Our conversations were always the same. Good advice, mingled with motivational quotes, memes, and the occasional sexual reference. 

A conversation about red lipstick stemmed a discussion about confidence and being a Latina in the white workplace. That was just us. Culturally aware in a country that we MADE ours. It was these conversations that made me proud of my primas. We all bore the stereotypical cactus on our foreheads, yet still, we managed to navigate in this country. Carrying the cross of our cultures in a place where being Mexican was looked at as being illegal. 

It was this red lipstick conversation that inspired my blog. I started out wanting to write about being a Latina in this country, but speaking in general didn’t feel genuine to who I am. I learned to be a fearless Latina from my mother and my tias, and thanks to my sister and primas, I continued to be that in my adult life. These women, who showed me the future. The future leaders, the future business owners, and the future tias. It is to these women who I owe my very identity to. For always pushing me to “echarle ganas”, 

and to wear the red lipstick, even if it highlights my Mexicanism.