ale.visionaria

It's never too late. If you look back and you are unhappy with what you have accomplished or didn't accomplish, it's never too late to start over. Be a giant for others. Don't forget you have made it far in your personal and professional life because you stood on the shoulders of giants. Be that person for others. Never lose hope in humanity. There are other people like you and you know that you did things for the right reason. Keep doing them and the universe will give you hope back. Do not judge people on age. Set challenges for people and let them surprise you. You'll be a better person for it and you'll make someone better during the process. Share your story. You are worthy of celebration and leaving a legacy. Sharing your story is the only way to not be forgotten. Be open. There are no "right" ways, only different. Don't be stubborn and be open to new ideas and new solutions. It's not over yet. Keep fighting and remain passionate. Remember what 23-year-old you fought for.

I don't think the writer is really writing about white privilege I would say. He's writing about his white identity and what has shaped him. White privilege is very real in the sense that there are unspoken advantages that whites have, primarily white males. If white privilege did not exist then the oppression of minorities would have never existed. The feeling of superiority and the norm for society wouldn't be white people and their actions. If white privilege doesn't exist then redistricting would not exist, the overflow of black males in prisons would not exist, I would not have had to get on a bus everyday to go across town to attend a better school. If I was white I might feel upset about getting told I was privileged because of the hard work I may have put in to get to where I wanted to be professionally. However, as a minority and as a woman, I have to put in a lot more work because I don't have this privilege and if the term white privilege should be erased it will be gone when whites use that privilege to help others have the opportunity to succeed like most of them have. There is no need to apologize, but there is a need to keep a ladder down for anyone who wants to climb up. Just a thought...

If anything, I point these things out because I'm tired of being treated as a vote, a statistic, as a number that can be thrown around to make a story a great read and some sort of revelation about the Latino population.

Cooking is an extension of who I am. In the kitchen I'm free, I'm able to do whatever I want and see my result immediately. It's liberating in a sense because you get instant happiness from accomplishing a new recipe. It's a small picture of what life is and sometimes it just tastes yucky. For the most part, it's what you make out of it. It's up to you to use the ingredients you have wisely and appropriately. It's up to you to learn and make the best out of what you have and what you're trying to make. Cooking lesson or life lesson? It's all in perspective.

It's not just a movie. It's history, it's part of who I am and why I do what I do. This isn't just the story of Cesar Chavez. It's the story of millions, including my father.