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Uprooting The Seeds of Domestic Violence
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and it’s an important topic for me because I work daily with survivors of domestic violence. That’s the general reason why this matters to me, but another big reason why advocating for survivors of DV matters to me is because I also experienced & observed inter-family violence in the home as a child by my former step-father. One thing about me is that when I want to understand why something is happening, I like over-do it and research it to death. These life circumstances were no different, and by the time I was in middle school, I would seek out books about DV in…
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Radical Women: This Bridge Called My Back
I have wanted to review This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color forever and figured this review would be a great way to end Latinx History Month with a bang! For those that may not know, TBCMB is a collection of essays, letters, and poems of various women of color and it is edited Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua. Composed in the early 80s, the writers are considered Third World Feminists. They are women of color, feminists, fighting against the oppression of poverty, racism, sexism, and xenophobia. It’s a really incredible collection of voices that resonated with me even though the pieces were written before I…
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Battling Isolation and Loneliness as a New College Student
Can I tell you how hyped I was to start college? I was so excited! I had the full “traditional” American experience at a four-year university and absolutely loved it. Yet, I would see some students around me who hated it and I just didn’t get it. What’s not to love? There’s so much freedom and new experiences and friends and parties and learning etc etc. I didn’t get how people could feel lonely or dislike college—and then I went to law school and was like oh. I get it. The loneliness and feelings of detachment that many students of color experience when they start college smacked me in the…
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De-Stressing & Self-Care in the times of Social Media
I consider myself super lucky in that when I started working as a full-time attorney there was a more open philosophy re: vicarious trauma and attorneys. While there’s still an old-school though that nothing we do should impact us emotionally, the truth is that many of us that work in various areas of the law are exposed to ugly human behavior-there’s no question that can impact our own mental health. That’s reality. Then we add the atrocious, urgent, and infuriating state of our country in regards to how people of color are treated and it results in feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety, etc. It’s not a great headspace to be…
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Get It Together: Must-Have Items for your Law Office
I have been in my the same little office space for four years now, and have very slowly acquired some must-haves to make things more bearable at work. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job but it’s still a job, you know? I spend most of my time at my desk, in my office, so it’s important that my desk is comfortable. Here are things at my desk that I reach for constantly. If you’re new to your office space and are unsure what items to bring I suggest the following: One. Things to make you look put together. If your firm doesn’t do business casual than you’re mostly…
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Balancing Act: Dealing with the Guilt & Frustration Attached to your Finances
I was running out of data on my phone early this month and had to resort to reading during my commute. Usually I have a book, but this past week I decided to read my “guilty pleasure” magazines and I’m so glad I did! I’m a long-time subscriber to Glamour and was so impressed by this article on finances. The author focuses on helping young adults establish some financial standards for themselves, but through her writing she also revealed some struggles that first-generation professionals experience. I kept thinking, “omg, this is a struggle so many of us experience!” Yes, I said omg because somehow growing up in the Midwest I…
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#Top5: Second Anniversary!!
I cannot believe I have been working at this for 2 years! Insert screaming ghost emoji here. Two years of being inspired and motivated and moved to tears by so many incredible, intelligent, passionate, hard-working, dedicated women. When I first started this blog I didn’t know what would become of it—I had always blogged for fun, but this had/has a purpose; a large mission that many, many times I wasn’t sure if I was capable enough to carry. Because in the end, who am I to provide this advice? But every time (and this is no exaggeration) –every time—I had a doubt, I would get little bits of encouragement from readers. …
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Summer Series: The Journey to Law School
Our Summer Series for Summer 16 comes to an end! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals! Today we hear from Nataly, a rising 1L, committed to immigrant and farmworker justice as she gears up for her first semester of law school while balancing the guilt that comes with bucking our traditions: Earlier in the spring, I opened up an email from the school I…
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Just the Right Amount of Color: Blushes for Work
One of my favorite parts of my makeup routine is putting on blush. It just livens up my face so much. Though to be honest, when I first started working I didn’t really use blush very often. It was a “special occasion” product. But then I started doing some trainings and more public speaking and caught myself on camera one day and was like oh… Now I especially appreciate blush on days that I’m doing trainings because it just gives my look a little more dimension. So now, little by little, I’ve accumulated quite a stash and wanted to share some of my favorite blushes for work. When I’m picking…
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Easy Summer Salads!
As I do most of the cooking at home my main goal is to find easy but filling options–because I like cooking, but don’t want to spend a ton of time doing it. Now that it’s getting hot (and my new house has no central air–wah!!) I am definitely planning of adding more salad to my meal-planning rotation. Summer salads. They are my fave. Here are some of my go-to options that I’m already looking forward to eating in the hot months ahead: Greek Salad. I have this like almost every week. It’s so good and so simple! You can make it without chicken and it’s just as filling. I really…