When I was a little girl, all I wanted was the world. Literally the world, and everything it had to offer. It was beautiful and big, to my little 5-year-old self -- it seemed to have no end and it didn’t and it doesn’t. When I turned 7 years old I wanted to be a Ballerina and I was one for a little while -- a brown ballerina. When I was 10 years old, I wanted to be a head boss, like my mom. I wanted to type "important" papers, which at the time in my make-pretend-office, were my dad's prescription pamphlets acting as the replacer for those "important" papers. This did not last, once again. When I was 13 years old, my dreams and my visions for my future and myself had quickly changed. I wanted to be a writer for the New York Times (even though, I had never read a copy of the New York Times paper before). I wanted to go to Harvard to be a lawyer, just because I had seen the movie Legally Blonde.

I find it funny now because, these “sueños” (dreams) all still remain except, they have been molded. I still want to be a ballerina, in the sense that I just want to dance for the pleasure of it with no fear. I still want to sing and not be afraid of the past conflicting with what I have to offer. I still want to be a leader and help out. I still want to be a writer for someplace that I am needed to portray the reality of issues surrounding its people. I still want to be a lawyer, because there is still a lot of work to do. Therefore, I think to myself ... Why not? I am a girl and that means I CAN do anything. Sure, society looks at me as a latina and woman, and thinks “are you sure you can do all those things?”. Yet, I say to them and myself that I am MORE than capable to do such things.

Just like all the little girls out there, You are capable of doing anything your mind sets out to do. You can be a lawyer, a teacher, a drummer, a banker, a policewoman -- literally, anything. Sure, there will be things that will come your way that you may not be prepared for but, I believe you can handle them. Also, remember to look around you and notice, who has pushed you forward to do the great things you are doing and recognize them for it.

For I may not have ended up at my primary school, yet I found a bigger and better blessing in the place where I am at. Now, that I look back if it was not for the powerful women present in my life, I would NOT be where I am at today. My mother being the FIRST one, my representation of the type of mother and leader, I WANT to become when the time is right. My cousin, humble and a true inspiration of how God can use a person; inspired me to get to know God on a DEEPER level. My countless teachers, from middle school to high school to even my feminist professors in college; that took of their time to help me in my studies and push me forward when I did not believe I could. These women, have not been given trophies for “Inspiration Models”, yet they should.

Now, I still have a long way to go and a long list of “sueños” (dreams) that I have to get through, yet seeing now how far God is taking me -- I would say, I’ve gotten to a good start. So, here is to the little brown girls, and women in general, who have a lot of “sueños” (dreams), which seem impossible but, are not. Trust me, we've got a journey ahead of us, yet I believe we can do it!