I was born into a life of poverty, abandonment, abuse and neglect. I was born to a mother addicted to heroin, I was born with heroin in my system, I don’t know who my father is, my earliest childhood memory was living in abandoned apartment building where we had to put old food cans on the window seal when it rained just to get water to drink, I’ve been subjected to physical, mental, emotional abuse and molestation, I’ve been in and out of foster homes and I am the product of the adoption system. 

 

I spent most of my life battling against the fate the world predicted for me.  Early on, the world decided that given my background it was highly unlikely that I would become a productive member of society.  Despite my best efforts to prevent it, my childhood trauma eventually attributed to adulthood drama.  Somewhere along the way, despite my many accomplishments and professional success, I became my own biggest bully.  Outwardly, I projected confidence, strength, and courage, but secretly I struggled with self-esteem, self-confidence, self-worth, and even self-respect.  No matter what heights I would reach or how far I would go, I found myself suffering from imposter syndrome.  I wasn’t smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough or talented enough to really be deserving of true success.  After all, once you stripped away all the fancy titles, there stood the daughter of two drug addicts. 

 

In a world that had already been so cruel and unkind, I found myself being the one person that was most unkind to me.

 

It took time, effort, and a lot of self-reflection, but thankfully I learned how to be kind to myself.  It wasn’t quick, it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t linear.  Eventually, I had to change how I viewed myself, how I treated myself and the words I said to myself.  I was fortunate enough to realize that most of my issues stemmed from a lack of self-love. Once I realized that no one could replace the self-love that was missing inside of me, I learned to silence that voice in my head, rid myself of self-pity and doubt, regain my confidence and unleash the shero inside of me.  Today, I am a wife, mother, author, poet, international motivational speaker, leadership trainer, women’s empowerment coach, founder, and entrepreneur.