This week in La Voz en Breve with Mariel Fiori is education and family week.

I spoke with Laura Garcia about the December 17 Nuestro Futuro Conference, organized between the Newburgh Library and Orange County Community College, for Immigrants and Undocumented Families about the cultural misconceptions regarding college education.

Sandra Salguero invited us to the end of the year celebration of the Latinos in Businesses that Succeed Together. Free, but please bring an unwrapped toy for the Rural Migrant Ministry on Friday, December 16 from 6-10pm at Brotherwood's in Washingtonville, NY. Register at eventbrite (eventbrite.com/e/latinos-in-business-annual-holiday-mixer-at-the-brotherhood-tickets-467996188197?)

In addition, in her column La cultura cura, the teacher of the ancestral cultures of the Anahuac, Anita Campion, told us how to celebrate the Birth of Huitzilopochtli. Anita suggested we do a morning exercise every day until December 21 (the winter solstice) to develop willpower and decision-making power. The exercise consists of writing a list of blessings in a notebook, and writing down why we are grateful for each blessing. Read the list every day and at the end of each item say thank you. Write down five blessings each day, preferably different ones. This gratitude will help us to be happier and will develop our willpower.