Day one in the February blogging challenge! Here's my story, the shortest and sweetest version I could possibly come up with.
It started back in October of 1994. I was born in the middle of the hustling Texas Med Center in the wonderful city of Houston. Born and raised, I was a southern girl from the start. But even better, I was born to two wildly entertaining Hispanic parents. The combination of the culture I was raised in and the one I was born into is one of my favorite blessings. We settled in the picture perfect city of Sugar Land, a few minutes outside of Houston... where the only things sweeter than the name are the people!
I was baptized very shortly after exiting the womb and have been living the Catholic party ever since! When I was almost 5 years old, my family welcomed another baby into the world. My little brother, Danny, was born in September of 1999. He is, without a doubt, my absolute favorite blessing.
I started attending a non-parochial private school until I was old enough to start at Catholic School. Side story - I started reading early (which might explain my struggle with all things math/science). As a result, I moved up to Kindergarten a year early and needed to reach a certain age until St. Laurence would allow me to enter in the 2nd grade. I spent the majority of my grade school at St. Laurence, the home of the Saints. How creative, I know. But, it was home nonetheless. For years, I associated school with plaid jumpers and mass on Friday mornings.
Upon leaving St. Laurence, I went up a level in my "Catholic School Girl" status. I started at St. Agnes Academy, an all girls college preparatory high school. Yes, all girls. So much estrogen. People have their mixed opinions about St. Agnes, but I absolutely loved it. I also loved the fact that there was an all boys school right next door. This meant you could selectively decide when you did and did not want to see young men. Let me tell you, some days, sticking with girls is just much easier. While at The Academy, I got my first job, dabbled in theater, had a long term boyfriend, and served on the campus ministry team. High school was good to me, and for that I'm thankful.
In my junior year of high school, I also got confirmed. I was pretty interested in my faith at this point, so this was pretty exciting. Little did I know the graces that I was about to be flooded with! Another side story - I dig my confirmation name. Rose, from St. Rose of Lima. Check her out, she's fabulous.
My first semester of college sent me to San Antonio as I attended St. Mary's University. I could start an entirely new blog dedicated to all the lessons I learned during my first semester of college. I was blessed with wonderful roommates, incredible experiences, and a fantastic scholarship.
For various reasons (more on this later if necessary), I transferred to the University of Houston in January of 2013. The journey back to Houston was probably one of my most life changing events. I'll admit, it was a transition that came with a lot of fear. There was a lot of change going on. My new school would be 10x bigger than my previous one. I would be living on campus with brand new roommates. My three year role of "girlfriend" was over. My grandma who practically lived with us was becoming increasingly sick. You could say it was a little bit overwhelming. But, God is so great. Romans 8:18 is SO RIGHT, "The pain you've been feeling can't compare to the joy that is coming." God absolutely blew me away with blessings during my first semester at UH. My faith was set on fire. I fell in love with Jesus Christ deeper than I ever knew possible. I came to understand myself better, found my passions, explored my talents, and just embraced all the joys of life.
The rest of 2013 did not disappoint. I had the most productive and fun summer of my life. I worked as a camp counselor, started attending weekly bible study, became involved in the young adult ministry at my church, made new friendships, strengthened old ones, and got a killer tan!
By the time fall semester came around, I felt empowered. I had a clearer idea of what I wanted to pursue in terms of a career and a desire to grow deeper in my faith and help others do the same. I spent the fall semester praying for opportunities to put these passions into action. Of course, God doesn't disappoint. I'm happy to announce that I'm actively pursuing these goals, as well as new and exciting projects that have come my way.
Good job, people! You've managed to make it through my entire life story, almost! This is where I am now, living in the crazy chaos that is college. If these past 19 years have taught me anything it's that God loves us the most. Because of that, He has plans for us greater than anything we could ever come up with. Our plans will get messed up, our "perfect" lives will shatter. But when that happens, get excited. It just means He's about to surprise you with something so much better.
