A little about myself...

Hi everyone, welcome to my page! I'd like to introduce myself by opening up with some background information about who I am and why I have decided to start this page. First and foremost this page is dedicated to empowering women.. all types of women from good backgrounds, bad backgrounds, all shapes and sizes that have one thing in common with each other: to want to inexcusably find the best within themselves and make a positive impact on those around them. I have found that it doesn't matter where you come from, what your background is, or even what traumas you've had in life, overall, women (or people) with true grit have BIG HEARTS!! This day and age it's our duty to one another to let each other see one another, REALLY see one another for who we are and make those soul connections; especially with the availability that social media has created to get to know people from ALL over the world at the touch of a button. We've been molded for generations by powers and influences outside of ourselves to see women as our competition, belittling ourselves and the greatness of which we all come from and it's time we each fully & truly take our power back one by one. A powerful way to start that journey is through unity and comradery to each other as women, mothers and more importantly as human beings. To show others they aren't alone, that what they feel is valid not because someone else says so but because you give yourself permission to just BE.

With that being said I'd like to give some background on myself so that we can start to get to know each other.

I was raised in the public school systems of the 80's to early 00's in the drug infested, violent, dog eat dog neighborhood also known as the Lower East Side of New York City. The street sign on the corner saying "Loisaida" could be viewed from my window; I have a lot of beautiful and crazy memories from here of which I'll share eventually. This place definitely was a major influence on the experiences that I had growing up and the person I became. In high school I hid the fact that I became pregnant from essentially everyone with the exception of my daughter's father, until I couldn't hide it from our closest family members anymore. Had my daughter over summer break and started junior year as if a life altering major event didn't just occur. Little by little I started to confirm the rumors I ignored but really it was such a scandal in my family that I did my best to keep it to myself for the most part, affecting me deeply for many many years. Throughout college I saw it as a clean slate and no one but a very select few knew about my "double life" secret. In hindsight, being a young mom forced me to grow up faster than most, my childhood was cut short and life definitely got a lot more complicated but it wasn't the worst thing I could've ever done.

As a grown woman I can finally look back at the young woman I was and give her a big hug because she had no idea the journey she was about to embark on and could never have known how crazy life was gonna get. Little did I know back then how strong I would be through it all and would thank my younger self profusely. Thank her for her courage, resilience, determination and strength because though she may not have changed the world itself she changed her own world and the world of those she cares about for the better. She did that. I did that.

I learned a lot throughout the experiences that led to where I am today and because of that there's an innate duty to share any and all wisdom and knowledge accrued. It 's also a cathartic form of expression for me, a way to continue healing, and growing by telling my story. No matter how far I have come there will always be more to learn. Personally it's not easy for me to be vulnerable but I've learned there is immense strength in vulnerablity; something I missed out on greatly out of pride. Being honest here, a lot of lessons had to be learned the hard way but finding the courage to live life on our terms is the greatest gift to have and to share.

Today, I am married to a man with a heart of gold, who has been my rock for the past almost 11 years. We have continuously grown together and he has been the most patient, loving partner, which has allowed me to bring many guards down. People speak of having a guard up, I had several guards up. Thankfully, he knows there's a lot more to me than meets the eye and because of that we have fought hard together to be where we are. I have learned and continue to learn that it's ok to need people from time to time, even, or especially, during those moments when you refuse to let anyone in. It's a work in progress people, but I assure you self-love, and self-commitment is everything, without it you cannot be there for others. Make sure you ask yourself every day, how full is your cup? And what do you need to do to get it where it needs to be? You already have the answers within, you just need to actually listen.

Aside from my wonderful husband, I have been blessed with the hardest yet most rewarding task of all, being a mom to two young ladies. My husband was also a young father and he took on the role of primary caretaker. When we met we both did our best to fill in huge holes for our girls that could never fully be filled but we do our best day in and day out.

Family is of utmost importance as is self-care and spirituality. You'll learn quickly with me that I consider myself a very spiritual woman and am very much in tune with the Universe. If you ever find my beliefs to be offensive and do not have a safe apace to let out how you feel about that, I can assure you that this isn't the place. Please respectfully find your way out of this page and I hope you find a safe space aligned with whatever your beliefs are. I am an entrepreneur but my focus in life will always be my family including my soul family.

Manifestation is a major part of my life. Through putting in the work and also believing that I deserved better when all that surrounded me was hardships was how I have manifested many things. Here I will share what manifestation means and how (in my opinion) it works best, life stories, anecdotes, short stories, poems, personal beliefs, affirmations, journal entries, things I've learned and maybe even songs written throughout the years. I hope you will see this as a platform for you to share as well, nothing I love more than to hear your stories and of course any questions you may have. I will love to hear your passion, love, excitement and encouragement to one another on this page but will ABSOLUTELY not tolerate any hate, negativity, disrespect, especially disrespect hidden as well meaning words, faux jokes, passive aggressiveness, patronization, rude comments, and judgements. We all have enough of that in the outside world and I'm sure there's plenty of pages for that but this ain't it. I welcome you all once more and hope from the bottom of my heart that we are able to build a community of trust, encouragement, and deep admiration for each other as people but most importantly as women, both here and in the outside world.

XX,

Anneli