I am a first generation Hispanic Woman born in the Bronx, New York. My father migrated to the US from Cuba in 1919. According to the ship’s manifest he was 23 years old when he arrived. He never went back to his country of birth. He never married until he met mother, who was 20 years younger than he, when she moved to Brooklyn, New York from Puerto Rico in 1946. I was born in 1948 and three years later my sister Julia was born.

Our childhood was pretty good. My dad worked hard as a short order cook and my mom was a full time housewife. She didn’t work outside the home until we were in high school. Magically, my parents provided for us, sent us both to Catholic school, and saved enough money to purchase property in Orange County, New York. When I was 21 my sister and I got our own apartment and my parents retired to their house upstate.

My early twenties I had moved to the East Village and my life was full of freedom and experimentation, after all it was the 70’s. I explored yoga, meditation, and vegetarianism. I primarily did office temp work while pursuing a career in modeling and took dance classes. I met many interesting and colorful artistic people and loved socializing with them. In the meantime, my little sister had gotten married and gave birth to identical twin girls.

In my later twenties I longed to have a child. My partner and I had broken up when I realized I was pregnant. We tried to patch things up but eventually it was clear to me that I would be a single mom. Giving birth to my daughter was a pivotal point in my life. When she was five months old we moved to live with my parents. My parents were delighted to have us there; sadly, my dad died a week after my daughter’s first birthday. While I was living there, I became a licensed cosmetologist and then moved back to the city with my four year old daughter.

As my daughter grew I realized that I needed a more substantial source of income. Since the birth of my child, I had been fascinated by the career of midwifery. At the suggestion of a friend, I decided to apply to nursing school because being a Registered Nurse was a prerequisite to becoming a certified midwife.

So, 18 years after graduating from high school, I enrolled in college, received my Associate Degree, passed my nursing boards, and became a RN. That was a great pivotal point in my life. I never did become a midwife but I had the opportunity of working alongside several of them in my position as a Labor & Delivery nurse.

Eventually, my interest moved me towards the specialty of Lactation Consultant. I pursued that certification and I had the honor of being the very first Lactation Consultant at my community hospital. All in all, my 30+ year career in the service of mothers and babies was very rewarding and I was able to provide my child with a comfortable life.

While I was a nurse, I seriously considered getting my Masters in holistic nursing as I have a great interest in approaching health from an integrative perspective. I was in the medical field but not of it.

It is my personal practice to use alternative methods such as acupuncture, eating organic foods, and using essential oils to treat myself and my family. Additionally, I deeply believe that the human body can heal itself and have always had an interest in spiritual healing traditions, metaphysics, and New Thought.

So, through my spiritual community, I was led to another pivotal decision in my life and enrolled in seminary to receive my “higher education”. I became an ordained Interfaith Interspiritual Minister not because I see myself leading a church, but because I want to help heal the world by being of service to my fellow humans regardless of religious traditions.

One of the main things I have learned in life and which was reaffirmed in seminary is that at the very core of all religions there is love. When we take away dogma, we have more in common than we think since we are each a unique expression of the Source of All Good.

Since my ordination in 2016 and my retirement from nursing in 2021, I have entered a new chapter in my life–I sold my condo and moved closer to my daughter and three grandsons. To be honest, I have had to make major adjustments to living on the income of my pensions and so was open to earning supplemental cash.

Three months into retirement I was presented with the opportunity of having a home based business in a network marketing company. The person I that initially invited me was a trustworthy source. After seeing the presentation and letting it mull for a few days I made a pivotal decision to join and build my business.

I have found that one of the hidden benefits of my new business is our community and its strong foundation of willingness to help and encourage fellow associates to succeed; self-development is highly encouraged as it is essential to growing a business.

When one of our leaders offered the opportunity to participate in an additional course to help develop self-confidence, I jumped at it. That led to Master Keys and I am so delighted to continue on my way to living my best life ever by getting rid of bad habits and replacing them with good ones.

So, as you can see, I have been blessed with many pivotal moments in my life–each and every one of them has taken me to a new level of self-awareness and personal growth. I believe that I have been and continue to be spiritually guided to take right action. This humble girl from the Bronx is ready to leave a legacy in honor of my parents and for the benefit of my future generations.