Month: November 2015

Our lives matter

Leave a comment

This may be a touchy blog post for many. I will be taking about Missouri, police brutality and race relations in America. Before I do so, I am just going to put a website out there that I recently became aware of. It addressed NYPD issues and shows efforts to fix corrupted policing systems and authorities.

Let’s talk about how instead of improving racial matter in the US they have gotten worse. It ranges from presidential candidates sparking fear related to Latinos, death threats on a university campus, to deaths of minors. What is wrong with our world? With our country?

We have 13 year old’s getting shot by the very men who swear will protect us. Example: Tamir Rice. He was 13. HE WAS 13! His life was stolen from him. He was shot and left to bleed out receiving no immediate help from officers even after they saw he was not armed. His sister was not allowed to comfort him. Instead, she was handcuffed. Why was she handcuffed? She wasn’t armed either and wanted to help her younger brother. I just do not understand why she was not allowed to comfort him. He was 13 years old.

Movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #SayherName address the issues of police brutality among communities. The fact that list can be made of all the beautiful lives and souls lost is a problem, in and of itself.

It is situations such as these and other wrongdoings by NYPD going on around the clock. Another 13 year old shares his story below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgP-yUtCMvE

Read this for more information and if you think I’m biased for picking this article, just do a Google search.

If there is something I am passionate about, it is equality. Whether it be education, health care, rights, justice–We stand together. We are NOT inferior to anyone, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, political power, or religion. We DESERVE better than what we are getting and we will figh–let me not say fight, I believe in peaceful protest–we will work long, countless hours in hopes to level the playing field. There is obvious inequality in the US and it needs to be addressed. We are addressing it and as students from the University of Missouri have said “If [we] make you uncomfortable, [we] have done our jobs.”

Even at my own university we see issues. Let us talk about the fact that the only monument, meant to celebrate the founding fathers of the university, has the population they are representing smaller an barely noticeable. Why must we ,in every action, belittle a population?

Missouri needs to change. All 50 states need to change. Not only are we tired of experiencing inequalities, we will stand united as members of our communities against these issues. My generation, we will live to witness an immense amount of change in equality issues– well that is my hope at least. Jonathan Butler, a student at the University of Missouri, refused to eat until their president stepped down. Butler said “What else do I have to do to prove to you that I’m a human? That as a constituent of this university that I deserve to be heard and deserve to be respected?” He gathered the support of his university’s football team who refused to play in the upcoming football game. It only took two days, from when Butler gained support from the football team and their coaches, for the president Tom Wolfe to step down. He became president in 2012 and soon after his resignation death threats were issued towards the minority students at the university. Security on campus was increased but that did not prevent the hashtags  and from trending on Twitter.

You want to know what I think? Probably not, but, here I go anyway. I think that one day we will reach a point where race no longer serves as a method for discrimination. That one day we will all be equals. I yearn for that day. I want my kids to grow up in a society where they won’t miss out on opportunities because they are Hispanic, or mixed. I don’t want my daughter to suffer from gender inequalities or my son to go to college and be asked “What sport do you play?” But, until we reach that glorious day, we, minorities, will stand together.

This post is definitely all over the place. In all honesty, I feel like I should just make a video so you all can hear the anger and disappointment of this country in my voice.

As always…

Just remember: Be strong, Stay safe and First do no harm.

 

Opportunity for First Generation College Students!

Leave a comment

Now, while we all know I am most definitely biased about Chapel Hill being the best University in the World and highly accessible, I just found out there is a great opportunity for first generation college students at Duke University. Fellow Tar Heels, please don’t despise me for sharing this but we need to get as many high school students into colleges and universities in order to bring success back to our home towns.

Duke now has adopted a way to make college more affordable! Much like UNC’s Carolina Covenant, Duke is striving to make higher education affordable and accessible.

Here is a link to the article explaining the opportunity.

Now, if you are just as biased as me and want to remain part of the TarHeel family, I will include some links to programs that have been at UNC for a while; similar established programs outlined in the article linked above.

Carolina Covenant

UNC Project Uplift Plus for High School Juniors

UNC Summerbridge

If I remember more I will post it soon.

As always…

Just remember: Be strong, Stay safe and First do no harm.

Changes!

Leave a comment

Hey guys!

Just a warning. I am making some changes to the blog so it might be moving around. My post can be found on the Blog page. Everything else is currently underway.

Thanks for understanding,

-Angelica Villanueva

Halloween…Then Christmas?

Leave a comment

I will give you an overview of my Halloween this year and then explain my Christmas obsession.

This may be overdue but I feel like it needs to be posted either way. My best friend Mayra came to visit me and stayed Friday and Saturday night. This was crazy because who knew parking would be so expensive–it usually is free on weekends. We paid close to $30 for parking–which is ridiculous on a college student budget. So, we tried our best to not be on campus to reduce parking costs. We woke up Saturday morning at 6–why?!?!?!?!?!–well, I should say Mayra woke up at that time. I bummed it out until we got back to my room to change. As you can see below, I looked presentable to the population of Durham. We went to Home Goods, Sally’s beauty shop(store?), Plato’s Closet, –not that we had any money to spend since it was going towards parking– and talked about apartment and other grown people things regarding next years plans. Here is us at Home Goods–scratch that, this was forever 21, located in South point Mall in Durham, NC at around 9 in the morning. 9 in the morning!!!

2015-10-31 12.43.40 2015-10-31 12.43.47 2015-10-31 12.43.39

This is turning into me rambling…so I’ll get to the point.

We went to Franklin Street, a UNC Halloween tradition. A bunch of schools come to experience it with us and personally, I had friends from all over come to my home to celebrate with me, it was great. I definitely say try it. I just want to give y’all some helpful tips on costumes, y’know, just for future reference.

Don’t EVER apply lipstick on your waterline. I was the Mad Hatter for Halloween and I was trying to go for the crazed, tired look. I put red lipstick  on my waterline and winged it out. Literally, it hurt so much! It burned to put on, to take off. Not to mention the stain it left on for three days after that made me look extremely tired. But, for my first time doing Halloween, or dressing up for Halloween I’d count it as a win.

2015-10-31 23.31.44 This was after Franklin because I didn’t think to take pictures before hand. Yay me! You can kind of see the red around my eyes and my lipstick was worn off because Insomnia Cookies–which has the best sugar cookie in the world–was giving away free cookies if you dressed up.

2015-10-31 22.36.30

Here I am in a blurry picture. Tip: Never as a random drunk man to take a picture for you, it will turn out like this. Haha. Overall,it was a great experience and really fun, so I will probably go to it every year, well while I’m here, of course.

What is this I say about Christmas?

As soon as Halloween was over a BUNCH of people started listening to Christmas music, including me. I am a Christmas Maniac, meaning I watched Elf before Halloween instead of watching Twitches or Halloween town. I recommend the Michael Bubble album, it is my favorite of all time along with some specific Spanish songs I grew up listening to. I also love my family traditions for Christmas. I think my next post will be a gift guide, since I struggle with that as well. I also like to get a head start on things.

Now there will be some of you that are like “Thanksgiving hasn’t even passed.” And to the I respond “There isn’t any catchy Thanksgiving music.” 😀 This may be an abrupt way to end things but I have to head to Anthropology. Wish me luck because has proved to be my most difficult and trying class.

As always…

Just remember: Be strong, Stay safe and First do no harm.

I’m a Research Assistant!

Leave a comment

Hey guys!!!

Remember that post I promised? Here it is, late…but better late than never. Right?

I interviewed for the position Thursday at 1:00p.m. I’m not sure if I am allowed to disclose her name yet, so I won’t. I first was contacted about the position by my professor.

Screenshot 2015-11-02 14.28.05

As I was interviewing for the position, my interviewer kept repeating, “I’m leaning more towards juniors or seniors because they need the experience and have less time to acquire it.” I kept answering “that is fine, its an honor to even have been considered.”

I said this over and over because my first year seminar professor, Dr. Sara Smith, recommended me to the researcher. I never would have even heard of this opportunity without my professors helping hand. The class she teaches is my geopolitics class and it turned out to be one of my favorite classes because it talks about social and racial issues.

This research assistant position involves helping her further develop her interviews and transcriptions for her research regarding social, racial, political and environmental issues. What I know from the project so far has gained my attention and I hope to get back to you guys with more information but right now I just want to let all of you out there who are aspiring too become something great: Put yourself out there and take risks!

Honestly, I would consider myself a hypocrite if I said I do not put myself out there. Most of the things that have come my way that I consider amazing happen because I put myself out there and let people get to know me and my ambitions. Don’t get me wrong, I hate it just as much as the next person does but most of the best opportunities I have received are seeds grown from stepping outside the box and planting them outside of my comfort zone. Most of the things I get come from applying to things where others judge me or my abilities… but, who am I to say that I am not what they are looking for? Here are some things I felt like I would not have been able to acheive:

  • Admission into Elon Academy
  • Top 10 in high school
  • Admission into UNC
  • An A on a chem exam
  • An A on a research paper
  • Intern status at LabCorp in high school
  • Research Assistant position as a first year
  • the list goes on…

This is the shortest list of things that I feel like are great opportunities, but I almost did not apply for, strive for, or go after these things. These are all things that I felt impossible at any given instance before I got them. The thing they all had in common for me was that I put myself out there.

People want to get to know you, your cause, your personality and why/how you are who YOU are. For me, I want to go into the medical field because of experiences that have happened to my family. I want to help inspire social change and help bring an end to racial inequality because of experience I have acquired because I am Mexican-American. I have a unique perspective on the world and so do you. Even my brother, who has gone through most of the same issues as me, does not have the same experiences or perspective as I do.

Just be you! Do you! I promise it will take you a lot further than pretending to be someone else. Had I given up on this interview when she stated that she wanted juniors and seniors I never would have gotten the position nor would I have experienced what I did at the end of that interview. The last part of my interview consisted of her reaching out her hand and saying “You know what? You have the position. Congratulations!”  Even despite her continuously stating that she wanted older people for her research she still chose me. Why? Because I showed her who I am, what my interest were and why I would be a great addition to her team.

It honestly just boils down to being yourself and having the confidence to go after it. Gaining confidence is hard and I have a little thing I say all the time to pump myself up. “Fake it till you make it”

Next post will come really soon and will give details about my Halloween experience.

As always…

Just remember: Be strong, Stay safe and First do no harm.

It’s only Tuesday? Originally posted 10/24/2015

Leave a comment

What? It feels like it is a Thursday…

I just don’t get it. I’ve had so much due in these last two days that it feels like I’ve been through a week already.

Anyways, I shall leave you with some pictures of the UNC v UVA football game I volunteered at Saturday through the Health Careers Club. I enjoy volunteering and interacting with people so much I have considered picking up a job in hospitality as a means for pocket money…I’ll have to look more into that next semester.

IMG_3756

I’ll leave you with a noun that is synonymous with perfection: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Here is my favorite Tar Heel Song: UNC Fight Song

I’m a Tar Heel Born

I’m a Tar Heel Bred

and when I die I’ll be TarHeel dead

Rah Rah Carolina-lina

Rah Rah Carolina-lina

Rah Rah Carolina-lina

Gth Dook! *excuse my language* Go Carolina!

IMG_3757

Here was my perfect view after directing massive crowds and constantly shouting “Ma’am, bag checks are on that side, if you don’t mind.”

 IMG_3758

To those who were tailgating I often said, “No outside food or drinks allowed in the stadium.” Then you have those people that try and chug a cup of beer in front of you. I would say ” Sir/ma’am you have until the stadium gates to finish that” only to overwhelmed by a bunch of thank you sweethearts.  Here is a short story of when I volunteered at my first football game.

I was a bag checker at my first UNC football game this season and I was checking bags and constantly repeating “Ma’am, I can take you over here” and “enjoy the game.”  Then one young lady was like “Awwww, you have a cute southern accent.” If you would have seen my face. I could feel how red my face was, I felt the heat in my cheeks. Now when I say red, flustered to say the least, I mean I look like a tomato. I replied “I don’t believe I have a southern accent, ma’am.” Keep in mind these people traveled from out of state. After I said my two cents, I said “Enjoy the game.” The next person, a different person, this time a UNC alumni continued the conversation. “You really do have  southern accent.”  Needless to say, I MAY have a southern accent.

I just wanted to update you guys while I could –12:44 am– because I have been AWOL.

*Excuse my story telling skills, I believe I could have told that better if I had you face to face*

I will get back to you when I have a little more time on my hands, potentially Thursday, as I plan on updating you on potential major changes, updating you on a potential research opportunity and about my exciting Halloween plans on Franklin!

Just remember: Stay Strong, Stay Safe and First do no harm.