A Journey Home

Deciding what you want to do after High school is a huge step in your life. Many People deciding which college to go to are torn between staying home and going off somewhere unknown. A lot of young adults struggle with this decision and try really hard to leave places like Laredo so they can have more opportunities. Allison Ramirez, a student at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) in Laredo, is no exception. She wants other students to realize staying home might be exactly what they need to do to become an innovator, creator, or anything else, as long as they push themselves. On January 25, 2014, Allison spoke at the TEDxYouth@Laredo event about her life, her decision to stay in Laredo for school, and her passion for Fashion. The TED team's mission was to "Share ideas worth spreading," and allow communities, organizations, and individuals to experience dialogue that spreads knowledge and helps people.

During the TEDxYouth event, Allison spoke of her dreams of becoming the next fashion editor of Vogue and making a major impact in the fashion world. In her talk, she describes her dreams of leaving home and wanting to explore the world outside of Laredo. Her dreams were fueled by everyone around her, leaving her with the mindset that the only way she could succeed was far outside the world she knew her whole life. Allison started her fashion blog at the age of seventeen with the idea that she would find a pathway out of Laredo and truly succeed in the fashion world. During this time, the fashion industry was shifting from high profile magazines to finding inspiration in blogs of people taking pictures of their own styles and fashions. Working on her fashion blog and getting so much positive feedback helped her realize how much potential she had to do something great, even all the way from Laredo, Texas.

 Allison spoke about her rash decision to attend Texas State University. Instead of feeling like she had made an amazing choice, she felt out of place and struggled to stay on the path she had chosen. Although she had struggled to get where she was, suddenly her path would change and she would be headed back home with her dreams still within her grasp. During a chance encounter with a student wanting to take her picture she learned about CollegeFashionista, a website centered on college street-style. She applied to be a writer for the website as a representative for TAMIU, bringing the fashion of Laredo to a much larger platform than her original blog.

Allison spoke about many things, but the most prevalent is that fact that people can be anything they want to be, it does not matter if you are in Laredo, Mexico, or Los Angeles. You are not defined by those around you, but how you make the most of every opportunity given to you. The TEDxYouth@Laredo event will be happening once again in the upcoming future and more information can easily be found online at http://www.strikingly.com/tedxyouthlaredo. Allison's website is updated regularly and can be found at www.thestylishsoul.com, as well as her weekly column at www.collegefashionista.com/author/allisonramirez. You can also find her on twitter @astylishsoul, and remember when you come to class dress your best because Allison might be in search of her next great Fashionista/o!

(Frank Campos can be reached @ frank.camposj@gmail.com)