Background

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Community Spotlight: Areina Contreras

I am very pleased to introduce all of you to Areina Contreras, my classmate from my Honors writing course for which I made this blog.  She's 18 years old, and is a full-time student at NAU.  Her major is public relations, with a minor in sociology (which coincidentally is my minor too).  She's extremely sweet, and volunteered to fill out this spotlight questionnaire to help me out with my project; my absolute FAVORITE part of this is when she says, "people are so enclosed that they forget about others."  This is exactly why I have these spotlights on my blog!  I want to remind everyone that there are others around them living their own lives, and I hope by introducing members of our Flagstaff community, these spotlights will encourage us to stop being so enmeshed in our own lives that we forget about the people around us.  Read on to get to know Areina, another Flagstaff resident:


1. What does a typical weekday look like for you?
Have my normal routines of class and work, but sometimes stressful and other weeks really nice.

2. What would you say is the one thing in your life right now that takes up the most of your time?
Right now it would have to be work and school.

3. What worries do you have in your life?
I worry about everything…What will happen next year or what my grades will be or what am I going to do over summer break? My main concerns are about school and my family.

4. What is important to you?
FAMILY is very important, but I cannot forget about myself. I have to remember to look out for myself in school, work, and healthy lifestyles. My relationship with my long distance boyfriend is also on my top list and then it goes my relationships with my friends.

5. Do you think you live in a kind community?
Yes, I think Flagstaff is generally friendly place and I feel accepted and safe in this community.

6. What are some examples of kindness you have given or received recently?
New people I have met have been generous to pay for my dinner and even drive me around town. On campus people have held doors open and even returned my lost cell phone.

7. Tell us one confession of a time you could have been kinder--whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
There are times when I randomly talk to people who I think look interesting and as a result end up having lunch with a new person who eventually becomes a friend. [I'm pretty sure Areina misread the question, because this sounds extremely kind to me!  Or maybe she's just so nice that she doesn't have any unkind moments to confess to us. :)]

8. Can you think of a time when you relied on the kindness of strangers? 
There was one time when I was in elementary school when I rode the bus to my grandma’s house and ended up getting lost within her neighborhood. I was wondering the street crying and decided to ask for someone’s help, so I knocked on a random person’s door. This sweet older lady opened the door and asked me if I needed help and I told her where my grandma lived and she gave me a ride to my grandmas and made sure I got in the house safely. I will never forget that lady’s kindness because at that moment I felt so helpless.

9. Discuss a time you observed someone being inconsiderate to another.
Inconsideration happens to often to remember specifically at this moment.

10. Finally, tell us anything else you can think of that is important to know about you as a person.
Kindness is a part of my being, but at times I do not always look out for other people. I think at times people are so enclosed that they forget about others and it sucks when you are the person that gets left behind. Especially because now people tend to hide behind technology rather than interacting with actual people, so for me I try to remember others.

Many thanks to Areina for being willing to "stand in the spotlight" for a bit!

No comments:

Post a Comment