FSU ESSAY!

*The deed has been done ... I sent this essay in(:

For a Hispanic living in a primarily Caucasian society, it sometimes seems hard to honor the customs of my ancestors. It is easy to take many of the luxuries that I have in this country for granted, and even easier to take simple things, such as basic rights, for granted. In El Salvador, men are far superior to women, but thankfully, I live in a country that does not believe that a persons gender determines their self worth. Both of my parents were born in third-world countries. I am proud to call myself multiracial, for numerous reasons. Because I have roots in three continents, the many traditions practiced in my household can be related to those of the American people as well.
On my fathers side, my great, great grandparents left the country of Ireland, because of the potato famine, to start a new life on the small, British-crowned colony of Montserrat in the West Indies. It got it’s nick-name "The Emerald Isle" because of the many families, like mine, who immigrated there. In those days, it was common for the British to own African slaves, but my ancestors believed that it was unjust to treat any human being differently because of the color of their skin. The two races lived peacefully with each other for decades, and approximately eighty years ago, the two races came together, and my great grandmother was born. I truly believe that because of my parents’ diverse upbringing, and the many traditions of their homelands, it caused me to have an extremely open mind, and has therefore inspired me to give back to this country what it has given to me.
My family has been struggling financially since before I can remember, and I am lucky that I am receiving the opportunity to break the chain of poverty. I have been working part time for almost three years now, and my days of working for minimum wage will soon come to an end. I am also working to end stereotypes that are often associated with people like myself. It has taken a lot of strength, time, and perseverance, but I want to get people out of the mind set that all young people are lazy, that women cannot perform as well as men, and that Hispanics are freeloaders and uneducated. As President of my high school, I strive to set a good example for my fellow students in all areas of life. I refuse to settle for mediocrity in academics, in leadership, or in any of my work. In Luke 12:48, the Bible says that "Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given." I have been given power that most people will never receive, but I also have an opportunity to further my education. My family members in Central America and the West Indies do not even dream of opportunities like these, and it would be a lack of character and judgement to not fully take advantage of the "American Dream."

VERANO, 2008

Hands down, this has been the best summer - ever. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I feel like I've accomplished quite a bit since school has been out, and I just don't want to forget any of it! It started with spending every spare minute studying for the ACT, taking the test, and receiving a mere 23. The next day, the parentals went to Vegas for a week, and people took advantage of that ... I wasn't alone in my house for more than 5 minutes, and I loved it. Between driving my sister to all of her practices, and gracing my co-workers at the Village Inn with my presence(ha!), I also spent a significant amount of time preparing for the SGA new member bootcamp. It started out with ice breakers, then went to workshops, then we indulged in a game of random questions, and the night ended with a delicious potluck, and an official new member induction. The rest of the week was spent chilling with the homies. I also went to Tristan's birthday party(see 2nd blog) and accompanied my father to the doctor's office for his colonoscopy. They gave him a miracle drug, and he was a very happy man(: 2 days later, I was on a plane, and Boston bound! It took forever to take off, because of the fog, but we finally managed to get on the run-way. While there, we hit up the fair, Cape Cod, went to a few parties, attended the *best church service of my life, shopped, went downtown, saw Wall E, indulged in a lot of ice cream, visited NYC (see blog) and most importantly - spent time with the fam - whom I love/miss dearly. The day after our departure from the beautiful city(which I will one day be a resident of) was spent running errands, and preparing for our first official SGA meeting. It was a good day, spent catching up with everyone, taking senior portraits, and watching a lot of movies at Kristy McDaniels house. The next morning, Kristy conveniently got sick, and all of the girls went canoeing with her parents. If you're ever considering going - don't! The best part of the day was serenading our fellow canoe-er's with the beautiful sounds of Disney movies, Hannah Montanna, and Broadway musicals(; The next week, which started on July 20, was just really great! I had missed my firends terribly, so we hit up the beach, went to Seville to see Chelsea sing, had a game night, went to Starbucks approximately 787 times, and I of course worked, but also had some downtime to see a few of my bests! The next week was another SGA meeting, and Jenna Woorlard's (now Ervin's) wedding, and she looked b-e-a-u-tiful. Allie and I left the wedding and went straight home to pack for our college campus adventure! It started at 4:00 a.m. on July 30th, and we were Tally bound. We fell back asleep once we got there, and woke up in time to take a bus tour, and sat through 3 lame workshops. Then we stayed in the honors dorms, and woke up the next morning and headed to Gainesville. UF is gorgeous! We toured there, stopped at Olive Garden, and then once again, headed back to Tally. The next morning, thanks to my fabulous driving, we made it back to Pace in 2 and 1/2 hours! Since then, I have been going non-stop!

Aug. 1- Nina & I saw The Mummy 3, great movie!
Aug. 2- I worked, Nina & I made our *senior crowns(: I also got to see MICHELLE NORRIS! I've missed that girl terribly, and didn't even realize it! Our spontaneous photoshoot is posted on MySpace.
Aug. 3- WORK, evening church, and I also met my Aunt Fran's new boyfran :D
Aug. 4- I dominated at the mall, and purchased every item on my list! I also got to see Ms. Ariel Henry!
Aug. 5- Waterville with Jennifer & crew, and also K.Floyd's B-day party !! She watched her first "R" rated movie, wich happened to be a low budget, college student film, titled "The Blair Witch Project" ... I forgot how much that movie sucked until I sat through it again.
Aug. 6- SGA meeting, BBQ with the fam, and game night!
Aug. 7- Kay Brown/Middleton's photoshoot, Navarre Beach/Santa Rosa mall with the fam ... and Allie(:
Aug. 8- FRESHMEN DAY! Just know that I am completely stoked about continuously chanting "4 more years" in a few short weeks ... and of course leading pep-rallies :D

Since then, I have been working endlessly at the Village Inn, and also at school! It will resume in a few short days, and please believe me when I say that I do NOT want summer to end, but that I'm more than ready to start presiding over PHS :D