university – The Woman Wednesday Blog

Woman Wednesday: Jen

December 26, 2018Posted in Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, animals, blog, blogs, book, brand, business, cats, college, comfort, constant learning, cool, dogs, dreams, education, educational, environment, family, fashion, feminism, for women, friendship, future, happy, home, inspiration, job, learning, life, life lessons, mass media, memories, money, motivation, people, photography, reading, search engine optimization, SEO, shorts, stories, story, teaching, tech, technology, tips, travel, trends, true stories, university, womenLeave a comment

*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.

Q and A with Jen, Green Bay, Wisconsin

“You can do what you set your mind to. Everything takes work, and learning is a constant part of life. If your dream is to one day own a business that makes money, you need to make sure you have all the skills and knowledge to make that happen.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: In a few words, my passions are my family (including my collies and cat), my business, and flyball. I own Candy Social Media. I am a digital marketer helping real estate agents and mortgage brokers generate exclusive prequalified leads. I also offer social media management, social media strategy, and social media marketing and consulting. My main focus, however, is on generating leads for real estate agents.

I found this passion when I realized that my previous passion for technology simply wasn’t there anymore. I felt the fire burning out. Back in 2003, I was overwhelmed with technology, and I was excited to help people. I finished my degree in network security from the local technical college. I was president of the computer science club there for two years while attending college. I really enjoyed being in charge of the club, and I enjoyed the extra responsibilities involved of being president. I moved on to get my bachelor’s degree in business management. I enjoyed learning about business management. I yearned to be in front of technology. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and learn more about it. From 2007, I have worked in the technology field in various roles from being level 1 support to network administrator. All of these required some sort of certification requiring me to renew it every three years. As if spending 10k on my education wasn’t enough, Corporate America wanted me to spend another $500 to $10,000 dollars to show that I know my stuff.

Pictured: Jen and her collie, Candy.

I was tired of not being recognized for my knowledge and education that I worked hard for. I wasn’t able to move up in management positions because of my lack of certification. One day, the job that I enjoyed required the support team to learn to programme of C++ or C#. I knew that it was too detailed for me to do. I quit my job and decided that I wanted to work for myself. I wanted a career change.

I saw this 9-5 killer ad on Facebook. I signed up for the webinar. I didn’t have the money to pay for the course, but I talked with other people who joined the course. It changed their lives, and they were able to make a living. The business involved creating websites that focused on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is difficult to keep up with because of the fact that almost every second, it’s changing. By the time I finally knew what I was doing, something new came out. I tried that for about 6 months. It didn’t work out. I went back to work for someone else at a college. The people there showed me that I didn’t have a passion for helping people in technology. I was reminded that I didn’t want to work for someone else. I wanted to make myself money; I did not want to make money for someone else. I saw another ad for a social media manager. People pay you to play on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, et cetera. I spent the last year learning about how to engage, the software required, the content required, et cetera. This is all great, but you aren’t making money from your knowledge. It’s an expensive hobby. From there, I signed up for one more class of how to prospect your clients and reaching out to our potential clients. Then I jumped in!

Up until about October, I was friends with a digital marketer who was looking for different people to complete his challenges. I signed up for his challenge and immediately was blown away. The first thing I learned was sales. I learned about how to get the clients. And from October, I have been able to gain the knowledge and confidence for me to put myself out there connecting with real estate agents and mortgage brokers. I was too scared to reach out to clients. I thought if I friended them on Facebook and made nice with them and offering them advice about social media, they will ask me to be their social media manager. Nope. This isn’t the way things work. You have to put yourself out there constantly to make yourself known. I have reached out more to potential clients in the past three days than I have in the past year.

Outside of business, I am passionate about health and pets! I have three collies and one cat. My company is named after my dog, Candy. Candy is a 14-month-old border collie who gets to travel the country with me (attending flyball seminars and tournaments). Flyball is the past time passion that I enjoy doing when I am not working. It’s something that makes me happy. I was able to train Candy from my past experience training with Gunner. Gunner is a 2-year-old border collie who knows flyball, but he seems to have a jock mentality [laughs].

Q: How has your past experience shaped you?

A: All of my past experiences and education and personality really helped to develop who I am today. The motivation and ambition have to be there every day. Also, never let your disability get in the way of your dreams! I have a stuttering disability and rather than hiding behind it, I use it to my advantage to work harder! I am sacrificing time being spent on training my dogs and time with my boyfriend, but in the end, I am putting time into my company, which means that I am putting time into myself. I am finally living the life that I want to without having to worry about paying those bills or worrying about my cell phone bill being cut off! And it’s nice knowing that if I need an extra day off, I don’t have to call my boss hoping that she or he will give me the time off.

Q: What would you like others to learn from your story?

A: You can do what you set your mind to. Everything takes work, and learning is a constant part of life. If your dream is to one day own a business that makes money, you need to make sure you have all the skills and knowledge needed to make that happen. If you would like to do what I do, you will also need the right software. It is also important to have the capital to put into your business. I worked a part-time job to have money to put into my business.

Also, always make time for those who matter in your life.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

Join Jen’s Social Women Group! Click here!

Click here to check out Candy Social Media.

Jen & My Lilianas would love to hear from you! Comment below!

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Woman Wednesday: Megan

December 5, 2018December 6, 2018Posted in Uncategorized, womenTagged adventure, advice, animals, author, baltimore, beauty, blog, book, books, brand, business, camera, Child, college, comfort, cool, cute, dreams, education, environment, Faith, family, fashion, feminism, film, food, for women, friendship, future, happy, home, inspiration, inspire, inspire women, job, life, life lessons, love, Maryland, Maryland lady, Maryland woman, mass media, memories, model, money, mother, motivation, movies, people, photography, photos, published woman, reading, stories, story, teaching, tips, travel, travels, trends, true stories, tv, university, value, wednesday blog, woman author, woman crush wednesday, woman wednesday, women, women authors, women inspiring women, women power, women wednesdayLeave a comment

Q and A with Megan, Baltimore, Maryland

“The future. Earth’s governments have fallen, succeeded by a unified military order. An elite group of soldiers, the Sentinels, protect Cotarion from marauders and neighbors alike. Within, shadowy forces at the highest levels conspire for the power they need to enact a mysterious agenda.

But now, something has changed.

Men and women have emerged, displaying superhuman abilities powerful enough to threaten the established order, and the High General commands Sentinel Cameron Kardell to track a superhuman gone rogue. A superhuman who holds the key to these powers’ origin. Who happens to be Kardell’s best friend. Who will reveal the truth of Cameron’s own origins.

The Altered now wake.” –Megan Morgan, Author of “The Altered Wake”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Stories are definitely my passion! I love reading them, writing them, and listening to them. I love figuring out what makes a story work and picking apart why some stories don’t work. I love discussing what stories mean to people. They’re everywhere, and we are all telling ourselves stories all the time about who we are and how we impact the world. They’re almost so ubiquitous that we often don’t realize just how important they are.

That impact of stories on our personal and larger social psychologies are why I’m so focused on writing stories that defy conventions. As a kid, I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, and I loved how these kinds of stories could invert our perspective of the world. A lot of the main characters in the stories I read were male, and women usually had supporting roles. Things are better these days, but I still crave women as leading characters who drive the narrative of the stories they’re in, so that’s what I write. In fact, all of my characters defy stereotypes, or at least, that’s what I hope.

Now that my first novel, “The Altered Wake”, is out, I’m working on the second in the series, “The Altered Rise”. And like a lot of storytellers I know, I have more story ideas than I will ever have time to write!

Q:What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: I’ve been an army wife, and later, a single working mom to two awesome kids while writing my novels. I’ve written during ideal circumstances and completely awful circumstances. I’ve written when the words were easy and when they were hard. I’ve received heartbreaking rejection letters and even an email from a friend who was devouring my novel in a dental office. I boxed up all my manuscripts and put them on a shelf more than once. And eventually, I made the decision to get my work out into the world, even if I had to do it myself.

If there’s a lesson in all that, it’s that you just never stop. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. And don’t be afraid to work your butt off on what you believe in. Keep that little ember burning in the dark times, so that when there’s some kindling, it can ignite.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up in Fairmont, West Virginia, which is a really beautiful place. As a kid, I spent a lot of time catching frogs and swimming. My mom loves to read, and so she took my siblings and I to the library on the weekends. My dad was a schoolteacher, and he read us books every night before bed with the most amazing voices. I was so lucky to grow up with two parents who believed in the value of reading and who encouraged me so much as I began to write my own stories.

In junior high, I started writing longer mini-novels for my friends, and as they devoured the chapters I supplied to them, I was hooked. I could make my own narratives, worlds, and characters. Then other people would believe in them. I found that, for me, it was the best way to reach other people. And sometimes, putting words down on paper is the best way for me to understand myself.

Q: What would you like others to learn from your story?

A: I think it’s really important to pay attention to the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we surround ourselves with. Not just books, TV shows, and movies, but the stories that are there in our minds. We all have narratives about who we are and what our value is, and we can absolutely change ourselves for the better by nudging those stories in different directions.
I had a college professor who, day one of class, talked about how we introduce ourselves to other people by telling them stories about our lives so far. It’s sort of how we package and present ourselves. I think it’s a good idea to look at those tales we’ve curated and see what they say about us, and also, to realize that the stories society tells us impact which narratives are worth keeping.

Question that!

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism means (to me) that people can be who they are without shame or ridicule. To me, it means we all have opportunities to fulfill our goals. The idea is that we have an even playing field, and “feminine” qualities aren’t ridiculed, and men aren’t shamed for having complex feelings. I see it as equality.

So, feminism means that my daughter can play in the mud (or not, as she prefers), and my son can paint his nails. We can be the complex people that we are. I think that’s good for everyone.

Here are links to my social media places and the Clickworks Press site for the book! All the links for purchasing the book are right here:

Clickworks: http://clickworkspress.com/book/sentinel1/

My Twitter:

https://mobile.twitter.com/M3writes

And the Facebook site for the novel:

https://m.facebook.com/TheAlteredWake/

Megan & My Lilianas would love to hear from you! Comment below!

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Connect with us on Facebook.

Woman Wednesday: Hillary

November 21, 2018December 6, 2018Posted in Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, blog, brand, business, college, comfort, cool, dreams, education, educational, environment, feminism, for women, friendship, future, inspiration, job, lesson, life, life lessons, love, mass media, memories, money, mother, motivation, people, photos, shorts, stories, story, teaching, tips, travel, trends, true stories, tv, university, womenLeave a comment

Q and A with Hillary, Milford, New Jersey

“What I want others to learn from my story is to simply never give up! Whatever it is you are doing or trying to achieve in life, just don’t give up. There will always be bad days and even worse days. Learn to accept it, deal with it, and ride that wave with your middle finger in the air! Because at the end of it all, you WILL have your day, your chance to shine, your happiness, your dream life.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: My main passion is helping people. I am a huge giver, and I always have been. I always put other people before myself. Growing up with the saying “Treat people how you want to be treated,” has always stuck with me. I’ve just learned to put more of an effort into helping people in the hopes of being a happy, successful woman.

As far as personal interests, I am a beach lover! I love the summer and warm weather. I enjoy: vacationing / traveling, being active, being one with nature and everything around me, cooking, baking, being a mom, simply being with my daughter, and teaching my daughter everything she needs to know about life, the world we live in, and raising her to be a strong woman.

My work includes: online marketing, digital marketing, affiliate marketing, and being an entrepreneur.

Q: How did you find this passion?

A: My childhood, as well as my depression and anxiety, has a lot to do with my passion in wanting to help others. I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety my whole life. I was never really given a hand to hold, shoulder to cry on, or that “good warm hug.” Once I started helping other people, getting the recognition and the feeling of ‘thanks’ just became an addiction. I am currently working on growing and scaling my business in order to achieve a healthy and adventurous future for my family and me.

Q:What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: What I have learned that I would like others to know is to simply change your mindset. If you want something, and you want it bad, tell yourself “I want it, I’m going to get it.” And then do whatever it takes to go and get it, but with a positive mindset. It is easier said than done, but I did it. I’m doing great!

I’ve taken punches and beatings my whole life (physically, emotionally, and verbally). But when I changed my mindset and told myself “I need to start my own business so that I can better my life for my family and for myself,” things than started falling perfectly into place. The mind IS a powerful thing. I recommend others to invest in learning more about it. The mind does control us. If we can learn to control IT, then the waves will always be perfect.

A quote that I live by on a day to day basis: “Be happy with what you have instead of always wanting more.” –Robin Sherrerd, my father

And be patient! Your time will come.

Q: What would you like others to learn from your story?

A: What I want others to learn from my story is to simply never give up! Whatever it is you are doing or trying to achieve in life, just don’t give up. There will always be bad days and even worse days. Learn to accept it, deal with it, and ride that wave with your middle finger in the air! Because at the end of it all, you WILL have your day, your chance to shine, your happiness, your dream life.

Anyone who is ever feeling alone, just know that it makes you that much stronger to be a loner and accomplish so much.

In reaching out to you all that struggle with mental health issues, know that it is okay to talk to strangers. I’ve been medicated my whole life. Up until two years ago, I was told that I have what is called “treatment resistant depression” and severe anxiety, along with a few others. I took a turn for the good though, and instead of turning to friends, I turned to my new friend, the internet. I joined groups on Facebook, and yet again, I had the constant POSITIVE and uplifting support from others who were in the same boat as me.

You don’t drown by falling in the water, you drown by STAYING there. So take action. There’s no success without failure either.

Just know this, there is ALWAYS someone out there waiting to hear your story, waiting to hear about your success, your goals, and your hopes and dreams. So always keep your fins up…remember, ride that wave. 🙂

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up with divorced parents and a mother who was always negative. Having to live with my mother, there was nothing but negativity around me. Between always fighting with my father, arguing with my stepfather, the constant yelling, and my mother leaving us to go out to bars, I was always very sad. All I ever wanted was to live with my father, an all around happy, gentle, kind and positive person. Because we saw very little of him, and because I was surrounded by negative energy, I soon became suicidal.

I didn’t do well in school. I always put my all into absolutely everything, but unfortunately, I had learning disabilities. I needed to always be pulled out of class or be in a separate “smaller” classroom. Therefore, I was always embarrassed and worried what others thought of me. I wrote my first suicide letter to a close friend in 7th grade. She made the right decision in letting someone know, and to make a long story short, I was then diagnosed with depression and put in therapy and on medication.

Later on in life, because of my constant insecurities and doubts about life, I somehow ended up in my first serious relationship during my high school years. This unfortunately, led to rape. I did not know it was, I thought it was normal to be bullied and tortured. It was the only thing I was familiar with.

After years of praying, attempting suicide, and being beaten, I managed to get out and away- only to be in more abusive relationships later on. So with all that, I always just wanted to escape, go away, move away, or run away. I went through beauty school in high school, and I was lucky enough to graduate early so I could go away to college. My dream finally came true when I was able to get into University of South Carolina. I could escape all the negative energy and people that I was surrounded by.

For the first time in my life, I actually experienced what we call “happiness.” I had great friends, great roommates, great teachers and supporters. I had good grades, got two side jobs to make money. I had the beach, warm weather, happy and friendly people everywhere I went. I was truly happy. However, my learning disabilities came back to haunt me, and I just couldn’t pass the placement tests for my upcoming semester without paying a fortune. I ended up breaking down and calling my father. At the time, he had told me “School is not for everyone.” With a heavy heart, I wiped my tears and picked my head up and accepted that. I worked hard to try and take over paying rent in order to stay living down there, but I ended up having to move back with my mom.

Then I met my husband, we had our daughter, and were constantly struggling financially. Money and other issues in our relationship truly broke us. After having my daughter, I was on a mission to find a job that would allow me to stay at home with her and make a good income. I came across online marketing through Facebook. It was just something that continuously kept sparking my interest, no matter how many times I would turn away from it. I joined groups on Facebook, and soon enough, I became a part of an amazing community.

The constant POSITIVE and UPLIFTING support I keep getting is what keeps me going. I didn’t lose faith. It is something that I feel is now a part of me.

I was quite lost for a few years, but I simply never gave up. My past has now led me to being a very successful mom entrepreneur of an online marketing business . Slowly, I am taking action in getting my family and myself to where we truly belong.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism to me is being the strong women we were meant to me. Whether in a perfectly healthy relationship or not, or no relationship at all, it to me, means truly standing up for yourself. Be strong. Don’t worry about other peoples’ negative thoughts or sayings.

We are strong. Our strength runs so deep. We are our own warriors.

To join my team and start your journey of becoming a successful entrepreneur in online marketing, click below:

https://www.trainings.successwithhillary.com/

To start your own business in online marketing click below:

http://successwithhillary.com

To learn more about how I started my business click below:

http://promo-leveragedaffiliate.successwithhillary.com

Hillary & My Lilianas would love to hear from you! Comment below!

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Woman Wednesday: Sam

October 24, 2018December 6, 2018Posted in Uncategorized, womenTagged adventure, advice, blog, business, college, comfort, cool, cute, dreams, education, educational, enriching, environment, farm, farm life, farmland, feminism, for women, friendship, future, inspiration, job, life, life lesson, life lessons, love, memories, money, motivation, New Jersey, people, photography, photos, shorts, small biz, small business, stories, story, sunshine, sunshine fields, support small business, tips, travel, travels, trends, true stories, university, women, wood work, woodworking, wwomanLeave a comment

Q and A with Sam, Sunshine Fields, New Jersey

“There’s such a disconnect now with the way we ‘should’ live our lives and the way we want to live our lives. I graduated college, received a degree, got a good job in a good city, and I’m sure to many that would be a total success story, but it wasn’t the end of mine.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: My largest passion is people- helping people and working with people. I think that’s partially why I wanted to start up my own businesses (so I could do that all of the time).

My two current businesses are Forest & Farm and Sunshine Fields NJ (both I’m working on with my other half and partner of 4 years, who totally also deserves credit)! His name is Matt.

Forest & Farm is our woodworking and home decor business. It basically started by us building all of the furniture for our first apartment together. Matt is an engineer, and I’m an artist. Together, we figured we’d DIY our way through everything (coffee tables, shelves, dinner tables, dressers…), and eventually, everything in our home became handmade! We wanted to share that with others, so we started wholesaling, retailing, and opened up our own Etsy shop. We are constantly doing custom made projects for people.

Sunshine Fields is a 115+ acre family flower farm (Matt’s parents primarily grow wholesale flowers there, but we decided to open up to the public for the first time ever this year!) The two of us planted pumpkins together, cut a 5+ acre corn maze together, and crafted all of the games and activities for this two-month long fall festival. Again, we wanted to share this with others. This farm is such a peaceful place, filled with beautiful flowers and family, and we felt it was so worth opening to the public.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: As a young kid, I heavily enjoyed four (…well, five) things: art, animals, music, being outdoors 100% of the time, and being a tomboy. I had fears, but generally, I always identified myself as a strong girl capable of learning anything (from learning how to play guitar in middle school to learning how to skate in college.) There’s never really a limit to what you can do.

When I was 14 years old, I ended up entering a beauty pageant (pretty unlike my tomboy self) for Filipino-Americans in the US (I’m half Filipino, half Irish), and I ended up winning that thing. I’ve always felt sensitive talking about it, mostly because I never wanted to feel any sort of entitlement or be different than anyone else. I really only wanted to win to break this negative facade of pageants and complete the charity work. I think it was a huge pivotal moment in my teen years and in becoming who I am. I had this opportunity to actually do something. When you’re that young, and you fly to the Philippines, and you live out this dream of helping others and donating yourself and your heart to others, it’s a little wild. I’ve always had that in the back of my heart (this feeling of a desire to be a part of something greater than myself).

Fast-forward to me sitting at a desk in an office in the corporate world. It just couldn’t cut it for me. I had multiple internships and jobs in New York City. I left those for smaller non-profits, and I tried out a whole bunch of career opportunities. As cool as the experiences were, there was just something that never really felt right. I couldn’t shake this feeling that I could really do something and really start something, so I left those jobs to try to figure it all out. It’s still a little crazy to say that [laughs], but I figured it’d be worth a shot.

Q:What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: There’s such a disconnect now with the way we ‘should’ live our lives and the way we want to live our lives. I graduated college, received a degree, got a good job in a good city, and I’m sure to many that would be a total success story, but it wasn’t the end of mine.

If I had gone to college and if someone would have told me that starting up two businesses at 23 years old would be difficult and impractical, maybe it would have made me want to do it more (…maybe)! I mean, just to know that the thought would even possible at all would have been pretty cool. We should feel more empowered to do this. I think I’ve been going through this process of both losing and finding myself throughout the things that I’ve done. It’s really (really) hard to put yourself out there and chase an idea, or a dream, in a vulnerable state. It takes courage, and it’s underrated.

Q: What would you like others to learn from your story?

A: Take the plunge, and do what you like to do. You have nothing to lose. Trust me, literal blood, sweat, and tears and every penny I have has gone into everything I’ve done. I’m still terrified. It’s still really dang hard, but there is still nothing to lose (…& I should really take my own advice)! There is nothing more rewarding than doing it.

Check out Sam’s shop!

ETSY: www.etsy.com/shop/forestnfarm

Sam’s Instagram Profiles to Follow:

@sunshinefieldsnj & @forestnfarmco

Sam & My Lilianas would love to hear from you! Comment below!

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Woman Wednesday: Corrie

October 3, 2018December 6, 2018Posted in Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, animal love, animals, blog, bunnies, cats, change majors, college, college life, cute, deals, dogs, dreams, education, educational, environment, family, feminism, for women, friendship, Inspirational, job, life, lizards, love, mass media, memories, motivation, people, photography, photos, stories, story, story to be told, teaching, tips, Towson University, trends, true stories, university, womenLeave a comment

Q and A with Corrie, Baltimore County, Maryland

Teacher, Animal Lover, Towson University Alumni

“I wasn’t a failure or a quitter for changing my major. I was making myself happy. I also learned that it is very hard to stick with something when people are against you, but in the end, it is worth it.”

Q: What are you passionate about?
A: My passions include teaching, animals, and conservation.
I am currently a 4th grade teacher. I absolutely love teaching. I feel at home in a classroom surrounded by students. My students bring out the best in me, and my goal is that I can do the same for them.

I didn’t always want to be a teacher. When I was younger, I saw myself working with animals. My first job was being a kennel technician at an animal hospital. I eventually moved on to be a veterinary technician, which I continued to do all throughout college. While working at the animal hospital, I started being a nanny for a doctor that I worked with. I instantly fell in love with being around the kids. I really enjoyed helping them with their homework. I started to rethink my entire life path, and I became a teacher.
My love and compassion for animals never went away. Being a teacher allows me to teach my students about animals and conservation. I enjoy telling my students about all my pets- most of them are rescues. We talk often about the impact we have on our environment and the animals we share our environment with. I constantly let them know that they can be an advocate for animals and our environment in many ways.

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Q: What were your younger years like?
A: My family has had the biggest impact on my life. I was raised by my father. He was a single parent raising myself and my brothers. My dad worked hard to give us a great life. Every day, I strive to make him proud. Growing up in a family of all men wasn’t always easy. Let’s face it; girls and boys are different. I didn’t have a lot of confidence around other girls and women. I wasn’t used to being around them. My dad is amazing and always encouraged me to be a strong woman. He even bought me books about how to be a strong woman when I was in middle school. He knew how important it was for me to feel comfortable in my own skin.

When I was in college, I started as a biology major. I was almost finished with my degree when I decided to pursue teaching. Most people were very supportive, but of course, some were not. People thought I was crazy when I told them I was switching majors. They questioned my motives. They often brought up my love for animals, and they brought up the cost of education. There were a few times when I almost decided not to switch majors and to just stick with what I started. I’m glad I didn’t. I learned a few valuable lessons from that experience. One thing I learned is that change isn’t a bad thing. I wasn’t a failure or a quitter for changing my major. I was making myself happy. I also learned that it is very hard to stick with something when people are against you, but in the end, it is worth it. The last thing I learned was that a great support system is so important. My husband, Tony, who was my fiancé at the time, supported me in my decision to no end. He was my biggest advocate and supporter. I would like others to learn that change can be a good thing, to always stick with what your mind and heart are telling you, and to keep positive people in your life.

Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: What does feminism mean to me? That used to be a very hard question for me. I honestly used to believe that feminism was a negative word. I thought it was a word that was used to describe women who hated men. I was raised by my father and brothers, so, of course I didn’t hate men. It took me a while to realize that feminism doesn’t have to be negative. To me, feminism means believing in yourself as a woman. It means knowing that you can do anything and everything you put your mind to. Feminism means wanting the best for all women. It means wanting to see women succeed in their careers and life.

Corrie & My Lilianas would love to hear from you! Comment below!

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