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Replace This with That: stress reduction while studying for finals
Ok so, I know that it’s easy to push the importance of healthy habits when I’m not in the middle of a stress storm. I totally get that in the heat of the moment most people will be inclined to pick what makes them feel good right now–I know that was almost always my default behavior. During school, I opted to eat whatever junk food I wanted because I was so miserable studying that a little treat like soda was, I thought, well deserved. Except–the treat became a daily habit and that was not good for my body or mind. My last year of law school I decided to give…
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Goal Digger–celebrating accomplishments (and fave links)
Recently, I was reading a book that advised how a good way to keep your goals in track throughout the year: break the year up in thirds so that you can really stop to assess, analyze, and celebrate what you’ve done in the past few months, and then make a plan of action for the next period of time. I think I’m going to try that to see if how that helps me accomplish some goals. How are you doing so far with your goalkeeping for the year? I’m sure for many one big goal is getting accomplished–finishing law school! For those finishing up this month–muchas, pero muchas felicidades! And…
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Addressing Sexual Assault within the Latino Community through a Legal Perspective
One of the things that’s so powerful about having a J.D. is that we can become true agents of change. Of course, any individual with the vision and drive can create change in their community, but as attorneys, we are given a little extra ammunition by way of our legal abilities. My hope is that we always remember this and try our best to continue to improve everyone’s standard of living. Because April is Sexual Awareness Month, I think it’s vital to talk about what we can do as attorneys to help fight this problem. In the article I wrote for Being Latino, I mention that one in six Latinas…
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Style Matters: Shoes for the Law Office
Caveats before we begin: My shoe opinion is colored by two experiences: shadowing an attorney in my best “business-y” clothes as a high school student and becoming embarrassed by the fact that because the heels were a little too chunky (early 2000’s y’all) that they made loud noises on the stairs, and that I couldn’t walk as fast as him, which was annoying. My slower walk wasn’t because I was a novice to heels (hello, I rocked Rocket Dog and Steve Madden platforms all the time–again, early 2000s), but rather the fact that generally most people cannot walk as fast in heels as a someone wearing non-heeled shoes. Second, an…
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Activism Anywhere.
I read an article on an amazing endeavor Latino students at a local university created to help undocumented students. The student group at Loyola University Chicago, through their student senate, passed an initiative where students pay $2.50 per semester that goes to help undocumented students pay for their tuition. Full disclosure–I attended LUC Law School, but not for undergrad. When I read how students, many who were not undocumented, did this for their fellow classmates (and for future students) it reminded me of how we can all make the effort to be activist in our own lives. I think as attorneys, once we start practicing, we often get so bogged down in the…
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Veggie Quesadillas: Simple & Quick
When my husband and I married we were both kind of unsure about how we would handle dinner. Neither of us were particularly good cooks, and I had so many evening classes that for our first year of marriage we kind of just did our own dinner thing. After I graduated, I had three months of unemployment after the Bar and so I randomly decided that dinner would now be my thing. Surprisingly, it turned out that I was a pretty good cook. It’s so funny how you can have talent for certain skills and you won’t know how good you are until you try–thats a subtle reminder for myself…
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Long Nights, Bright Eyes: Looking Alert after Working Late
If you follow Latina Uprising on Instagram (and you really should because the community on there is so awesome!), then you saw my post last night about having to work late. I really have no room to complain because in all the years I’ve been practicing, I’ve rarely had to stay extremely late or come in during the weekends. Of course that is the trade off with working in public interest; the money is low, but we aren’t chained to our desks and can expect a better work life balance. But in every legal practice there will be some late nights and the last thing I like to do is…
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Getting Comfortable with Self-Promotion
I recently read this article from Harvard Business Review on networking and why it doesn’t always work for women. It seems that for women, it’s less “who you know” and more “what kind of work you produce,” when it comes to being hired/promoted. In other words, men are being given the benefit of the doubt based on potential, while women have to show measurable accomplishments. We’ve previously discussed the importance of being able to promote yourself and to eschew the ever-valued Latino custom of humilidad. And we’ll keep pushing those ideas until studies show us that the tide has changed. Until then—what can you do to showcase your accomplishments, especially…
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Spring Forward: Favorite Links
How is this the last Friday of the month?! Isn’t that so cliché to say? But it’s true! March is always a favorite of mine because it’s my Bday month-Aries in the house! And I’m totally the kind that milks my birthday for all it’s worth even though I’m an adult. I mean, why not? How else am I going to get Sephora money? Anyway, aside from my bday celebration, March was great! We talked about: Violence against women Gave try-out tips for trial teams and moot court Discussed building your executive presence Our fave nail polishes for spring. Here are some interesting articles we found around the internet…
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Bright Colors, Conservative Office: Nail Polishes for Spring
I’m so excited that it’s finally spring! Even though it actually snowed on Monday in Chicago–but still! Spring is almost here and I’m so ready for nicer weather. One of the fun things I like about Spring is that I get to slowly transition into lighter, brighter makeup–including nail color! Obviously how light and bright you can go depends on your work setting. Generally, it’s safe to go for pastels or lighter neutrals as you ease into spring. However, some law firms are so conservative that any colorful nail polish is a no-go. Sad! And of course, you probably shouldn’t wear colorful nails in court until you know the culture…