Women Worth Knowing: The Heart Behind This Sisterhood

A series honoring the women who carry whole worlds quietly.

Growing Up in the In-Between

I’ve lived most of my life in the in-between — not fully one thing or the other — and I didn’t realize how much that shaped the woman I became. Growing up biracial meant constantly navigating worlds that didn’t always recognize me as fully belonging to either one. I was “too much” here, “not enough” there, and somewhere along the line, I learned to become fluent in both — even when I didn’t feel rooted in either.

I didn’t know it then, but that experience taught me how to carry people, how to read emotion without words, and how to make room for others before anyone ever made room for me. Long before I became a mom, a caregiver, or a nurturer, I was already learning how to live in the gray space. In the overlap. The place where you build connection because you don’t fit neatly in a box.

A Life Built Around Holding Others

And then life gave me a house full of hearts to hold. I became a mom of six and (as of this writing) a bonus “world mom” to 23 exchange students over the years. My home has been a revolving door of stories, cultures, personalities, laughter, and goodbyes. It has been holy, exhausting, hilarious, sacred chaos — and I loved deeply through all of it.

But while I was holding everyone else, somewhere along the way, I stopped holding space for myself.

I didn’t complain, because I was “blessed.”

I didn’t slow down, because someone always needed something.

I didn’t fall apart, because I didn’t feel like I had permission to.

When Strength Turns Silent

On the inside, it was me vs. a never-ending mental browser with 59 tabs open and the Wi-Fi constantly lagging. I spent years believing I was just scattered or inconsistent until I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD & anxiety while being the emotional backbone for everyone around me.

I wasn’t broken — I was overloaded.

Not flaky — just unsupported.

And what I really needed wasn’t motivation…

It was relief.

Not performance — belonging.

Not “push through” — exhale.

The Moment Everything Made Sense

Somewhere in the depletion, I realized I didn’t just want a community. I wanted a soft place to land. A space where strong women don’t have to earn softness. Where belonging isn’t conditional. Where masks can come off without shame.

Hot Mess SOS wasn’t created from perfection. It was born from burnout, from the girl who was always “fine” because she didn’t believe she was allowed to be anything else.

Why This Space Exists

This community is my rebellion against isolation. It's my answer to the unspoken question so many women carry:

“Where do I go when the strong one needs somewhere soft to land?”

I built this space because I never want another woman to feel like she has to hold her story alone or shrink herself to be acceptable.

I’m both Texas warmth and Peruvian fire. Finally whole, not split. I wasn’t meant to choose one identity over the other; I was meant to carry both. And I want women here to experience that same becoming — not smaller to fit, but fuller to be.

Welcome to the sisterhood I spent years needing.

Your softness is safe here.

Your strength is seen here.

Your story belongs here.

You’re Invited

If you’re looking for the room I needed, I built it — and you’re invited to join us inside Hot Mess SOS: Your Survival Squad.