Visiting my mom and little sister in the nursing home hasn’t gotten any easier for me. To be transparent, I pretty much dread the visits. There have been times that I have avoided visiting them at all costs. There is no denying that I have quite a hectic schedule with four children, work, and ministry. I have used my busyness as excuses. I am not saying that I haven’t visited them in the past. But, it hasn’t been as often as I should, or would like to. I know- strikingly horrible, and blatantly shameful of me. Please do bare with me, as I share my struggle with you. At first, I was hesitant to write this, not sure of what people would say or think. But, then I am reminded, that my imperfections, my struggles, my shortcomings, and my failures, can be someone else’s hope.  It can easily be the assurance they need that despite their mess, there is a God that loves them, and only wants to wrap them in his loving arms of …

Without knowing it, our words can be easily turned into muddy shoes. Let me explain. Recently, a person unknowingly, took their muddy shoes (their words) and trampled on my accomplishments. Their words unwittingly undermined my story.  A Puerto Rican girl from humble beginnings, with an illiterate mother and a father whose first language was Spanish, and didn’t come to America until the age of 13. She didn’t learn how to read until fifth grade, and even then, for years struggled with the composition of writing- expressing herself through the written word . She dreamed of becoming the first member of her family to receive a college degree. Despite how high the cards were stacked against her, she was accepted to her dream school- DePaul University, and received a bachelor’s degree in education. But, her educational journey didn’t stop there, she would go on to receive two Masters Degrees, one from Erikson Institute the other from Concordia University. My journey wasn’t easy. I had to make sacrifices, and overcome many obstacles. But looking back, I know …

BY NAOMI SANCHEZ, 16 Disclaimer: There exists a false pretension in regards to the meaning of the word Feminism. Some have made this term to mean the root cause of lesbianism, hatred towards men, an affront Christian values and principles, and disruption of our civil society. Feminism: How I define it- A way to call out injustices based on gender, and to vouch for equality among both sexes. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. As women in this world, we are constantly fighting an uphill battle. A battle for equality and independence from the masculine political (i.e the Patriarchy) system. In this world, women are objectified, silenced, and taken advantage of. What feminism does, is fight for women’s voices to be heard, and for a woman to become equal with a man, not just in the workplace, but in civic society, as well. Let’s start off with the workplace: I am a strong believer that sometimes statistics can speak just as much as words, so let’s take a look at this chart. As a woman, …

by Bianca and Naomi Sanchez Recently, in the small population that is our mother’s Facebook, college has been a controversial topic. My sister and I thought, as a current and future college student, it was time our voices were added to the conversation. As a disclaimer, these are our individual experiences and opinions, supported by some statistics. We are not trying to change people’s opinion, or judge people for their decisions. We know that college is not meant for everyone, but we do think it is meant for us! WHY I’M AT COLLEGE? BIANCA: 18 YEARS OLD – NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY I have only lived about 6,783 days, give or take a couple for the leap years, but either way December 15, 2014 was great. I had been anxiously awaiting an email from my top school choice, Northwestern University. At 5:29 PM, I was sent that email. My parents and sister knew I was expecting it, but I wanted this moment to myself. So I took a cookie, I think it was a Samoa, and walked …