Breaking 11000+ Views 1st Week After Blog Launch on 01/25/2021

Ever since 2011, I wanted to start my own blog so I could feel like I had a voice. I had a rough childhood, including having my house burn down, becoming homeless, a father who was in and out of jail for domestic violence, my mom who was falsely imprisoned for ‘shoplifting,’ and being bullied throughout my childhood for being poor. In 2009, I went through a really difficult time in my life and I needed help, but I didn’t know where to turn. I think if I had asked for help back then, my life could have been much different. However, I wouldn’t change it for the world because it allowed me to look at life much differently.

From 2009-2013, I was living through domestic violence and I was afraid to ask for help. I remember wanting to end my life because it felt easier than continuing on. I suffered the most while away for college, and I nearly dropped out because I wasn’t able to sleep at night in fear that something would happen to me. My dream of moving onto medical school ended because I wasn’t able to make it to my classes on time and unable to keep my grades up. Few knew what I was going through at the time, and I didn’t want to worry my mom. I drove 140 miles home and 140 miles back to school most days my last quarter during college because I didn’t feel safe, and I had nowhere to live. I slept in my car in between classes and that was pretty much my life. Somehow I managed to do enough to graduate with my Bachelor of Science degree because I couldn’t allow someone to have that much control over my future.

When I started my job in the Insurance and Financial Industry, I was sexually harassed and treated unfairly daily. I was young at the time and I didn’t know how to handle the situation. I just felt extremely uncomfortable and I didn’t feel safe. I feared being retaliated against because I was a female in a room full of men, therefore, I resigned.

My career was filled with hardships, and there were owners who took advantage of my hard work ethic, overworking me past most people’s breaking point. When I gave my 2 weeks, two of them were angry, and the same two employers were willing to fabricate lies so I couldn’t leave them to work for new employers. My experiences are some that I would never wish upon others because it affected me so deeply, to the point where I didn’t feel safe working for anyone else anymore.

When my mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, my world fell apart. I had to give up everything to be there for her through her chemo and driving her to all her doctor appointments. I was commuting 4 hours back and forth from my mom to my job in the Bay Area, living in a van because rent in the Bay Area is astronomical. Being a caretaker is hard work, and emotionally draining.

I remember sitting next to her hospital bed thinking how much of a failure I was as a daughter. I didn’t give her the life she deserved. I thought to myself, she won’t even live to see me open a business or anything like she was hoping. Then one night, I put on The Greatest Showman, and little by little, sparks of hope appeared. I was able to build enough courage to start researching, and later that night I opened a Shopify account and started building my own E-Commerce store. That was the beginning of me rebuilding my life..

1. Own that same e-commerce store:

2. Have grown from this tiny office in 2018: