Tag Archives: childhood

Fringe

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Dora the Explorer was my jam. Up until the age of 14, I could tell you the exact sequence of the Dora intro and theme song: i.e. the camera swinging through magically opening French doors and the chunky early 2000’s desktop. My older sister and I enjoyed it so much that our father decided he would cut us bangs to emulate the cultural icon that is Dora the Explorer.

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But alas, mid-bang, I decided I was my own woman and I would not be Dora. Or, more truthfully, I was afraid of the scissor so close to my eye.

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A few years passed and my family immigrated to America and a new cable plan in our new apartment heralded a new wave of Dora fandom in my household. She had taught us Spanish in the Philippines, where our mother tongue was already laced with hints of the language. Now, here in America, she continued to do the same. As an homage to her constant watch over me, I sat on my bed, blunt tip scissors at the ready, deciding today was the day. I was to fulfill the half completed destiny. Today, I would be Dora.

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The evidence—a fistful of hair—was discarded through a hole in the screen of our bedroom window. I looked more like a shredded piñata than I did Dora, but I was on a high.

My father was a firm believer that girls should have long hair— girls’ hair. When I was 13, my mother took us to the hair salon where a hairdresser trimmed our hair into layers.

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My father knew something was up. We just ignored it.

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Unfortunately for my parents, I began cutting my own hair from then on. I learned how to give myself side bangs and the pony tail method for creating layers. They all looked relatively well done, but my hair became shorter each time.

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And one fateful afternoon during my senior year of high school, I decided to “trim” my hair.

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This time round, I was destined to be Lord Farquaad of Shrek the Movie fame. It was the very first time I had decided to make a drastic change in my look. No one could stop me, I was making my own decisions. Equipped with that terribly crooked bob, I became the queen of my own world. I was a living testament to anarchy. Screw the rules, mama’s fresh cuts were serving looks.

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What I’ve learned over the years is that my hair has been part of my growth in self expression. No matter how out of style my bob was and is, I love it because I chose it. I’ll be Dora, Lord Farquaad, Velma or Tina whenever I please.

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I am UNSTOPABLE!

All art by Pebbles

I Want Candy

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the economy candy marquee

Image by: Sabrina Vasquez

Do you remember how easy life was when you were a kid? How even though life may have seemed difficult then, it is even more complicated now? I miss that life. I miss the simplicity of life without worries or stress. As a child, the only thing that I worried about was school but as I got older, it became more about what my career goals were, who I am as a person, and making a mark in the world. It is exhausting to become so engulfed in what the future holds,  and in discovering what your place will be in that timeline.

Life is a roller coaster of emotions and the hectic scheduling of college does little to lessen those ever-changing emotions.If anything, it intensifies them. I believed that once my tedious routine naturally reached a lull, that my life would become calmer. But having graduated, my life has not necessarily gotten any more relaxed; I have simply completed the academic educational process but there is still so much that overwhelms me. But, I am realizing that life is something that you fight for each and every day in order to reach the life that you want to live, a life that you wish to pursue. Life should be about enjoyment and fulfillment… that is what we all are seeking in this world; it is what we all deserve. Life comes with its natural hardships but it is about always trying to connect to positivity in order to fully seek happiness.

candy for sale on a table inside economy candy

Image by: Sabrina Vasquez

There is a candy shop named Economy Candy which is located in lower Manhattan, just over the Williamsburg Bridge. This was only my third time coming to this shop but it always feels the same as the first. I swear that I transported wavelengths and millions of dimensions into a small child again. Seeing the array of candy and antique games, it allowed me to forget all my worries at once. I began to feel the simplicity of life again…no matter who you are and the tragic moments or struggles that you have endured, there were still small moments in which those faded away in order for complete serenity to take place. This shop brought those small positive moments back to life for me. I was overcome by the feeling of amusement. Most of us have a positive connection to certain candies that remind us of happier times in our childhood and that is what this shop did for me. There were chocolate candy bars of all varieties that you can purchase either individually or by the pound. There is even a nook in the back of the store where you can purchase individual popular flavors of jellybeans as well as individual colors of M&M’s. The staff is amazing in making sure that you find the candy that you intended to purchase as well as answering any impending questions that you may have or giving advice on certain candies that may pique your interest, based on your favorite candies. The store also carries a large selection of dried fruits aside from all the other sweet treats.

a lever to a jelly belly vendor

Image by: Sabrina Vasquez

green M&M's in a vendor

Image by: Sabrina Vasquez

This is definitely a place that I would recommend anyone to visit as it enables you to be able to be a kid all over again. My experience at Economy Candy is one that I will never forget…it was the most memorable time and it also satisfied my sweet tooth with all the candy that I devoured.

a retro toy for balloon modeling on a shelf

Image by: Sabrina Vasquez

Comment below on what are your favorite candies from positive childhood experiences.

Their Words Still Speak to Me: Revisiting Teen Pop from My Childhood

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by Robine Jean-Pierre

Last night after a long day at school, as I slipped under the covers and into bed, I did something that was long overdue: I looked up a Hannah Montana song on YouTube. I started with “This Is the Life” and next thing you know, I was a dozen songs deep and brimming with romance, joy, teen spirit, excitement, and needless to say, overwhelming nostalgia. I knew that once I had started it would be hard to stop; even though it was approaching 2 a.m. I just kept checking what was in the “Up Next” list under each video and picking the one I wanted to hear most, jumping from stone to stone like a child in a stream.

I love the musical composition of lots of Disney teen artists’ songs, like those of Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers and Selena Gomez. Sure, teen pop is not the most diverse genre out there; the songs do tend to fall into a predictable pattern. But something about these songs was so familiar, so cozy; the lyrics spoke to my heart and even the instrumentation seemed so rich that I couldn’t resist soaking in it all.

Recording one of my own songs (Perfect Love) in a friend’s home-based studio last week made me realize just how much goes into even the simplest modern song. We had started with a preliminary acoustic version–just one layer of guitar, my lead vocals and my own backup vocals harmonizing–but I realized that if I wanted to take it to the next step in a future recording session, I would have to be thorough and specific about what I wanted. When you really listen to a typical song today there is so much going on, so many layers and nuances and effects.

Getting back to my Disney favorites, the beautiful thing about these songs was not just the instrumentation and composition, but of course, the lyrics. So many of today’s songs are too simplified–not that many words, or not much meaning or neither, just vain repetition. That’s why I hold dear to my heart the songs that have a pure, positive, universal message and are not just about sex, drugs and money. Many of these Disney songs talked about innocent romance punctuated by either fear, excitement or both (see Hannah Montana’s “He Could Be the One,” and Demi Lovato’s “Catch Me”); about having standards upon entering a relationship (see Vanessa Hudgens’ “Say OK”); about the love of a father and daughter through the years (Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus had a few, such as “I Learned from You”); about friendship and love as a whole, not just romantic love (Hannah Montana’s “You and Me Together” and “Bigger Than Us”). These topics are not necessarily simple, but nearly anyone could relate and benefit from listening.

Some songs that really spoke to me that night were Hannah Montana’s “Make Some Noise” and Demi Lovato’s “La La Land.” “Make Some Noise” has the kind of message you don’t hear enough in mainstream music:

“Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not strong enough
Don’t give up, there’s nothing wrong with just being yourself,
that’s more than enough
So come on and raise your voice
Speak your mind and make some noise…”  

Sometimes we need this reminder, teenagers and grownups alike. Hannah Montana’s music was geared toward predominantly young preteen and teenage girls, I presume, and they are often in need of all the support they can get; they receive a lot of pressure from mainstream media to be something they’re not, and to keep quiet if their opinion is not popular. “La La Land” is a very feisty, edgy, playful song about someone who’s famous but not afraid to be herself, someone who doesn’t let celebrity go to her head. One verse says “who says I can’t wear my Converse with my dress? Oh baby, that’s just me.” The chorus says,

“Some people say I need to be afraid
of losing everything
because of where I
had my start and where I made my name
but everything’s the same
in the la la land machine.”

Demi Lovato had my heart from very early in her career and her voice is as amazing as her songwriting skill (which is an understatement). To see that she started strong, went on a decline, battled her demons and overcame to continue making powerful music is a tremendous feat. Maybe these very words played a part in bringing her back to full recovery, as she realized that she couldn’t let anything change her for the worse. (It would be unjust to not recommend her comeback song, “Skyscraper.”)

I can unashamedly say that many of those songs don’t need to stay in my childhood– they are just as relevant, some even more relevant than before (particularly for the love songs now that I’m of age and engaged). Seeing that some artists like Miley are grown now, and have made drastic changes in their career in terms of target audience, message and style, I could only hope that they are not ashamed of their past, and that they don’t dismiss the beautiful songs they made popular as childish, boring, or cliché. Their words still speak to me.

The Power of the Avocado

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olympic size pool

Image by: fina1908

This summer has been an extra special one with the help of Summer Olympics. I have always been greatly fond of the summer games that are played during the Olympics. As a child, I struggled a lot with many issues that were caused by the chaos that consumed my childhood. My mother was a single parent, my father had left when I was only two years old so I only have a few memories of him most of which were not positive ones. I was the middle child and I never really felt that I had a place in my family, I was never noticed. I just lived in the shadow of my older sister and in some ways I feel the same way. My mother never really showed much affection, she was never one to say ” I love you” or “I’m proud of you”. She mostly favored my older sister so I never felt significant to this world or to my family, I just blended in.

During my adolescence, my mother had decided that we, my sisters and I, needed to find a hobby or a sport to utilize our free time with and somehow we decided on swimming. Words cannot even begin to describe how much swimming has made an impact on my life, it gave me a reason to live. For a certain extent of my life, it gave me purpose as I had never felt that I had such a calling for something. It defined me and I constantly wanted to be better in every single stroke.

Now as I watch the Olympics and I am reminded of how swimming honestly saved my life. I do not know where I would be without having the ability to swim. Since the Olympics is taking place in Brazil this year. I have been inspired by Brazilian cuisine which is widely influenced by the use of avocados. Brazil uses avocados in both traditional meals and desserts because of its rich texture and delicious flavor.

Below is a recipe for an Avocado Creme Brulee:

Creme Brulee de Abacate

*Serves 4*
Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
Fresh Lemon Juice to taste
1/2 cup sugar for topping
Kitchen Torch
Directions:
1) Place the condensed milk and avocados into a food processor and process until the mixture is a smooth and even consistency.
2) Slowly add the lemon juice to taste.
3) Using a spatula, scrape the mixture into four ramekins, making sure it is nice and flat inside the ramekin. Let them chill for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.
4) Right before serving, spread a thin layer of sugar evenly over the tops of each one.
5) Ignite your kitchen torch and melt the sugar slowly and evenly. Do this until the layer of sugar browns and begins melting and bubbling.
6) Allow to cool for 2 before serving.
7) Serve and enjoy!

Adapted from Easy Brazilian Recipes

Comment on a moment that changed your life and made your life have purpose. And if you haven’t had that moment yet I want you to understand that life itself has purpose and that you were given this life to live for a reason.