 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) topics are hot button issues. Despite the controversy, LGBT stereotypes are important and growing issues for teen girls. Many realize what they like and who they like at a young age, like I did, but it can also take a while for others to accept it. On T.V and in movies, little girls are portrayed dreaming of  Prince Charming. Even though some of them would prefer Princess Caring.   I have seen my teen peers not take a girl seriously when she admits she is a lesbian or bisexual. It is taken as a joke. They see this as being a “phase” that they will soon outgrow.   This is a story that I know all too well, since it has happened to me.

Nonetheless, I just want to applaud the open minded and accepting people who do not see homosexuality as a bad thing. After all, love is love. For the girls out there who feel pressured or are afraid to let people know their “secret,” just know that you are not alone. Some girls are also the victims of bullying and teasing because of who they love. Don’t let people’s cruel and insensitive remarks discourage who you are. You are who you are! Most importantly, do not let religious people try to convince you that you are going to burn in hell because you like the same sex. Just because there was an Adam and Eve, doesn’t mean there would be anything wrong with a Madam and Eve.

Fighting LGBT  Stereotypes and Lesbian Myths:

1. Lesbians are only for the bedroom.
You see, when some guys think of lesbians, they think of them as sleazy. The media has sexualized lesbians by making it seem as though they are sex objects. This is a disgraceful stereotype! Lesbians are intelligent, hardworking, women, mothers, daughters and sisters.  They deserve the same respect as anyone else on this planet.

2. Single or not interested? She must be a lesbian.
Nowadays, people tend to believe that girls “become” lesbians because they simply cannot get a boyfriend. How disgusting is that? Society has led many of us to believe that we are automatically supposed to like boys. Then, when a lesbian refuses a guy’s gestures, she is put down for it or is taken as a joke. So being rejected by a guy or having the fear of being rejected by a guy would cause a life changing experience? WRONG! No means no, why should we be made fun of for it?

3. All lesbians dress like men.
Another absurd generalization with lesbians is the clothing. Some people believe that if you are a lesbian, then you are automatically a ‘butch’ and will proceed to dress like a guy or want to imitate a guy. Ignorance is a powerful thing, isn’t it? You cannot make generalizations like this. There are billions of people in this world. We are all not the same. We are not going to have the same styles or same attitudes. A girl could look “perfectly straight” and be a lesbian. The same with men, a man could look perfectly straight and still love men.

LGBT Support:

There is never a specific reason as to why girls are lesbians. It just happens and it can be beautiful. Girls, just believe in yourselves. You have the right to find any kind of happiness. Most importantly, don’t let anyone tear you down or make you feel like an object or less than a human. If you are having trouble with your sexual orientation, I am sure there is someone out there that you can reach out to for guidance. Someone is always there when you’re in your time of need, I can assure you.

Filed Under: Get Real, Hot Topics, Teens