The first words are always the hardest.

That’s something that I usually write at the beginning of every short story, poem, book, anything really. To talk about myself isn’t something I do normally but here we are and here we begin.

My Childhood

I grew up in San Antonio, Texas where I fell in love with the cultures that come together like a great melting pot. From the predominating Mexican culture to many Asian cultures, there was nothing like my hometown. From a young age, I was definitely in the middle of things! Larry and Karyn, my parents, have a favorite story from when I was a baby. They would take me to their favorite legit Mexican restaurant in Westside San Antonio. The abuelitas (grandmothers) would take baby me from my parents and take me around the kitchens and other customers. Did my parents panic? The first time, but then there was a lot of gratitude for the love and inclusion.

For a while, things were easy in the eyes of a child and my parents made sure of that. Soon, my brother Caleb, my pride and joy, came along and I stepped into the big sister role quickly and easily, and thank God I did.

I won’t go into the long and lengthy of it until a later blog post, however, I will say this: my mother became very sick due to medical complications, and from that point on until this day her health has been something that she has had to struggle with and she continues to face many challenges.

During the onset of my mother’s sickness, we all had our roles and I really have to commend my Dad. He worked hard to provide for the family while questioning if the love of his life was going to live and keeping his faith all the while. Strong man! While he worked, and Mom was in bed, I took care of my brother and often found escape in books and writing. I wrote many different stories and carried them around as individual sheets of paper, wrapped in a tube that I had crocheted. That’s how it all started really.

To summarize this part of life, my family grew together as a team, grew as people, developed a few quirks, and repressed a few issues while learning to sing in faith and dance in the rain. Thankfully, Mom is alive and kicking and we still talk almost every other day!

College Days

Life didn’t get easier which is, as I’ve learned, the story of life. You just learn to roll with the punches. In this case, Mom was still sick and I, of course, chose a difficult educational path. I spent time in community college getting my Associate’s at Northwest Vista Community College and did what you did back then, get your basics and move forward.

Believe it or not, San Antonio is a college town. We have over 30 different colleges and universities. For some, this makes it easier to get an education and for others, it’s still harder than ever. Now, when it comes to me, I had good grades, leadership opportunities, sports, the whole shebang, and got into wherever I wanted. I stayed home with my family to help with my mother and then ended up working several jobs (three at some point) to pay for college. The financial aid system was, and still is a broken system but at least I was able to get enough to pay for books!

From Vista, I went to Texas A&M University – San Antonio where I learned lifelong lessons and made some of the closest friends I could have ever imagined. To this day we joke about me being called Friskies (yes, like the cat food and yes, because my nickname is Cat), the dangers of absinthe, and my obsession with perfect grades.

It was at A&M-SA where I wrote with a class partner under the wise eye of Ann Bliss, a professor I will never forget. She let us go buck wild and we came up with the story “Who We Are”. While mortified, she still loved the story because of the walls that it broke and how we addressed many different social aspects.

I finished at A&M in 2018 with a laundry list of degrees because of course, I couldn’t choose the easy way out. Instead, I worked hard and paid my way (and am still paying) through college to earn a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, a Bachelor’s of Art in English, a minor in Chemistry, and a Master’s of Art in English. To me, science and language go hand-in-hand just as faith and science do, but that is a blog post for another time.

A Career?

When I say that I was in love with A&M-SA, I mean it. The culture, the students, the professors, the community, nothing but love. However, when we begin to see the inner workings of something, that’s when the challenges arise. I started working as a writing tutor and promptly switched to being a Biology tutor, essentially switching sides. There was endless injustice and racism that pervaded the Writing Center at that time and, to my knowledge, there are still ethics that go against the standings of an HSC.

While working as a Biology tutor all the way to my end position as a Tutoring Services Coordinator, I had the privilege of working with someone who became my best friend. Not only that but I was blessed and able to put my heart and soul into loving and caring for others and training them to become their best selves and leaders in this world.

My proudest moment working at A&M-SA was when I had finished developing a training program (the first time) and realized that my life’s journey was to help others and bring others to know themselves in new ways. It’s something I aim to do in my stories as well.

I worked in academia for six years and thought I would stay for forever, but I couldn’t deal with the racism, nepotism, degradation, and general lack of leadership and honor from the people in charge. It was a hard moment to say goodbye to one dream but it gave me the space to say hello to another.

Moving Forward

From there, I began working in writing and editing and found myself in love with contract work and writing. Which is where we are now. In the midst of all of this, I married the love of my life, Steven, and have been blessed to be a bonus mom to my son, David.

We still live in San Antonio with our pack of animals comprised of two fish (Newb and LeSqueegie), two cats (Fearne Able and Gon), and our two dogs (Aspen and Percival). We spend our weekends playing games as a family and watching YouTube while I craft. Now, as my career takes a turn, it’s these moments that I am going to hold dear because the challenges of a writer are ever-changing.

So there you have it. 30+ years summed up and to be continued. For more about my life and thoughts, subscribe below to my blog!