End of Summer…

 

Ph by Ashley Frangie

“The greatest cruelty is our casual blindness to the despair of others.”

We all tend to believe that the things that happen to us, only happen to us; that when people hurt us, they do it intentionally, that everything that surrounds us is for the sake of making our life the way it is. We never stop to think that maybe, just maybe, what people do to us is the reflection of their own personal problems, their own unhappiness, their own despairs. I think that the greatest virtue we could all have is compassion, we never know what that other person was going through when they did the things that hurt us; or maybe we look for perfection in everything when mistakes happen around the corner everyday. We have to be compassionate about others, about their problems, about their life. I believe it is the greatest form of love. Compassion shows our human side, our belief that we all ride together in this enormous air balloon called world that will eventually break; even though we all have different problems and circumstances in life, we all suffer, so believe in the greater power of empathy and don’t be careless or blind to what others might be going through. How are you feeling this Friday? Today, I am feeling remorse for the way I am sometimes with the people that care about me, for the times compassion wasn’t in my heart and I forgot that people might have bigger problems that I.

The feeling of missing… just missing

Ph. by Fernanda Casillas

“The hardest thing is not talking to someone you used to talk everyday.”

There are a lot of feelings that define us, that mold us, that come to our lives every once in a while, however, I think that the feeling of missing someone or even something is extremely gloomy. We miss our parents when we go on a field trip in our early age, we miss our home town when we go study abroad, we miss our loved one when we get heart broken, we miss the people who have left us, we miss our beds when we travel, we miss the place that stole our hearts, we miss ourselves when we try to be someone else. I mean, we even miss our bodies when we were young, when we were skinny. I don’t think anybody can be saved from this feeling. We all have experienced it, even for a moment when we realize that our life is not complete at all. We sometimes miss a friend for an entire day in which we want to hold her (or him) or just be by her (or his) side to listen to us. What is it that you miss the most? Who is it that you miss the most? Can you reach the people or things you miss?

Conformity…

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”

                                                                                   JFK

We all have heard people say: “never settle for anything less than amazing.” And I think we all have been in that position where we are with that person who makes us feel just “meh”, but doesn’t make us feel wonderful. We can spend our entire lives with this person just because it is the right thing to do even though it doesn’t feel right. Why? Because we are too lazy or too comfortable to fight for someone either we believe we don’t deserve or for fear of hurting the other person. Why do we stand still with such implications in life? And this happens at work as well, we can have a life full of conformism instead of having a life full of happiness, joy, and fulfillments. We settle for what has been given to us. If we give up just because things run smoothly, we are not giving life a chance to surprise us with what could be an extraordinary life, with what could be our greatest achievement. I believe this is the key to success. We are free human beings that can achieve what we believe we can, so believe you can do better than what you have and believe you can be better than what you are. Do not become a prisoner of self conformity. How are you feeling this Friday? Today I am feeling disappointed for letting myself settle in many circumstances of my life that I had the power to leave.

Mom…

I don’t know how to begin to write this post, there are so many words, so many thoughts, so many wonderful things I can say. My dear mom, you’ve given me the most precious treasures I could hold in my life. You gave me strength in times of weakness, you gave me braveness in times of fear, you gave me the luxury to feel free and conquer the world, you gave me knowledge in times of ignorance, you gave me direction in times of perdition, you gave me love in the very best and the very worst of times, you gave me LIFE… You are the one and only who cares enough to forgive and forget.

You are one of the most amazing persons I know; everyday I spend with you, I discover something new, something wonderful, something extraordinary from your life. Everyday by your side is a new adventure I will forever cherish. I wish I could lengthen your years and make them infinite, your company enriches my life and my dreams, your support comforts my soul. It’s amazing how every day you have the strength to be by your family and keep everything together. Even though most of the times we take you for granted, you never settle for anything less than our happiness. You are my hero, you are my example in life, you are my MOM. I hope I’ve become everything you dreamed I’d be. Thank you for making my life exceptional, you are a magnificent woman. I love you!!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all my mommy readers!! Because our life would be unimaginable without you, thank you for being you! Thank you for being our teacher, our doctor, our friend, our support, our hero.

Hay tantas cosas que decir y tantos sentimientos que expresar que no sabría por dónde empezar a escribir este post. Poder conocer y vivir con una mujer como tú, ha sido mi más grande regalo. Mamá, tú me has dado los mejores y más atesorados momentos de mi vida. Me diste fuerza cuando me sentí débil, me diste valentía cuando sentí miedo, me diste el lujo de saberme libre para conquistar al mundo, me diste sabiduría cuando fui ignorante, me diste dirección cuando me sentí perdida y sobretodo, me diste VIDA… Me diste el mejor regalo que hubiera querido tener. Eres la única persona en el mundo que perdona y olvida sin remordimientos. Eres una mujer admirable, cada día que paso contigo descubro cosas maravillosas de tu vida que me hacen enamorarme más de ti. Eres el top de mis mujeres, de mis heroínas, de mis admiraciones; cada día a tu lado es una aventura que nunca olvidaré. Quisiera poder prolongar tus años y volverlos infinitos; tu compañía enriquece mi vida y mis sueños y tu apoyo conforta mi alma. Es impresionante como cada día tienes la fuerza para estar con tu familia y mantenerla unida. Y aunque muchas veces no valoramos todo lo que haces por nosotros, siempre ves por nuestra felicidad. Eres mi ejemplo a seguir, mi modelo de vida, mi mamá. Espero haberme convertido en todo lo que soñaste y espero no haberte defraudado. Gracias por darme una vida excepcional, eres una mujer extraordinaria. ¡¡Te quiero con toda mi alma!!

¡¡Feliz día a todas mis mamás lectoras!! Porque nuestra vida sería inimaginable sin ustedes, ¡gracias por ser ustedes! Gracias por ser nuestras maestras, nuestras doctoras, nuestras amigas, nuestro apoyo, y nuestras heroínas.  

“Localdiggz Tip #1…” NYC

More than an informative post, this is like a “Localdiggz” tip. I will start making more of these in the blog as a way of making things simpler and easier for you when you travel, I really hope you like them. And if you have some of your own, please share them, it always comes handy to have tips from locals so we can travel safely and without complications. My first will be about transportation in NYC. When we lived there I used to take the subway and the buses all the time; it is the easiest way to get to your destination without paying a lot of money and loosing time in traffic. Of course, you might think that taking the bus isn’t going to beat the traffic but sometimes, specially in rush hour, and if the destination is not too far, it is simpler to ride the bus than to take a cab (cabs area hard to get during rush hour). Some buses are express (with a $6 USD fare) so they make fewer stops making it easier and faster to arrive to your destination. So blend in as a local, take the bus or the subway as many possible times as you can, your wallet will thank you for it; besides, if you paid “unlimited” rides within certain amount of time in the subway card, you already paid for it so benefit from it… the same card you use to ride the subway is the same you will need for the bus. Also you should know that the bus doesn’t accept bills, just coins and the Metrocard. I always recommend tourists to pay the seven days unlimited ride for the Metrocard, which costs $30 USD; even if you don’t go for 7 days, it can get cheaper than paying $2.50 USD per ride.

You can find more information about the schedule, fares, services of the public transportation here. Hope you like the pictures, and thank you again for reading. Don’t forget to “keep it local.”

Más que un post informativo, éste es como un tip de “Localdiggz.” Voy a empezar a poner más de estos en el blog para facilitarles la vida, en pequeños detalles, cuando salgan de viaje. A veces es necesario conocer algunas cosas de las ciudades que visitamos para que nuestra estancia en la misma sea más placentera y sólo preocuparnos por divertirnos. Espero les gusten estos tips y se aceptan todos aquellos que ustedes puedan y quieran compartir.  El primero que voy a hacer es acerca de Nueva York. Cuando mi esposo y yo vivíamos ahí, siempre tomaba el metro o el camión para ir a todos lados, créanme, es la manera más fácil de llegar a su destino sin gastar mucho y evitando el tráfico la mayoría de las veces. Yo sé que pueden estar pensando: “¿Cómo voy a evitar el tráfico en el camión?.” Yo pensaba lo mismo, pero si su destino esta cerca y es la hora pico, muchas veces el camión resulta más eficiente (en horas pico será muy difícil encontrar un taxi disponible). Además, algunos camiones son “express” (con un costo de $6 USD), los cuales hacen menos paradas, volviéndose una manera más fácil y rápida de llegar a su destino. Así que, como los locales, tomen el autobús y el metro las veces que más puedan, su cartera se los agradecerá; y si ya pagaron el Metrocard ilimitado ya se los cobraron, tomen ventaja de eso… el mismo Metrocard que compran para el metro les servirá para los camiones. Una cosa que deben saber es, que los camiones no aceptan billetes, solamente monedas o Metrocard. Yo siempre recomiendo a los turistas que compren Metrocard ilimitado de 7 días, tiene un valor de $30 USD y aunque no vayan por 7 días, muchas veces sale más barato que pagar $2.50 USD cada vez que se suben al metro o al camión.

Aquí pueden encontrar más información sobre los horarios, servicios y tarifas del trasporte público en Nueva York. Espero les gusten las fotos y muchas gracias de nuevo por leer. No se olviden: “Keep it local.”

I was wearing Zara sweater and shorts, Steve Madden shoes, Happy Socks tights.