“Okay girl, all you have to do is make sure you breathe.” So…I made sure to take a deep breath and I exhaled when needed. My personal trainer informed me that I had to make sure to take in oxygen at the right moment, or my muscles would hurt the next day. Needless to say,… [Read more…]
July 28, 2011
When we first meet Hassan, we immediately fall in love with the loving and caring Hazara boy that lives during the peaceful early years of the1970’s in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, being born into the Hazara race in Afghanistan means that by human law, that person will be forced into servitude. Being forced into servitude means that… [Read more…]
June 10, 2011
I live about twenty minutes from the City of Tampa. Every time I drive on Interstate-4 and unto Interstate-75, I am forced to set my eyes on the largest Confederate Flag in the State of Florida, if not in the United States. I read the historical book Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham… [Read more…]
March 30, 2011
When I was a child, I treasured the my bicycle rides I took to visit the river two blocks away from our townhouse in a small community located North of Downtown Miami, Florida. My parents never knew how far I rode, but Grandpa was aware that I daily returned home from school and quickly prepared… [Read more…]
March 21, 2011
We are all familiar with the alienable rights bestowed to us by the Declaration of Independence. One right that we all strive to achieve is “the pursuit of happiness.” We look for the best job, the best schools for our children, and the best neighborhoods to settle into a peaceful life. Although my husband and… [Read more…]
February 16, 2011
Our lives, somehow, will eventually make a full circle. We may be married, have a career, and have our own children to raise. Our memories, however, will always bring us back to that one moment in our past; our childhood, that in someway added a footprint to the shaping of our character. Adeline Yen Mah’s… [Read more…]
January 28, 2011
As children, some of us have felt the need to find an adventurous tale that would leave a fantastic footnote in our youth. Somehow, we needed that sense of wonder that separated us from adults. Whether it was a trip to an unknown area, to a mysterious investigation about our new neighbors next… [Read more…]
January 13, 2011
The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud Ernest Hemmingway once wrote, ““I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.” (134) ¹ Claire Messud should have thrown out most of her impressive words in many sections of The Emperor’s Children. In addition, it seems that… [Read more…]
January 12, 2011
In the course of my young life, I have learned a valuable lesson from the people I have come to know. This lesson has been the creed of my existence and it will be a part of the foundation instilled in my daughter’s education—to tolerate. Tolerance is such a simple word to discuss, yet… [Read more…]
March 18, 2009
AIG is just one of the entities that has deceased our existence! I was stunned to hear that they used our tax payer money for “BONUSES!” I mean, come on! What do these corporations have in their brains? And then I hear several CNBC and Fox News commentators calling me a loser because I cannot… [Read more…]
Viviana was born in Santiago, Chile until her parents decided to migrate to Miami, Florida in 1980. She enjoyed reading and writing from an early age and her teachers encouraged her to continue to write. She was an excellent student at The University of Tampa where she earned Dean's List recognition every semester since her enrollment.
Mrs. Otero decided to become a high school English teacher until 2010. She now concentrates on her writing, and she is currently working on a memoir detailing her childhood experiences both in South America and in The United States.
August 26, 2011
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