Warning: LONG post ahead! Continue reading if you’d like to get to know the girl behind the screen. Otherwise, feel free to skip to the good part and explore my blog posts in my home page
My Life Journey & How Be By Becky Came to “BE”
My Foundation – Being Raised by a Village
I was born and raised in California for the majority of my 30 years on this beautiful earth. However, between 2 months – 4 years old, I moved to Mexico and I was raised by my grandma. Through out my entire childhood, I was raised by a village. My parents, grandma, aunties and even some uncles played a huge role in my upbringing. I genuinely believe that this is the reason, I grew up to be such a happy child. The abundance of LOVE I received from my village has always provided me with such a strong foundation. And it is thanks to this foundation that I have found ways to overcome some deep struggles in life.
Middle School & Discovering Privilege
Fast forward to middle school, this was an interesting chapter. My parents separated from a very toxic relationship. I joined a school 45 minutes away from home and became one of 70 latino/black students out of a population of 1150. This was my very first experience feeling like a minority and facing imposter syndrome. Most of my classmates came from very privileged backgrounds and had parents with huge homes and professional jobs. The first time I had one of these friends come over they said, “Wow, your house is the size of my living room”. But don’t feel bad or angry, this experience unknowingly prepared me for the same experience I faced when I finally entered the corporate world as a young professional. Cheers to those who built thick skin early on in life.
High School & Hitting Rock Bottom
After middle school, came high school, this is when I lived through some of my darkest times. I fell HARD, DEEP and had no purpose in life so I overdosed and had a near death experience. It was a nightmare, I will never forget the sound of the ambulance, my crying parents and my inability to wake up from a dark place. I knew I was depressed, sad, feeling isolated at home, dealing with toxic high school drama and facing the pressure of living at home surrounded by chaos. This chapter of my life does come with a happy ending though. With the help of medical professionals, my parents, family, therapists, psychologists, school counselors and the kindest police officer from school, I was able to come out of high school as a better person. I graduated even after being 1.5 years behind and I managed to head straight into community college through a special program that helped underrepresented students like me receive the financial support needed to get through school.
College & Finding Purpose
After high school graduation, I wasn’t this super strong or confident person regardless of overcoming what I still consider, the darkest time of my life. I was just grateful to be alive! Then came COLLEGE, when my life started to shift in such a positive direction. This did not come without struggles but I had a purpose, a community and the opportunity to start all over again. I gave education my ALL, received a full ride scholarship for undergrad and I even ended up pursuing my masters degree in business. However, I had a massive reality check coming from an economically disadvantaged background. I had to work full time (1 corporate job, 1 tutoring job and a babysitting gig at one point), all while taking full loads. It was a chapter that came with alot of sacrifice but also the time I created such memorable memories and great mentorship connections. I know this may not sound exciting because most of this required me to spend many years fixated on school BUT I felt genuinely blessed by the amount of support I received from everyone around me. I began to feel alive again and I finally started healing from hitting rock bottom a few years back. This is actually the reason I have spent so many years giving back to my community through career workshops, panels, coaching, mentorship and even volunteering at speaking events. I am a huge advocate for giving back and I hope this blog is another avenue for me to continue doing this.
Adulting & Discovering Myself
A few years after college, I met the love of my life, the most incredible human in my eyes. We got engaged, then got married, I gained a fur son, I graduated from grad school, bought a house, a brand new car and moved into 3 different industries in my career all in the span of 3 years. I was on top of the world, so I thought…. Soon after coming down from the high of all these life events, I slowly started to feel depressed again. Don’t get me wrong, I felt very grateful and thankful for my life but I was missing something. I worked towards all of these amazing accolades but forgot to fill my cup along the way. I lived on survival mode and on sacrifice mode for so many years that I forgot what made me happy outside of chasing my life goals. I took 3 years after this to dig deep and rediscover what sparked joy in me:
- I took many therapy sessions (still do)
- I set new routines
- I explored nature
- I shifted into an active lifestyle mindset
- I traveled more
- I took personal development courses
- I rested more
- I enjoyed more time with family and friends
- I set healthy boundaries
- I spent time doing everything that brought me joy that I “didn’t have time to do” while I was in hustle mode
This was the chapter where I just wanted to “BE” without a care to please anyone. It was also the time I came to accept that I will always be someone who wants to keep evolving, growing and challenging myself to be better AND that’s OK. For the longest time, I felt guilty for feeling the need to always strive for something more. It even crossed my mind that I may not be truly happy inside hence the constant desire to want more out of life. I’m not going to lie, this made me doubt my motives and I kept asking myself, “are you too much, are you unhappy?”. BUT, I needed this. I needed to question my motives. I needed to dig deep to truly understand who I am: a poise, loving, wise, resilient and ever evolving woman. For me, settling for “comfort” is not an option. This doesn’t mean I won’t pause to rest or to celebrate my wins, it simply means that I will continue to fill my cup until my last breath in order for me to have the energy I need to serve my community. This realization eventually re-ignited the spark I needed to pursue one of my dreams of launching THIS blog.
BeByBecky.com – A Personal & Lifestyle Blog
Be By Becky is a project I hold near and dear to my heart. It is a blog rooted by a combination of my life experiences, the love my village poured into me as a child and the platform allowing me to serve my community at a larger scale. It’s through my peaks and valleys that I learned to be more in tune with myself and constantly learning to “BE me”, unapologetically and without feeling guilt. If you haven’t yet caught on, this was also the inspiration for my blog name, “Be By Becky”. I genuinely hope this place sparks joy, inspiration and opens up your heart to live out your dreams. We only get one life, make it count!
Closing Notes
Now if I could ask for one favor, please take my stories with a grain of salt. I’m not here because I know it all nor am I here to tell you how to live your life. I’m simply sharing snippets of my story and sharing the ways I manage the twists and turns of my life in order to continue inspiring just like others did for me. I’d be honored to hear your personal story one day (whenever you’re ready) and I can’t wait to start building an amazing community in this special place.
Xoxo,
Becky
#BEevolving #BEempowered #BEhealthy #BEinspired #BEyou
