Today, yours truly hits the quarter-of-a-century-old mark. As I’m celebrating turning 25 in San Francisco, I wanted to share my reflections on what the past 24 years of my life have taught me—lessons I’ve learned, and am sometimes revisiting and reminding myself of.  

1. You are responsible for your own happiness. Fight for it.
2. Never take the good people in your life or your blessings for granted. Thank God for them before you fall asleep each night.
3. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
4. Taking well-calculated risks now and then is healthy and makes you feel alive.
5. Learning a second language lets you connect with just that many more people in the world. Do it.
6. Our grandparents are our sources into the past. Cherish them and all elderly as they’ve made it farther into this journey than any of us have.
7. Find what you’re passionate about and dedicate time to it daily.
8. Be the type of friend, partner, co-worker, sibling, etc. you want to have.
9. The grass may always be greener on the other side, but on your side you can always plant flowers. :)
10. Travel is the quickest way to give yourself a new perspective, and make you realize that your first-world problems, aren’t really problems at all.
11. Handwritten thank-you notes and love notes will never go out of style.
12. Be a renaissance man or woman. Know how to change a tire AND make a killer meal. (Hmm, might need a refresher course on that tire-changing thing, Dad!)
13. Respect the teachers in your life and their work. It’s one of life’s most under-appreciated professions and it’s 10X more difficult than what it appears.
14. If you don’t believe you can do it, you won’t. If you believe you can, you will. Simple. (Unless you’re believing you’ll sprout wings and fly…then I can’t help you.)
15. Dream, often. Make goals, but make them realistic too.
16. Keep your mind open to new ideas, people, places and experiences.
17. Even if you’re no longer a student, always continue learning. Teach yourself useful skills, read a lot, and find a mentor whom you can ask advice from. Furthering your education doesn’t have to mean dropping thousands on higher education.
18. Make the best of what you have, and never settle for less than you deserve.
19. Forgiveness is sometimes difficult, but always liberating.
20. Be nice to waiters, to the store clerk, and to all people in service positions. A smile and a thank you can go a long way to help them through their day. (Says the ex-grocery store bagger, hostess AND waitress!)
21. Find the beauty in simplicity. Appreciate the little moments.
22. The only whine worth your time doesn’t have an h.
23. Turn your wounds into wisdom.-Oprah (Couldn’t have said it better than this woman!)
24. Excuses only keep you further from achieving your goals.

As I’m off in the States traveling for a few weeks, catching up with friends and family, I hope you’ll check out the guest posts I have lined up from a few fabulous bloggers! Check back often for new posts :)

Today marks the birthday of a very special person in my life; my father. My childhood wasn’t exactly the same as every other kid in my classroom because most of them had both parents born and raised in The United States. My childhood holds memories of learning how to roll my R’s, saying a bi-lingual grace before dinner in English and Spanish, piñatas at birthday parties, and every few years, a trip to Mexico.

Family vacation in Hawaii.

I’ve always relished in the fact that my father being from Mexico made me different. I’ve felt an inexplicably strong connection to his culture for as long as I can remember, though in many ways, raised in the suburbs of Washington State, I was very separated from it. I have always been so proud that this man, with his mahogany colored skin, and big, booming voice with an accent that I could never hear, was my father.

Growing up, I always felt sad that my family in Mexico was so far from us, that I didn’t get to see them on weekend visits, nor on the majority of holiday gatherings. But more than anything, I felt sad that my dad was so far from Mexico. It wasn’t until I uprooted myself to Spain that I could truly even begin to understand the sacrifice my father made by leaving his country to make a better life for my mom, brothers and I in the States. Even if it meant being thousands of miles away from his own parents, siblings, friends and life in Mexico.

Our shared passion: fútbol.

My Dad has been living in the States longer than I’ve been alive. Whenever I have a bad day and I’m tired of being the guiri and I think I can’t take another minute of being away from my home, I think about my Dad, whose been doing it for nearly 30 years without ever complaining. Ever. He’s now lived more of his life stateside, than in his own country.

He did it so my mom could be in her home country near her family, so my brothers and I could have access to a great education; and so we all could be a bit safer. Now as the drug cartels have started inundating my dad’s hometown, I think if it wasn’t for the bravery of my dad to leave his life behind and start over again, to a land that’s not always the kindest to Mexicans, nor those learning English, our lives would be quite different.

So on this day especially, I think of my dad, as he spends another birthday out of his homeland and in his adopted home. I think of his funny farmer’s tan, his affinity for wearing socks with sandals and soccer jerseys, his contagious laugh, his wise counsel, his incredible homemade guacamole, his bear hugs and his big heart. And I’m so thankful.

Pops, gracias por todo. Gracias por tener paciencia conmigo, por ser mi “corrector ortográfico”, por tu amor incondicional y por aguantarme cuando te vuelvo loco. Espero que este día tan especial te traiga felicidad, risas y sonrisas. Te quiero mucho!