“To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.”
– Theophile Gautier
A month ago, I lost my dear friend Leana. One of the most caring and smartest beings that I have ever had the honor to be friends and work with. I used to call her my consultant, she was my hotel roommate, my travel pal, my partner in crime, my neighbor, my favorite Nica, my light warrior, and much more. She made me her sidekick in endless adventures, and I will be forever grateful for that and for everything I enjoyed and learned from her.
Leanita became my family and made me part of hers. She opened her house to us the same way she opened her heart, with no reservations. We enjoyed our friendship to the max, since day one. She was an amazing, fun, thoughtful friend.
As my other dear friends Melissa and Ana said: “She was loved, valued, and respected”. An inspiration to everybody around her. She taught me valuable lessons of love and integrity until the end: Loving her was respecting her. She knew that I felt both for her. Quoting Theophile Gautier above: I loved her with all my mind and admired her with all my heart. She knew that, and so did our families, friends, colleagues and clients.
She will always live in me. Her smile, her laugh, her professionalism, her passion for the entertainment industry, her respect for the craft, her style, her wit and wisdom. She will live attached to my heart like the beautiful orchids she gave me once for my birthday, now blooming in my patio attached to the mango tree.
I will always love you my friend. Thanks for sharing it all.
How are you preparing to finish it with a bang / in a high note?
I hope you are well, that this post finds you in good health and spirit and that you are safe wherever you are considering everything that has happened around the world lately. Please consider volunteering and/or donating to the causes closest to your heart.
It’s been a while since my last post. I barely shared a few articles on our Facebook page. I have missed you, writing for you, connecting with you.
Last year was life-changing: After four years living in Nicaragua, I moved back to the United States, to my beloved Miami (It’s been over a year already, and I still owe Lia Seirotti a post about that-coming soon, promised!).
The move happened fast. We became homeowners. I thank my husband for doing most of the research and paperwork. I limited myself to following the great tips in this article by my talented friend Zania and contacting another great friend Oscar Terán as a realtor. The rest was signing a mountain of documents and we are still choosing furniture!
Once again, I was ready to conquer Miami. To recover my space, my work, my friends, my life. Not that I had lost them, but I definitely needed to reconnect.
They were all priorities. Work took over though. I started getting hired for Public Relations and Entertainment Production projects, it felt like I had never left and it was a great reassuring feeling. Fun projects took me to some of my favorite destinations while pulling me away from blogging, writing and social media, as I always strive to respect the time of my clients and the privacy that they deserve.
I also went back to school for my Professional Coaching Certification. I am still offering complimentary coaching calls, please don’t hesitate to contact me and take advantage of that.
While all this was happening, I was simultaneously “working” on my health. I had been dealing with a hormonal imbalance that not only affected me physically but also emotionally as it directly conflicted with the deepest desire of my heart. I turned 34 in the middle of unpromising fertility diagnosis and felt like there was nothing to celebrate. I was wrong. More on that soon. In the mean time, if you plan to have children, please ask your doctor if you can start taking folic acid daily. You and your future babies can thank me later.
Family and work kept me busy and entertained with exciting and all-consuming endeavors, including touring with a rock band in South America and other trips to new places and revisiting old ones. I kept it all to myself, absorbed it, digested it and now I am ready to share it. Stay tuned for upcoming travel blog posts.
The election results also affected my blogging persona. I realized once again the power of media, considering that a product of it had become president, and I felt even more responsible for what I was creating and sharing. It paralyzed me for months. Still not over it, but I have decided to transform fear and empower myself through it instead. That’s another reason why I am back.
Four days after publishing our latest post, I received the miracle that I had been praying for. Long story perfect for a future post. Just know that “When Jesus says yes, nobody can say no”.
Earlier this year we also lost two of our beloved contributors: Alfonsina Ferreira and Godelena Segura. I deeply miss them, their smiles, their energy and their wisdom. I am grateful for their lives and souls and the valuable time that we spent together.
Take this post as a relaunch of this blog. I am back and with so much to offer. I want to write posts that have a lot for you in them. I can’t promise frequency and regularity, just content that will make you content. In that order, I would love to hear your ideas. What would you like to read about? Please let me know as soon as you can.
Thanks in advance for sharing this post with your family, friends and colleagues!
One of the things that I enjoy the most in life is to be surrounded by creative people. I like them even more when they are young and they become my favorites when they have a positive attitude and they use their work to spread it.
As a production professional and a strong believer of the message of this piece, I am happy and proud to share with you the short film “NICA” about a mid-20’s young man trades in his dismal 9-5 lifestyle in an urban metropolis for a “simpler life” thousands of miles away.
One of my goals in my thirties is to never stop learning, especially from those younger than us!
Even though as a teenager you may feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders you must know that the best is yet to come. You are still very young and naive and that is good. You must let time give you gills and courage. You are strong and beautiful and every decision you have made in the past as well as those that you will make in the future will shape you in unimaginable ways. I wish for you to be happy and free. So for that, I give you the following words of advice.
Congratulations on being such a responsible and disciplined student. Those two traits will get you very far in life especially during your 20’s. Those two traits will also be your downfall. You will work tirelessly and you will soon figure out that you cannot work without a purpose. In order to have a purpose you need to live with purpose. You may not know what it is now, but you will find out. Time will grant you that gift.
Keep saving your money. You won’t always manage it correctly, but for the most part, you will be frugal and wise with it. In fact, you are so good with money that you will help others learn about the value behind it. If you live within your means everything will be alright.
Don’t search for love in those that can’t return the emotion. Love will find you unexpectedly and it will be the kind of love that you never imagined existed. It’s truthful, pure, imperfect, effortless, real and incapable of harm or hurt. It might just be under your nose. Just remember, if you want to experience love at it’s highest level, you must surrender to the emotion when it comes to greet you.
It’s ok to break the rules every once in a while. And guess what? You will. All in good faith. Know that some rules don’t apply to you and it’s ok if you differ. And you must differ since no rule book is intended to be “one-size-fits-all”. You will take risks in life that will scare you, but they will all be worth it in the end. You’ll be fine.
Zania, you will discover that music is not your life. You will figure out that the reason for your voice is that you have one. Your voice is your instrument for conveying a message of hope and service. You will inspire through your voice whether in song or not.
You don’t need to prove to anyone that you are an artist. You just are. In fact, you don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Don’t sing because you are told to. Sing because you want to. Sing because you are happy and it makes you feel good. That will make all the difference.
You know how you’ve already picked family weekends at the beach over parties or staying over at friends’ houses? That doesn’t change. To you, family always comes first. Nature is also the reason why you love the water, wind and sun so much. It feeds you. It speaks to you. It syncs with you. Go out to nature when you need to recharge. All you need to do is look outside.
Don’t be so worried about what the future will bring. It’s ok to prepare and plan ahead, but don’t try to think too far ahead because there comes a point where the horizon gets blurry. That’s ok. Some things are better left to the unknown. Experience will light your way. You have your feet on the ground and a good head on your shoulders. Don’t be so hard on yourself and don’t give up.
Your love for your brothers will remain to be like a steel chain. Help them out and ask them about their life. Get them to talk to you. They look up to you and you should open up to them. You three together have an unbreakable bond that will last a lifetime. Be vulnerable with them. You will only benefit from it.
Know that you are very much like your parents. Both of them. Don’t you ever deny that. They have taught you well and because of them you will grow up to be self-reliant and filled with love. Make sure to hug them and let them know how much they mean to you. Love them as they have loved you.
Know that the love of your life is alive and unknowingly waiting for you. He is tall, handsome, smart and sensible. He makes you a better woman and he doesn’t judge you. He loves you, respects you and supports you. He will fight for you and always treat you right. He sees you. He feels you. He lives for you. You picked the right one. Your heart knew that all along.
Live everyday in the presence of love and gratefulness and you’ll see that life is really just about that. You get what you give. No drama. Just love.
I hope these words of advice challenge you and make you think. However, in the end, you can take this letter, crumple it up and throw it away because everything explained here has already been done. You did it. You did it without a rule book. You did it on your own and you survived. You moved mountains and you were great at it. You let love conquer you. You loved in return. You grew up. You are compassionate, you are strong as hell, you are vulnerable and openminded and you are capable of being in touch with your inner voice. Your soul is pristine and at peace. You know you are special and unique. You are meant to be great. And you will be. But give it time and work hard. You’ll figure it out. Best of all, you’ll be ok because your #1 fans will always be there for you and it’s ok to lean on them once in a while. Don’t pretend to be an idea of someone else. Just be your true, authentic self and you’ll see how life will surprise you. Go out there and breathe.
Zania, count on me for anything. I will always be with you, protecting you.
Xoxo,
You, at the sweet age of 30.
NOTE: Remember that we are interested in reading about your experiences being 30+!
