When I was about four years old, my dad played me and my sister a recording of musical instruments. He told us to tell him when we liked a sound. After narrowing it down, I ended up with the violin, and have been playing it ever since. My dad must consider himself lucky that my sister picked the cello because with him playing the piano professionally, we ended up with a perfect trio. The first anime I ever saw was "Your Lie In April", and it's also my favorite. It follows a pianist (Kousei Arima) and a violinist (Kaori Miyazono) in an unusual friendship. Kaori helps Kousei through his frustration of feeling like he can't play or hear the piano anymore after freezing up in a competition. There are many stories out there about regaining love for a craft or a new beginning, but this anime is heartwrenchingly beautiful. The music that Kaori and Kousei make together and their journey to do it is inspiring and reminds you to stay hopeful. I also have to note that the way the animation was done, it looks like the musicians in the show all play their instruments accurately, which is my pet peeve in many series and movies, but not this one. The way the colors in the animation fluctuate due to emotions and the nature of the music keeps you in awe, and with its story being one of love and loss, I cannot recommend it enough. It's the only anime I've watched with my family, and I'm glad they agree. "Your Lie In April" is a true masterpiece that will move you to tears and make you feel heard.

From a young age, I’ve been interested in the unknown. Whether this is the languages my mom spoke with my dad at the kitchen table, to the instruments I heard on the radio. As I grow up, I kept telling myself that I shouldn’t lose this spark. I want to encourage those in my community to go for their dreams, as well as achieve my own. To be more specific, I love languages and art. The problem everybody seems to find with this is how I am going to make a living. I am aware of how hard it will be, but I don’t want to let that stop me. I had an enlightening conversation a couple of weeks ago with a professor, a conversation that changed me for the better. I told him about an interview I had recently done, and how I felt like an outsider coming in, without the right answers they were looking for. My professor didn’t waste time emphasizing that it is better to be different, that I should not sacrifice an inch of my being for somebody else. Told me to be proud of where I was from, and told me that when I made it, I would indirectly open doors not only for Latino women but for all BIPOC. He, as a Chinese man, confided in me that he did not feel welcomed in a lot of places, and told me that he felt he just needed to be constantly better. This is a struggle many BIPOC women and men face on a daily. The problem I face is, that while being a BIPOC woman is a part of myself that I love and came to accept, I am queer as well. It feels as if I was chosen to prove that no matter who you are and where you come from, there is a place for you. But deep down, I am afraid that that place does not exist. It is easy to motivate others, to see their success. Yet it is much more terrifying to do the work yourself and to feel like you must only depend on yourself to succeed. Slowly I’ve been working through this fear. The truth I’ve found ever since entering college is that someone will always support you. I had my first lesbian professor and I encountered Puerto Rican professors too, they give me hope every day. To make it even better, I’ve received nothing but encouragement and love from my professors, making me want to keep my interest in the unknown engaged at all times. I want to learn about Computer Science, I want to learn how to become a better singer, I want to learn how to give love to all my sisters, and most exciting of all, I want to find out how a Puerto Rican woman looks after learning her power. I wish to find my power soon and show all women how unbeatable we are. We don’t have to work twice as hard; our work is already better if it is true to us.

The beauty of friendship is that you pick your own family. Years or even just days after creating a bond, you start to notice a person's habits, and you may find yourself repeating phrases that you never thought you would say. Who knew saying "excellent" in a weird tone of voice could be so fun. Friendship means caring because you want it to feel like home. My best friend in college knows absolutely no Spanish, but I caught her studying Spanish on Duolingo, and says "salud" after I sneeze. She and I make sure we have someone to eat with most days, and listen to each other on days we feel excited, down, or are just plain bored. I hope everyone gets to have a friend like Emma. A friend that feels gives as much as you do and simply makes you feel loved. There is a misconception that you only give what you get. Sometimes friendship is about giving a little more at times. We as humans don't have the energy to give our 100% all the time. This means that needs fluctuate along with emotional states. Friendship takes a lot of listening and understanding, but most importantly, validation. As friends, we make each other feel seen as we go about living life together. And when I say together I mean whether it's from miles away, through face time, the internet, or physically right next to each other. Good friendships may last years or months, but ultimately, to me, friendship signifies that two people are growing together, for however long that may be.