That’s That

So my Summer II course ended yesterday with me turning in my final at 7pm. When I came back to work from lunch today, I noticed my instructor had graded it. It’s always a scary feeling to wait the three seconds it takes for the portal to open.

I know lots of people think that going back to school after being out for so long is going to be difficult, and it is. The world of education is so different than the first time I did it in 1998. I mean, now I have an app that reads my textbooks to me in Snoop Dogg’s voice!

But the truth is, when you go back as a grown-up, you know what you want to study. You have a purpose and a goal for your education. For me, even though it is a lot of work, the journey has been so much more enjoyable because everything I’m researching and writing about is stuff I’m passionate about. So far, I’ve researched Banksy’s work in Palestine, the theory behind artistic activism, running rural health campaigns, and social media on a global scale.

This Summer II session ended with a subject that opened my eyes more as I kept learning about it: The lack of acceptance and misrepresentation of dark-skinned women in Latin America. The more I read about the way indigenous and Afro-centric women are portrayed in the media, and the effects it has on real women, broke my heart.

I remember a few years ago, one of my little cousins said to me that she wished she had blonde hair and blue eyes. I was so offended! I told her, “Don’t ever say that. You are perfect just the way you are.” And I meant it. (Now that she’s older, she’s totally gorgeous with her dark hair.)

For this assignment, I created a campaign focusing on changing those old narratives that convinced Latin American women that light skin is better. Dark skin and dark hair have a beauty all their own! I chose Mexico as the country for my campaign because so much of its media spills into the US and other parts of Latin America. The more I got into it, the more the ideas kept coming. Before I knew it, what should’ve been a five-page paper became a 12-pager. I’m seriously considering sending this to the company I made this campaign about. And apparently my instructor loved it too because she gave me 22 out of 20 possible points!

I totally cried when I saw her comments about my project. This one meant a lot to me. Ya’ll know I will stand up for the girls, always! As a mother to a little Afro-Latina, I don’t ever want my baby girl to feel embarrassed of the roots in her DNA that carry a rich history of all the women who fought to get her here.

And I don’t NEED to get A’s in my classes. But I do it because it’s proof to myself that I do know what I’m doing. I’m pouring my little heart into my work because I’m passionate about it. It’s not just nonsense assignments. I’m earning the grades. #NoMeRajoChingao.

Anyways, where I’m going with this is – it’s possible. Whatever it is you want. It’s hard work, but if you want it bad enough, you will do the work. There might be headaches, late nights, missing out on stuff, or if you’re like me, lots of tears. But it is in you to fight for YOU. Besides, in the time you’ve sat there explaining all the reasons why you can’t do it, you could’ve already gotten started.

GO DO IT. I’ll be cheering for you.