Nicole Santos, who?

In the 21st century how can someone answer a question like, “Who do you think you are?” in less than five minutes, or even in a mere two paragraphs? My first initial “freely written” draft answering this question was one page on Word. Even so, rather than bore you while I rambled on about myself, I still didn’t feel that one page captured the snippet of who I want you all to think I think I am. (Did that make sense, because it sure felt weird typing). So here goes.

I can tell you that I'm a senior studying Nutrition and Food Science at Hunter College, work for an early education/childcare foundation and for a hot yoga studio, I like long walks around the city and watching the sunset from a live feed online; but who cares about that? Those things don't mean anything, I don't think that's enough to gauge who I am. So I'll introduce you to all the "hats" I wear.

I am the girl still living in the 90s, who immediately began singing the chorus to “Who Do You Think You Are” by the Spice Girls when I first read this assignment. It’s a weekly habit for me to break out my throwback playlists to listen to Biggy, Aaliyah, Janet, MJ, TLC, Salt-N-Peppa, and Destiny’s Child (when there were 4).

I am a Filipino-American, born of immigrant parents who have instilled the “American Dream” Equation (education + working hard = success). Yet why is it that when I dreamed of becoming the first Fil-Am CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the mere imagination was brushed off as a joke? Why are the terms “glass ceiling” or “bamboo ceiling” still being whispered among today’s workforce? I’d like to think that I keep myself consciously aware of the image I present to the world as an Asian American, and hope that I am a rubix cube compared to the 2-D square I’m boxed into.

I am a woman. Of course I am a feminist. I believe women should be held up to the same standards as men. Period. No conditions, exceptions, ifs, ands or buts. It angers me when someone in the media or at a party talks shit about how “weak” women are that we are incapable of making our own decisions about our bodies. But on a lighter note, I must confess I have a mini-obsession with Michelle Obama, but only because she is such an inspiration. And let’s be honest, her speech was easily the highlight of the Democratic National Convention. #imjustsaying

 

I am a child of technology, especially social media. AOL, Xanga, Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, (and just recently) LinkedIn. Two years ago, I probably would have been embarrassed to say this, but I can honestly say I get about 70% of my news and 90% of my media consumption from these outlets. What can I say, wifi, laptop, and my Android phone are my media arsenal.

https://twitter.com/nicolesantosyo 

(Disclaimer: I will not acknowledge anything you discuss about my twitter in real life. Also prob 70-90 % of what I tweet is suppose to cause at least a chuckle.) 

But of all these images I’ve presented to you here there are probably 20 other faces I still wear, most of which are seen through my activity on social media sites mentioned before and through my Google Search history. I’m guilty of reblogging pictures of puppies and sharing the new Kanye-Jay Z song on Tumblr, retweeting statistics about childhood obesity (and updating peeps on daily musings) on Twitter, liking beauty tutorials and communitychannel videos on Youtube, sharing the NYT article with updates and maps tracking Hurricane Isaac’s path towards to my beloved New Orleans, or Googling how the hell you make croissants from scratch.

 I love spoken word. I was a regular listener (and occasional audience judge) at the Bowery Poetry Club (RIP).

Kai Davis: F*ck I Look Like

Kai Davis (my current spoken word obsession)

I guess above-all, I am a Nicole Santos. (corny way to end responding to a "Who Do You Think You Are" Assignment? Maybe. But whateva)