After years in the cocoon stage — quiet, developing, unseen — I am now becoming a butterfly.

My mission is to transform lived struggle into open skies for other women. 

For the years I was behind, hiding my teeth, playing with Barbies past 19, working at Safeway with a Master’s degree, living in a shelter with a curfew — that was the cocoon. A place of formation, not failure. God was strengthening me there, teaching me that what anyone says about me does not matter. Word before world. Water before worry.

Now, at 51, soon to be 52, these are my golden years to fly. 

I do this by writing one chapter a day of the book that’s dear to me. By speaking at Toastmasters to turn an introvert’s pen into an extrovert’s voice. By pursuing a PhD as the first in my family, proving it’s never too late. By building a nonprofit for young women and women to find independence that doesn’t rely on family or a man — through scholarships, seminars, camps, and the message: You are not hopeless, you are developing.

I believe if I do what I love, the money will follow, and God will put the right opportunities in my life when needed. So I work hard and put dreams into reality. I research in libraries instead of chasing parties. I gather faith from the Quran on my bed stand, the Bahá’í prayer book, and my Bible, because I believe in many paths to one destination.

My mission is to show other women still in their cocoon that the dark is not the end. It’s preparation. You can lose things, but you can always rebuild. You can be 50+ and just starting. You can be single on purpose, strong with yourself, and in love with God.

I am becoming a butterfly so others know they can too.

Teeth and all. Curls and all. Curves and all. Calling and all.

No one gets to dim this sparkle. I’m about to shine.