Zyanya's Blog (12)

     About two years ago, I took a class at UTEP called Major World Religions where, as the title suggests, we explored the different religions people practice all over the world. One of the requirements of the class was to visit two religious services other than that of our own. Mine being Catholic by default/experience, I chose to go to a Jewish and Buddhist service and found I was especially glad I chose the Buddhist one. I love the teaching of the Buddha, but was unsure about what to…

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     Ben Franklin once said "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." In today's competitive work environment, that is definitely true; according to an article in the New York Times called "The Class of 2012," graduates with degrees were more likely to land the jobs they apply for, with only "8.5 percent, on average, in the past year — compared with 21 percent for young high school…

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     On October 31, 2012 I voted for the very first time. I was so excited I chose to do it the long way, though I technically cast a straight ballot; I even saved the neat little sticker with the Presidential seal and the year on it. I knew that the fact that I was able to vote at all was thanks to brave women, who just under a century ago fought with everything they had for the right, as well as men and women who fought for minorities to be able to vote as well. People in other countries…

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Just in time for the country's election, our club at Irving Schwartz library learned what the process of electing a president actually means. More than ever, it is important for everyone who is eligible to vote, regardless of their political beliefs cast their ballots and make their constitutionally given voices heard. With a more dynamic demographic, this is even more true for Latinitas young and old. To explore the importance of voting and staying on top of the issues for a given election,…

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     One of my favorite things about being Latina is the Dia de los Muertos holiday, which happens right after Halloween. After being spooked on October 31st, we are left with lots of candy and even more to celebrate. Dia de los Muertos, to me, is about just that: the celebration of life, especially the lives of those we love and admire who have passed on. Though we are sad that they are no longer with us, it is important to remember them so that at least their memories are alive and with us…

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During Red Ribbon week, we all reflect on what it means to be drug free and why we stay away from them. In the lesson for Red Ribbon week, the girl also thought about what parents and young people like themselves can do to keep themselves and their loved ones drug free.

Yasmin:

1. Your parents can prove to you that drugs are bad or show you a person's body after doing drugs to show how bad it is.

2. Someone can tell them not to smoke so they will be…

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For the Love Yourself Lesson, the girls learned that sometimes what they see in the media isn't what it seems and that to compare themselves to those images is sometimes unrealistic. They wrote letters to themselves telling themselves things that they like and that they love themselves just the way they are. Here are their letters!

Dear Karina,

Karina, you are pretty on the inside. I love being myself. I love how I love soccer and how I am fast. I am perfect the way I…

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     They say it takes a village to raise a child and as I have grown up I have come to see that this more than just a cliche, at least for me. Because my mom was a single parent for the first eight years of my life, she had the job of making sure I was taken care of when she was home and when she wasn't. This turned out to be a great thing however because it meant I was raised by my mom, my grandma and my aunt,…

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     Because there are so many different cultures and ways of life, each one shaping our world, it is important to learn about and celebrate each and every one. Even if one is not of a particular heritage it never hurts to expand the mind. In observance of Hispanic Heritage month, Latinitas put together a lesson which helped the girls express why they are proud of their culture and expand not only their minds,…

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     The month of October is dedicated to raising awareness for bullying and how to stop it. It also happens to be Hispanic Heritage month. One might not think that heritage/culture plus bullying in the same sentence would equal anything uplifting, but just last week I came across an article on Yahoo! about a case of culture-related bullying that had a happy ending that I just had to share.…

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Crazy, interesting and exhausting. These words are some that come to mind when I look back on my first couple weeks back at UTEP. Like with many things in life, you think you've gotten used to something, chameleoned your way into the scene, etched it into you mind and said you know it like the back of your hand. Just when you start to feel confident, you realize, "whoops! i have still have lots to learn." UTEP is just like that. I'd forgotten how high the hills can get, especially if you only… Continue

The terrifying photos are all over the news and the headlines are just as horrific. The first time I was actually able to sit down and watch a news clip about the disaster, tears welled in my eyes. My grandma was sitting next to me, also watching as the camera panned onto small children with streaky faces from crying into the dust caked onto their cheeks. "Pobrecitos..." she whispered as shots of more children flowed onto the screen. Eerily, they trudged along, looking for their parents, or… Continue