Education

International Women’s Day Should Be More Than A Diversity Marketing Ploy

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March 8th marks International Women’s Day, designed to reflect on our values as a society and honor multicultural women globally. As an aspiring author, creative professional, and multi-ethnic Asian-Hispanic woman, I see the call for diversity as a major focus in the publishing world as it seems to be throughout all businesses.

While wanting diversity is an important step, as a woman of color (WOC), I have experienced the hypocrisy in the call for people of color (POC) to have the same opportunities as white writers and working professionals. Yes, #diversity, #POC, #BLM are all fun, #woke little hashtags, and look really 21st-century-cool. Yet the need for inclusion is more than the preferred pronouns someone lists on their social media. Inclusion goes beyond an antidote to an EEOC claim brought about because an applicant was pre-judged based on their race, age, gender, or sexuality. But the scream for diversity has started to feel like a trendy marketing ploy. It has been my own experience that brown people are becoming exploited in superficial marketing claims from companies to be more inclusive with no legitimate intention of following through.

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Why Personal Blogs & Social Media Accounts = Professional Content Portfolio

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NOTE: This is a long read.

Currently, I’ve been extremely fortunate to be in a position where I’m open to new opportunities. Many people stay stagnant and get stuck for so many years in a particular situation, where they must remain at a company. But, I’m a believer in growth, expanding my knowledge, being in a place where my wings will not be clipped, and I can fly to new career heights. Since being open to new opportunities, I put my son in daycare because I realized I’m not Superwoman. What I am is a wise woman who recognizes when she needs all of her attention to focus on her next career move.

The biggest thing that’s come up thus far has been hiring managers wanting to see a portfolio.

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You’re Never Too Experienced To Learn What You Don’t Know

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The best gift you can give yourself this season isn’t the latest gadget on a Black Friday sale but the gift to be open to learning new things. I absolutely love to learn, and in all honesty, if college was free, I’d be a perpetual student enrolled forever. However, there are ways to improve your skill set that doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Why is it important to keep learning? Being open to learning not only helps you in your professional life but also improves your skills as a writer and helps you become a more self-aware individual. On the other hand, having a know-it-all attitude stunts our growth and can potentially tarnish our relationships. Let’s face it, no one wants to be around someone who thinks they have the answer to everything. While we can be experts in a particular field, things are constantly evolving. There’s new software, innovative strategies to market products, advancements in technology, and a butt-load of skills that we’ve yet to learn.

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San Bernardino School Shooting: How Do You Explain Murder to a Child?

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Image via iStock

My daughter is brave, smart, and, I’ve been, told advanced. But could her little body manage a bullet fired by a gunman who bursts into her classroom with revenge on his mind, fueled by psychotic anger blinding him from all rationality? Parents in San Bernardino are asking themselves a similar question, as their city suffered yet another tragic shooting. This time at an elementary school, no less. Read the rest of this entry »

An Ego Epidemic: What Happened to Humility?

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An Ego Epidemic: What Happened to Humility?


Some might categorize me as an activist, while others might call me passionate. But those who know me best understand I am a decent and caring individual, one who abhors injustice of any kind. Some people become flaccid when they’re treated unfairly; however, I believe that if you’re disrespected, regardless of who the bully is and no matter how stacked the scales are against you, it is your right to stand up for yourself. But no one owes you anything because people have a right to behave however they want no matter how catty, rude, or downright disrespectful and self-centered or just plain wrong their behavior might be. Read the rest of this entry »