Last day as a Teenager...

Today is my last day as a teenager. My teenage years were confusing, amazing, hilarious, depressing, had ups and downs. I began my teenage years in Mexico. As a thirteen year old I tried my first 3 leches cake, Ferrero Rocher Chocolates, fell in love at first sight hehe but later found out it really wasn't, had my eyebrows plucked for the first time. I had a blast. Then returning to the U.S. with my new short hair cut, I was began Junior High. What a great time. I played basketball soccer and softball!




My freshmen year was really confusing. My best friend Vicky moved to Parma. I was on the Varsity Soccer Team but I didn't actually get to play. I was part of the Marching Band!! I was the Treasurer of the Freshmen Class, yay for Jeeves Day when I sold to Miss Carlie Wendlesdorf for only $3. But we raised a lot more than we had expected for a family who we sponsered for Christmas. The first semester I was friends with Lucas and Karen, who were great!! Then Second Semester I was moved to 2nd Lunch and fortunate to have Colleen Lyman in my class who invited me to sit by her at lunch with the group of friends I stuck with throughout high school.




So yes, this is how my teenage years started. And they continued and brought much more great memories...




Liking Mitchel :)




Going to Science Camp at ISU with other Girl Scouts!!




Working in the fields (onion, espiga, durazno, manzana, nectarin, etc.)




Alejandra de los Mochis, he was a great friend!




Band trips (Reno, Disney)


Becoming Obsessed with Redvines!!




1st place in DIII, yay baby!! Senior Year




Plays (The Hobbit)




Driver's Ed




Summer School (PE, ECon)




Short Relationships...

First Car (Red Nissan Sentra)

Drivers License

First Job

High School

AP Classes

Cool Teachers

Engbers, Lundgren, Jackson, Bowers, Ollie, Dickerson, STONE, TRIPP, man do I have to name them all... Peterson, Nuxoll, Sooo many...

Goofing off in class

Talking to Troy, Terrence, Ashley, Jesus and Alan in Calculus everyday GOOD TIMES

Drawing on Alan's Back during Class

Wanting to make the Calculus project Troy Shuey and I made into a body part, hehe lol!!

Graduation

I gave the Spanish Introduction




Grad Night!! Yay for hypnotists




Going to Seattle University




Freshmen Year




Switching Majors




Cool RAs




Japanese FLoor X-3 yay baby




Xavier Hall Council




DA




Cool friends




Falling for a guy I couldn't have :( He is awesome




Applying to be an RA and being rejected




Tutoring an awesome 3rd Grader: Rachael




Joining Big Brothers Big Sisters




Getting the Vice President and National Communications Coordinator Position for the Residence Hall Association




Traveling to Wisconsin, Oklahoma, LA, Southern Oregon with the RHA EC!!




Planning Casino Night, KCBCMX, Krazy Karaoke, The Sexual Evolution (sex at a Jesuit University WHAT ? hehe)




Living in Campion (5)




Right next to the girls bathroom unlike freshmen year when it was all the way across the hallway :(




Having the Best Roomate ever!! Danielle You are awesome...




Random Crushes on many cuties :)




Going to Neighbors with Friends




Dick's Smoothies!!!




IHOP NIGHTS!




Mass at St. Ignatius.




Learning Japanese chotto




Starting my Summer in Chicago




Moving to Phoenix, Az for my internship!!




The heat is killing me, haha lol!




Yes, this is part of my journey. I can't remember everything I did. But I know I had a great time. I've learned some valuable lessons.




#1 Do not Doubt the existence of God




#2 Accept the Love others give you




#3 Be yourself, even if that means loving too deeply, holding on for too long, being addicted to massages, smiling too often... IF someone doesn't like it too bad for them it is their lost




#4 Accept others as they are. If someone does not like your hugs don't try to give one to them...




#5 Be Happy!!Go Crazy, let loose, have fun, enjoy yourself and others




#6 Don't take your days for granted, for any day can be your last




#7 Thank those who have helped me on your Journey MOM!! I love you!!




#8 Do not settle, in relationships, careers, classes, personal goals, or anything.




#9 Find what you love and do it!!




#10 No matter what at the end of the day, you are the only one who can put a smile on your face!! (For it is your brain that tells your lips to excercise, I'm such a DORK and I love it)









I love everyone!! I'm excited to be a "young adult" and a little sad I won't be a teenager but guess what there is so much more to come...




I get to Vote in my first Presidential Election, Rock it!! OBAMA Repn Hawaii!!




I get to visit my family in Texas, Brownsville here I come...




Chardin 2, this will be your new RA. I am so excited!




Oh... SO much more I can't even imagine what is awaiting me.




And if for some reason, I do not have more time I want everyone to know that I loved the time I was given. IT was great!!I had fun!




Thanks Y'all!!









Good night!

Who Am I?

Who am I to say who you can love?
Who am I to judge you?
Who am I?
I am a creation of God.
I was made to love and understand.
I was made to have compassion.
I am calling you all to love and understand your neighbor.
Please, do not think that you know what is right and what is wrong.
Please, do not say that you are here to execute God's will and demands.
Only God can judge.
Only God can know the truth.
We must unite and show God that we understand his message.
We must demonstrate that his son's death was not in vain.
We cannot continue to persecute those who are different from us.
We cannot think that we know the way.
For Jesus is the way, he is the truth, and he is the life.
We must see the way he treated others and treat others in this way.
He did not go around persecuting immigrants, he did not go around killing homosexuals, he did not go around demeaning women, he was good to all who crossed his path.
Listen to the words he spoke.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God" Matthew 5: 3
When you persecute undocumented workers, homosexuals, women, people of color, and anyone who is different than you, you are bringing their spirits down, and you are also making their lives on earth hell but God is saving them a spot in Heaven.
However, I do not want you to think that because God is waiting for them it is okay for you to continue to do this.
No, it is not okay.
Although it is not okay for you to treat others in this way, I still love you; for Jesus said "but to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you...Do to others as you would have them do to you. " Luke 6: 27, 31
I pray that you can come to understand your role in this world.
For it is not you who should judge me or anyone, just as it is not my responsibility to judge you.
I am not judging you, I am simply asking you to please look deeply into your hearts and see what it is that God is really asking you to do.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37
Please, listen to the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I love you all and hope you the best on the journey of life.

NENA!!

Can you answer 21 questions about your # 1 from myspace.com?

1)Who is your number 1 ?Nena
2)Have you ever kissed number 1? On the cheek, she is my sister.
3) Have you ever met their dad?
4) Where did you first meet your number 1? well... i think she met me first, when i was a baby...
5) How long ago was it when you first met this person?19 years.
6) Is this person one of your best friends? pretty much!! Am I hers? now that is a different question!
7 ) Do you ever fight with this person?yes here and then...
8) Is this person older than you?for sure.
9) When was the last time you saw this person?a month ago.=[
10) Name a good memory?when we were younger, played all the time in the back yard... in the dirt.haha good times!
11) Have you ever eaten with them?yeah... like a whole bunch of times.
12) When will you see them again?IDK :(
13) Does this person have a cell phone with text messaging?yes
14) Are you this persons g/f or b/f?NOO!
15) Do you have pics of this person on your myspace?yes
16) Do you think the person will repost this?no..
17) Could you stand to live without this person? NOO...!!
18) Do you love this person?yup..
19) What was the last thing you did together? She dropped me off at the airport!!
20) Do they know your birthday?of course!
21) Do u know where this person is right now?at home, I think!

A-Z about me!

A - Available? No se?
B - Best Friend(s)? My Mom!
C - CRUSH? Random strangers
D - DOGS NAME? No tengo
E - EASIEST PERSON TO TALK TO? Danielle
F - Favorite Food? Chile Relleno de Haiba
G - GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? worms...
H - HOMETOWN? Caldwell, ID
I - IF YOU COULD MOVE WOULD YOU? Depends...with who ;)
J - JOB? Intern :)
K - KIDS? nope
L - LONGEST CAR RIDE? dude! like 5 days to Mexico
M - MILK FLAVOR? strawberry
N - NUMBER OF SIBLINGS? 6
O - ONE WISH? to be loved forever
P - PHOBIA(S)? People touching me inappropriately!! Get away...
Q - FAVORITE QUOTE? "you don't need to change for God to love you"
R - REASON TO SMILE? Kids
S - SONG YOU LAST HEARD? Crying for....
T - TIME YOU WOKE UP? "7" 7:54am
U - UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? It unknown to me too
V - VEGETABLES YOU LOVE? cooked brocolli
W - WORST HABIT? No Idea, being forgetful
X - X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD? teeth

Y -YOUR MOM? I have two! = )
Z - ZODIAC SIGN? Cancer

Fam(Yli)

My family consist of my Mom (YLI, Yliana), mi mami (Magdalena Almada), My Dad/grandpa, My Step-dad (Armando), Maggie [Yliana Magda (Yado) Villegas], Nena [Magdalena Monyc Yado], Martin (Rest in Peace), ME, Mando, Juan and Ene(delia). And then my wonderful extended family... I only named the people who I lived with. So if you are part of my family and I didn't mention your name don't feel upset I am thinking about you too! Those in California, as well as, those in Texas. I love you all! My mom Yli (ILLEE) connects us all. I would like this to be about her...

Okay, so I will start off by saying all the things I noticed my mom did not do when I was growing up.

She did not tuck me in and if she did I don't remember.

She did not live with me until I was 9 1/2 years old.

She did not pick me up on time after practices or games.

She did not go watch all of my performances.

She did not pay for my car or car insurance.

She did not sing me lullabies Or did she?

She did not force me to do my First Communion in Second Grade.

~This is kind of hard!!

That is because she DID so much. When I was younger I would complain about the silly things she did not do as opposed to all the wonderful things she did do. The past two years away from home have given me the opportunity to reflect upon the marvelous person my mom is.

I use to wish that I had a mom who would have tucked me in when I was little and would have read me books and from what I recall she did not do that. However, she did work and give money to my grandparents who were my caregivers. She also visited me everyday. She was a mother to my sisters and to our friends. She was the cool mom you could talk to about anything. She use to take us to the park and play with us. Spin me on the tire swing until I threw up, really I did :( She would take us to the carnival, zoo, library, museums, everywhere a kid wanted to go. She registered me for softball (coach pitch) and had me take baton classes. She knew I loved arts and crafts so she signed me up for a class. I also loved to write poetry and she encouraged me to be involved in Prose and Poetry Competitions which I was ranked superior in because of all the practice I did with her. I won writing competitions (boy, have times changed...LOL) and she went to see me get my awards. She trusted me...

When I was 9 1/2 my mom decided to move to Idaho in order for all of her kids to live with her which was nearly impossible any other way. During that time I was so torn. I loved the parents who had raised me and I also loved the fact that I would finally be living with my mom. So when push came to shove I knew that right thing to do was to embrace the love and move with her. However it was not as easy as it sounds. I was depressed for many years to come. I was not use to being away from the parents who raised me and definetly was not use to being the middle child.

My mom tried to get me involved in everything from Orchestra to Soccer to Girl Scouts to Band and so much more. I was trying to have a good time. However it was not the same. I missed the California sun and nearby beaches. I missed the attention I got from my daddy. I missed not having to do chores. This is when I looked at all the negatives. Such as the things I mentioned up above but in reality those things were not needed. I did not need to be spoiled. I did not need to be pampered. What I needed was someone to love me. And Yli sure did. Even with the temper tantrumps I pulled.
My Mom is the best, she encourages me she gives me the option to do what I need to do to be happy! And I love it.
Thanks MOM!!

Simple Thoughts

Yesterday, I began to create a list of congregations that I could ask to participate in Labor in the Pulpits/ on the Bimah/ in the Minbar. Today I finished that list (for now). As I took glimpses of the websites I began to feel more passionate for the work I will be doing this summer. That is because as I looked at the websites I didn't just see on more Presbyterian Church or United Church of Christ instead I saw Shadow Rock Church and St. Mark's and many others. Each church is unique and they each have certain themes that they value. One theme that I saw throughout the websites was Human Dignity.

This is exactly what we need in our society. We need people to recognize the dignity of all creatures. Not just humans but also plants, animal, and even abstract things such as ideas. When we have respect for others, their belongings and their thoughts as well as the things God has created and also the things he/she has given us we are much more lively to live with compassion.

I hope to come to a better understanding of each church's mission and in the meantime come to better understand what the "mission" of my life is.

Love and Peace:

Me

Rows of Solitude Lead to a New Life

An experience that has lead me to where I am happened when I was fifteen years old and was working amongst undocumented workers in corn fields, onion fields, and orchards. This experience helped me understand the condition of workers. At first, each row I walked through felt like a long journey of solitude, but then as my coworkers (mostly male) helped me I felt I was making progress. They cared for me, even though I had done nothing to deserve it. They taught me that all workers should be treated with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they come from. We sometimes worked 16 hour days and it was very difficult me. However, I was fortunate to have been there by choice instead of by obligation or need. Some workers could not find another job. No matter what their skills were they had no choice but to work there in order to provide for their children. I admire those workers and I am so glad to have experienced this with them.
My journey to this point in my life has been wonderful, I am a Junior at Seattle University majoring in Theology and Religious Studies. I feel called in this direction because I know that one’s faith has the power to transform one, it also motivates and influences one more than almost anything else. As I am growing, I am learning that we as humans are called to believe in God for many different reasons. I find refuge in God, with God’s help I have learned how to love more passionately and to accept the love that is given to me. I have also been inspired to do acts of mercy.
This summer I am hoping to come to a better understanding of what God wants me to do. I know that I need to pray a little more and ask for help in order to find my true path. I am willing to explore many paths but I know that this exploration will lead me down a row that may be filled with solitude like the corn rows I worked in. However, sometimes those are the best rows because they give you time to reflect and gather your thoughts and when you least expect it someone joins you and is ready to help you get to the end. I hope that the people around me see the difficulty of “my row” and decide to come along for the journey. And when we reach the end there will be water waiting for us, which to me represents a new beginning, a baptism, a new life with God… We need this in our society and I have faith that it will be accomplished.