The Life and Memory of Guillermo Tremols

Dr. Guillermo Tremols. 

May 10, 1937 - December 16, 2024.

A young Tremols rowing a boat in Spain. 

Dr. Guillermo Tremols died on December 16, 2024, at the age of 87, following an esophageal tear during one of his annual trips to Paris. He was born on May 10, 1937, in Havana, Cuba, to José Guillermo Tremols and Margarita Giménez. Guillermo was the younger brother of José Ignacio Tremols by four years. 

He graduated from the University of Salamanca in February 1965, and later completed his residency at Georgetown University Hospital where he served as senior resident in pediatrics. In 1969, he opened a pediatric practice in Reston, Virginia with his partner Dr. René Llaneras. Dr. Tremols worked in his practice until the age of 81, maintaining his credentials until the very end. 

Guilermo’s love for Cuba was profound. Though he left the island at the age of 23 following the communist takeover, the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 solidified his exile. He never returned to Cuba but kept its spirit alive in his heart through its music, food, stories, and traditions. 

His hobbies include music, art, dancing, cycling, fishing, free-diving, and storytelling. Yearly family traditions, such as winter ski trips, summers in Miami, vacations in Nags Head, and month-long Paris trips, created wonderful, long-lasting memories. 

Guillermo met his wife, Maggie Dufa,u when they both lived at Barcroft View Terrace in Falls Church, Virginia. He was a 33-year-old divorcé with two young daughters, and she was a spirited 22-year-old woman. After a first date playing tennis, they married three months later, beginning a 53-year love story filled with laughter, music, and family. 

Together, Guillermo and Maggie raised four children: Maria Tremols Orbay (Jorge Orbay), Lucy Tremols (Galen Bright), Maggie Tremols (Matthew Agostinelli), and Guillermo “Guille” Tremols. They were blessed with grandchildren Maria Carolina Orbay (Fernando Aran), Mariana Orbay (Raul Cubiña), Jordi Orbay (Rui Yang), Mateo Agostinelli, Malia Agostinelli, and Misha Agostinelli, and great-grandchildren Nando Aran, Pelayo Aran, Marimar Aran, Maia Cubiña, and Juan Luis Orbay. 

Guillermo’s family was his greatest joy and the heart of his life. He taught them to embrace life with open arms, no matter what challenges it brought. He often reminded his family that, above all, family is
everything. 

Guillermo’s family invites you to celebrate his life and memory at a funeral mass.

A candid shot of Dr. Tremols at his
favorite restaurant in Paris. 

 

Scroll, Compare, Repeat: The Cost of Social Media

Neuroscience news

The heavy cost of social media on the development of eating disorders.

What are some good words to describe social media? 

Birdie

Social media affects how we perceive our sizes.

Connectivity. Engagement. Profit. 

What else? 

Toxic. Harmful. Unattainable. 

As stated by The Eating Recovery Center: "The curated and often unrealistic portrayals of beauty and fitness shared online can pave the way for negative self-comparisons, low self-esteem, and disordered eating behaviors."

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram use the concept of building an online community to reach the masses. However, this exact algorithm ends up targeting specific groups of people, making it very hard to escape the never-ending content. 

Vogue

"Skinny Tok" has now become the new "Heroin Chic."

With words such as "Skinny Tok" beginning to describe TikTok, it is reminiscent of the Kate Moss era of the 1990s. Society thought the era of "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" was left at the turn of the century. However, the rise of influencers on social media promoting unhealthy habits and the so-called "perfect" body has drastically increased over the last few years

"Skinny Tok" essentially is toxic motivation, and the hashtag alone has conjured up millions of views, likes, and comments. This type of content is sneaky because on the surface, it appears to simply be nutritional advice to help women feel their best.

That is just the tip of the iceberg. 

What lies underneath is an exposure to weight stigma, which then showcases itself in disordered thoughts, eating behaviors, and the idea of an unattainable body image. Dietician Andrea Mathis said in an interview for the Today Show, "the more you do it [restrict] with that mindset [body comparison], it can turn into obsession." 

Social Media & Body Image Statistics

Pinterest

80% of women compare themselves to women on social media.

It is this obsession that has numerous consequences for the girls, seeing the unrealistic content, which they perceive as reality through their continuously developing brains. Adolescent girls are already seeing numerous changes happening to their bodies in the pivotal ages between 10-19 years. 

It is a natural, healthy part of life. 

However, with the increase of body checking content on social media, their perceptions of themselves begin to get twisted, leading to dissatisfaction with their own self-image. According to an article written for Frontiers, adolescents who experience body dissatisfaction are at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder. 

Eating disorders are complex and extremely harmful. 15 percent of women will suffer from an eating disorder in their lives, and anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. These numbers are dangerous and will continue to rise based on content prevalent on social media. 

Using social media can affect body image by encouraging body comparisons, dissatisfaction with one's appearance, and disordered eating behaviors, all of which can play a role in the development of eating disorders. 

The American Psychological Association conducted a study in which they found that teens who reduced social media usage by 50% for a few weeks saw a notable improvement in their confidence surrounding their weight and overall body appearance satisfaction. 

The Today Show

The majority of women let social media
affect their body image. 

Gary Goldfield, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, said, "Social media can expose users to thousands of images and photos every day, including those of celebrities and fitness models, which we know leads to an internalization of beauty ideals that are unattainable for almost everyone, resulting in greater dissatisfaction with body weight and shape."

The problem isn't as simple as not allowing kids social media because no matter what, they will be exposed to this content and mentality in one way or another. The issue is creating more of a discussion around the severe consequences concerning body checking, disordered eating behaviors that have been "normalized," and self-comparison in this digital age. 

Why do I care so much? 

It would be easy to brush off this topic and say, "Well, this doesn't pertain to me. I'm grown up and past that pivotal developmental stage." However, this couldn't be further from the truth. What started out as mere disordered thoughts and comparing myself to the influencers on social media led to a severe, debilitating eating disorder. 

One that I am still working so hard to recover from. 

I wish I could say it's been easy. I wish I could say that social media has a positive side. A recovery side. However, I can confidently say that social media platforms do more harm than good. Sure, I might come across a "recovery is worth it!" post every now and again. 

In actuality, I open my TikTok, and the first thing I see is a close-up of a woman's unrealistic body with the caption "what I eat in a day to stay skinny." To be completely honest, most of the time it takes all my strength not to go down that rabbit hole again. 

Just like a drug addict craves the companionship of self-medication. A girl with an eating disorder is addicted to the competition of comparison. What better way to find that than social media? 

Sunrise or Sunset on the Reaping?

It's time for the sun to set on the Capitol and the Districts.

                                                                                                                  B&N
The book jacket for the new Hunger Games book.

 

Suzanne Collins dropped her newest addition to The Hunger Games universe one week ago. Sunrise on the Reaping was released amid major enthusiasm and excitement from the thousands of people who were entranced with Katniss and Peeta over ten years ago. 

This story, while set in the alluringly twisted world of the Capitol, District 12, and the nightmare-inducing arena, takes place 25 years earlier than the original trilogy. This book highlights the snarky, blonde-haired victor of the Quarter Quell: Haymitch Abernathy. However, Collins gives her readers a Haymitch before he became the snarly, alcoholic mentor we know and love. 

IMDB

Woody Harrelson as
Haymitch Abernathy.

But do we love this new Haymitch? People all over TikTok have sung their praises for Collins' newest endeavor, posting their tears after the first few chapters, leaving me wondering if I even read the same book. 

It could be that I just have Woody Harrelson's cinematic portrayal of Haymitch stuck in my head, but the "Haymitch" of this book is nothing like I could imagine. Since he is my favorite character, I was
disappointed when I was reading the book and couldn't picture the character I had grown up with? 

To set the scene, let me describe how excited I was for this book. Ever since Collins stated that she was writing a book about the games that Haymitch was crowned victor in, I counted down the days until I could get my hands on it. To say my expectations were high would be an understatement. However, based on her other four books, I would say my expectations were at a reasonable level according to the circumstances. I hungrily (get it?) hunted down the book, and then proceeded to spend the next 36 hours putting off all responsibilities, instead choosing to hunker down and read. 

Right away, something felt off. The voice of Haymitch wasn't what I had envisioned, the writing seemed juvenile, and don't even get me started on the dialogue between characters. 

It lacked the subtle artistry of the previous books, with everything seeming so forced. 

This is not saying I despised the book, as there were definitely aspects that I enjoyed. The mutation and cloning of Louella's character was dark and a great depiction of the cruelty of the Capitol. The fate that awaited Lorena (I won't spoil it even though fans can most likely deduce what happens) was a perfect example of the sadistic, twisted nature of President Snow. Finally, the flames that licked the sky of District 12 when Haymitch returned home as victor did indeed almost bring me to tears. 

Clearly, Collins is a good writer with irrevocably interesting ideas that tend to mirror present-day political issues. However, unlike her past books, the political commentary in Sunrise on the Reaping was quite the opposite of subtle. It was as if reading between the lines didn't exist. 

IMDB

Author Suzanne Collins of The Hunger Games. 

With a movie adaptation on the horizon, I wonder if Collins was almost forced to write this book. Aspects of the plot seemed like an afterthought, clearly referencing past books without allowing for the readers to connect the dots themselves. While clearly many people are raving about it, I believe they are raving more so about the release of a new book, not the quality of the book itself.

Maybe I had my expectations too high. Maybe I should have taken the book with a grain of salt. Maybe I should give Suzanne Collins some grace. What I do know is that it is time for the sun to set on the era of The Hunger Games, and to leave its memory perfectly embalmed with the original trilogy. 

My Secret Mentor: Michiko Kakutani

Vogue

Michiko Kakutani sits surrounded by her love for literature. 

As someone who loves to read and prides herself on the vast amount of books she has read over the years, it is only fitting that I also spend the majority of my time reading book reviews. I use these reviews as guidance when choosing my next literary adventure, however, I am adamant that regardless of what the review says, I still allow myself to form my own opinion. 

To choose a new book, I often turn to The New York Times book list as not only is it carefully curated, but it has also proved to be very trustworthy time and time again. Next, I tend to read a review of the book, which I typically also find in the New York Times. Over the years, I noticed that more often than not I chose the same critic to read.

Michiko Kakutani. 

Kakutani was the former chief book critic for The New York Times and is a massively influential individual in American literary criticism. Shortly after joining The Times in 1979, Kakutani became a chief book critic only four short years later. In 1998, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, “...for her passionate, intelligent writing on books and contemporary literature.  This highly esteemed recognition propelled her to become not only a pivotal voice for the literary community but also held a strong influence on the reputation and success of numerous novels. 

Vogue Magazine

Kakutani poses for a magazine profile

on her career. 

I greatly admire Kakutani’s style as not only does she provide readers with insightful reviews, but also her intelligence, quick wit and sharp intellect lend to riveting articles that capture her audience’s interest. At times, she has used the voice of infamous characters to form the structure of her reviews; a style I greatly admire because it takes the monotony out of a simple book review and transforms it into a work of creative genius. 

Vanity Fair called her, “the most powerful book critic in the English-speaking world.”

Kakutani is a perfect example of an individual who holds great influence over my writing. After reading her reviews for many years, I have begun to transform my writing into a mere semblance of her artistry. As someone who wants to form her career around her passion for literature, I frequently turn to Kakutani to inspire my writing, provide me with direction and ideas, and influence my next book purchase. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

Liv Schmidt and her Toxic Online Platform

I am not the kind of person to block creators on social media. Rather, I typically just choose to scroll past the post, trusting the Tiktok algorithm to stop showing me certain content if it appears that I am not interested in it. However, one creator I have had to block on all platforms because her content was detrimental to my mental and physical health. 

Liv Schmidt, a toxic social media personality, has built her platform on promoting an unhealthy standard for women’s bodies. 

Covergirl

A girl checks her body before eating breakfast. 

“Put the fork down.”

“Eat less, weigh less.”

“Need some motivation? Try putting on clothes that no longer fit.” 

These captions aren’t even the most problematic ones. There are countless more that are too triggering and demeaning to even write down. 

Schmidt was banned from TikTok due to her dangerous weight loss advice. She violated the TikTok community guidelines by posting content that promoted harmful weight-loss behaviors and actions. 

Barely eating 800 calories a day– and I would know as she provides the daily total at the end of each video, Schmidt dedicated her time and energy to preaching that women should eat less than the bare minimum to achieve their “dream body.” 

A favorite caption of hers is, “What I eat in a day to stay skinny.” This is always followed by the whale, cow, and pig emojis. A combination that she uses on the regular. 

Some might say: “Why do you care so much? Just don’t pay attention to her videos.” What people don’t realize is, the path Schmidt is on is simply a competitive mind game. 

I was diagnosed with anorexia last summer and almost ended up hospitalized because of the starvation I had put my body through. The first time I stumbled across Schmidt’s TikTok page was at the height of my recovery. I spent an entire night watching her videos, getting sucked into her mindset, and ultimately decided that my recovery wasn’t worth it. I hate to say that I let a random influencer on TikTok affect my thoughts so much, but I did. I ended up almost not being able to come back to school for my junior year because I had become so wrapped up in the “Liv Schmidt mentality.” 

How social media's relationship with

someone's body affects their mental health. 

And she doesn’t just affect me. In an article written for USA Today, “mental health experts warn content like hers can negatively impact young users’ perceptions of body image and influence disordered eating habits.”

Even though Schmidt is blocked on TikTok, she still uses other social media platforms to spread her toxic message to her thousands of followers. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, the NEDA helpline is here to help. 

My Story in 500 Words

Spanish was the language of my childhood. 

I would look at my mom, fear in my eyes, as I tried to translate from Spanish to English when out in public. Words and language were the pinnacle of my household. 

My mother never doubted the importance of stories. The Spanish picture books of my childhood, transformed into more complex novels read under the hot North Carolina summer sun. Books were fought over in our family. We traded them amongst each other the way other kids traded baseball cards. 

However, I came to realize that words could mean one thing to one person, and something completely different to another. 

I grew up in the shadow of a brother with autism. For him, language is black and white, a concept I could never fully grasp. 

Overtime, I realized that was the beauty of it. Language holds different meanings. Language is moldable.

Eventually, the importance of language shifted into an admiration of prose. 

At the age of eight, I typed out short stories about princesses on my grandfather’s old typewriter.  

At the age of thirteen, I wrote theatre critiques for the Blumey Awards in partnership with the Charlotte Observer.

At the age of sixteen, I took a summer intensive at the School of the New York Times, dedicated to the craft of screenwriting. 

At the age of seventeen, I wrote a love letter to my Cuban heritage, gaining me admission to multiple universities. 

My thirst for writing brought me to High Point University, where I am pursuing a double major in English and Journalism. When I tell people this, their response is: “You must do a lot of reading and writing.” 

I do, and I love it.  

My writing, which has always taken a more creative approach, transformed into a passion for academia. Under the mentorship of English and journalism professors, I have carefully honed my craft and my voice to produce work that I am proud of. In April, I will be attending an academic conference where I will be presenting my own piece of literary criticism to a room full of scholars. 

I couldn’t be more excited. 

Throughout my life, I have switched my chosen career path countless times. My dream of becoming a screenwriter transformed into a profession grounded in the art of journalism. Then I wanted to become a travel writer, a lawyer, a novelist. While my dreams may have shifted, the backbone did not. Everything I wanted to do was grounded in writing. 

It wasn’t until my junior year of college, that I realized where my true career was headed.

Book publishing.

Being able to combine my love for reading with the meticulous craft of copyediting, has now become the end goal. 

From an early age, my mother instilled in me the power that words have. Whether I am conversing with my family in Spanish, or presenting a paper at an academic conference in English, I have not forgotten how words and language have shaped who I have become.