Thank You!

Greetings Fam Bam!

After some thought and consideration, I have decided to "discontinue" this blog. What this means is that I will no longer update this blog, but will be updating the new one I have created. In my new blog I will share and post about my latest ventures. Thank you for following me all this time and I hope you continue to follow me wherever I go because I know I will! I will post an update on the new blog in the following days so stay tuned. Have a blessed day and I look forward to staying connected with you!

In Peace & Love,

Catherine "Alitza!"

Happy Mother's Day!

Mothers are amazing beings who selflessly give themselves to their children. They never ask for anything in return, but if they do it is that we do our best to become the best authentic version of ourselves. This Mother's Day was a special one because we were blessed with the opportunity to celebrate our mother and the amazing woman she is, as well as her good health.

I will never forget Friday, November 15, 2013. A month or two before the aforementioned date, my mother went to the doctor for her normal check up (she is a recovering diabetic) and shared with the doctor her concern for a bump she found on her neck. Due to the fact he could not diagnose her, he recommended her to receive a biopsy to determine what the bump represented. In other words, she needed to undergo surgery to determine whether that bump was benign or cancerous. I was confident that this bump that disturbed my mother's peace was nothing more than a benign growth. Days leading up to this intravenous surgery, my mother grew a bit scared and worried because she did not know what to expect and knew that her children meant the world to her. The day of the surgery came and I received a text that changed my life: "The growth is cancerous..." At that instant I wanted to cry and leave where I was so that I could be with my mom, but I couldn't. I will admit that I turned my chair around so that no one could tell that I shed a tear or two after receiving the aforementioned text.

I could have yelled in anger to God for giving my mom cancer because that is what the world wants us to do when bad things happen to great people. Instead, I gave Him all the praise and glory for blessing my mom, my family, and I. Her cancer represented a great opportunity to grow our faith and to love our mom now more than ever before. Her cancer is also a great reminder that nothing in life is promised nor guaranteed and as such should not take anything or anyone for granted. I also felt that God has a special plan and purpose for my mother's life through her cancer. Believe me, there are days when I want to cry in front of her and hug her because I cannot imagine my life without her. However, I remind myself that I need to develop my strength and faith in Christ because our mother needs us to be strong for her.

My mother is my biggest inspiration and will continue to be until God calls me home. She is the most resilient being that I have been blessed to know. There were days where I am sure she was pushed to the edge and wanted to quit on life, but instead looked to my brothers, sister, and I for strength to continue in her journey as a mother and as a person. I love her more than words can describe and I look forward to making her proud through my accomplishments and more. If you have ever wondered why I am so passionate and committed to my mission in life it is because of the woman that said yes to God and gave us life. My mother is the fuel to my dreams and goals. In the same way that my brothers, sister, and I are her inspiration to fight through her cancer, she is the reason why I fight to win big because I fight for my dreams and goals in her name.

Praise God that her cancer is not requiring any treatment as of now, although the doctors project that she will need treatment in the future. I have faith that God will heal her body and restore her soul with peace. Even if she does not make it, I am blessed to know that I have cherished every moment with my amazing mother, especially the love that she has poured on us and continues to pour unconditionally. Always remember that mothers are amazing and have a special place in our hearts.

P.s. What makes your mother amazing? Please share below! Your story deserves to be shared because there is someone out there waiting on you to change their life and make a difference.

Peace and Love,

Catherine Joann

Moving Forward: Year of Service

Greetings from the beautiful State of California!

My apologies for my disappearance! While I do not like to make promises I cannot keep, I commit myself to writing more often, especially after a surge of inspiration.

What I love most about celebrating a new year is the opportunity to reinvent yourself by taking your dreams and goals to greater heights. In the month of December, I received the opportunity to participate in the trip of a lifetime by visiting the Philippines with my classmates and colleagues from the University of Redlands. It was a humbling and life changing experience to say the least. Manila grew on me so much that I wanted to stay for another week. At the same time I began to think about my intentions for this new year and the great things that I can accomplish as a woman along with my family, friends, colleagues, and sorority sisters. As a result, my theme for this year is Year of Service.

In 2014 I am committing myself to really engage and live out my mission in life - TO EMPOWER PEOPLE TO BE THE BEST AUTHENTIC VERSION OF THEMSELVES. It was a mission God bestowed on me almost three years ago and while initially I was scared to live out my mission because I did not know how to live out what God called me to achieve, God spoke to me and said "Just walk, keep moving forward, you're going the right way." All I knew is that what had once been a vision all of a sudden became a mission and commitment to God to live out my life for others, in a similar fashion as that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Like I tell many of the individuals I encounter and speak with on a daily basis, my faith is a deep rooted pillar in my life. However, I share my faith with you not because I wish to convert you, but rather show you why my life is the way it is as a result of my faith. In fact, I would not have become the amazing, energetic, full of life, loving, and caring person that you see before you today. I live today because I have a greater purpose than me to achieve and accomplish before the Lord calls me home to be by his side.

These last few days I have been tempted to believe that I was selfish for choosing my dreams over the hopes and desires of others. The video that was recently posted by Patrick Bet-David really spoke to me and reminded that I was not selfish in choosing my dreams. In addition to the video moving me to tears, it is also a great reminder to the rest of us that we are all destined for greatness and its time to act to live out our greatness. We cannot accomplish our goals, much less make our dreams a reality if we continue to sabotage our own success. While it is true that life sometimes can become overwhelming, it is better to accept sooner than later that life will bring about some difficulties and challenges that will push us to our tipping point. Growth does not come without pain or challenges; when you encounter the aforementioned, it is a sign that you are growing.

This Year of Service will bring about great opportunities, joy, love, sadness, hardships, and resilience. All I know is that you and I need to both persevere and push until the end, until we cross that finish line. Besides life being overwhelming at times, human beings can sometimes be just as overwhelming and sometimes even annoying. Despite all that, I am still willing to serve, love, nurture, inspire, motivate, and above all, EMPOWER those people God puts in my life for a purpose. Sometimes what those people need is a bit of love and patience; we need to understand that not everyone comes from a similar background or lifestyle as ours.  It is from those individuals that we learn the most because they have some of the most amazing stories of hope and struggle that you will ever hear.

Lastly, give yourself the opportunity you deserve to live out your dreams because you owe it to yourself to be a very successful person. I believe in you and I have the utmost confidence that you will achieve greater things than your biggest critics will ever say about you. Have a blessed day!

P.s. Watch the video below and I hope that you understand why it moved me to tears. To Mr. Patrick Bet-David: thank you for the inspiration sir! Your message was a Godsend; it provided me with clarity and reassurance that I am moving in the right direction. 

Peace and love everyone!

Emotionally Exhausted

I have a dream

That one day

We're gonna work it out

"I Have A Dream"

Common featuring Will.i.am

For the first time I will admit to my own face that I have had better days.  In other words, I had a bad day; probably the worst of all the days since I was given my assignment.  I'm so overwhelmed and today I wanted to resign; FOR REALS! However, if I give up on my students, I will more than likely do what other people have done to most of them, which is walk out of their lives.  At the "tender" age of 14, many of them have had some of the worst reality checks that any human being can bear to experience.  People walking out on them; some may have never met one or both of their parents; homelessness and hunger; some may live with a relative that is not their parent; family immigration status in America; and some act up because no one has given them the opportunity to demonstrate their full potential, just to name a few of the things that some of my students are up against. Because structure is often non-existent in their lives, they resist it with all of their might.

I am determined to give them hope, peace of mind, security, and love through the structure I will build upon in my class.  But I'm not going to lie: I'm getting lazy because I would much rather sleep than think/stress about ways to make this a truly engaging and meaningful experience for us all. I'M NOT GIVING UP; I WILL PERSEVERE BECAUSE I AM A RESILIENT HUMAN BEING.

P.s. I watched "The Freedom Writers Diary" starring Hilary Swank in efforts to reignite my passion for teaching. There's a reason why God planted and embedded this seed deep within my heart. I will continue to hope and act upon all that I learn through my lessons, as well as through the feedback that I receive. It is time to get real and let my students know that because I care, I will not let them fail or do whatever they please in my class.  On the contrary, we will learn from each other and get through it together.  That is what a family is all about and a strong resonating theme embedded in the inspiration behind the diaries of The Freedom Writers.

Greetings Familia!

Greetings Everyone!

I have not had the time to update my blog as often as I can because... I HAVE A JOB TEACHING 8TH GRADE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS! The position has definitely forced me to step out of my comfort zone and trust God with the blessings he will bring upon my life.  It has been a tough emotional roller coaster, but I will not give just yet... or ever. Thank you to those of you who have been supportive of my journey as an educator. This is the beginning of my teaching career and God is just getting started. I am excited, nervous, hopeful, and human about my experience thus far. I will do my best to take advantage of the opportunities that God prepares and puts in my life. I pray that all turns out as it should and that with his blessing, I move forward with my life and with my educational pursuits to fulfill my mission. My challenge to you is to let God pave and lead the way for you. He has already prepared the blessings he desires to give you, but the question remains: how bad do you want it? A part of having faith is trusting God with your life, with your every being. He will never cease to amaze you, especially in our weakest points because that is when he strengthens our characters the most. Let him come into your life and you'll see what happens. Have a blessed day everyone!

Breakthroughs

About two months ago I made one of the toughest, most emotional, and most mature decisions that I have ever made. Some days are tougher than others and this is the first time that I openly discuss what has happened to me behind closed doors. I also felt God encouraged me to write my testimony and share it with the world. My mission in life to empower people to be the best authentic version of themselves is my drive and motivation to constantly strive to give it my very best.

During mass on Sunday, I had one of the biggest breakthroughs since the day I made my decision. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus instructs the Twelve and sent them out two by two to spread the Gospel, drive out demons, and heal the sick. The Twelve were only allowed to carry a walking stick, the tunic they wore, and the sandals on their feet. Jesus, however, did not instruct the Twelve on what to say to the people they met along the way. Instead, the Twelve only had their faith to rely on to get them through their journey. The best thing that Jesus could have told the Twelve was not to carry anything and sometimes that is the best thing that we can do when we travel. Sometimes when we travel through our own personal journeys, we collect baggage along the way. In fact, that baggage can get in the way of the blessings that come our way.

And then it hit me: when I was twelve, I fell truly, madly, deeply head over heels for my first love. He became my world and I easily fell into this "fantasyland" that our relationship would survive anything and everything. I would soon find out that controlling your significant other to get them to do what you want is not conducive to a good healthy relationship. According to my peers, whom I believed and whose advice I sometimes followed to the tee, the best way to keep your boyfriend in check and to keep him from cheating on you was to control his every move. My reality check came the day he broke my heart when he broke up with me. Nothing made sense and as a result, I cried for days and hurt for years. I never let that part of my past go and instead I attempted to move on from my past hurt through relationships and by engaging in flirtatious behaviors with others.

What I am trying to say is that I have been lugging around some of the heaviest emotional baggage for years and in order for me to truly move forward, I need to let go and forgive my past hurts. Due to our stubborn nature, we sometimes learn from the hurt we experience. My past has certainly humbled me and I will always remember those valuable life lessons. However, I will not let my past haunt, taunt, control, or dictate my future because my past has no business in my present. That part of me is officially over because today is a new day, a new opportunity to seize the day to reach my goals.

Someone asked me my plan of action in moving forward with my life in order to continue to learn, grow, and love myself. Thus, today I share with you what I have been attempting to do these past few weeks and what I will do as I continue to live my life in the way God intended me to live:

• Release my past hurt through my tears and forgive myself to move forward.
• Allow God's love to heal me through prayer.
• Write my thoughts in efforts to share my story of love, hope, and forgiveness.
• LET GO, MOVE FORWARD, AND LET NOT MY PAST HAUNT ME.
• Accept that I will  make mistakes along the way.
• Accept that temptation will make attempts to deter me away from my goals.
• LOVE MYSELF AND SHARE MYSELF WITH OTHERS.
• Continue to improve myself in order to be the best I can be TO AND FOR ALL OF MY LOVED ONES, INCLUDING AND ESPECIALLY FOR MY HEART.
• Recognize that I cannot travel this journey on my own and that I will need all the help, love, and support of my loved ones. 

I recognize that my flirtatious behavior has brought nothing but trouble and I want to move forward from that. All I need is God's graceful and merciful love in order to embrace and love myself for who I am. I also recognize my need to surround myself with positive and healthy relationships that will help guide and lead the way to my bright future. My ultimate leader, role model, and the person I aspire to be more like is Jesus. If I have made it this far it has been thanks to God's grace. I am forever grateful to you LORD.

Sometimes breakthroughs occur in the most unexpected moments. I am grateful indeed for the opportunity to write and share my story with you. I recognize that in order for me to truly move forward and accept God's blessings, I need to clear the clutter to make way for all of the wonderful things God has planned. I have hope that I will find my HEART and that my HEART will find me. To my HEART: persevere because I believe in YOU, ME, US.

Over the next few weeks, I will document my growth by sharing my story of hope. May it inspire you to reach greater heights and to share my story with those around you.

P.s. Thank you Rachel Luna for providing the inspirational posters that inspired me to write this entry! Check her out at The Tailor Made Life!

Greetings!

It certainly has been a while since I  last wrote, but alas I will finally share my thoughts and ideas with all of you. Some very exciting things lie ahead for me, one of which is my teaching career. One of my dreams will come true very soon and I hope to share with you my experiences of a new teacher, as well as a lesson of the day. By the latter I mean that I will share something I taught my students, something they taught me, or both. Thank you for all of the love and support that you have given me all this time and I hope you continue to follow me with your love and guidance wherever I go. Now is the time that I need it the most. Lastly, pray for me so that I may continue on the path that God has laid out for me to follow. Thank you very much and have a blessed day!

P.s. Feel free to comment on this post with ideas or suggestions for my next blog entry. After all, I was EMPOWERED to EMPOWER you to become the best AUTHENTIC version of yourself. ;)

P.s.s. Follow me on Twitter @AlitzaFIERCE

Peace & Love,

Alitza! FIERCE!

With my Heart in My Hand, Con el Corazon en la Mano

Everyday I show up to work, I do my best to give it my best shot.  Some days I show up and "think" I'm ready when really I'm not.  I'm tired of making excuses for myself because there is no reason I shouldn't come prepared and ready to go. Furthermore, I owe it to them to come ready, alive, and enthusiastic about my passion and mission - TO EMPOWER PEOPLE. Honestly, some days are tougher than others to fulfill my mission. Sometimes I want to give up, but that little part inside that outweighs all of my other fears, refuses to let me give up. 10/13/11.

I Don't Get It

Some days I feel the emotion is there, but other days I feel abandoned and let down. I do my best to give it my best at all times and it doesn't seem to make a difference, at least from my point view. Call me wrong or a liar, but these are simply my honest thoughts and feelings to the current state of affairs. Sometimes the void between feels cold, distant, and indifferent. In fact, some days I wake up very confused that I just want to throw in the towel. But that little voice inside my head won't let me rest, won't let me give up without a good fight. And I always wonder, how did it get to this? I reminisce about the days before hearts broke over disappointment. Oh how those were the happiest of times! Where are those smiles? those hugs? those emotions? that affection? A wise person once told me that we can't go back to what we were, but that we can only move forward. I want to move forward, but if that's not possible, then I must set you free like the butterfly, "Spread your wings and prepare to fly, for you have become a butterfly, fly abandonedly into the sun, if you should return to me, we truly were meant to be, so spread your wings and fly BUTTERFLY." So what's it going to be? THAT IS THE QUESTION.

Mariah Carey's "Butterfly"

Blog Readers! :)

To my fellow Blog Readers:

I have not forgotten about you! LoL! I have some blogs to post, just have not had the chance to post any recently. Now that I'm back in California, I will definitely have more time to post my thoughts and words of inspiration. Thank you for following along faithfully and for checking in often to see if I have posted a thought or two. Sending you lots of love, hugs, and positive energy your way!

God Bless America!