this is me, at school, sometime in the past month or so. i really like taking pictures there because around the time that i have nothing to do, the sun is usually at this amazing spot in the sky that gives everything a good glow. i really like this picture because it its just me chillin, and chillin is a very important part of my day. i was also wearing a new shirt.

this is me a couple of minutes later. i figured if i was gonna do a self portrait, it was gonna look good. so i took my haid down and didn't make such a goofy face. this is one of those rare beauties that i catch that i actually get sincere compliments on. which is really pleasant.

these next two are actually very similar. if you look at the one on the left, i'm giving that same goofy smile i'm so guilty of. i'm obviously hard at work at your local starbucks, for one thing. and the fluorescent lighting doesn't really do anyone favors. but with my cap on, i think i survived.

in comparison, i myself really like the one on the right. all i did was tilt my head back and stop smiling. not only do i look a little more hardcore, but you can see my make up which i think was really good that day, and my skin looks really clear and nice. :D

anyway, that's enough of that. i just couldn't think of anything to write about.

night!

past is prologue

so i was watching the vice presidential debate last month, thinking about how stupid sarah palin is, and i heard her tell biden to stop talking about bush because he wasn't running against bush. his quick answer was 'past is prologue.' he then continued to answer his question.

i really like this answer. this short sentence sums up the entirety of my outlook on life and relationships. it may seem incomplete but it is a very short and correct summation of almost everything you attribute it to.
my second cousin's dad died last monday. no one was really shocked, unfortunately, because this man was not the most responsible and was addicted to alcohol and drugs for a long time. but when he died, it reminded me of my own departed family members. so i changed my myspace default picture to a picture of my grandfather's headstone, with his last name in caps, SAENZ.
Then i realized that i had previously changed my myspace name to past is prologue.

this is when i realized that no matter where you look, as obvious as it sounds, there is a past that defined and shaped whatever it is you're looking at or contemplating. in my case, my grandfather and his death alone shaped me because he died while i was still in my mother's womb. i think back to the context and realize that she was in a huge state of mourning for the last 3 months that she was pregnant with me, not to mention having two children already.
poor woman went through a lot.

anyway, reading into things is always something i invite.
and the fact that this is such a snappy and alliterating phrase doesn't hurt either.

President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama

The first time I saw this name was on a friend's t shirt on high school. I didn't know who Obama was, and I first thought it was a nasty reference to Osama bin Laden, since this was in 2006 and I wasn't that up to date with the country's affairs. It was only later when he explained himself to my government class that semester that I realized that this was an entirely different man who wanted to be President. It wasn't until very later that I cared enough to find out more about him, and it actually, unbelievably, took me a while to see what he looked like.

But now I am able to say that no matter how much I agree or disagree with his policies, I feel like a lucky observer. Someone who happened to be alive and able to understand the enormous change that just took place in this country.

I have never been able to say that I feel racism or prejudice, even as a Hispanic female. But everytime I see and hear those older than me discuss the Civil Rights Movement or Martin Luther King, Jr. I feel so small compared to the things that they have seen, lived through and achieved. I am so lucky to be in a place where such an historical occurence can happen.

My only fear?
The presidency is one of the toughest jobs to have in the world. At least, from what I've heard. My only words of doubt this morning were, 'I just hope we didn't make a mistake.'
Because to make a mistake of such magnitude would be horrible.
Luckily, I believe in Barack Obama. And I believe that Joe Biden was a great choice as Vice President.

When Obama came to Houston a while back to speak at the Toyota Center, my sister and I found out and tried to get tickets. Outside our school, (which is University of Houston-Downtown) there were Obama volunteers who directed us to his new office nearby. So my sister and I took a trip down Travis st. and found the office full of people with news vans and a line out of the door. We stood in line to hopefully get tickets, but before we got to the front, we were ushered inside by more aides who assured us that we could get back in line in just a minute.
Little did we know that this was actually the office OPENING and that a ceremony was taking place right then. So of course, to accidentally open up Obama's Houston office was ridiculously amazing. There were city representatives and endorsers speaking, and camera crews. There was one Hispanic woman representative who addressed the fact that Latino votes either leaned towards Clinton or Republican. But her point was 'We are here!'

And of course, right then, a news camera found me and my sister, the only two young Hispanic females in the room.

It was pretty weird. :D

Either way, I'm happy with the choice that we have made tonight, and can only hope that Obama does the best he can, as I'm sure he will. Let's pray for a safe 4 years.