Saintly St. Ana

I started this blog about a year ago, right after my 23rd birthday. I don't have that many posts (around 50) but that's better than none posts, right?! I didn't do my best at documenting this year on my blog, but I'm aiming to change that. Slowly but surely... So here we are in the middle of July again, one year later. To describe my year in a really generic but accurate statement I'd say: it's been a crazy year. I lost my great-grandmother, went through surgery, tried a bunch of new ways of eating, my grandpa survived a heart attack, my uncle was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, and I saw two different therapists and tried three different medications along the way. I'm not sharing all this to complain or make people feel sorry for me (because we all go through tough times), but I feel like this has been one of the roughest years of my life and it's important to remember that I got through it.  I'm not big on doing grand celebrat...

Over 3 years ago, my friend and I camped overnight outside of the supreme court in D.C. to hear a few moments of the DOMA arguments. Rallies and protestors were outside. I spent a lot of last week trying to process the attack in Orlando. No, I didn't know anyone who was harmed personally, but that shouldn't stop me (or anyone) from grieving the loss of innocent life. I wrote a really long post/rant shortly after it happened that probably won't ever be shared because I realized afterwards that it was really just for me to relieve emotions and questions I had regarding this tragedy. So if you're part of the LGBTQ community, or simply an ally, and are still processing/grieving I suggest starting there. Write down how you're feeling, any questions you might have, and maybe how you plan to move forward from this tragic event. This was a family rallying outside of the supreme court the first day of the DOMA arguments. Just to the left of them were members of t...

Warning: This is a v rant-like post. If you're not interested in a rant-like post about cultural appropriation then I would suggest leaving now and maybe going here . Otherwise, welcome to my rant-like post.  While I was casually scrolling through my Instagram feed recently I came across a post from @lalaromero featuring a screen cap that I immediately recognized as an article from Refinery29, a well known fashion and lifestyle blog. The photo and caption are below: MAC's official quote on the inspo behind this collection "has absolutely no connection nor was it inspired by the Native American cultures." The collection is said to be inspired solely by summer music festivals. This feels problematic to my heart, esp as they get ready to launch the Selena stuff. With colors in this collection like Arrowhead & Adobe Brick I am literally so confused. Maybe I'm being "too sensitive" or maybe MAC is dead wrong for this bullshit. Look we are a...

I've been talking about my shopping habits quite a bit here lately. I definitely have a better understanding of my shopping patterns and I think it's been good for me to evaluate why and how much I'm shopping. I've had mostly positive outcomes because of these changes, but I've also had some unpleasant experiences now that I'm much more intentional with my shopping. Nothing horrible obviously. I mean, it's just clothes! But regardless, I've had some unexpected experiences. Someone commented on my last post saying that the moment you start looking for specific items they seem to disappear from all the shops. This couldn't be truer! I swear, now that I'm actually looking to buy things nothing is in stock! I've spent a good two months or so planning what I want to spend money on and it's so frustrating not being able to find those items. But the most prominent issue I've faced recently is sizing. This is a pic I took in my plu...

I feel like there's been a lot of talk lately around females and their body hair. It might just be action in my little corner of the internet, but I still feel compelled to talk about it. When I finally sat down to write this post I was just like- wait, why am I writing about body hair? Specifically body hair on females? It's so ridiculous that this is really even a thing. It shouldn't even be an issue because, well, why does someone else care about the hair on another person's body? I've come to the conclusion that  often times it's people who are insecure or bothered by their own body hair that feel the need to comment on someone else's. I'm not saying that I'm exempt from judging other people based on my own insecurities. I think we're all somewhat guilty of that. But it seems that for some reason, this body hair issue is so thoroughly engrained in all of us that we (myself included) often don't realize how much it affects us. One of...

Brb still trying to grasp the concept of time. For real though, give me a second. Does anyone else get weirded out by this? Time is  so weird. Anyway, a few things have recently been put into perspective for me thanks to the new year... 1. 2016- isn't this supposed to be like, " the future ?" Zenon? Hello? 2. My younger brother graduates from high school in two years. Officially feeling old. 3. I graduated high school in 2010. Feeling older . 4. 2015 was the fastest and  the longest year of my life. 5. I'll be 25 next year. That's a quarter of a century. Haaaaalp. I'm not really a resolutions kind of gal, but the beginning of the year still presents a clean slate and a "fresh" feeling. I usually like to come up with a list of general goals for the year. Nothing too specific but more like an outline for the year to come. I've listed some below in no particular order! • Learn what my personal version of healthy is- AND T...

Carlos Santana, or nah? Despite the name of this blog, I don't consider myself a religious person. I was raised in a Catholic household and a majority of my family was raised the same way. Needless to say Catholicism has always been present in my life and I would be lying (A SIN! jk) if I said it didn't influence me. I'm interested in many concepts of organized religion even though I don't think it's right for me. The idea of using the theme of Saints for my blog stemmed from my name, Santana. Upon meeting me many people ask if I was named after Carlos Santana. Which is like, fine or whatever, but I think it would be really weird if my parents were that obsessed with a guitarist. Also, Santana is typically a last name and for many people in this region that can be confusing. I don't know many individuals (with the exception of men on sports teams) who prefer being called by their last name, but people sometimes think that's what's happening. Na...