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Three Years and Three Big Lessons
I can’t believe it’s been three years since I went live with his site! When I first started Latinas Uprising, I had no clue what type of community I would find—I just knew that surely there were others that experienced the legal profession in the same manner as me. In time, I have met so many amazing women. Women who are focused, driven, passionate, and outspoken—I’m always so impressed and motivated by the accomplishments of this community! So, with that in mind, I wanted to share three things I’ve learned in the past three years: One. Latinas are amazing. Is this obvious? Maybe. In general, I know amazing Latinas who…
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Is it Even an Emergency? Responding to Crisis During Bar Prep
You are a month away from the Bar Exam! I hope everything is going as smooth as possible. I was in an incredibly fortunate position to not have to work during bar prep and even without that added stress of finances, I was so overwhelmed with emotion, worry, and anxiety. Many of you may be feeling the same pressure (or will soon feel it as we get closer to the date). So, I wanted to talk about avoiding stress and situations that deter you from your goal. I have heard many stories of family “emergencies” that crop up during bar prep that distract someone from their studies and lead to…
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My PreLaw Summer: How to Prepare for Law School
Ten years ago I graduated college. Ack! I remember graduation day so vividly because I was so excited about what was to come—law school, finally! If I had only known just how difficult my summer was going to be, I don’t think I would have been as excited. I’ve mentioned before that summer before law school was incredibly difficult. There were a lot of family issues happening that made things very tight, financially. Literally, I scraped together my final deposit check through what then seemed like a miracle. It was really touch and go. All that uncertainty about whether I would even be able to enroll into law school, put…
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Take a Break: Managing Work-Related Stress
So I am the biggest proponent for mental health days–I wish employers (especially law firms) were more supportive/less judgmental of people taking a day when they need it. And lawyers need it! I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but obviously this job is stressful as our profession suffers from high rates of depression, anxiety, and problematic drinking. To me, it’s no surprise–for most of us, we often meet our clients at one of the worst, most stressful time in their lives. We also see an ugly side of humanity, when people dig their heels in, unwilling to compromise to stick it to the other side. The work…
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Dichos de Mami that Got Me Through Law School
Seeing that mother’s day just passed (for most of Latin America) and many more celebrate this Sunday, I thought it would be great to share some of my mom’s favorite dichos, osea, sayings that helped me become a lawyer—even if I didn’t know it at the time and even if I’d never in a million years tell her this (haha she’s reading this right now, I’m sure 🙂 ). One. No se dice que, se dice mande. Etched into my brain from infancy is the need to be polite. And in the real legal world, politeness goes a long way—especially when most other attorneys’ default is to rage and…
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Sidebar: Roller Coaster
It’s already May! Like yes, you know that, but still April basically vanished. It was crazy busy for me. Mostly because I started the month thinking I was going to have to file a ton of cases because of an immigration form update, but thankfully, there’s a delay on that so work is back to normal. But more importantly, the beginning of the month, I went to a great event that was so re-energizing and purposeful. It was a get together of amazing woke women and it was amazing. There were so many random and happy connections that I knew this empowerment group was made to be. I left with…
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A Community Living Through Trauma
I’ve been think a lot about trauma and the experience of Latino youth. What spoke to me most recently was the video of this young girl, Fatima, crying because the U.S. government took her father away from her. It’s clear by their story that her dad is an immense part of her life, a supporter, motivator, protector, provider—everything a good dad is. And now he’s been ripped from her. For what purpose? I read this story and thought of countless of others that I’ve read of Latino children who live in constant fear and anxiety of this happening to their families. Who hear their parents being called illegal or criminals.…
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Know Your Worth: Combating the Wage Gap
This piece was originally run on ShopLatinx, but they’re currently under construction, so I thought I’d share it here to raise awareness for Equal Pay Day. ————————————————————————————————————————— 54 cents. That is how much Latinas earn to the White man’s dollar. Often it is recited that women earn 77 cents, but that is the figure attributed to white women. In reality, Latinas fare far worse when it comes to income disparity; in states like California and Texas, which compose of the largest amount of Latinas working full-time and year-round, they earn a dismal 43 cents to the dollar. The negative impact of wage disparity reaches beyond the individual worker and spans generations.…
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Grow Your Circle: The Benefits of Being an Active Alumna
A common theme I hear from attorneys of color is the disconnect they feel from their law school. It’s a disconnect I have often felt. While the school never feels purposefully unwelcoming, it’s always very obvious that this is a space that’s not necessarily for us. For most of us, it’s all about getting our JD and bouncing. And because we never felt like that space was for us, we often don’t take the time to come back, in meaningful ways, to make sure the students after us have a better experience. I get why–you have a real job, real friends, family, responsibilities that take priority. Duh. But I fear…
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Meal Prep 101
So like, do other twenty-year olds just stumble into making dinner like I did or is it a more natural process? After I graduated college, I started law school so I went three more years into my adulthood completely unsure on how to eat like a normal adult. Those three years were a whirlwind of evening classes, late night studying, and events that I just didn’t ever think to cook (or had the time to do so). Weeks after the Bar, I found myself married and facing three months of free time as I waited for my job to start in November. I figured I better try to cook since I…