I am grateful for all the individuality expressing itself around me.
I am grateful for all the people who helped raise me. I am grateful for my 'buelita's milanesa (thin chicken-fried steak). I am grateful for being able to express my beliefs, doubts, and thoughts to some one who has lived a full life and has practiced their own way for their entire lifetime. I am grateful for warm conchas from El Mejor Pan! I am grateful for the men who prove to the women in my life there is no point in giving up on love. I am grateful for the kind words that can put an easy smile on your face. I am grateful for new technologies that let old friendships become new again. I am grateful for being able to watch my sister have a great time. Sometimes it's just been too long. I am grateful for the safe return of my little brother.
I am grateful I have learned to make better choices when traveling. I am grateful for friends with better advice than I could ever give myself. I am grateful for friends who don't get upset when you can't coordinate schedules more than a few times. I am grateful for the many local breweries that offer great small business opportunities and free tastings. I am grateful for the concern that entails being a daughter. I am grateful for the time I can spend with my sister in a calm and loving way. I am grateful for being awarded paid opportunities to better my career options. I am grateful for the support of Mami Aima, Uncle Marlin, Aimee Dai and all the dogs. I am grateful for being paired with such a calm and understanding practicum advisor! I am grateful for the hard-working, honest men at Don's Automotive on South 1st Street! I am grateful my brother came back to the US from Afghanistan with only a scratch on his face.
I am grateful my mom, aunt, and his girlfriend (my beYOUtiful friend) were able to go see him. I am grateful for being able to take the bus home. I am grateful my grandpa knows about cars and cares enough about his family to let me have it on sole the promise of paying him. I am grateful my little sister can drive. I am grateful my younger sister moved to Austin and wanted to spend Forever Alone Day with me. I am grateful for the UT Shuttles. I am grateful for the people who bother to remember my name. I am grateful for the energy to dance all night. I am not Laredo's biggest fan. In fact, I knew from the age of 7 I wanted to live somewhere else (anywhere would have sufficed, though I set my little heart on Austin). But I am, and always will be, a woman of the border, a fronterista. Tejana first, Mexican-American second.
This pitiful woman, Mrs. Walls, must be suffering from a combination of culture shock, loneliness, depression, and a serious case of racist ignorance. Some one with so much hate in their heart will never be able to find anything to appreciate in an unfamiliar place and culture. It certainly won't help the person make friends who can help appreciate the beYOUty in their surroundings. I believe every blogger should check their facts before formulating and posting their opinion. So, just to clarify, Tom Wade, Laredo is 95.6% Hispanic. Mrs. Walls may not be a blogger, but there are only two indisputable facts on her long list of reasons for hating Laredo: it is #1 in auto theft and a Latino superstition of "ojo" is pervasive. Every single issue she and Mr. Wade have with Laredo can be experienced in other cities including Austin, Alexandria, and even our nation's capital, Washington, DC. Every single one. From transients in the backyard or back alleys to toddlers sucking on bottles. There is lazy parenting across America; conversely, there are strong-willed children across this country. I, being orally fixated, made a conscious decision to quit the bottle once I turned 6 years old, at which point I was able to choose from three Quik flavors and offer my sister her own bottle. Mrs. Walls' complaint that Mexicans in Laredo refuse to speak English is just that, a complaint. There is no law designating English as the official American language save for those municipalities that have decreed English as their official local government language. These ordinances were voted on by those communities. I found pride in reading about University of Texas Psychology professor's, Dr. Arnold Buss, research on the true bilingualism found in Laredo. Many Laredoans grow up being simultaneously fully literate in both English and Spanish. Personally, I have only benefitted/profited from being bilingual. Most of my family is bilingual and I feel we did a disservice to those who aren't. There are ideas and concepts only fully understood in Spanish. Many non-Hispanic White, African-American, and Asian transplants have learned to adapt. Some run successful businesses with and without a familiarity of Spanish. Mrs. Walls prays to her God her husband gets a transfer. I pray she opens her eyes to the beauty of such a unique, bicultural city rich with history and good people. I can say I love the food, the traditions, the celebrations, the music, and the history, but the best of Laredo is its people. My family, friends, acquaintances- hardly perfect, but all good, great, beYOUtiful people can be found anywhere in Laredo. Look in the preschools, LCC, or TAMIU, churches of all denominations, look in the gangs! Most blogs and FB commentary find no particular offense with her bashing "ojo." I was/am not the blonde, blue-eyed child she has to hide from the admiring, "dirty Mexicans," but there is no denying I've been adorable my whole life. The difference between my mom and Mrs. Walls is that my mom protected me from illness with cleanliness and a healthy diet, and she taught me that there are different ways to show admiration or affection. It's a compliment for people to pinch my chubby cheeks or run their hands down my long, black mane. Only as an adult have I ever needed antibiotics, and now the ogling, drooling Mexicans feed my long-developed, overblown ego. By the way, dudes of all races have ogled my beYOUty and I am by no social or fashionable standards "hot." In no way, shape, or form do I condone any negativity or violence toward this woman (can't exactly bring myself to call her a lady). I hope the people of Laredo act to change her heart in case she ever returns. Un besito pa' la hater... x Dale shine, y'all. (For a more eloquent reaction see my friend's Vlog) (For proof Sara Walls is an anomaly among non-Hispanic Whites listen to this awesome song) (I wish I could send this man some Taco Palenque: God bless Jack) I am grateful for old coworkers who remember.
I am grateful for inside jokes. I am grateful for the crazy things my mother does and has done, and how we can all laugh with her about them. I am grateful for clean, cheesy jokes. I am grateful for long shortcuts. I am grateful for homophony. I am grateful for my GoLocal card! I am grateful for my sisters and our sisterhood. I am grateful there are others out there looking forward to our Class Reunion. I am grateful for sidewalk art. I am grateful for bad math and forgiving friends. I am grateful for the connectivity available to me through Twitter, TheFaceBook, Words with Friends, my Android {{Sensation}}. |
RamosNo matter how bad life situations get there is always something to be grateful for... Archives
August 2013
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