10 Things Most People Don’t Know About Me
I've been living my life, front & center of social media for over a decade now but how much do you really know about someone online?
Most people share the highlight reel or keep their sharing contained to things that have to do with their work, but for a decade, I've been letting you into my life - the good, bad, & ugly.
I'm sure there are many assumptions, expectations, and images that people have in their heads, but here are 10 things most people don't know about me...
1. Aquarius Sun, Cancer Moon, Aries Rising & I'm a Generator in Human Design.
I realize that half of the people reading this will have no idea what those things mean and the other half will be thinking: holy shit, I get her. I'm deeply Aquarian: independent, creative, and a bit of a dreamer in constant motion. With my Moon in Cancer, it means I'm deeply tuned into the needs of others with an innate urge to nurture, support, and protect. Then you throw in my Aries Rising, there's a passionate & competitive nature in me that wants to take charge with a little hot-headedness thrown in. I'm quite the cocktail.
If you're not familiar with Human Design, it's what I've been resonating with the most recently. You can take an assessment at myhumandesign.com to see what you are. The pieces that stand out to me, identifying as a Generator, is that I create my own energy. When I follow my joy and say yes to the things that genuinely light me up, it opens me up to more opportunity and I've felt that so deeply in my life. Especially in this current season. My focus is less about convincing people to live their lives and more about living my own and letting that speak for itself.
2. I had my first child at 18.
I remember thinking all through high school that I didn't wanna have kids. I saw what a burden it was on my parents trying to live their lives and felt like an inconvenience as I was growing up - I'm sure that wasn't my parents intention but it's crazy what we absorb. In May 2005 after graduating high school, I moved to the nearest city and settled in as an adult. In August I met the boy who would change the trajectory of my life and in October found out we were pregnant. In an instant, I fell in love with the growing human inside me and it was her, not him, that changed the trajectory of my life. What do they say? You grow up with your first child and you raise your second? That's exactly what happened.
3. I live with a permanent ileostomy.
In early 2016 I was diagnosed with mild Ulcerative Colitis and was told I'd need to be on medication for the rest of my life to manage it. Perhaps it's the Aries Rising in me but I thought - uhhh, fuck no - and became obsessed with healing on my own. I was in remission for about 7 months when I found out my husband was still using drugs, filed for divorce, found out my bank account was at $0, and became a single parent. I am a firm believer that unmanaged stress builds up in our body and creates dis-ease, and that's exactly what manifested in me. My "mild UC" turned into an uncontrollable flare that caused me to not be able to leave my home. I shared my full UC story in my March 2022 Newsletter if you want to read about it. Very long story short, within a year, I had a total Colectomy, removing my large intestine, part of my small, along with my rectum, and was giving an ileostomy. There's no removing it, no reversing it, simply accepting it.
4. I grew up in poverty, I've been bankrupt, and I made my first million by 28.
Please don't read this section as a boast, it's simply a "yes you can..." And honestly, I need to remember it also. I just had a conversation with my brother telling him, "Where you are isn't where you always have to be" and this rings true today just as it always has in every season of life. I have vivid memories of taking my $40 earned in tips from waiting tables at 15-years old and stopping by the grocery store on the way home to grab cereal for my brother & I so we could eat it for dinner. I worked to purchase my own cap & gown for graduation among other things because my family simply couldn't afford it. I lived paycheck to paycheck, and didn't really have a choice as my husband filed for bankruptcy in early 2013. I think that experience, realizing how low things were, lit a fire under my ass as I took my entrepreneurship to the next level later that year. Within a year, I had retired my husband and was earning a solid 6-figures annually. Within 2 years, I had moved my family to California to live on the coast while celebrating the first Million dollars earned in my business. I was hooked on entrepreneurship from that moment on and the belief I had in myself grew. I was convinced that "Where I was, wasn't where I always had to be."
5. I'm a tv show binger. When I start, I have a hard time stopping.
Sometimes I feel shocked by how productive I actually am because of the amount of binging I do on Netflix & other streaming services. Shows like Handmaid's Tale, Outlander, Heartland, Love is Blind, Married at First Sight, The Kardashians... these programs have like multiple episodes and numerous seasons, and I get so pulled into the stories and/or drama, it's hard to stop. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. I will watch while I cook, clean, do laundry, shower, brush my teeth, water plants... basically when I'm not working, I'm binging. But then, ya know, you finish the series and it feels like you don't know what to do with your life. At that point, I have to detox and take a tv break. Haha!
6. I was named after a stoner, hippy that my mom met in Sacramento, CA before I was born.
I mean, that's the story. That's all I know... People say all the time, "oooh, your name means Queen in Spanish!" and I think - yep, a queen, stoner-hippy.
7. I don't eat any vegetables & I hate coconut.
Because of my ileostomy, I have a hard time digesting vegetables. In fact, a year or so after my final surgery, I was in St. Louis in a hotel & I ordered a vegetable medley with dinner and the next day I was in the local hospital for a blockage. My body just doesn't process them, so I avoid them. I can juice, so that's typically how I get my "daily allowance" along with a superfood shake & whole foods. The coconut thing is random, it's like the only food I choose to not eat because of the flavor and texture, both. If it's got coconut in it or on it, I'm not eating it.
8. I'm an introvert and feel like I don't need anyone, yet a deep seeded fear is that I "cannot do life on my own."
This is just something random I uncovered in therapy. I'm an introvert, I love being alone, recharging alone... I'm a home body - I just enjoy my solo time. And then on the flip side, there's this deep rooted fear that I've had to work through of "I cannot do this on my own..." It might be my business, life, parenting, anything - I've got this urge like I need to find outside help or confirmation that what I'm doing is "right". However, when I get the help or guidance, I typically realize that if I simply would have listened to my intuition or inner voice, I had the answers all along.
9. If my job didn't depend so heavily on social media, I'd delete it and never return.
When I started my journey as an entrepreneur in 2013, sharing on Facebook was just what we did. I didn't have Instagram at the time but got it soon after. The rule of thumb for growing our business was to post to FB or IG 3-5x/day. It was typically a combination of a food picture, inspirational quote, workout photo, behind the scenes, or family. The idea was to connect with people and allow them to see your vulnerability along with the value of whatever I was selling or promoting. When snapchat and IG Stories came out, it took everything to another level of vulnerability and story telling. I shared it all online... as I went through business building, divorce, illness, single parenting, dating - I was "raised" in this world thinking I needed to let people in, in order to be successful and while it worked to an extent, I constantly think about: at what cost? Constant criticism, comparison, opinions - while social media can be a beautiful place, it can also be so nasty. I've spent years building a wall to prevent the negativity from slipping in yet it cannot always be prevented. I'm currently in the middle of a "social media break" and it's justifying this thought I have of, damn if my business didn't depend on sharing via social media, I wouldn't go back...
10. My love for animals runs deep, on a soul level and I believe they're part of my soul purpose.
I believe my dogs helped me slow down and my horses have helped me trust. I was thinking about this the other day. Dexter (my 9yr old Maltepoo) has been with me since 2014, we got him for my daughters for Christmas that year and he's been by my side ever since. From Kansas City to California to Denver; through divorce, illness, single parenting and dating... he's been with me through it all. In fact, I feel a deep soul connection with him that was confirmed by an Energy Healer that we've been together in 5 lifetimes. Archie (my 3 year old Golden Retriever) came into my life during one of the darkest seasons of my life. He truly helped me slow down and be more present in my life after finding out he had severe development issues in his legs. After 3 years with him, I believe he's here to help me with my mission in life. I got him registered and trained as a Therapy Dog and we have been spreading as much K9 love as we can in hospitals, schools, and airports.
My horses have caused such incredible expansion in my life. I used to ride horses with my Uncle when I was 9 till about 13, I remember feeling so free and alive when I rode. When I broke up with my long-term boyfriend, I had the urge to do more things for myself and I felt the want to get involved with horses again. So in late 2021, I signed up for horse riding lessons once/week. I learned how to breathe, control my energy, and carry myself in a more intentional way working with horses. In late 2022, I had the opportunity to adopt my own. I met him when he was 19 days old and it was love at first sight. He brought me so much joy and helped me gain so much self-awareness & trust in myself that I named him "Joey" meaning "Joy, slowed down." In this process, I felt a love like I've never known. Almost a year later, in August 2023, I had another opportunity to adopt the horse I had been riding for riding lessons, Cesar and my heart exploded. Cesar, my gentle, grounding giant and Joey, my energetic joy, together have created so much personal growth, expansion, and trust that I have a hard time putting into words. I was told by the same Energy Healer that my souls mission in this life is to share the interconnectedness between humans and animals. I feel it deeply... in fact it's become a big part of my vision and what I want to create in my life. I shared that in my September 2023 Newsletter if you'd like to read more about it.
Chances are, you learned something new about me or my real hope is that it helped you learn something new about yourself.
