Day 9: Friendships over the years

When the word friendships come into mind it is as if I get a flashback to all the friendships that went wrong and all those who are still with me today. Friendships are somewhat weird to explain because none of my friendships are the same thus I cannot really categorize them. When I was younger and I still do this now, I would not tell my parents about the friends I have made unless I knew for sure that they were going to stick with me for a while. I took my friendships really close to heart and I would take the longest time to make sure that my friendships were worth my time. I know this seems a judgmental but it was just how I would make friends. But let me tell you now that when I make a friend they are usually there to stay and it's really amazing to have friendships that you can look back on. In order for someone to understand the world more clearly, I think we all need to have at least one of these friends to show you a different perspective in which you interpret the world.

• A friend from the opposite sex - 
• A friend from a different sexuality - 
• A friend who's first language is not your own - 
• A friend who is not the same age as you - 
• A friend who is from a different race - 
• A friend you have known for over five years - 
• A friend who is special - 

Here are just a few but the more diverse the better. If you have at least one of these friends I can guarantee that your perspective will become more third dimensional. Sometimes we get stuck seeing the world through our lens and from the situations we have had overcome over the years. But once when you start walking in the shoes of your friends you start to understand that not everything is as one sided as we think. Their stories do not become your own, but you can learn from their stories. So I find it to be important to give everyone a chance even the people you would not think of being friends with are the ones who bring in the most perspective in your life. Just give them a chance, if you like to speak and be around with them then continue being their friend. If you find that you feel upset or annoyed to be with that person you always have the right to walk away or stop speaking to them just make sure you let them know why you do not want to be friends with them. I think they deserve the explanation at least.

I have met my very first best friend when I was around nine or ten. We were in fourth grade and she was the new girl who came from Detroit, Michigan and you know how everyone gets excited to see new students come in the middle of the school year. I felt like everyone wanted to be her friend but I was not the one to casually come up and introduce myself. I waited for my cue, if it ever came, to make myself known to her so I was left waiting. Then there was this one day where she invited some of the girls from our class to come over and I was invited. We were barely talking at that time. I remember she would mix up my name with this other short girl from class but fair enough I mispronounced her name for about a year or so, so I guess I cannot complain. Asking my mom to go over to a friend's house for the first time, I can already tell she was concerned. She is the type of mom who likes to meet the parents of the friend to make sure. Throughout my fourth and fifth grade year on Friday afternoons after school I would go over to her house. It first started with a group of girls coming over her house and then it ended up just me coming over which I did not mind. We would call our moms on the landline at school and cross our fingers that we were able to spend time together. And so we fast forward 11 years and I can still say she is my best friend. We went through the awkward teens together even though I had left for a while to go to Hawaii for my dad's work I came back. I feel we have defeated the odds honestly and I want to say this is the friendship I treasure the most because my best friend saw me when I was I just the little girl who wanted someone to laugh with to the woman I had grown and wanted to be. And I could say the same to for her. I am curious to see where the next decade will take us! 

Who do you consider your best friend?

xx Chavelita

Teen pregnancy

For the past weeks or so in my IB Spanish class my classmates and I have been describing pictures that forces us to give us an argumentative yet personal opinion of what we think the picture means to us and what the message is trying to get to across to those who view the picture. When it was my turn to describe the picture, keep in mind that I do not have the ability to choose the picture I wanted to discuss about, I was nervous that I was going to get a picture that I had no argumentative statement to discuss. Yet the picture that I was given was teen pregnancy. Yes teen pregnancy and to be truthful with you all some of the things I said will be shocking because it did shock at me. (Alright so I may add some more ideas while writing but the main ideas done in my interview are highlighted into the following statement)

What do you see in this picture?
I see that there is a teenager mother holding her baby of maybe three years of age. Instead of looking terrified though, she appears to be happy that she has her baby boy in her arms like she does not regret making this decision of having a child at such a young age perhaps at 15. In fact by looking at her clothes she may be from the Middle East and depending how the country view teen pregnancy it could actually be seen a normality rather than something that should be shunned about which is done here in the United States. She seems confident at what she has placed in her life in front of her. With technology advancing and the world moving at such a rapid pace, society has been creating teen pregnancy into a controversial topic of discussion. In comparison with the generation of before, maybe having children at a young age did not seem like a big deal because people would get married at a young age and with the lack of technology, lets face it people were more sane. Now in today's generation teen pregnancy among adolescents and soon all the reputation, all trust, all relationships or friendships made by other people are lost. Which seems unfair because they do not even have a chance to prove themselves. So they got pregnant at a young age, but does that make them irresponsible parents or parent? Before people start to give the cold shoulder at least give them a chance to prove of what potential acts that could be done within the nine months of pregnancy and the many years after that. I am not saying that teens should get pregnant but if they do, it does not necessarily mean that their lives are over. I wish that adolescents would at least wait before having children to save themselves from spending sleepless nights taking care of the child to emergency visits to the hospital in case the child gets sick. Sacrifices will have to be made to make the outcomes as successful as they can be. Society gives teen pregnancy the idea that hell will break lose and from where I am standing the world has yet to burst into flames. Each baby is seen as a blessing no matter of the situation and if people were to be more open-minded of this situation teens will be more comfortable to speak about teen pregnancy. Female adolescents will not have to live in fear of acceptance from their peers, family, or society because I can bet you that all these girls want is to feel safe and welcomed and supported throughout the pregnancy. They want to be able to see their parents eyes without having this feeling that they will not look back. Parents you have the right to feel disappointed or in desperation to know of the full details that caused the pregnancy but before you blow up at your children give them a hug first and tell them that you are there for them. I know it sounds contradicting but I find it best that everything settles down first before the questions rise into action.

Teen pregnancy is a controversial topic to speak about and I totally understand if you have a completely different outlook on this matter. I am not a mother only a seventeen year old girl but I believe that once when you are open minded, you are able to view many perspectives in the discussion.

What do you see in the picture?

This is the actual picture I had to describe

xx Chavelita