Welcome! Why this blog?

I've created this blog to chronicle the struggles that young professional latinas face in this country. Don't get me wrong, this is a great country, but culturally, economically, and historically, we are faced with struggles that sometimes others do not have to face or encounter. This isn't just a "sob" blog think of it as the Latina Sexo in the City. :) It will also chronicle the funny things that happen to me and my friends who are all up and coming young Latina professionals.

Our issues and stories aren't only for Latinas. It happens in other communities. I personally am a third year law student in Denver, and getting ready to graduate is a daunting task, especially in this economy. Across the nation, Latinas only make up 1.3% of the legal profession. In 2005 the Latino population was at 296 million. Our numbers are dramatically disproportionate and it makes me sad and upset.

As Latinos in higher education, some of us, carry a heavy burden on our backs to succeed. Why? Because our families are depending on us to help the family financially. How many of us have given a portion of our scholarship or financial aid refunds to our parents? How many times do you have to be responsible for your siblings success in high school or middle school? How many times have you had to be the mediator of the family? The translator? The therapist? The psychologists? As the first in our families to go to college, we carry multiple roles because our families demand it of us. They don't do it to bother us, but they know that we are the glue that helps hold our families together. We do it because we love them.

But this can also take an emotional toll on us, because many times we are the only hope. My first semester of my freshman year in college my parents divorced. They had been together for 18 years, and after financial and emotional struggles they decided to end their marriage. My little sister who was a freshman in high school and my grandmother still lived at home. Their decision rocked my world and it pulled my foundation out from under me. I became incredibly depressed and thought the best idea would be for me to come home and try to "fix" everything. Unfortunately, I couldn't just come home. I was on a full ride to the university and I wasn't going to be able to leave. But I struggled. I struggled every day because I couldn't imagine what my little sister was going through and I couldn't imagine what my beautiful grandmother was going to think.

All I wanted to do was be home with my family and be that rock. But I couldn't. My parents never reconciled, and my sister never fully recovered from that heavy blow. She had to watch them fight daily and I couldn't take her out of that situation.

These are only parts of what we face on a personal level in our quest to reach our dreams, change the world and provide for our families.

I hope you enjoy the journey and in the process comment back on your experiences. This is about good and bad and funny and real issues. So enjoy the ride. Somos Latin@s.

Hasta la Victoria Siempre. :)

Paz-