About Me

I'm a Latina, Caucasian, kinda millenial/kinda xennial, she/her, mother of three. I'm an ex-wife of a police officer, I'm a first wife of an "artist at heart disguised as a cog in the corporate machine", but I've also been a second wife of someone trauma bonded to their first wife. I've been respected and mistreated as a professional, but also as a criminal. I've been the recipient of government assistance, student loans, and also been awarded college funding grants and scholarships. I was born on a military base that's no longer in operation, at least partially because of several medical malpractice claims. I've lived and grown up in Texas, Arizona, California, Ohio, and South Carolina, but the one thing I had everywhere, including prison, was access to education and television programming.

I'm a female woman who has always identified as such, except for when my hair was too short and I had to be strong & brave in a psych ward, where people were literally swall-ow-ing batt-er-ies from the dayroom tv remote to get out, that I was like, "I think I understand why a female would want to be seen as male, if that helped them cope with their environment." News coverage of my crime was translated into other languages, the world saw my face, and to most of them, I was another one of those teachers, but I don't see myself as a statistic because I'm a part of too many demographics to count.
 

I see myself as a person with a lot of privilege, and many blessings, who is genuinely trying to be better today than she was yesterday, most days. And as such a person, I also wonder who else out there can relate to things I've experienced? Who else can learn from mistakes I've made, and tell me about theirs, because I've also been a liar, a cheater, a thief. I've abused my power, I've been a bad friend, I've felt the flood of adrenaline that goes along with doing something you know isn't safe/smart/legal, and chances are, so have you.

 

I've had more serving jobs that I can count, wrecked cars on purpose (I'm sorry!), littered and walked away from it. I've felt the warm rush of Dilaudid being pushed and been able to have a conversation with a heroin addict who told me to never, ever try heroin. I've also been away from the social media world for so long that I'm the technological age of my parents, so that's fun. (Help your elders with technology!) As of October, 2020, I'm also a tier 3 registered sex offender. What demographic do you put all that under, if not lifelonglearner?