What's On Antonio's Mind

 This was my first ever SPARC Festival presentation. The topic Sophia (my partner) and I did was how gender was portrayed in Disney animated films and if it has changed over time. The overall conclusion we came to was that there has been some change in certain areas, but there was still much needed improvement for Disney on how gender is portrayed and certain groups being represented.  Since this was a project for a class, Sophia and I had already done a large amount of research. We both did literature reviews and interview analyses. This research combined for roughly 25-27 pages worth of information. The topic itself was very interesting, so the work was enjoyable, and it made the project go a lot smoother.  When it came to the actual presentation itself, it was not too difficult. I'll be honest, when I presented the information, it was my first time timing myself. I knew that I had to reach the 15-20 minute mark individually, so I just made sure I took my time to speak and explai

  It took me a while to figure out how I could do a cool logo and fit a lot of things about me in it. If you've read my blogs, you know that all of these things in the logo pertain to me. I want to get into sports writing/media as a profession. Music has been and will continue to be a huge part in my life. I am a very family-oriented person; they are everything to me. Lastly, I am a proud Latino, and that has been something I've always conveyed. The "KC" and "MO" at the top and bottom stand for Kansas City, Missouri, which is where I grew up. My name is obviously in the middle, and the red and green colors with the white background represent the colors of the Mexican flag. All in all, I think this is a pretty cool logo, and I think I did the best I could to incorporate all of the things that identify me as me. 

 A very common theme I've had on my blogs is music. I can't preface enough how much music has been a part of my life. Whether it's dancing folklore, to playing in the band, to having family members who are musicians, music has always been around me and is a part of who I am as a person.  When I first started the trombone, I was in the 4th grade. I started for a couple reasons. One big reason was because, at the time, my cousin Gabe played it. We are both very close in age, so we were pretty close at the time (regarding our relationship). I also started playing because around this time we had just moved to Maryland from Kansas City. It was a tough time for me adjusting given I had no family here and was in a place I was completely unaware of.  The funny thing is that Gabe only played for trombone for a few weeks then quit. I, on the other hand, stuck with it. As time progressed, I got better and better. The real change for me was when I got to middle school and joined the ja

 For the longest time, I thought I wanted to get into politics. This was mainly because both of my parents are very involved with politics. My dad worked in the Clinton administration and my mom worked in the Obama administration on both of their second terms. I realized, however, that was not the line of work that made me happy, nor could I see myself doing it long term. Something that always made me happy to watch and talk about was sports, and it clicked.... I wanted to get into sports. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do in sports, but I knew that I wanted to be in that relm.  As I got older, I knew that writing became my strong suit. Once I got to the Mount and began writing for the newspaper, I realized that I wanted to do this. I also love watching sports shows and debates; they are really entertaining. I could see myself being on those shows one day.  To add onto this, I know that I'm more knowledgeable about the NBA and NFL. Those are the two sports I know the mo

 There are quick a number of things anyone should consider when posting things online. As a college student, I've learned more about what potential employers want to see when they search for possible candidates. I've personally never been the one to post stupid things on my social media. I can still be my authentic self, however, and have a good time while maintaining a certain level of professionalism.  The following 10 tips are ones that I would give when trying to present a certain image online: 1. Never post when you're not sober 2. Don't post stuff that could get you in serious trouble 3. Always use appropriate language in a caption/post 4. Be professional, but also make sure you are yourself  5. Have content that represents yourself and who you are 6. Try to come off as approachable  7. Show off your skills or any talents you have 8. Be the bigger person 9. Carry yourself with high regard 10. Don't lose who you and overcompensate with bring professional With a

 Something that has always been a huge part of who I am is music. I have expressed this in a few ways over my life, which has been through playing trombone and dancing Mexican Folklore. To me, I feel more of a connection with dancing because it is a direct link to my Mexican heritage. Unfortunately, I haven't danced in a long time. The last time I danced was in October of 2020 at the Mount for Hispanic Heritage Month. Since then, I haven't had the opportunity to dance again...until recently.  A friend of mine, Lupita, goes to the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland. I have known her for close to 10 years; her and I have been dancing together for all of that time. She wanted to get some of the members in the dance group back together and perform for international night at her campus. Keep in mind that we all haven't danced as group in close to three years, so it had been some time. Nevertheless, six of us got together and we rehearsed a couple times before the