Making Life Decisions

I spoke to a very wise man today about the uncertainty I have about my future-- specifically: where and how I want to live and what I want to do, professionally and personally...  and he gave me three pieces of advice:

1. Buying a home will give you LESS freedom than you have from renting (unless you buy really cheap in a good neighborhood, and then you can rent it out and make a profit every month).
2. Analyze your fears to find out what you REALLY should be doing. 
3. Once you think you know what and where you should be, find the TRUE motivation behind it, don't just go with the idea.

I think this is good advice that I will consider immediately. 

deep breath in and out.

With more time on my hands now, I'm seeing and appreciating the small moments (and of course documenting them like a good documentary film teacher does!) Spanish guy and I made fresh gazpacho and guacamole from all organic veggies...

and as I looked out of my window this morning, the sky was so clear and the view so beautiful. I could see all the way to the hills of New Jersey. Gorgeous! I need to "stop and see/feel" more often.

A health set-back/ spring-forward.

I'm hesitant to call what I'm about to say a set-back, because actually it can spring me forward in a lot of ways...


So I had a minor health issue medically taken care of yesterday and now I have to move slower than usual for the next few weeks, and when I say take it slow, I mean--  I can't exercise, I can't immerse myself in any body of water and I cant carry anything! This for me will be very difficult because, ONE: Its summer and I need to go to the beach! TWO: I'm a super active person, so not being able to run, play paddle ball, or go to the gym will be CRAZY for me!

The only good thing is that I can walk (and I live near beautiful parks) and now I have more time to write and publish.

So although it is a set-back in terms of my physical fitness, its a spring-forward in my writing career and enjoyment of just being and experiencing.

Lets see how it goes...

passion & curiosity

"I have no special talents...I am only passionately curious" -Albert Einstein


My version:
I have no special talents, only passion and curiosity (and I love to push my "limits") -me.

SURREAL

I’m back in NYC, and I feel like my time in Massachusetts was one big dream.  Its kind of like when you take an airplane ride, you’re in transit, going through the clouds in this sort of quasi surreal environment. The journey is beautiful and long, and then you touch down, back to earth and you realize—it’s all over.

I’m so inspired by what I experienced that I think I may use my three-week vacation in August to write an eBook and self publish. Maybe I can take small weekend trips and write by the ocean, or in a charming Inn.  That would be lovely. Anywhere but in my house is my motto. I want to be back in those “clouds”.

The Importance of Writing

One of the writing prompts that we were given while taking this workshop was to select a moment in our life and to research and write about it in a historical/political context. For example, I selected the day I received my acceptance letter to my masters program. I cried for joy! I'm currently writing about that moment and talking about the Lower East Side housing projects and immigration to the that area as well as the revolution in Cuba to pull the story together of how my parents met and what my community/educational life was like leading up to that moment. Cool, right?


I think these types of reflections/research projects are so important to explore who we are and where we come from. Also, to share our stories with others and really bring us together. Okay, I'll stop being so educational/philosophical now! :D


Write on!

Fenway Park and Manchester by the Sea

I had the chance to sneak away this past weekend to check out a Yankees vs Red Sox (GO YANKEES) game at Fenway Park with my friend who lives in Boston! It was HISTORIC! Fenway Park is the oldest ball stadium in the USA and the Red Sox played against, and lost to, my home town team, THE YANKEES! It was great to be there and bicker with all the Boston fans around me! HAHA.

But what happened next was the most magical experience! My friend and I found a gem on the coast. A charming tiny English town called Manchester by the Sea. The beaches were so serene and beautiful. It was like no other place that I've experienced in the Northeast of the USA. You all HAVE to get there this summer!

two weeks of writing

So I'm in my second week here in Massachusetts. This workshop has really helped me identify who I am and where I come from. It has built confidence and made me a better teacher, but most importantly, I've become a great writer! I feel secure in my abilities and have written some amazing pieces that I want to get published.

In two days I have to perform my spoken word poem in front of close to 150 people. I love the piece that I wrote for this and will be proud to share it!

I feel like every human being needs to get this experience-- two to three weeks of nothing but reading, writing, and celebrating YOU! GREATNESS!

the workshop.

Sorry so general. I don't want to give away where I am until I' not here anymore.

I am the Privileged

So I've been thinking a lot, and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT! I'm at a writing workshop with the intent to write (duh), read, and become a better teacher and writer/thinker, and its been working so far... I feel like I've gained insight, strategies, and new innovative lessons to develop confidence and literacy skills.

But heres my TRUE epiphany:
My whole life I've thought of myself as under-privdledged. Coming from the "lower class", raised in extreme poverty where sometimes we had no food to eat as we looked through our broken windows so, I mean, getting out of that MENTALLY needs to be gradual, not just a train collision shift thrown in my face by some "outsider".

Well, to get to the point, I feel like these last few days have been the culmination of my journey out of poverty, out of the mentality of the poor, out of the victimization of myself and into a world where I have opportunities-- they have now been presented to me in a intricately wrapped package. I am studying and learning along side people from the upper crust of society, I now have the voice, vision and talent to be who I want to be, when only a few years ago, I could never say that because even though I might have been living it, I didn't feel it.

Today, right now, I am studying creative writing in one of the most elite private schools in the USA. Where George Bush Senior and Junior studied, where grand artists, lawyers and visionaries made their way.

I am studying with the best of the best, in the hopes of becoming the best to make a footprint in the world, and not just "educate", because who really am I to educate YOU? I am here to make positive change in the world, to empower young people to be active citizens, and for me to pass on the knowledge that I have absorbed. To make my mark on this world with words and actions and to live faithfully to myself and my environment.

Literacy is a privilege, taking off from work to better yourself is a privilege, following your passion is a privilege, traveling is a privilege... I have become privileged.

I come from the forgotten class but I refuse to let "them" forget me.

The Running Trail, Andover

Andover Bird Sanctuary

I had a great run in the heat this morning through a bird sanctuary. 

(Its right near where I'm staying, and has undulating terrain, which makes it perfect for a cross-crountry runner like myself, plus, with everything going on at home, it was amazing to be in nature, and hear the melodic hums of the birds, an experience unlike any other)

This is one of the benefits of leaving the big city.

My heart, lungs and soul are grateful and thankful.

Its beautiful here. I'm in my GLORY!