La Trenza del Barrio

The biggest challenge of my life has been this entire experience with my baby girl. It consists of soulmate love lost, yet a lifelong connection born of a new love gained. What would I change? Well...I cannot answer that. No one can. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. We all choose to live our lives in the manner in which we wish to experience it. And for me, I unconditionally accept that with all of my heart because of what I have gained. I truly found myself within this transformational chapter of my life. All of the challenges I have faced, all of the things that tried to hold me back, that tried to tear me down, that tried to destroy me, have made me see that life is what I make it as a result of those experiences. I have the power to look at any circumstances in my own way, on my own terms, with no explanations on how I choose to react to them required. I don't need anyone's approval. I just need mine. And I know that m

We have about two weeks until we end another decade. 2019 has certainly been a life-changing year. I had just returned home from Puerto Rico and Minneapolis in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve. While in Minneapolis, I finally got to work with my beautiful friend, Lars Kommienezuspadt, who I love so much! He was able to squeeze me into his schedule for a photoshoot at his home. I have followed his work for years, and knew that he would be the perfect artist to capture exactly what I was looking for. He is the best of the best! The promotional photos he took would be used for the character I was playing for a theater production I was preparing for. On my birthday, January 29 th , I invested in a project that I am very proud and excited to be a part of, even if just a tiny part as an executive producer. The short film, Grummy, is a gothic fantasy short film about a young girl's flight from an abusive childhood into the realms of her imagination. There are things in life that you

I have had so many conversations about motherhood with so many women. Most of them, in my opinion, have been negative in nature. It's not to say that any of these mothers are miserable. They just tell me the same things. I will never sleep for the rest of my life, I will not have time for anything, I will be tired for the rest of my life, I don't know anything about motherhood until the baby is here, I won't have time to clean the house, I won't have time to do laundry, I won't have time to cook, I won't have time for basically anything. And after all of what they have to say, they end with, "but it's all worth it." I tend to think of myself as optimistic. Lately, I have taken time to reflect on things I know still need healing. But I honestly do not want to start off being pessimistic. I know being a single mother will be challenging. But I also know that I do not want to plague my mind with thoughts of inadequacy. I'll have plenty of time f