Love, Words and Lavender Bliss

A blog for the wise, passionate and inspired

[priscillapelli]

My DC Life...

It's officially been 9 months and 9 days since I've began my post college adventure moving from the young, perfect weather and free-spirited city of Austin, Texas to the ambitious, diverse and powerful city of Washington, DC. I have to admit, moving to two different Capitals within a 5 year span was not in my deck of cards when deciding what next venture I wanted to pursue after graduation.

  But as any young rational adult who needs to make life-changing decisions, it certainly brought its curveballs, obstacles, "bumps in the road", any other name deemed appropriate to discuss a tumultuous phase of your life.

  Now don't get me wrong. I had that clear freak-out moment nearing my graduation last May where as a typical graduating senior, I had to decide there and then what I needed to do with my life or at least determine some idea to lead me in the right direction,  "forge my own path to success" as they say. I was graduating from one of the proudest universities in the world, the University of Texas at Austin, and my term as a enrolled Longhorn was coming to an end. But come on now, let's be real...Who REALLY knows what they want to do with their lives at 20-something years old? Yes, we all have these ambitious and idealistic ideas of changing the world. Yes, we all want to travel to places we've never been, and undertake these completely up-in-the air adventures that we feel we have the right to do after investing 4 years of writing research papers and taking exams with annoying bubble-in scantrons. Yes, most of us know that we enjoyed our major and loved taking those few courses in college that turned on our critical thinking caps.

I'm writing this post as the beginning, to share and describe my experiences as a 22-year old Latina Texan transitioning from my undergrad bubble into the real world of young professionals and work life. This is my way of venting about the crazy experiences I live working here on Capitol Hill, working for an important political figure and my growth as a person through the process. I'm going to write about my crazy DC experiences, the people I meet, and more importantly, write about awesome museums, brunches, bars, hangouts etc. to check out if ever visiting!

  Happy blogging y'all!

  Hook 'em,

Priscilla

[priscillapelli]

LOVE my mentee, always puts a smile on my face! #adorable #friendsforlife #missherlots

[priscillapelli]

End to an amazing weekend full of birthdays, college football, wine tasting and city life #CT #bornandraised #familytime @baileyjongbloed

[priscillapelli]

Lovely afternoon on the White House Garden Tour with the coworkers! #WHgarden #staffbondingtime #DCliving

[wisdomteethblog-blog]

Abigail Fisher, come in. Have a seat. We need to talk.

It’s come to my attention that you’re suing the University of Texas, because you feel that you were excluded by admissions on the basis of being white. Well prepare your precious, white, soft-boiled head for a chat because there’s some things we need to address here.

1. UT is a huge school and they cannot accept everybody. That’s precisely why they have the CAP program. I know plenty of brilliant people who served a year at either UT San Antonio or UT Tyler, got the grade they needed to transfer, and enjoyed the rest of their college careers in UT Austin. It’s called working hard and paying your dues. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of it.

2. You seem angry that you don’t have the built-in Austin network that UT comes with. Why, then would your second choice be an out of state school? Why not A&M or Rice or any of the other great Texas schools? Or are you one of the many elitists that blindly dismiss every city in Texas that isn’t Austin?

3. I don’t have the time nor resources to fully educate you on affirmative action programs. I took all of one political science classes in college. (Also, I went to Texas A&M, so what is my education really worth to you?) I did, however, take a few sociology classes and do you know what I learned? Hold on to your TOMS, Abigail, because you’re not gonna believe this. White women have benefited the most from those programs. Shocking, I know. No matter how anti-Abigail they tried to make the system, people with your profile still managed to sneak through the cracks and get a good education. Incredible, right? After all the challenges put before us white people, some have still overcome. Hallelujah!

4. A degree from UT Austin will not guarantee you a job any more than a degree from LSU would. If you want a job, and especially in Austin (largely considered a second Silicon Valley of sorts, where self-taught developers are the ones bringing in the big money), it ultimately comes down to self-determination and hustle. I would need a microscope to find your hustle. I don’t think you’ve had to work…really work for anything in your life. And here you are, four years after the admissions process, lucky enough to actually be a salaried graduate and you want to take your ball and go home because you’re not making the kind of money you’d like to be making at this very minute. I don’t think you know how life works.

5. Finally, let’s just say that I’m a potential employer. I look at your résumé and I’m actually kind of impressed at how well you did at LSU. The bowling team? Prestigious! I then do some light googling of your name and oh boy I CANNOT hire you. Do you want to know why I can’t hire you, Abigail? You’re a liability. You’re the toxic combination of two parts entitled, one part litigious and iced with a complete inability to take responsibility for your own life. We can’t have that kind of personality in the office. We need someone who doesn’t make excuses for herself and what I’m looking at right now as just a pale mass of excuses. Truthfully though, please don’t think we’re not hiring you just because you’re white. Some of my best friends are white! I’ve seen Seinfeld before! Funny stuff! I swear I’m not a racist. Please don’t sue.

I’m excited to see how your high-profile case against the University of Texas is going to affect your job prospects in Austin! Good luck with everything, Abigail and congratulations on overcoming the unbearable burden of being a white person!

-Molly

[priscillapelli]

Dear Abigail Fisher,

I TOO was not accepted into UT in 2008. I was an out-of-state student and NOT in the top 10 percent of my class. I too played piano for 11 years, and played varsity sports and did extracurriculars, but I never thought felt for one second that someone "took my spot". My first thought was not to SUE the institution but prove to them that I truly believed UT was the school for me; that I would thrive and succeed with the education and experiences it would provide me if accepted. I busted my butt to get in, and eventually after enrolling in a summer program and working with numerous admission counselors, I did. I hold a diploma on my wall from the University of Texas at Austin because I had a goal and I fought, and struggled like heck to achieve it. I never ONCE felt entitled to be accepted NOR did I believe that because I was Latina, I SHOULD be accepted. So please stop trying to end Affirmative Action because you yourself were not willing nor strong enough to fight for your dreams.

Best,

Priscilla

[priscillapelli]

love this, day made #quote #yogitea #alwaysstayingpositive (Taken with Instagram)

[nbclatino]

Meet Aubrey Plaza, Comedy’s Newest “It” Girl

She may play an eccentric but loveable teen in the NBC hit comedy “Parks and Recreation,” but Aubrey Plaza is a savvy comedian whose talent has made has made her one of Hollywood’s notable up and coming starlets.

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[nigressence]

If ever I need a pick me up, this @FEofficial track is my shyt!!! #TakeOffTheBlues #NewTigalloNewTigalloNewTigallo @phonte

[priscillapelli]

LOVE HER! missing you lots! #besties #fellywithdrawalsymptoms @feliciapena (Taken with Instagram)

[priscillapelli]

we made it! my new home. #DC #newbeginnings (Taken with Instagram)

[priscillapelli]

Birmingham, Alabama #roadtrip #photoday (Taken with Instagram)

[blackartdepot]

Baba Clarke! Love his books…

[black-creole-queen-deactivated2]

I made this blog because I love that I am black. And I have found many other beautiful blog promoting black as beautiful… but that says a lot about society doesn’t it? How can there be equality, how can there be a “colorblind” society when a culture has to tell its own people that they are beautiful?

[writerswritecompany]

[priscillapelli]

cowboy boots anyone? #southcongress #atx (Taken with Instagram)

[gastrogirl]

chocolate nutella cake.