Today, I celebrate 5 decades of life, or like someone told
me, half a century. I am so blessed to have reach this age without any medical
issues. I am blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends and family that
support me and love me deeply. I am grateful for my life experiences, for
having my mom, my brothers, my grandma, cousins, aunts, uncles, and my boyfriend. I was raised
by powerful women, and I hope I have made you proud. I know you didn’t recognize
your power, but you were, and you transferred that power to every cell of my
being.
As I look back I am pleased to have reached the goals I have
set, and I feel I have been a good steward of the life God entrusted me with. As
I enter the second half of my life I thought of my children including Kassi and their struggles and stressors, and I decided to write some of the life lesions that I have learned in these 50 years, lessons that helped live a full and rich life. I wish someone would have reach out to me when I was 20 or 30 and told me
that things were going to be OK.
To my daughter’s (Stephanie, Hazel, Kiara and Kassi) and my son…you guys are my greatest gift! You
made these 50 years’ worth living. If I have a grandchild that will help me on
the next chapter (just saying).
1) Life is a journey, and every step brings us a
lesson. Do not live your life like you are finding a destination, as once you
get there your goals might be different and you may feel disappointed.
2) Life is a dance, sometimes you lead and others
you have to follow. Accept its rhythm and follow its flow, so it goes smoothly.
The music are your goals as they set the tone for that long and beautiful dance.
3) Always be humble. Do not fight for recognition as it depends on other’s views. Just follow your heart and that will be your reward, knowing you did the right thing.
4) Never forget the ones that helped you, the ones
that uplift you, those ones that are sometimes behind the curtain. Pay it
forward to others in their name and praise them because you were the chosen one
to get the gift of their support.
5) Live with purpose. Everything that happens in
your day should be purposeful, your comments, your interactions, your advice, your decisions…everything.
6) Clean the slate before new relationships and do not allow your life stories to become baggage and damage your future experiences.
7) Go away…be alone and enjoy the gift of solitude.
8) Do not allow anyone to put obstacles in your
path…ever!
9)
Do not allow others to write your narrative.
Your life story is yours and you should be the only author.
10)
Don’t expose your good deeds, do them in private
as God will reward you.
11)
Look at your life like a book and not just like
a chapter. Just like a book, you may not like every chapter but you may still
like the story.
12)
Never say no to a challenge as perhaps is a
missed opportunity for a great life lesson.
13)
Never get skewed by other’s opinions. Develop
your own... always!
14)
Listen more and talk less.
15)
Embrace your “flaws” like a chemical formula
where all molecules are important.
16)
Love yourself like no one, and make yourself a
priority.
17)
Put yourself first, so you don’t try to live your
life through others.
18)
Choose your battles. Not every battle is worth
fighting and sometimes by “losing” your win more.
19)
You will be judge unfairly; no everyone will
like you…just let it go.
20)
Honor your parents, and be a better parent than
they were.
21)
Teach others how to treat you.
22)
Respect your body, as you only get one.
23)
Do not make decisions based on guilt.
24)
Be grateful everyday as you are one of the lucky
ones that are alive to see it.
25)
Set your intentions every morning.
26)
Live by example and don’t expect from others what
you don’t give.
27)
Be with someone that allows you to be yourself.
28)
No breakup will break you, but make sure you honor
the past relationships as they brought something to your life. The ending of a
relationship isn’t a failure; the failure comes from dismissing the lessons
from it.
29)
Stand by what you believe, even if you stand
alone.
30)
Lastly, live…just live like every day is the last one!
I am looking forward to see what this decade brings me. My
intentions have been set and my goals have been written.
Thank you for making my life a wonderful and fun journey. The best is yet to come.
