Let Life Be Your Springboard

Not to sound cliché, but out of bad things, good things are born. In my case, the worst thing to ever happen to me was the death of mi madre- my beautiful mother. When she passed away, I thought I would die too. My grief was so profound that I could not look in a mirror without seeing her in my dark eyes. I picked up the phone to call her, constantly! But I could not call her. She was gone and I was lost. I was orphaned. I was an adult but I felt like I had been abandoned and nothing, absolutely nothing could soothe the aching and longing in my soul.
Then something happened. I heard her voice in my head. "Muchacha! No, té dejes apagar!" I got up off the sofa, grabbed my laptop, and started to write. I first wrote her a letter. I was so broken, so lonely, so consumed by loss, that I was angry at her. The next day I began to write my memoir. I wrote the dedication first because I knew what I was going to write and to whom... Mami y Papi. So, my lifelong dream of writing and publishing a book happened almost overnight. Three books later, I released the second edition of that memoir. Only this time, I hired an editor! My mother died and my dream of being a published author became true.
No. It did not come true. I cried as I wrote. As I unraveled, I began to deal with my grief and the result was a beautiful homage to my parents. The bravest souls I will have ever known... Rolando y Francia Paz.
Use life, the good and the bad, as a springboard to make something beautiful, to help someone else, and to live on as best you can.

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