Arleen E Lopez's Page

Sexual harassment sounds pretty serious, right?

I think so too, so when I learned what it was in high school, I was shocked and uncomfortable to realize that I had been experiencing sexual harassment since middle school. I never had a name for it, but I knew that it made me feel uncomfortable and ashamed of my body. 

According to the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, sexual…

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "nostalgia" as "sentimental longing for or regretful memory of a period of the past, esp. one in an individual's own lifetime; (also) sentimental imagining or evocation of a period of the past."

As most of us might know, April 16 was Selena Quintanilla Perez's birthday, also known as Selena Day. The reina tejana would have been…

This is a blog post dedicated to my adorable, spoiled brat, Bella. 

Bella is my miniature poodle, whom I did not name after the Twilight series. She lives back home in El Paso with my parents. I have had Bella since December 2006. I got her as a present for my 16th birthday, and have loved her unconditionally since she popped out of the gift box my parents managed to keep her in for all of 15 seconds. 

Back then Bella fit in the palm of my hands. I don't have…

Every afternoon after class, I see a Latina woman at my apartment complex cleaning up broken beer bottles, litter, and the occasional puddle of barf that is routine in a building full of college students. She seems to be in her late 30s or 40s. She works quietly, but for the occasional phone call she makes to a friend. I assume it's a friend because of the Spanish cuss words peppered here and there throughout her conversation. 

I don't know her name, but I see her everyday. She cleans…