National Hispanic Institute
Wow.
So i just got back from NHI today, the Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session (LDZ).
I hardly know where to begin..except.. it was one of the best experiences of my life.
My face is still all puffy from crying so much at the closing ceremony today. I miss everyone soo much already.
i was gone from the 16th to 23rd..
At first i didn't really want to go-- i wanted to fake sick or something, but i knew w/ the no-refund policy, that just wouldn't be cool... i just reaaaaaally wanted to see Becca who was comin up this weekend.. but.. i could see her anytime, i gues...while this really IS a once in a life-time opportunity.
So i got there to Gerogetown at Southwestern University..not far at all.. so i was all 'hmm..hopefully i'll get sick by wednesday and go home '..
I didn't know anyone from there.. Jesus ended up not going, i guess... so i met these girls Lauren and marisa..then were shortly joined w/ Dlisa and Lilvia...then Elsa joined, too.That was cool.. though this first posse ended up not being really together in the end...
At the opening ceremony this most GORGEOUS girl named Celina (like.. 'SELENA', como, mi cantara favorita!!) asked if she could sit next to me.. can u say DESTINY?? haha. So me and her started to chill together, like..we went up and were the only ones in our lil group to have the balls to walk around and meet people (..specialy cute guys..hah).. and after like 20 min it was like we knew eachother foereverrr.
I ran into Jimmy and Zach from last year's YLC..tho we both hardly remembered eachother... que funny. I was super different last time anyway.
there's so much to tell so i'm sorry if any of these in incoherent or anything..
First day we started with the Legislative process with LUIS GUILLERMO GONZALEZ as the secretary of state (SOS).. ahhahaha..omfg..so.. okay..won't get into the he's-so-cute speel just yet...cuz that wasn't our first impression.
Basically he scared us all shitless.
I realy had no idea what we were supposed to do here.. the really driven kids had already read the handbook that my mom had lost..so they knew what they were doing. He had to be the biggest A-hole in the world to us.. we didn't kno he had an act goin.. but .. it's those guys that are INSANELY smart(Stanford graduate..), charasmatic and powerful (and look like Keanu Reeves) that intimidate me like woah.
It's really hard to explain how his totaliarnistic style of teaching us/making us work together really incited some of the best lessons i've learned in my life... It really just leaves me in awe that people can be gifted with such passion and intellect--that people can just step into a room and say a few words and have everyone under their command, hanging on every word--- it's hard to say that someday i hope i can do that--to gain that type of respect from mere knowledge and wisdom..
Our topic of the week was the phenomenon of immigration--he pushed us to not see it as a problem, but as an opportunity-- it's so hard to change a way of thinking of starting everything fomr the bottom, seeing it as a PROBLEM, something that's lacking which must be changed and seeing it optomistically, that it's an opportunity to flourish from...
we did taht for the first 2 days.. elected officals like governor... i ran for senate and won so i got to be Chair #21.
I guess a lot of this is about testing your limits, and i prefer not to speak infront of huge crowds, but i went and did it and did a hella job so, I hope I'll be a lot more comfortable in the future
One of the coolest things we did was go to the actual TEXAS STATE CAPITOL and sit the ACTUAL Senate chairs and ACTUAL house of Represenatives and passed Laws/ proposals that, if we were the real house and senate, would have ACTUALLY become laws.
And i think that's something u dont do everyday, be able to sit in the chairs, go up to the mic while random ppl listen to you from above... vote with "yea"s and "nay"s.
I have to say i have a much stronger appreciation of polotics taht i had before.
Of course by this time, Luis became our friend, not the scary-intimidating SOS that he was. and once he actually SMILED.. omfg!!! Can u say hotttie?!?! It was the most adorable thing in the world! Like..up there he seemd so hard and bad-ass, then once he smiled (Celina, "aaaww!! my little strawberry!!") it was like heaven, mayn. He seemed so shy and funny after that.. awww!!!! So basically we were all giggly around him..and i got a picture w/ him and.. que chulo.
Somet things i will never forget:
1.) Our Posse: Me, Celina, Christine, Andrea and Elsa.
2.) Grilled cheese sandwiches...
3.) Celina eating pizza w/ a knife and fork because "it won't stand up"... "This grass tastes weird".--so how i always think ppl. say the weirdest-ass things.
4.) Making cariños every 2seconds about Celina's funny ADORABLE faces.
5.) Elsa-- lookin like a kitty, Celina, like one of the dog's from 101 dalmatians.-- "well, u look like a rat!!"
6.) Matthew, Luis, Marco, Ahsley and Ryan as my senate buddies.
7.) Chillin in the lounge and counting the insane amount of flags they had.
8.) Chrstine and her theories about the word "Dammit" and how everyone said she reminded her of one of her friends.
9.) our COED dorms.. chillin on the 1st floor with the boys and gettin in trouble.
10.)Agapito's "super soaker" dance.
11.) Peter's hair
12.) Fabiana and Celina makin me want to have a big sister SO BADLY and move to El Paso with them.
13.) Celina's $136 shoppin binge at Lakeline Mall.--her big-ass basketball shorts.
14.) How we both forgot blankets so froze our asses off.
15.) Late night boy-talks w/ Christine aka SHORTY.
16.) Startin to get ready for the dance at like 3pm then still being one of the last to be ready.
17.) Desire just being so kind and adorable...and how i totally thought she was gonna be a black girl, i mean Desire Williams, que nombre, de veras?
18.) The Laredo Boys... QUE CHULO y BADASS! Chapa, Jorge... etc. etc..
19.) Sara, Magdalena... the Laredo accents--how i'll vote for u no matter what if u're from laredo.
20.) The Chino playin those crazy ass tunes on the piano.
21.) JUDE "what's my name?? where am i from!?!"
22.) Oscar reminding of that other guy.
23.) The dance and having my "sticker bra" on... almost-wardrobe-malfunctions.
24.) How my Walmart Clock-Radio totally became our SWEET Soundsystem.
25.) Andrea being one of the few girls i've known that have the same accent/ crazy-Mexican speakin mannarisms(if u can even call it that)
26.) THE RUBEX CUBE GUY!!! lemme see.. his record is 64 sec. i think? then he did a 3min one infront of everyone.
27.) THE TALENT SHOW... with ^mr.cube bein da pimp... singing.. toilet-contest con los gobiernos y los otros.
28.) Bucky fake-cryin when i made fun of his ears.
29.) Celina gettin krunk at the dance.
30.) Erin y ella bailando like NO OTHER.
31.) Luis transforming from i-hate-u to.. MARRY ME!
32.) Ernesto Nieto Y Gloria just being awesome in all fields..Ernie's cute little "hair island".
33.) Cussin like sh*t at the church.. hahaha. I mean, perdoname.
34.) Gettin ready w/ Bobby Bones in da mornin w/ Christine.
35.) Mr. Soy de Peru.
36.) CHRIS.
37.) Watchin 'American Dreamz' with Christine.. "That is large" LOL!!!
38.)LA GENTE.
39.) El y Andrea.
40.) CRY BABIES.
41.) Fallin asleep in the weirdest position on the way to the capitol every morning.
42.) La tranformacion de simone.
43.) Myspace addicts.
44.) Late-nite soccer players and Christine's accidental white-shirt inccident.
45.) The rain
46.) Anna's dancing and crazy-ass laugh.
47.) 6 AM JAZZERCISE SESSIONS w/ MONIQUE.
48.) My Chafa-ness w/ my clothes... Mr. secretary: "i like your shirt"-- me: "--I GOT IT AT TARGET/goodwill/handmedown...".
49.) MR. SECURITY!!
50.) Blisters and my pink heels.
51.) all of us crying durin the "circle of love"--- hugs, myspace, todo.
52.) Marc and Marco..lean back..lean back..
55.) "All those opposed say Nay"
56.) total lack of sleep
57.) "Ayaya"--Celina's speech.."i speakeded.." ..her tongue ring.
====== and SO MUCH MORE. I LOVED IT ALL
One thing i take away from all of this is a new sense of Humility, that there is SO much i need to do if i want to be the leader i want to be. I really need to take more risks and not care what others think... my biggest regret is not steppin up to the plate as much as i should have. And i will do that. I have already changed SO Much from the nothing i was a year ago, so i can't wait to see what another year will bring.
One of the things that is different this year to me is the realization that there are so few of us high-achieving hispanics out there that are driven enough to attend these programs... like at this LDZ there were like 220 of us Texas wide .... that would be barely a drop of the total if that was any other race. We are "THe Top 2%" of our kind... that means there are only 2 of us out of every 100 Latinos.. and that's something we need to change. I think taht between all of us there is this knowledge that each and everyone of us is so unique when put up in comparison to the rest of the world, it's astonishing, and we realize that peculiarity. Our values are so rare that our personalities fit so perfectly together that when we meet, all from different places, it is really something beautiful.
So at the "Cirle of Love' today, i was just bawlin my eyes out, man. Like from the first time Celina came to hug me before it even began and the first hint of tears came.. i knew it was going to be hard --but i know that everyone i met here, there is a place in my heart for them forever, even i didn't get really close to them. there is a mutual affection. We have to be a family. We have to stay connected. For only together can we make those changes that we so strongly need.
Te quiero.
So i just got back from NHI today, the Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session (LDZ).
I hardly know where to begin..except.. it was one of the best experiences of my life.
My face is still all puffy from crying so much at the closing ceremony today. I miss everyone soo much already.
i was gone from the 16th to 23rd..
At first i didn't really want to go-- i wanted to fake sick or something, but i knew w/ the no-refund policy, that just wouldn't be cool... i just reaaaaaally wanted to see Becca who was comin up this weekend.. but.. i could see her anytime, i gues...while this really IS a once in a life-time opportunity.
So i got there to Gerogetown at Southwestern University..not far at all.. so i was all 'hmm..hopefully i'll get sick by wednesday and go home '..
I didn't know anyone from there.. Jesus ended up not going, i guess... so i met these girls Lauren and marisa..then were shortly joined w/ Dlisa and Lilvia...then Elsa joined, too.That was cool.. though this first posse ended up not being really together in the end...
At the opening ceremony this most GORGEOUS girl named Celina (like.. 'SELENA', como, mi cantara favorita!!) asked if she could sit next to me.. can u say DESTINY?? haha. So me and her started to chill together, like..we went up and were the only ones in our lil group to have the balls to walk around and meet people (..specialy cute guys..hah).. and after like 20 min it was like we knew eachother foereverrr.
I ran into Jimmy and Zach from last year's YLC..tho we both hardly remembered eachother... que funny. I was super different last time anyway.
there's so much to tell so i'm sorry if any of these in incoherent or anything..
First day we started with the Legislative process with LUIS GUILLERMO GONZALEZ as the secretary of state (SOS).. ahhahaha..omfg..so.. okay..won't get into the he's-so-cute speel just yet...cuz that wasn't our first impression.
Basically he scared us all shitless.
I realy had no idea what we were supposed to do here.. the really driven kids had already read the handbook that my mom had lost..so they knew what they were doing. He had to be the biggest A-hole in the world to us.. we didn't kno he had an act goin.. but .. it's those guys that are INSANELY smart(Stanford graduate..), charasmatic and powerful (and look like Keanu Reeves) that intimidate me like woah.
It's really hard to explain how his totaliarnistic style of teaching us/making us work together really incited some of the best lessons i've learned in my life... It really just leaves me in awe that people can be gifted with such passion and intellect--that people can just step into a room and say a few words and have everyone under their command, hanging on every word--- it's hard to say that someday i hope i can do that--to gain that type of respect from mere knowledge and wisdom..
Our topic of the week was the phenomenon of immigration--he pushed us to not see it as a problem, but as an opportunity-- it's so hard to change a way of thinking of starting everything fomr the bottom, seeing it as a PROBLEM, something that's lacking which must be changed and seeing it optomistically, that it's an opportunity to flourish from...
we did taht for the first 2 days.. elected officals like governor... i ran for senate and won so i got to be Chair #21.
I guess a lot of this is about testing your limits, and i prefer not to speak infront of huge crowds, but i went and did it and did a hella job so, I hope I'll be a lot more comfortable in the future
One of the coolest things we did was go to the actual TEXAS STATE CAPITOL and sit the ACTUAL Senate chairs and ACTUAL house of Represenatives and passed Laws/ proposals that, if we were the real house and senate, would have ACTUALLY become laws.
And i think that's something u dont do everyday, be able to sit in the chairs, go up to the mic while random ppl listen to you from above... vote with "yea"s and "nay"s.
I have to say i have a much stronger appreciation of polotics taht i had before.
Of course by this time, Luis became our friend, not the scary-intimidating SOS that he was. and once he actually SMILED.. omfg!!! Can u say hotttie?!?! It was the most adorable thing in the world! Like..up there he seemd so hard and bad-ass, then once he smiled (Celina, "aaaww!! my little strawberry!!") it was like heaven, mayn. He seemed so shy and funny after that.. awww!!!! So basically we were all giggly around him..and i got a picture w/ him and.. que chulo.
Somet things i will never forget:
1.) Our Posse: Me, Celina, Christine, Andrea and Elsa.
2.) Grilled cheese sandwiches...
3.) Celina eating pizza w/ a knife and fork because "it won't stand up"... "This grass tastes weird".--so how i always think ppl. say the weirdest-ass things.
4.) Making cariños every 2seconds about Celina's funny ADORABLE faces.
5.) Elsa-- lookin like a kitty, Celina, like one of the dog's from 101 dalmatians.-- "well, u look like a rat!!"
6.) Matthew, Luis, Marco, Ahsley and Ryan as my senate buddies.
7.) Chillin in the lounge and counting the insane amount of flags they had.
8.) Chrstine and her theories about the word "Dammit" and how everyone said she reminded her of one of her friends.
9.) our COED dorms.. chillin on the 1st floor with the boys and gettin in trouble.
10.)Agapito's "super soaker" dance.
11.) Peter's hair
12.) Fabiana and Celina makin me want to have a big sister SO BADLY and move to El Paso with them.
13.) Celina's $136 shoppin binge at Lakeline Mall.--her big-ass basketball shorts.
14.) How we both forgot blankets so froze our asses off.
15.) Late night boy-talks w/ Christine aka SHORTY.
16.) Startin to get ready for the dance at like 3pm then still being one of the last to be ready.
17.) Desire just being so kind and adorable...and how i totally thought she was gonna be a black girl, i mean Desire Williams, que nombre, de veras?
18.) The Laredo Boys... QUE CHULO y BADASS! Chapa, Jorge... etc. etc..
19.) Sara, Magdalena... the Laredo accents--how i'll vote for u no matter what if u're from laredo.
20.) The Chino playin those crazy ass tunes on the piano.
21.) JUDE "what's my name?? where am i from!?!"
22.) Oscar reminding of that other guy.
23.) The dance and having my "sticker bra" on... almost-wardrobe-malfunctions.
24.) How my Walmart Clock-Radio totally became our SWEET Soundsystem.
25.) Andrea being one of the few girls i've known that have the same accent/ crazy-Mexican speakin mannarisms(if u can even call it that)
26.) THE RUBEX CUBE GUY!!! lemme see.. his record is 64 sec. i think? then he did a 3min one infront of everyone.
27.) THE TALENT SHOW... with ^mr.cube bein da pimp... singing.. toilet-contest con los gobiernos y los otros.
28.) Bucky fake-cryin when i made fun of his ears.
29.) Celina gettin krunk at the dance.
30.) Erin y ella bailando like NO OTHER.
31.) Luis transforming from i-hate-u to.. MARRY ME!
32.) Ernesto Nieto Y Gloria just being awesome in all fields..Ernie's cute little "hair island".
33.) Cussin like sh*t at the church.. hahaha. I mean, perdoname.
34.) Gettin ready w/ Bobby Bones in da mornin w/ Christine.
35.) Mr. Soy de Peru.
36.) CHRIS.
37.) Watchin 'American Dreamz' with Christine.. "That is large" LOL!!!
38.)LA GENTE.
39.) El y Andrea.
40.) CRY BABIES.
41.) Fallin asleep in the weirdest position on the way to the capitol every morning.
42.) La tranformacion de simone.
43.) Myspace addicts.
44.) Late-nite soccer players and Christine's accidental white-shirt inccident.
45.) The rain
46.) Anna's dancing and crazy-ass laugh.
47.) 6 AM JAZZERCISE SESSIONS w/ MONIQUE.
48.) My Chafa-ness w/ my clothes... Mr. secretary: "i like your shirt"-- me: "--I GOT IT AT TARGET/goodwill/handmedown...".
49.) MR. SECURITY!!
50.) Blisters and my pink heels.
51.) all of us crying durin the "circle of love"--- hugs, myspace, todo.
52.) Marc and Marco..lean back..lean back..
55.) "All those opposed say Nay"
56.) total lack of sleep
57.) "Ayaya"--Celina's speech.."i speakeded.." ..her tongue ring.
====== and SO MUCH MORE. I LOVED IT ALL
One thing i take away from all of this is a new sense of Humility, that there is SO much i need to do if i want to be the leader i want to be. I really need to take more risks and not care what others think... my biggest regret is not steppin up to the plate as much as i should have. And i will do that. I have already changed SO Much from the nothing i was a year ago, so i can't wait to see what another year will bring.
One of the things that is different this year to me is the realization that there are so few of us high-achieving hispanics out there that are driven enough to attend these programs... like at this LDZ there were like 220 of us Texas wide .... that would be barely a drop of the total if that was any other race. We are "THe Top 2%" of our kind... that means there are only 2 of us out of every 100 Latinos.. and that's something we need to change. I think taht between all of us there is this knowledge that each and everyone of us is so unique when put up in comparison to the rest of the world, it's astonishing, and we realize that peculiarity. Our values are so rare that our personalities fit so perfectly together that when we meet, all from different places, it is really something beautiful.
So at the "Cirle of Love' today, i was just bawlin my eyes out, man. Like from the first time Celina came to hug me before it even began and the first hint of tears came.. i knew it was going to be hard --but i know that everyone i met here, there is a place in my heart for them forever, even i didn't get really close to them. there is a mutual affection. We have to be a family. We have to stay connected. For only together can we make those changes that we so strongly need.
Te quiero.