my new friend

Daily writing prompt
Describe a man who has positively impacted your life.

This was a really hard prompt for me to answer because, believe it or not, despite what you read on my blog, there have been a lot of men who have positively impacted my life. I think I’ll talk about the most recent one whom I became friends with this year. I met him at open mic years ago, but it wasn’t until this year that I started talking to him. So in January of this year, I was going through this major depression and for some reason, I started reading his book of poetry he gave it to me at open mic sometime in 2022. His book really resonated with me because his poetry has a lot of dark humor along with these raw feelings that hit you in the gut. I have to say that the only thing that made me laugh or smile on some days was reading his poems. I think it helped me cope with these really intense feelings of despair I was having. I probably should write a review about the book at some point, haha. I won’t tell him, though, cause that would be embarrassing. Anyways this year, I got to know him as a friend, and I liked that his communication style is straightforward and without any bullshit. He kind of called me out on my energy drink addiction, and that’s part of the reason I quit drinking them. I respect him a lot because he’s honest and authentic about who he is. He’s the kind of person who doesn’t care who likes him or doesn’t like him.He’s also provided me with books about poetry so I can improve on my craft and that’s been super helpful.I think I would call this friendship a reparative friendship with a man who I can trust and well, given my history, I haven’t had many of those so it’s nice. With all that being said, I hope this friendship continues into 2024. Below is a link to my friend’s book.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/darwins-book-of-saints-alexander-johns/1128994557

that bitch was brave

little me being brave with my leg braces
Daily writing prompt
Tell us one thing you hope people say about you.

maybe my traumatic birth set the tone for the many rebirths I’d have
I’m the cat with more than nine lives
I’m the phoenix who always rises from the ashes
I’ve been through so many rebirths and transformations
It’s almost comical or maybe it’s brave instead
because I’ve always been able to get back up
no matter how catastrophic the fall has been

8/22/22

Sharing my story

Me at open mic last month

What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? Why?

I’ve taken off my mask and stop repressing my true self-
And while it’s terrifying at times, I show the world my authenticity
and vulnerability
I share the parts of my story that are terrible, happy, sad, lovely, crazy, beautiful, and tragic
so others don’t feel alone and find solidarity
in my chaotic and bicultural story of love, rage, defeat, hate, and resilience
And bring to light my rich and vivid experience of the duality of being a rooted and rootless,
Peruvian and American, a hateful and kind woman living her life fearlessly and shamelessly

4/24/23

Words

Me with my boys at my niece’s QuinceΓ±era

Who are your current most favorite people?

My favorite words are my sons names

names that taught me about patience

and unconditional love

names that have made me get up

when I didn’t want to 

names that fill me with faith and hope

when I’m about to lose it

names that make me want to become 

a better person than I was yesterday

names  I live for  

names  I would die for 

7/6/22

reflection

me and my beanie against the world in January of this year
Daily writing prompt
What are you most proud of in your life?

I reflect a lot on who I was, who I am, and who I will be-
and I’ve reach the conclusion that I’m proud of all three versions of me
Constantly fighting my demons no matter how viciously they came after me
Constantly reinventing and rebuilding myself even when the chaotic earthquakes
of life broke me apart
I reflect on the goddess, the beast in me who always refuses to give up
who continues to get and keep going no matter how hard life tries to break me down

1/19/23

Another One

Bpd life be like…

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

trying to avoid self-destruction. I do everything in my coping toolkit
and since nothing works
I just allow myself to feel-allow my inner critic to win for a bit
I can’t keep fighting my negative thoughts –
they need to be heard and acknowledge
my fears who feed my anxiety telling me I’m crazy
and I’ll never be worthy of anyone
and I listen and cry to my bully within
I allow her to keep going until she starts getting tired
and slowly, I shut her out
at least for a while until another depressive spell happens

10/10/22

ride a motorcycle

Daily writing prompt
What could you try for the first time?

Oxapampa, Peru

I’d love to ride a motorcycle for the first time in Oxapampa, Peru. It’s something that used to seem so scary to me but when I saw whole families riding motorcycles in Oxapampa in April on this year, I thought I want to do that. I’m sure I can make this happen on my next trip there.

God’s Love

Daily writing prompt
What motivates you?

I nurture my soil with love and everything that makes me smile
Excitement stirs inside of me thinking of all my untapped potential
and the poems and stories that are yet to be written
The soil I step in is solid and I am grounded and calm
Is this what’s called God’s love?

goal setting

Daily writing prompt
How do you plan your goals?

I plan my goals according to what I want to achieve and what will bring fulfillment and joy to my life. I keep a google doc of lifetime goals with lofty goals like owning property in the U.S and Peru and traveling to all 7 continents. Here’s a preview of it:

Get published in more online or print publications
I will get a translation certification from Arizona University
My Spanish will be more fluent than ever
I will go to Oxapampa-4/2/2023 (goal accomplished, yay ME!)
Travel to Asia
Own property in Peru (preferably in Oxapampa -a house with farmland)
Travel to Mexico (Frida Kahlo’s house)
Go to Montgomery, Alabama-Zelda Fitzgerald’s house

I also have a short term goal list I make every year but also continue to revise them every time I start a new journal. Here’s a preview of it:

  1. Improve on my craft
  2. Improve my credit score
  3. Budget way better (no take out, no amazon, no impulsive spending)
  4. Limit drinking alcohol
  5. Get a better second job or get a first job that pays me way more
  6. Don’t get on stupid dating apps until after July 15th 2023-still not on any of them, yay me!
  7. Don’t date -killing it by living a chaste life -8/18/2023

I want to add that I’m very intentional with my goals and when I start to feel stuck or stagnated in my life, I will revisit them and see which goals I’ve achieved and making progress on and which ones I need to work on. I think that having goals have given my life purpose and keeps me moving forward. Some years have harder than others to set goal, I remember in 2019 I had two goals: survive 2019, have more compassion for myself. So really, it doesn’t matter how many goals you have or what kind of goals they are, the only thing that matters is that they help you evolve and bring fulfillment to your life.

narcissist

but he is my favorite narcissist
Daily writing prompt
What is a word you feel that too many people use?

no, Susan or Ken, your ex wasn’t a narcissist, they just got tired of your bullshit. honestly, though, we need to stop arm chair diagnosing people with this word. it’s turning into a “catch all term” to make us feel better about ourselves when a relationship ends or we have a fallout with someone. I’ve been accused of it and I’ve accused others of it and it just made things worse. So, yeah, let’s stop using the word “narcissist” unless we are a legit mental health professional or we know for sure that person has been diagnosed as a narcissist.