1990- The first picture is a framed moment in time that has a very deep underlining complexity to it. Holding my hand is my mother; an immigrant woman that made the arduous journey (along with my father) from her homeland in Guatemala to the United States in the mid 1980s in order to build a more prosperous future for herself and her family. My life then would entail many aspects of what lower/person of color socioeconomic levels of our population has to endure: poverty, violence, intersectionality barriers, and very low chances of making it to the golden “American Dream.”

Fast forward to the present. It is June 21, 2020. I am a war Veteran of both OIF and OEF, an alumnus of the School of International Service at American University, and currently work for the United States Department of State here in Washington DC at the highest levels of our diplomatic affairs. I live with my boyfriend, who is an attorney, and two Siamese cats, who are full-time nappers, in Arlington, Virginia.  I am also currently in school going for my master’s degree in international relations and global security.

Having traveled to almost every corner of the world (Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Canada, Republic of Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan) and to many states within the US (Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota), I can say without a doubt that, my outdoor experiences in every single region I’ve been to has balanced my humble beginnings. This sets the premise for my blogs going forward.

Thanks for reading!