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by Rosalia Rivera

Due to the #METOO movement, the word ‘CONSENT’ was brought to the forefront of cultural awareness. It’s unfortunate that it has taken a movement this big to create more awareness of what consent is and why it’s so important. Never the less, #METOO has helped to spread the concept of consent and make it mainstream.

Unfortunately, people think that it’s solely related to sexual consent. But in fact, it’s about our rights as free individuals to CHOOSE to have ANYTHING done with or to us.

Here’s the problem. We teach kids about consent only in the pre-teen or teen years, and some parents don’t teach it at all because they don’t know how to approach it.

Parents only relate consent to sexual consent and it makes them anxious to approach the topic. So their children are left unequipped to set or enforce boundaries or on the flip side, unsure how to ask for consent or read non-verbal cues.

So, how can parents approach the topic without making it...

As the year comes to a close, a lot of people start creating their list of new year goals (download our free worksheet- Reflecting + Goals 2017). But instead of making ONLY your new year goals, consider making a list of all the things you appreciated this year no matter how many bad things happened to you in 2016.

Focusing on this will help you realize how many blessings you’ve had and that in the midst of not such good times, very good things DO happen. We must start appreciating what we’ve got before we start expecting more blessings.

This year, I got to travel back to Nicaragua, the country I was born in. It was a very expensive trip for my family because it was several of us. However, my husband insisted on going because I’d always say we’d go and the total trip expenses always seemed so high.

I’d always say we’d go next year and I have many excuses. Excuses like….next year because our savings would be larger and I’d feel better knowing we’d have more than enough if something...

by Kim De Silva

Learning more about Latin American Culture: My Summer Project Plans

Our world is shrinking as technology and modes of transport bring us ever closer. Ironically, while globalization has made it easier for us to connect with one another, we’re also experiencing a greater sense of “them vs. us” as culture clashes form barriers between peoples. 

Forget “The Wall”. If we’re not willing to learn about one another and try to understand those who are different, we’ve essentially built up our own wall that no machine will ever be able to pull down. Knowledge and empathy, however, can create an unimpeded pathway between us. 

I live on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (and Tobago) and as a lecturer in Latin American Studies, my daily life essentially is creating a connection between different peoples.

Currently, our island is receiving an influx of Venezuelan immigrants who are seeking refuge from their own homes. It’s similar to the situation facing the United States and Ce...