5 Women Who Shaped Me

In honor of Women’s History Month, I decided to share a personal post about 5 women who have shaped me into the woman I am today. We all have the power to impact others and these women have done that for me. I hope this post allows you to reflect on the women who have impacted you in one way or another.

As I reflect on my life, I feel grateful to have this platform to be able to share some of my personal experiences with you. I feel like this is the perfect time to highlight some of the women that have made a major impact in my life. These women have shaped me by not only seeing me and believing in me but they have also been there for me in so many ways.

First grade teacher

One of the first women who have shaped me into the person I am today is my first grade teacher. Teachers have the ability to influence children from a young age being that kids spend most of the day in school. Mrs. Fernandez is one of the first people who made a positive impact on me. She was the first person who believed in me and in my potential.

I remember her feeling like a second mother to me. Challenging me by selecting me as one of 3 students in our class to have additional time with a tutor to learn English. She also signed me up to participate in the Girl Scouts program. Being a daughter to immigrants, my parents did the best they could but they didn’t know how to support me in my educational journey. I was lucky to have a wonderful teacher that cared so much about her students.

Mrs. Fernandez made me feel seen. Something I didn’t feel too often at home as the middle child living in a house full of many family members at the time. She helped me begin to believe in myself and that was something I ended up taking with me throughout my life. Because of all this and more, Mrs. Fernandez is one of the women who shaped me into the person I am today.

First friend of a different background

As mentioned previously, I began my educational journey being a part of the ESL (English as a second language) program. For my first years of elementary school, all of my classmates looked and sounded like me. It wasn’t until the fourth grade that I had an English speaking teacher along with classmates from different ethnicities. It was a new world to me that came with many challenging moments.

My first caucasian friend, Cindy, impacted my life in so many ways. I still remember the first time she called my house to ask if she could come over. I was home alone with my sister and I didn’t know what to tell Cindy. That was the first time she visited and she became a sister to us after that.

Cindy motivated me to strive for more. She inspired me to get better grades in school and to become more involved in extracurricular activities. For instance, she pushed me to try out for our middle school’s volleyball team with her even though I didn’t think I’d make it. I was shocked to see my name on the list along with hers. We remained best friends for many years until adulthood. I’m sad to say Cindy passed away a couple years ago. She will always have a special place in my heart and my memories of her will stay with me forever.

College roommate

The next woman who shaped me into the person I am today is my college roommate. Being the first in my family to go to college was one of the most challenging things I’ve experienced. It didn’t help that I attended a small state school in an Amish town with a lack of diversity. Luckily, I was a part of a program that supported First-Gen college students and that’s where I met Cristina. After meeting her, she became my roommate for the next 3 years till we graduated college together.

Cristina became like a sister to me during our college years. She is one of the funniest and smartest people I’ve met, with a lot of street smarts. We basically became adults together and navigated so many life changing experiences that shaped both of us. By being her true self, Cristina inspired me to accept myself as I am as well.

Sister

The next woman who has shaped me into the person I am today is my older sister, Mari. Mari is a year and a half older than me and although we are different in so many ways, we’ve always remained pretty close. I’ve always felt really lucky to have had an older sister who has been there for me at all times. I got to learn from her mistakes (particularly during our teenage years), which saved me from getting in trouble myself.

Mari is one of the few people I go to for advice (that I actually follow). She is my go-to not just for fashion advice but also for serious life decisions because she knows me the best. I am so grateful to have her in my life and even more grateful for all the times she has been there for me and helped shape me into the woman I am today.

Mom

The final woman who has impacted me is my mother. My mom is the kindest, most loving person I’ve met. Our whole family can agree with that. My mom has done the best she could to raise my siblings and I and although she couldn’t provide the time or attention she wanted to, she always loved and cared for us beyond anything else.

Some of the things I’ve learned from her are compassion and empathy. She never needed to verbally teach me those things. I learned those values from simply observing the way she is, and for that I am beyond grateful. My mom has taught me to be kind and to always see the best in others. I wouldn’t be the person I am without her.

Final thoughts

One final thought I have on the 5 women who shaped me into the woman I am today is that they have all accepted me for who I am. I am so grateful for all of them. There’s obviously more women I didn’t get to highlight in this post and I’m hoping they know who they are, but for the sake of time and the length of this post, I decided to focus on these five.

Let me know your thoughts on this post! Who are the women who have shaped you into the amazing mujer you are today? Feel free to DM me on Instagram at any time. Also, follow me on Tik Tok! Yes, your girl is on there now. And finally, make sure you sign up for my newsletter so you never miss a blog post or other updates! Thank you for reading!!

Let’s work together!

• If you’re really ready to create the life you want
• If you want to increase your happiness and feel more confident in who you are
• If you want to trust yourself more and live on purpose

I can help you! Schedule your clarity call to work with me HERE!