Corina Perez is a senior at a Central Texas high school. Currently, she is the baby of the family and is very motivated to pursue her goals, but is also nervous about leaving her friends. Her favorite character is Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. She works in a jewelry store part-time.

Are you ready to leave for college? I am kind of scared. Leaving my parents is going to be hard.

What is your dream college? Did you apply to that college? My dream college is anywhere outside of Texas. Right now I haven’t really applied to any other college besides community colleges.

Do you know what you will be majoring in? Why that major? I wanted to be a nurse but I am not in the mood to be dealing with blood so as of now, I am undecided.

Is there anything holding you back from attending a university? Since I haven’t passed my TAKS test yet, that is one thing holding me back from applying to other universities.

Are you the first in your generation to be attending college? My sister was the first in my family to go to a college. She went for about a year or two and then she stopped going for personal reasons.

Will you be working while you attend college as a means to pay for tuition? I would be working part time and I am not so sure if I would be a full time student.

Do you have any questions regarding the application process? I haven’t really applied so as of now, I don’t have questions.

Corina’s favorite class is history because ever since she was little, she always liked history a lot. She is the youngest in her family with three older sisters and one older brother.

Erica Martinez is also a senior at a Central Texas high school. She and Corina have been friends for a while. She’s coming in a little later than her peers on her choices about college, but her plans are getting more defined as she gets closer to graduation. She likes to go out to clubs and usually has some interesting highlights in her hair.

What is your number one fear about heading off to college? I am kind of scared heading off to college but my number one fear is that the classes may be very hard.

How comfortable do you feel leaving your parents? Or if you’re commuting, how do you feel living with them when you attend college? I just want to go to school. It’s really none of them.

What is your dream college? Did you apply to that college? I want to go to Texas A&M. I am still finishing my application.

Do you know what you will be majoring in? Why that major? I would like to be a veterinary because I like to cure any sick dogs.

Are you the first in your generation to be attending college? I am the first.

Will you be working while you attend college as a means to pay for tuition? I think I am going to be working. I am going to try to get loans but if I can’t, I will pay half and my parents will pay half.

Do you have any questions regarding your transition from high school to college? I am excited about leaving even though I do like high school.

Erica is applying to Austin Community College and is planning on living on campus. Something she likes to do on her spare time is attend Latinitas meetings and the Austin Riverwatch. She has one older brother and two younger siblings.

Compiled by Farah Ali

For those of us who can’t make it home this holiday season, it might just feel a little lonely. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are many reasons why we sometimes feel like we’ve got a bad case of the holiday blues, but many others why being alone during the holidays can actually be turned into a good thing. With a little creativity and a whole lot of holiday spirit you can turn that droopy frown upside down. Just take a look at some tips we’ve got for you to help you get started on making this year not only a good but the best Christmas and New Year’s Day ever!

Why am I the only one that seems to be alone during the holidays?
The truth is you’re not alone. While commercials, movies, and even holiday songs oftentimes make us think that everyone is around their family and friends during the holiday season, this is not the case for many people. We all know those commercials where there always seems to be a family of some 20 people gathered wearing red sweaters and bright smiles while seated around the dinner table or exchanging gifts.

But let’s get real folks! Traveling can be expensive, so it may not be possible to visit family as much as one would like. This is often the case for students whose families live outside of the U.S. Work and school can also keep families apart because it’s sometimes not possible to get out of work long enough to make it home to see your family especially if they live far away. And of course there are those people who are stuck at airports during the holidays because of the bad weather. So when you’re feeling a little blue, just know there are thousands of people out there feeling the same way.

I usually spend the holidays with my family, but I can’t this year.
Just because you won’t be able to make it home for the holidays doesn’t mean you can’t be part of the family celebration. Even if you can’t be where your family’s at, there are several ways to drop in on the festivities. If you have a cell phone, a good service plan can keep you connected to your friends or family especially during the holidays. For example, if you know when your family will be getting together, you could give them a call and talk to each of them even if it’s briefly. This can help you feel like you’re actually there. If they’re outside of the U.S., you might try a calling card. If you shop around, you can get really good deals (i.e. I spotted a card that charged only 3 cents per minute). A third old-school, but great and low-cost option you’ve got is to write a letter. Thirty-nine cents, after all, can go a long way when you can’t. Sharing your thoughts is a great way to stay in touch and jotting down your feelings can help you pass the time whenever you start feeling a little lonely. Plus you can write as little or as much as you want. Not to mention mailed letters are great personalized gifts that are perfect for the holidays. Give it a shot and you’ll see how surprised and happy your family and friends are to hear from you.

I don’t really know of anyone I could spend the holidays with.
Although your own family may not be nearby, asking a couple of close friends if they have any plans for Christmas or New Year’s Day may do the trick. You never know—they may very well have room for one more at the dinner table. Or, if you prefer, see if you can invite a few friends over for your own special rendition of a Christmas celebration.

New to a city and really don’t know anyone? Volunteering at a homeless shelter, retirement home or orphanage are only three ways to make great use of your free time as well as give you the opportunity to meet a great team of caring people who enjoy helping the less fortunate. Volunteering can also help people appreciate what they do have rather than focus on those things they miss.

If you’re interested in teens living outside your city, you might want to check with your school to see if they’ve participated in letter swaps with students from other schools; some teachers participate in pen pal programs where you can learn about other teens while exchanging letters during the holiday break. Websites are also available specifically for finding pen pals, but as always, make sure to keep your parents or a grown-up you trust posted on who you’re communicating with online. A couple of sites specifically for teen pen pals is www.kidsmc.com/penpal/ and a girlies only site can be found on www.agirlsworld.com.

But being here is not the same as being with my family.
And it shouldn’t be the same! Sure there will be differences—maybe this year there’s no Christmas tree or maybe there won’t be your abuelita’s delicious tamales. We get so used to celebrating in the same way from one year to the next that changes to these traditions can sometimes make the holidays seem less than perfect. Because family sometimes has to move for a job or school, it’s not always possible to be together for the holidays. One way to deal with this is to create a new tradition with those that are around you. Maybe there’s no Christmas tree, but maybe this year you decide to start a new tradition by going to your city’s Christmas Day parade or maybe by making some hand-made cards for your family and friends. There is an endless amount of activities or new traditions to add to your holiday experience—just give it a shot and you’ll see how fun it is to plan them with your loved ones.

I don’t like being alone.
Okay, come on now—is it really true that you never like to be alone? Just think back to those times you were wishing you could lie in your bed just a little longer before getting up for school. What you call being lonely may actually be the free time you had been wishing for but hadn’t had in months—a chance to get a fabulous haircut, to sleep in just a few more minutes, to catch the latest blockbuster movie, to finish reading that book you had cracked open some months ago, or simply to have more free time with friends. While being on our own for the holidays may seem like we’re missing out, having some much-needed alone time doesn’t seem like such a bad thing.

This is a perfect time to pamper yourself and do everything you’ve been hoping to do—maybe even knock out a couple of those year-old resolutions from 2006 you haven’t had time to tackle. The new year, after all, is just around the corner and you’ll have a brand new set of resolutions in no time, so why not get the old ones out of the way and get 2007 to a rockin’ start.

By Claudia Rojo

Who You Calling A B@#!?

So rings the lyrics of the Queen Latifah song, fed up and angry at folks everywhere who think it’s ok to talk to women and girls like this, the famous singer, as with her peers like Eve and Beyonce tells a story many girls live.

Thirteen year old Yolanda Solis is tired of being called the “B-word.”

“When I was in the third grade they made me cry, talking about my mom and me, making personal attacks,” says Solis.”The guys will be like…they will act all like a jerk and called the girls the ‘B’ word, or stupid, fat, ugly or that they are gay because they don’t have a boyfriend,” explains Solis, fed up with recess once and for all.

Name-calling is not new, but recently the ‘B’ word and other curse words have been becoming more popular and Latinitas are getting it the worst sometimes. Girls have had enough.

“Girls will retaliate,” says Solis. They’ll say things back to the guy to insult him. Not knowing how to make them stop Yolanda says she “tries to not pay attention to them.”

Most kids are encouraged by their own sense of alienation (or not fitting in), when they pick on others. What this means is that they feel different so they lash out on someone else.

Social worker Barb Steinberg, LSMW, who is the director of programs at GENaustin, the Girl Empowerment Network of Austin, Texas says the “B-word” has become a more normal part of regular language through television and music, unfortunately.

“I would take a guess that if you took a look at the population who is listening to more rap music and heavy metal, the majority is most likely boys and that’s where the word is used, a lot. The word is heard so much it becomes normalized and they (those using it) don’t see it as negative and harmful.”

She adds, “You hear it used more in television shows now. Our kids have more access to more shows: more cable means more access to the non-family shows. I also think in general our kids are becoming more aggressive towards each other whether it be verbally or physically -that too is becoming more normalized.”

But, Steinberg, who oversees clubGEN, an after-school program focused on providing girls with the tools to make good decisions for themselves, isn’t saying give up girls! She’s got some great tips on how to awaken others to the harmful meaning of curse words.

First, Steinberg says, “role-model the way you want to be treated.” She explains that calling a girl the “b-word” is not exclusive to boys. Girls do it to girls and so let’s start there. Don’t do it to others.

“It’s not ok for girls to call each other the b-word in an angry voice during a fight and then get mad when guys do it,” she says.

Steinberg understands girls may use the term, jokingly and it may not be hurtful if it’s used amongst friends who know and like each other, but it does open the door for other people to do it.

Her advice is, be proactive. You, as well as adults and others who are bothered by the overuse of the word need to say I don’t want that song to play in my classroom or my car or my house. Don’t buy music that’s negative to women and don’t feel embarrassed or shy about asking someone to turn off a song about girls being called the b-word or worse, “hos.”

She says don’t stop there, be even more proactive by going online. Go to an artist’s website, she explains, that uses the word a lot and write emails and letters that he or she can write something more intelligent than what they are doing that they can choose better lyrics that have more respect for women. The most important thing they need to know is they are forgetting they have women fans, or they could.

If the name-calling at school gets out of hand reach out to the teacher, counselor or parent about your experience. You shouldn’t have to feel harassed in school and there are laws, one called Title IX that has been made especially for situations where girls are treated unfairly because of their gender.

“I say fights are a waste of time. I say get to know each other and not hate each other.” Solis added, “I think school should let the kids have counseling at least one period, to learn what other kids feel.”

Regardless of what answer you find fits best for you, you should know that this behavior is not okay and that you don’t have to put up with it.

By Laura Donnelly and Yolanda Solis