When there is a will, there is a way!

I was touched by what my cousin Norma said on social media: “Because I’ve lived long and well, I’ve cried many tears of sadness, frustration, joy, and laughter. Today, I was suddenly overwhelmed after I posted my last law school “discussion board” assignment. It finally hit me that I accomplished this thing!

 

I was a teen mom. I don’t talk about this often because many memories are painful or stressful. Darren and I brought Brandon home in an old car seat donated by the hospital. The first couple weeks Brandon slept on the floor in a dresser drawer because we didn’t yet have a proper baby bed. We had no phone, and our immediate families were thousands of miles away in South America. 

 

I couldn’t graduate high school that year because we could not afford child care for those last two months of my semester. All the statistics showed that Brandon had a great likelihood of becoming a felon, but instead he became a dentist.

 

Having a baby before graduating from high school meant that I had small odds of attaining a college degree, and even less odds for an advanced degree. To compound matters, Latinos are among the least represented in the legal profession. There are fewer than 5% Latin lawyers, even though Latins comprise about 18.5% of the U.S. population. And Latina lawyers comprise less than 2% of the bar. I’m now just weeks away from a Juris Doctor.

 

The point of this is not for you all to give me an “atta girl,” (so please don’t 

). Instead, I just want to express that we can all defy bad odds and statistics. Our less-intelligent choices don’t have to define us permanently.

I am so grateful for all of you who are a part of the fabric of my life. In big and small ways, I was blessed with people who were role models, and encouraged and helped me at all stages: family, friends, acquaintances, employers, co-workers, professors, strangers. I’ve known many of you for a long time, some since my childhood. Nobody ever questioned my ability to succeed in anything. Your belief in me gave me confidence to believe in myself. 

 

From the bottom of my heart: thank you.” 

 

She is so right, she believed she could do it and did! 

 

Con amor,

Vero