My Story: From a Tiny Island Girl to the Woman I Am Today

Hi love,

If you're reading this, thank you. Thank you for wanting to know more about who I am and where I come from. It means a lot to be seen. Not just for where I am now, but for the long, winding, sometimes painful, but deeply beautiful journey that brought me here.

I was born and raised on a small island off the coast of Honduras called Utila. It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other, the sea is never too far, and the breeze carries both laughter and history. My mother, Glenda, a Garifuna woman who migrated from the mainland, and my father, Hoyt, a local Black man deeply rooted in the island. I grew up with one older brother, Hoyt Jr., 13 years my senior, and even now, he’s still my best friend.

As a little girl, the beach was my playground. I’d go often, letting the waves speak to parts of me I didn’t yet have words for. But even in all that beauty, there was a quiet struggle growing up. I had a hard time finding — and accepting — my identity. Surrounded by whiteness, I often felt the weight of being "othered," of not being enough, of not quite fitting the mold. That confusion and tension stayed with me well into my teenage years.

At 16, I left Utila to go to high school in La Ceiba. I attended an Evangelical school called Bethel, and that chapter changed everything. For the first time, I felt seen. I felt loved, respected, and safe. My peers embraced me for who I was, and a light inside me began to grow.

One I hadn’t fully realized was even dim.

I graduated in December 2011, just a couple of weeks before my 18th birthday, and made a big move to the U.S. I left Honduras full of nervous excitement to attend Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. I was ready to take on the world, even if I didn’t quite know what that meant yet.

Boston was cold, both in weather and in culture, but I had Alicia, a beautiful soul who took me in and treated me like a little sister. She helped me apply for college, get my visa, gave me a home, and helped me navigate a world that often felt unfamiliar and overwhelming. Her daughters, Gwen and Gris, were in elementary school at the time, and we quickly became a little family.

They were my home away from home.

After graduating with an Associate’s Degree in Psychology, I was ready to experience a new chapter, so in 2014, I moved to New Orleans to live with my best friend, Edith and her family. After four months, I got my own place, a huge step for me. However, because I was still on a student visa. I wasn’t legally allowed to work. So I enrolled at the University of New Orleans in 2015, hoping to continue my studies. But as an international student, I didn’t qualify for financial aid, and the cost became too much to bear. After one year, I had to drop out.

That was a hard moment. I made the decision to stay in the U.S. without legal status and worked as a server and babysitter to support myself. I was doing what I had to do to survive. During that time, I married someone to gain legal residency, but the marriage quickly fell apart. It was abusive, filled with darkness, addiction, and fear. I only stayed four months; that’s all I could take. But even after I left, he agreed to continue with my immigration process in exchange for money. I paid him $8,000 and with that payment came not just paperwork, but a promise I made to myself: to never settle for less than peace again.

That’s when I started to find my voice. I worked three jobs, lived in a small studio apartment, and rebuilt my life. Not just on paper, but in spirit. I finally received my green card in February of 2021, and by August of that same year, I filed for divorce.

Life, in its beautiful way, surprised me. I fell in love again — with a man who is everything I ever prayed for. Michael and I have been together for six years now, married for one, and I’m also blessed to be a stepmother to two incredible children, Fatima (14) and Zion (12).

Becoming a stepmother was one of the biggest steps in my life. When I met my husband, he was raising his two children on his own. From the very beginning, I knew that saying yes to him also meant saying yes to them. Not just in words, but in presence, in patience, and in love. I wanted to show up fully for them, to be a safe and steady part of their lives, while also being careful not to impose or overstep. Even today, I am constantly learning how to love gently, how to support without overwhelming, how to create space for connection while honoring their individual journeys.

Together, we made the choice to leave the U.S. and move to Portugal, searching for a life with more peace, safety, and simplicity, especially for the kids. The constant tension, racism, and gun violence in the U.S. no longer felt like something we wanted to live through, let alone raise children around.

In December of 2024, I graduated from Brenau University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. A full-circle moment for the girl who once left her whole life behind in pursuit of an education.

Today, I work as an English teacher, and I’ve been doing it for over five years now. I love what I do — not just because I teach language, but because I get to help people build confidence, grow, and open doors for themselves.

That’s what lights me up: helping others become the best version of who they’re meant to be.

But even more than that, I’m a woman deeply rooted in spirituality and self-growth. In my free time, you’ll find me walking in nature, lifting weights, doing yoga, meditating, or tending to my jungle of indoor plants. I love to journal, to sit with my thoughts, to grow with intention.

I feel most alive when I’m connected to the Earth and to myself.

And now, I’m ready to find my community of women who believe in rising together, who empower and uplift each other, who know that healing doesn’t have to be lonely. I’ve lived many lives within this one life. And if my story can remind someone else that transformation is possible — that freedom is possible — then every part of it was worth it.

Thank you for being here. I see you. I honor you. And I’m so glad we’ve found each other.