Day 17: Learning how to drive

This summer I have made a promise with myself that I was going to learn how to drive. Not saying that I want to be the best driver there is but decent enough to know that if I were to have to hop into a car and drive at any moment then I can. I do not think I would mind to be the designated driver especially since I may be the last one among my friends to reach twenty-one, the legal age to drink here in the United States, and I would be the sober one to remember everything they may have done. Have you ever seen that picture where they have the description of the mom friend, the sister/brother friend, and the dad friend? Well I would consider myself that mom friend. I always want to make sure that my friends are doing okay and I am constantly concern about them even if there is nothing to be concerned about. I find that it is to my motherly (without kids) instinct of mine to bring up potential risks and measures that could be taken to insure the safety of others. Which is quite ironic saying that I am typically the youngest among my friends.

Well today as promised by my dad, he allowed me to drive in the empty parking lot of my old high school. Out of context I may have appeared to be a careless driver doing donuts, because my old high school is found on a busy street with the majority of shopping centers held local restaurants, but I was actually just trying to learn how to get behind the wheel. And a little bit over the wheel... In fact this has been my first official time driving because the first time I was allowed behind the wheel I went down my own street. What a joy ride that was! In this practice trip I was actually able to do turns, practice u-turns, practice my parking skills, and how to keep the van straight without it favoring one side over the next. I find the fact that the van I grew up in was the van I was actually learning to drive in. All the memories of being the backseat driver or the passenger co-pilot and now I was the one making the actual calls. First time parking regularly I was able to get in between the lines of the parking space which I was proud of myself to do until I was instructed to reverse park the van. If there was cars nearby I would of probably of crashed into them. Reverse parking is a whole other story of its own and it did not help that I am short and I was not able to entirely see the back of the van. If I knew how to use my mirrors more efficiently then I would have probably done better but I simply bombed those reverse parking.

Overall driving today was really fun. I was not at all scared mainly for the fact that I was the only one in the parking lot but I felt more in control. I have always wanted to learn how to drive even in high school because of the independence. To depend on someone has brought in so much anxiety and stress so if I am able to drive then I would take away some of that stress. I can rely on others to a certain extent, but if I can find a way to learn to do it myself then I would and I will. At times it may seem selfish but I just see is as a form of surviving. My parents have supported me from ends meet but I feel like this is the time where I want to support  myself more. College will be there and my parents won't so it's a nice skill to learn how to drive. I am excited to continue learning! Then the next goal is to be the one driving my parents around whenever I can for all the times they have.

If you have started, how has your driving experience been?

xx Chavelita

Day 8: Growing up with brothers

As told by my parents, I was the last chance in them having a daughter. Before me, my two brothers were born. My oldest brother, Juan Carlos and my the runner up my brother Luis. I can relate to both of my brothers on different levels. With Juan Carlos I can relate to him with my passion to learn, getting a closer relationship with my religion, our quiet but understanding behavior, and always pushing to do the right thing. On the other hand, with Luis I can relate to the way that when he settles on something he has a hard time dropping it. This could be speaking over a certain topic or the future purchases he wants to make for himself, this guy should be on a debate team because he will continue to state his opinion until he is the only one left speaking. Sometimes he can be difficult but he also is really loving and will show you when you have gained enough of his trust. There has not been a day this summer that I have not been given a hug from him. Luis is taller than Juan Carlos, so when he hugs my head is at his chest and I can feel one of these days he is going to break my glasses because of hard he squeezes me! To grow up with brothers has had their good and bad days. Good because they tried to get me involve in most of their activities. There was one time in particular we had new neighbors move in and Juan Carlos was like, we should go say hi! But me being timid I knew I could not do it on my own so he helped me make friends with the girls who have moved in. Then the bad because my brothers would bump heads often. Their personalities are very similar and I want to say that is why they would fight. Verbally fight, but even then I would not want to be in the same room where the steam was being let out. For a certain time I had thought I was a tomboy because up until I was about the age of 7 all I did was play with my brothers. The Beyblades, the Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Pokemon, video games, watching Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Digimon... The list can continue my friends. I did have my fair share of Barbies that are still sitting somewhere in my room because my mom did not have the heart to let my Barbies go to charity, so perhaps when I have my own daughter we will play Barbies, but sometimes I had to convince my brother to play Barbies with me. I thought it was only just since I would play with his toys.

Whenever my mom was away and I was left with the boys of the house, those were the days where I also felt like one of the boys. Not that I was forced to not be the girl that I was, but it just felt nice to not think that my gender had an influence of how my brothers would treat me. I was still bullied with their love which is something that has not changed when I am found in a room with my brothers together. It was nice to be the youngest and the only sister, I did not have to grow up as fast as my brothers did and I did not have to share as much when it came to materialistic things. Whenever my brothers and I were left alone in the house, I would always let my brothers open the door if we had a visitor. I did not have to start taking the trash out until my senior year of high school because my brother would do it. Since Luis was a grade level below me when I went to grade school, he would always have an eye out for me. He did not let anyone hurt me and if he saw that someone was bothering me he would sort it out. He was like my big shadow always ready to come out when needed. I know now that growing up and not living in the same location all the time, over the phone I still tell him things that are bothering me and he still responds with "who do I need the beat up this time?". Although he is joking (at least I hope he is only joking now), he still knows how to make me feel safe. While Juan Carlos always kept me on my toes. He would recommend me books to read and help explain the homework I did not understand. Talking to him, I felt I would leave a little bit smarter at the end of our conversations. I never had the opportunity to go to grade school with Juan Carlos because we were four grade levels apart. Lets put it this way, when my brother graduated from high school, I had just graduated from middle school. When I graduated from high school, my brother had graduated from college. Which is why I believe that my relationship with my brothers are not the same but I still appreciate all the moments we shared.

Our childhood was pretty amazing. We have our insiders, we traveled to different parts of the world together and learned different cultures, we have our fights but later we forget that we were upset at each other, and that is something that I feel to lucky to be part of. Even though I struggled to make friends because I was so timid and most of the kids my age were boys, I learned to grow a tough layer from the beginning. I know that nothing is going to change how sensitive of a person I am but I learned to appreciate what I did have which were my brothers. I will never know what it feels to grow up with a sister but at the same time I am glad I did not grow up with sisters. To have sisters I would have to probably to share all my belongings and I am not sure how I would feel about that. To be the only girl, I get to have my mom all to myself to do all the feminine things and I would always be Daddy's girl. So maybe I am not missing out as much as I thought I did when I was younger.

How many siblings do you have?

From left to right: Liz, my sister-in-law, Juan Carlos, me and Luis

xx Chavelita

Partner in Crime

Reflecting over the friendships that I have come across over the years, I would have to say that I have never had a friendship like the one I share with my roommate right now. I am starting to understand what my English teacher was telling me about how close she still was with her roommate in college. Before my roommate and I met, we were already messaging each other and planning our room out. I want to say that is normal for most roommate relationships to start. What stood out was that even before we knew each other, we were both thrilled to be each other's roommates. I still remember the first day I came walking into our dorm room, I caught her off guard watching Grease (which by the way is a musical that I can watch over and over again and sing along with Sandy) and as meeting someone for the first time it was awkward. In the beginning of the school year I had to give myself pep talks that everything is going to be okay and that this should be exciting to be independent. The first few weeks or months I was still in the process of adjusting to the new atmosphere of living apart from everyone I grew up with and getting used to the culture shock of not seeing as many Hispanics like I would in my hometown. But here is my roommate speaking to me like she has known me for years, sharing her stories about her friends back at home, her family, and with what was going on with her life at the moment. At first I had thought it was because I live in the same room with her and I am always around that I was her last resort. That soon changed though because even though she had made other friends she continued to tell me her stories and before I know it I am telling her stories of my own. Even the personal stories that I do not normally share with people especially those I have not known for more than a year. With time we started to have our own insiders, our late night conversations became a regular where the topic of discussion was limitless to, and basically we look out for one another. We made sure that each other had eaten, were still alive, and that basically we were emotionally stable throughout the week.

It was not until the start of my second semester of college where I was laying in my childhood bedroom that I realized, I missed her. To put things in perspective, I am not the one to tell others that I will miss them. As much as of a reserved strong person that I try to portray to others, my sensitive heart always stands out. Distance does some weird things to you, I will tell you. One day you are missing your parents and thinking that life will be difficult but then by the third month you are like "It has been three months and I am still alive? I must be doing something right.". And so on the other hand you start to feel that you do not want to go back home, at least not until later when you feel ready to head back. Is that how adulthood is going to continue to feel? If so, then I still have a lot of adjustment to do.

So now that my second semester of college is coming to an end that means that we will be moving out soon. (Not going to look forward to having to pack everything back in their designated storage containers when the time comes...) If you were to ask me what will be my most bittersweet moment of college, it would be this moment here. Where I feel accomplished to have finished my first year of college and for making it on my own but then having to say goodbye to my roommate and not having my go to gal. There is a high chance that she will not be reading this post because she does not use social media often but either way I am going to list a few of the perks of having a roommate who acts like your long lost sibling.

1. They are always there for you. In your moments of doubts and sadness to the moments worth celebrating, you know that you can count on them for support.
2. Food runs. One of my main concerns is not having someone to eat with. In the beginning of my first semester I forced myself to eat with people I did not know in hopes that I will meet someone that I eat food with. I was clearly looking too hard because that someone was my roommate all along. 
3. Parent in disguise. If I ever find myself struggling with a problem whether it is in my love life, in my other friendships, or with school my roommate will give me advice to help me put my mess back in order. Even though sometimes I do not want to hear the truth, she still gives me the hard cold truth. 
4. Awkward or embarrassing does not exist. I can look like a hot potato with my strands of hair playing peek-a-boo, sing along horribly to music in the car, change my clothes in front of my roommate, and experience bodily malfunctions with pride. All are welcomed, we don't discriminate! 
5. Secret diary. Since my roommate does not know my past friends personally or practically anyone from my hometown, she holds a lot of my thoughts that I cannot normally tell to anyone else back home. 

That is a few things that I find very special about my roommate. I have heard other stories where roommates did not turn out as nicely as one thought. Which is kind of sad especially for the first year of college but I am thankful for striking gold with my first roommate. She has made my first year of college remarkable, she has brought out the best out of me, and as I continue to grow more into the person I want to be I know that I can pass some credit to her for not judging and looking past my small figure that most people stereotype me for. 

Overall words cannot describe how blessed I feel.

What is something that your roommate has taught you?

xx Chavelita 

Day 14: Movies

Now coming into realization most of the films that I have picked are musicals... Ever since I was little I was always inspired by these musicals in some way. it was just something that brought comfort, inspiration, and happiness that a lot of things could be made possible if we were to strive for them. At least that was the concept that I received when watching these films. Of course the movies may have fictional plots that may not be likely to happen, but my young mind did not take that in consideration which is why if I were to ever have a bad day or want some alone time from everyone else I know that I can watch back these movies and for a moment relive my childhood.

Annie (1982) - I remember the first time I watched this movie I was probably in third grade and my teacher would not see the ending because well she thought it was not really kid friendly. Yet that only brought more curiosity into my system which made me want to watch the movie even more. Overall, out of all the times I have watched this movie it never gets old to sing along with Annie, to root her on when she beats up the boys in the beginning of the movie, and to still get anxiety when her horrible caregiver plans to be her parents to win the cash price. I am not apologizing for the spoilers, you guys should have already seen this classic!

 Fame (2009) - Before I get any lip, yes I have seen the first Fame that came out in the year 1980, but this remake had stuck with me more. I felt more movement with this movie and the soundtrack I want to say is blimming amazing... I have always envied Naturi Naughton (the girl who plays Denise in the movie) she has such a strong pair of lungs, I wish I had a voice like hers. Also Kay Panabaker (she plays Jenny in the movie) who also started off a shy girl in the movie with Denise, they both ended up pretty successful and well Jenny ended up with the gorgeous guy Marco (Asher Monroe) who also has a beautiful voice. You know what, this movie just gives me hope in general, lets leave it at that!

 Flashdance (1983) - "She's a maniac, maniac on the floor! And she's dancin' like she's never danced before!" Jennifer Beals is one gorgeous woman who plays the character Alex a day time construction worker and at night she dances at a bar. The qualities of Alex in this movie is what I look up to. A confident woman who is very passionate in dancing and will actually go out there to make her dream come true to become a professional dancer. The fact that she pulls out her bra from under her sweatshirt in front of Nick (Michael Nouri) in one of their first conversations, talk about no hoots being given in that scene! And of course her friendship with her dog.

 Hairspray (2007) - Can we all just take a moment to say how John Travolta (Edna in the movie) was able to stay in character throughout the whole movie without feeling weird during the rather intimate scenes with Wilbur (Christopher Walken) and still be one of the coolest moms? I still remember when I saw the trailer of the movie, I was instantly convinced that I had to go see this. To the point that even when I went to go see it I had this massive headache but I still kept my eyes planted on the screen. I actually have this movie on my i-Pod that shows how much love I have for this movie. This is a movie I can see multiple times and still fan-girl with Tracy (Nikki Blonsky) over Link (Zac Efron) and feel all mighty whenever Queen Latifah sang and gathered people to stop segregation or whenever she was on the screen.

 One Day (2011) - Regardless of what I have been told, this has been the top of my favorite romantic comedies. So yeah maybe Dexter (Jim Sturgess) was... rude (trying to keep it PG here) to Emma (Anne Hathaway), but there was already a part of me that knew they were meant to be together even if it took many years of reuniting on the same day to realize that. The relationship between them was very flawed which is what I loved and no where did I have the urge to cringe of how cheesy the lovey dovey parts were. This movie had kept me at the edge of my seat and I was mesmerized and a bit jealous of how Anne was able to pull off the many wigs she wore in this movie. She even had a wonderful accent... And Steve Sturgess just mmmm... Okay, I am done.

Princess Diaries (2001) - It's not because my dad calls this movie Princess Diarrea (diarrhea in Spanish) which just thinking about it made me just giggle but I actually find this movie to be witty, the right amount of girly attitude that shows that even the awkward girls can kick butt, and even though I grew up with this movie, I can still relate to this movie. When I was younger I was actually embarrassed for liking this movie because it was just one of those Disney movies made for little girls which okay I was a little girl the first time I saw it. Can we just say I had too much pride at the time? Now I don't really care what people think about me liking this movie. Well anyway, Mia (Anne Hathaway) tries to find where she fits in on top of finding out that her grandmother Clarisse (Julie Andrews) is the queen of Genovia which makes her the princess of Genovia. Just give me some popcorn and I will be content to rewatch this movie.

The Heat (2013) - Not sure which character I loved more, Detective Shannon (Melissa McCarthy) or Special Agent Sarah (Sandra Bullock) because both characters shared the spotlight. None of them shadowed one another and who ever had the idea of putting these two actresses together I just want to give you a high five. This movie forever had me laughing and yeah there was deep moments but they were good deep moments. I really enjoyed the balance of this movie and how much the characters of this movie developed with one another. I wouldn't mind watching this movie again, I probably end up laughing hysterically like the first time because there is never too much of Melissa McCarthy.

Identity Thief (2013) - Yeah you guessed it, I just can't have enough of my all time favorite actress Melissa McCarthy, I believe this was the first movie that introduced me into Melissa McCarthy which I will forever thank the movie producers for giving me the opportunity to meet this hilarious, weird, charismatic lady. I still remember the part where Diana (Melissa McCarthy) was riding in the car with Sandy (Jason Bateman) on the way to turn Diana in for stealing his identity and while she attempts to make a run from it, Diana within the first five seconds is already out of breath. Only thing Sandy had to do was walk a few steps and he had caught up with Diana. There is plenty of other hilarious moments but I'll save the blabber for another day.



What are some of your favorite movies?

xx Chavelita

Unplugging

There are just days where I simply want to unplug from everything, turn off my cellphone service, disconnect my laptop from the wifi hotspot, and go outside. I know shocker, Isabel a hermit crab in her own house going outside for a little R & R with nature. Can she handle it? Of course. And it's probably a good way to reset your system (the more alone you are without the distraction of others, the better in my opinion) It's not because I'm upset at the world that I feel like disconnecting but sometimes it is too overwhelming for me to handle that I need to step back from all this advancement, hit pause, and breathe. I begin to stress over things that are not even pertaining to me and I don't need any unneeded stress and you shouldn't either. There are days I reminisce when the only things I had to worry about was that I if I'm wearing my clothes correctly, being on time to watch Drake & Josh, and to find a friend on my street that will come play Polly Pockets with me in the open garage. Technology is becoming an addiction to us and I'm concerned as to what will come next. It's like I'm running but I'm not able to catch up because the finish line is always extending itself. There are days where I ask myself why do I own a phone if all it does is live in my pocket silently. If there was other ways of contacting my mother without my cellphone, I'd probably not own a phone in the first place because that was my main concern. I wish there was more parks around where I live maybe then will people come out to enjoy the sun and the swings. I sense this is more of a thought than a an advice today but don't forget that there is more to what is on a glass screen. If needed take a friend with you and go on a mini adventure. Create new memories without the need of technology, think of them as little secrets for your own keepsakes. 

Anything you miss before technology took over?

xx Chavelita