◦ Jenni Rivera-Mariposa de Barrio. Right in now in the series she is pregnant by her first baby daddy Trino with her second baby and going to college. This man is so vile and evil he fights to keep her home every time she leaves for school or work, a real abuser in every way. But no matter how many times he throws her books on the ground or even rips them she still finishes her assignments and manages to be an excellent student. I reflected on the earlier episodes when she was a child, living with her brothers. In this scene she had received a beautiful new doll from her parents and her brothers, in what I assumed was sibling envy, they commandeered the doll and mutilated the new doll but cutting off her beautifully quaffed blonde curly hair. In a later scene we see the brothers consoling their sister assuring her that they only did this in horrible act to protect her. As young boys themselves they are aware that the other little boys in the neighborhood hated dolls and would have done worse to the doll and possibly hurt their sister. They go on to teach her a valuable lesson that would translated into her early adult hood. She learned from her brothers how to keep getting what you want despite any trouble from a man. I can’t help but draw further comparisons to the biblical story of Prophet Joseph PBUH, another sibling that was terrorized by his brothers. Joseph was like Jenni a special child with a special gift. This gift can often pull out the worse in those around us, what is the reason for this? Why do those who have a light often have those closest to them want to dim or worse snuff that light? Could there be another reason for our siblings being hard on us, could the envy also be played in concern because they don’t want others to snuff out your light in a harsher way? Is it better to hear the bad things from those closest to you? Or is it that whatever happens to us is truly Devine decree in order to help us reach the next step in our journey and complete our purpose. Are we truly avatars on earth from good and evil and depending which we choose is the true lord we serve? Only Allah knows, but to me cause and effect could also be applied here, because she had gone through so much with men being the villain in her life. Jenni was able to endure when her husband was the villain of her life. As I continue to see the series of Jenni Rivera Mariposa de Barrio, we will see how else her life and success were influenced by her misfortunes.

By Ashley Sara