Realizing What I Accomplished and How Much More I Want To Do.
When I was a girl I attended an after school program for girls with a counselor where we could talk about our feelings and general things about ourselves. This particular afternoon we were talking about things we wanted to do when we grew up. The counselor told us instead of going around the circle to give our answer we should act them out so we could guess. I raised my hand and said what if I want to be seven things. She paused, look at me then said well act all seven out. She was the first person in my life to not tell me I couldn't be all seven things. For the first time I believed I could do anything I wanted. Not dream it but truly believed I could do it. Granted my life has taken plenty of twists and turns along the way but I have done some of the things. I remember once telling my best friend how disspointed I was that I never got to dream my J.Lo life. You see like her, I wanted to act, sing, dance and be a business woman. I want to be a famous actor and I want to make a lot of movies. It's funny to even see J.Lo have such a huge brand, not funny ha ha but funny like it could be done and by a Puerto Rican woman too. I thought I was the only one that wanted this dream. It's funny having dreams, you think you really are the only one. I still believe in my heart that I can have that part of my dream come true. I won't give up, I should probably start auditioning. I never had a supportive family and if I would've even attempted to go to L.A. I would've been disowned. Crazy thing, I left my house at a young age anyway. The only reason I didn't go to L.A., I didn't have a car. Sheesh! My best friend told me that I had done all the things I wanted, I was all those things. I looked at him and it hit me. Wow, I did do must of the things I told myself I wanted to do. Granted I'm not famous or have a multi-million bank account yet but I did do the things.
I've worked on T.V. shows, music videos, movies and theater. I even did some theater work in Cyprus. I used to be a dancer, and I sang at mulitple concerts. I owned a spa and I had my own mini PR company, I still technically have it but I no longer have clients. I've worked in the hotel world and I've worked in luxury fashion. Granted I didn't become a lawyer but maybe I was pushing it just a little. I have my degree in Communications & Media and another degree in Film/Theater, that's good enough right? Now my journey looks a little different but it still encompasses a lot of my passions. Granted I am not the best writer but blogging is fun. I get to talk about anything, everything and nothing. I can talk about fashion, art, wellness, NYC and more! In this stage of my life I no longer care what others think. I am going to do what I love, even if people think it's crazy. I mean someone can have a silly tiktok and be famous. There is more opportunity than ever today than when I was kid. However I want more, not just financially but more for my community and the women in my life.
Even though I dreamt of being a famous actor and owning businesses, one of the things I always thought of was improving my neighbor and community. I lived in Bushwick before it was trendy and filled with a huge Puerto Rican community. I also wanted more Puerto Rican businesses in my hood. I wanted my community to own their own homes. I loved going to Graham Avenue (as Boriquas we call it Gra-ham), Avenue of Puerto Rico. Every weekend my mom would go to the stores, the food market with all the smells of the island, the record stores blasting salsa music and the Cochito Frito where we would get our fried fritters. We had our own little part of the island in Brooklyn, it's changed a lot. It's now gentrified, overpriced and the new people complain about the music. All the time I hear that story it upsets me because you are in our neighborhood, but don't get me started. One of my many goals is to give a voice to my Puerto Rican community. I wondered every day how can I do that without the proper resources and it hit me, my blog!
I used my instagram to promote women and their business that I love. With the market saturated with the same thing I want to highlight brands that are unique and have something to offer. I keep thinking why does the market refuse to embrace the Latino market and dollar. Why are they so slow to realize that we have a lot of spending power? It's not just J.Lo and if the market sees her success rate, why don't they seek other Latino brands? They do with everything else!
Welcome to my channel, my page, my life. I will only share what I love and believe in. I will encourage you to support your local business, to give a voice to the women in your life and to discover something new. Yes, I still love luxury fashion and trendy things. I will probably share that too but I want to also focus on new things. I don't fit in a box, I don't want to. I want to grow and learn. I want to share my voice and give a voice to the ladies that have a fashion brand, that are photographers, creatives, and more. I am educated and a little hood. I curse a lot and I love elegant things. When I say I am going to do something I do it. I have failed so many times but I also succeeded. Even the last job that I lost, I loved that job but do you know I interviewed for an entire year and the company created a department just for my position. Oh and they called me for the position it wasn't even something they listed. I was the only one with that title in the entire company, a multi-billion dollar company! The only reason why I no longer have that job was because of a pandemic that has changed the fashion industry in less than four months, not because I wasn't good enough.
I encourage you to think outside the box, to take the risk, be bold and don't blend in with the crowd. Don't just go with the latest trend because everyone else is doing it. Okay maybe if it's a cute shoe, but seriously don't you ever wonder how cool would it be if the people in your community were winning? How cool it would be to see people that look like you in the spotlight. I don't want to do the same thing, another blog like everyone else, the same look, same hair. How boring! I've realized that I have done the things I wanted and I still want to do more. I still want to act and be featured in a film. I want to create my own empire, well I have it but make it bigger for the world to see. When I was young I was told I had to marry a good man, have a good job and have a house with kids. I questioned it then as a child and I still question it today. That's it? That's life? I want more, I have more to offer, I have things to do. I want to keep traveling and meeting new people. I want to give a voice to others and I want to make my voice be heard. I'm just getting started.
Sweatshirt by 31 Agency, Latina Owned Business from the Bronx.