Yvonne Morel, Author at RISE NEWS

A Liberal Arts Education Has Never Been More Important

By Yvonne Morel

“Liberal arts.”

A term that I have heard since I was a child – but not in a positive way.

My mother and a few of her siblings received an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from a community college in New York City after I was born and have always said that it was a loss: “No haga eso porque es una pérdida de tiempo.”

They would have specialized in something specific, something that they were passionate about, rather than following a suggestion that was seen as appropriate for those who had just immigrated to the United States.

I remember Mami always helping me with my math homework well into high school and trying to figure out why she did not pursue something having to deal with numbers – turns out a dream of hers was to be an accountant.

Photo Credit: Ed Bierman/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)

As I began the college application process (fun fact: I sent in my decision to Colgate University exactly 5 years ago today), my high school counselor as well as my program counselor both suggested that I focus on liberal arts colleges.

I wanted to say no immediately as I thought back to my mother’s college experience.

However, there must have been a reason why these experienced counselors made the suggestion.

As I began my research, I saw that these liberal arts colleges tended to be on the smaller side with an emphasis on taking classes across multiple departments and disciplines.

The size of these schools seemed like a dream come true since I was used to being in a class with about 38 other girls from the 7th grade until my last year of high school.

The notion of taking classes in a wide range of departments also stood out to me – I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to do after college.

My career choices had consisted of the following: doctor, Miami Heat dancer, Olivia Benson from ‘SVU.’ sports agent, and the list goes on.

Being able to take classes with different professors regarding different subjects is exactly what I wanted.

I wanted college to be a time where the academia I was surrounded by would help me decide on a career path (along with the students I was surrounded by).

Thankfully, after convincing my mother that I was attending a liberal arts college and not getting a liberal arts degree, I decided on Colgate, and I do not regret the liberal arts experience whatsoever – it was exactly what I needed.

Although I was a sociology and Spanish double major, I also took classes in the religion, economics, theater, English, political science, women’s studies, Caribbean, psychology, mathematics, philosophy, and geography departments.

So many of my classes crossed between departments, and I was able to meet other students and professors I probably would not have met had I gone to a school where you were obligated to have some sense of your future and enter with a specialized field in mind.

As I entered the work of employment, I realized how valuable my liberal arts education truly was: I learned how to be creative in my theater classes, how to communicate in my political science classes, how to think about others in my sociology classes, how to write efficiently in my English classes, and so much more that words simply could not do justice.

There is a need to know more than just technical skills once you reach that point in your life.

Colgate University, this may seem like a love letter to you, but thank you for allowing me to explore subjects that I never thought I would have the chance to.

Thank you for allowing me to get to meet students with a range of different interests.

Thank you for pushing me to love sociology and the Spanish culture.

Thank you for helping me to realize I want to be a lawyer and help those that do not have a voice.

Thank you liberal arts.

You do matter, especially in this new age we find ourselves in.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: Roman Boed/Flickr (CC by 2.0)

Our Whole Generation Needs To Watch “Love Jones”

By Yvonne Morel

On the 20th anniversary of the release of Love Jones, I used my snow day from work to see the film for a second time.

The first time, I finished it with a very negative attitude, immediately texting the friend who suggested it to ask why she loved it so much.

The reason why she suggested it was due to what I was going through in my current dating life: the ups, downs, and everything in between.

A little bit of background: Love Jones is a 1997 romantic film that intertwines love, poetry, and career choices between Darius Lovehall (Larenz Tate) and Nina Mosley (Nia Long), and the highs and lows that come with it.

The two lovers struggle with admitting their true feelings for each other, and this notion is constantly tested throughout the film.

The movie has gained a cult following because of its unique take on love during the late 90s, a time when technology was starting to make real change in the way we saw each other.

After watching the film again, I realize why I had such a bad taste in my mouth the first time and why I fell in love with it the second.

It solidified how different things are nowadays in terms of dating and relationships: we hide our emotions behind a screen.

We text each other our affection with some emojis thrown in there rather than picking up the phone to hear the voice on the other end.

We say “I don’t care” instead of taking the risk.

We find ways to not be memorable rather than to be something the other cannot forget.

With my first (and only, for now) relationship, my boyfriend and I never necessarily asked each other if we wanted to be in one – it just happened.

We would only get on the phone when we needed to resolve an issue or when we were in a fight and needed to clarify things.

The first time we broke up, he did it through a text message because he was “busy with his boys.”

When we first said “I love you,” we would text each other constantly, repeating it over and over again because the feeling was so fresh, new, and alive.

However, there is a difference between texting it and saying it loud and proud.

Although things did not work out, our relationship and time together did teach me what I wanted in my next relationship and what I did not want, and for that, thank you.

With the man I was dating over the summer, we were very much out and about.

However, we were known as “bae” to each other and as “friends” to everyone else.

Love is weird man. Photo Credit: Johnny Lai/Flickr (CC by 2.0)

This was the first time I did not feel like creating a label for us because “labels complicate things,” as most people my age tend to say.

With him leaving to law school by the end of the summer, we were able to talk and still do.

However, our talking is, yet again, by texting.

Do I remember his voice?

Hardly, but he did write me a poem, which I still have.

I can say he tried.

With the guy (I think?) I am dating now, we absolutely never get on the phone, and quite honestly, we have not decided what we are other than “just having fun.”

While I was OK with it at first, I realized I am a person who enjoys having labels because labels do not complicate what you have with someone.

If there are complications, it is because of you, that other person, or both.

Do labels mean I want a relationship?

Not necessarily.

It just means that we are mature enough to have a conversation and talk things through.

Darius and Nina confess their love for each other by the end of the movie and how they will make things work although they are on different sides of the country.

That is not necessarily saying that they will get into a relationship – they are going to work things through.

That is what I commend.

People say women tend to get caught up in the idea of a Hollywood romance.

However, who would not want a love such as the one in Love Jones?

A man who publicly admits his admiration through a poetry performance.

A woman who is set on her career but also is set on love.

A love that has Lauryn Hill singing in the background.

A love where you can remember the voice of the person you are into because you take the time to call each other.

See the movie for yourself and decide.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.

I Went To The Actual “Gossip Girl” School. Here’s What I Learned

By Yvonne Morel

Gossip Girl.

Not just a set of novels or a television series that shows an exaggerated interpretation of “Manhattan’s elite” at an all-girls’ independent school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Truth be told, the fictional Constance-Billard School for Girls is based on my real all-girls’ independent K-12 school on the Upper East Side (but its name is “a secret I’ll never tell” – unless you can figure out the clues I sprinkle throughout the piece).

While some of the women I called my classmates had been at the school since kindergarten and had mothers who attended the school as well, I entered in the 7th grade as a financial aid student through an academic program that targets high academically-achieving students of color in New York City public schools.

My dream school as a 12-year-old applying to these independent schools was co-ed and on a campus that housed huge fields for their sports team, exactly what you would see on Friday Night Lights.

However, the program required all students to apply to a single-sex school, something my father was truly ecstatic about and something I cried about (I was very boy crazy at 12).

Due to my birthday being in September and my mother signing me up for pre-kindergarten at the age of 3, most schools wanted me to repeat the 6th grade so that my age could align with my future classmates.

However, the all-girls’ school that I did not want to apply to was the only one that decided to take a chance on me and allowed me to continue onto the 7th grade.

The months leading up to my entrance through the blue doors of the famed school felt like a crash course: having to pick up books that I never imagined having access to, preparing for the academic differences between the public school I was so used to and the independent school that housed women whose worlds I would not understand at first (and at times still do not), and buying a uniform that was beyond any clothing budget I could imagine.

However, by the time I graduated from the school, I wore my plaid blue, white, and grey skirt that always would just make the length cut-off with my head held high (each all-girls’ school had their own unique skirt).

As the co-head of tour guides my senior year, I received many questions from admitted students regarding my experience, many of which oozed with confusion and concerns.

Well, now is as a good a time as ever to pass along the advice that came from these conversations.

Here’s what’s it really like to go to an all girls prep school:

1. Yes, you will interact with males.

You do not move to another planet.

I will admit that my heart did flutter whenever I saw someone of the opposite sex; however, I think that happens whenever you are going through your first set of crushes.
2. Going off of that, take advantage of the opportunities given to interact with your brother school(s).

It is nice to have friends from there when you are forced to do plays and community service together.

3. You will not feel uncomfortable if and when you decide to go to a co-ed college.

If anything, I felt more confident.

I had strengthened my voice during my 6 years at my school.

I knew how to speak up and to speak with confidence.

Just because some testosterone was added to the mix when I started college did not mean I forgot how to raise my hand and share my opinion.

4. You will get many questions asking if you are now an uber feminist.

Always say, “Hell yeah. We never shave our legs, burn bras, never wear make-up, and you don’t even want to know what happens at school.”

You won’t get the dumb question again. Only a face of mixed emotions.

5. Be grateful that you are in a place that knows the importance of women in this world.

Faculty and staff go above and beyond to ensure your success because they know how much you are needed.

6. Also be grateful that you can shout about needing a tampon or pad without the confused, horrified, or joking reaction of men.

Be free, and happily catch that tampon that is thrown across the room.

7. You will become attached to your uniform skirt.

You will never want to throw it out.

You will take it with you to college and most likely use it as part of a costume.

8. I graduated with a class of 38 other women, and with such a small group, you are bound to know A LOT about each other.

You all may be at very different stages of our personal lives.

Do not feel as though you are lagging or are way ahead.

Everyone goes at their own pace, and it just may intensified because you see the same small group every day.

9. Almost everyone at your school will become a familiar face.

Be happy about it, especially when the cute little kindergarten student waves every time she sees you.

10. There are many moments when you will feel a lot of love accompanied by hugs.

11. Remember the moment you enter the blue doors (or whatever color your school’s doors are) as well as the moment you leave them behind. The experience you gain at an all-girls’ school is a very unique one that can never be replicated.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.

Cover Photo Credit: William Murphy/Flickr (CC by-SA 2.0)