It isn’t everyday that someone asks me to write about myself. I struggle to find words to describe the kind of person I am. Growing up, my family didn’t have much. At a young age, I noticed how much my family struggled, and how hard they tried to hide those hardships from me and my siblings. I love them for that every day. I wonder sometimes about what kind of woman I would be if my life was different from the way that I was raised. Would I still believe in magic the way that I do?

My mother taught me to never make myself small for anyone. We are Latinos, and our bright personality also comes with our loud mouths. She taught me that we are more than just the life of the party, and with that I learned about the power one can have by just using their voice. From grade school through high school, I was never really a popular kid, but people knew my name. I was this neutral party that people could acknowledge as funny, but they never really knew me. I thought this was easier because I didn’t think I had anything of value to offer. If I spoke about how I really felt, would people listen?

I lived this way until I couldn’t deal with the loneliness any more. That may sound sad, but it was what sparked the magic I didn’t know lived inside me. Once that ball started rolling, it couldn’t stop. All I cared about was people and their truth. I wanted people to know that it didn’t matter who they were because if they wanted to change, they had the power to do so. If there is any one thing people should know about me, about Tru, is that this is the essence of who I am. I am no one without my voice and knowing I have the opportunity to use that superpower for helping others realize the magic that lives inside of them is a privilege I humbly accept for the rest of my life. Are you vibing with me yet?