Breaking Free: Forging Your Own Path

It’s okay to be the outcast in the family. I grew up in a Mexican household with four generations of trauma. For a long time, I felt the weight of those unspoken expectations and the pressure to conform. But I chose a different path: I was the first to graduate high school. I was the first to put myself through college. The first to leave Southern California for wilder scenes—Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Washington. The first to seek therapy and healing modalities. The first to travel the world. The first to make six figures in my 20s. The first to heal from generational wounds. The first to not have kids before 19, or at all. The first to explore the vast wilderness of Western America. The first to choose growth, purpose, peace, meaning, joy, wellness, and awe instead of repeating old patterns. You might be the first in your family to seek therapy, the first to pursue a non-traditional career, the first to prioritize mental health, or the first to break free from toxic relationships. Whatever your journey, know this: It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to forge your own path. Be whichever person you want to be. It’s okay to be different and othered. On your own path, there is no first or last. There’s just the path. I’m the wild, untamed soul who broke free from unhealed cycles. And you can be too.