Kelly Duarte

Latina-American Teens With Depression Don’t Need DNA Testing, They Need Cultural Connection: “Some Girls” Documentary Review

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Latina-American Teens With Depression Don’t Need DNA Testing, They Need Cultural Connection: “Some Girls” Documentary Review

While scrolling through Instagram, I came across “Some Girls” documentary. I was excited to finally find a film that focused on depression in teen Latina-Americans, something I wished existed when I was in high school with depression. That day I texted Kelly Duarte, The Strange is Beautiful’s media and pop culture contributor, and we met up to watch it together for free on Kanopy, a video streaming service for public libraries. Though the documentary has a lot of great things about it, such as bringing awareness to this under represented and under researched issue, we were disappointed because it ignored many root reasons of why Latina-American teens are more likely to get depression, and disagreed with the creator’s choice to use DNA testing as a means of healing – especially because they claim it helped them, yet they never had depression.

Your Inner Glow – March Poetry

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Your Inner Glow - March Poetry

by Kelly Duarte

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“Eclipsed”

How much brighter do you think you can get?
Your beams already fall into my eyes
And you burn into my memories
So stunningly
That images of you lay over
The visions of every day.
My dreams are washed out
And replaced with your glow.
I’m not sure if I’m seeing you
In my future
Or seeing a lasting flash
From the camera
Holding the pictures of us
From my past
But I keep my eyes open
Because I’d rather be blinded
By your light
Than to see clear in a darkness
That only happens when you’re gone

A Love Letter to Myself: Self-Love Zine

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A Love Letter to Myself: Self-Love Zine

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A Love Letter To Myself

Dear Kelly:

I’m going to be honest, I’ve been wanting to express my love for you in person but I couldn’t get myself to do it. So I wrote you this love letter instead.

I admire the weird sense of humor you refuse to apologize for. I love that you read so many books. I admire the strength you have to get through situations without crying. I enjoy the adventurous spirit you have. I think you have a cute smile.

Don’t be afraid to truly open yourself up to others and be vulnerable.

I am proud that you were able to survive 2017 and I want you to truly thrive in 2018. So far you’ve gotten published in a couple zines, started a podcast and attended some awesome concerts.

Even though you don’t always like your body, I love it.

Remember to treat yourself to some milk tea and books because you deserve it!

I love you. You are so valuable, important and significant in my life.

Love,
Kelly

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You are going to live a full life. A life you could never have dreamed of.

You will travel the world. Swim in the Atlantic. Eat a beignet at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. Return to your roots and visit the remnants of a Mayan city. See snow at the top of a mountain.

You will find love. After years of pleading, you’ll finally get a dog. A small beagle that follows you everywhere. You’ll find friends in unlikely places. In dorm rooms at two in the morning. At open mics. In the bathrooms of clubs. You will find someone that brings you a shit ton of Gatorade when you have the flu. You will find someone that looks at you like you are the most beautiful girl in the world. But most importantly you will find love within yourself.

You will falter. You will learn that life is hard and the good times also come with the bad. You will learn what heartbreak is. You will learn what grief is. You will learn what depression is. There will be moments when you are in pain and will do anything to make it stop. But you will survive.

There is still a lot you want to do. There is still more you will do. Because you are willful and could summon the world if you wanted to.

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Free/ Low- Cost Self Care List

  • Long, hot showers
  • Catching up/binging shows
  • Visiting an art gallery/free museum
  • Reading web comics
  • Going on Amazon or Sephora and adding a bunch of stuff to the shopping cart but never actually buying anything
  • Making collages/moodboards out of old newspapers and magazines
  • Going for walks in the rain
  • Keeping a diary
  • Meditating
  • Sending memes to the group chat
  • Napping in the middle of the day
  • Treating yourself to a mini flan
  • Thrift shopping and finding something amazing and unique
  • Watching episodes of “Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting”
  • Getting succulents and learning to nurture and care for something else
  • Going to the pet stores to look at the cats
  • Playing around with Snapchat Filters
  • Folding laundry while it’s still warm
  • Eating ice cream on a hot day
  • Organizing your bookshelf by color or alphabetical order
  • Putting up posters around your room
  • Creating Zines

    • Self-Care in Solidarity at “Quince Night”

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    Self-Care in Solidarity at "Quince Night"

    Quince 12

    On January 28 at the Lodge Room in Highland Park, music reverberated against the walls and the stairs creaked under the pressure of party-goers ready to go to the event upstairs. Gold balloons spelling out “Quince Night” as well as pink and white ones decorated the stairwell. Groups of people crowded the entryway, laughing and talking as they waited for the musical acts to start.

    Quince_1Omar Apollo (above) and TEMPOREX (below).

    Quince 8

    Tres leche cake was served in a little hallway, a donation by Lets.Give. Local, Latinx-owned businesses, such as Mi Vida, vended to support the common goal of TPS and DACA recipients. “Solidarity for Sanctuary: Quince Night” was a community quinceñara with an important message, we are all family and together we have sanctuary.

    Quince 4

    Familiarity is important, especially in such a politically turbulent climate. By bringing the tradition of a quinceñera into the context of a fundraiser for DACA and TPS beneficiaries, “Quince Night” melds togetherness in both a personal and political way. Actions from the current administration feels like an attack on Latinx and other marginalized groups. When the government itself wants to impede the existence of certain people, what recourse do they feel they have?

    Quince 10Johan Moreno (left) and Alexis Chavez (right), owners of WLDCARD.