My calling has landed me on The Ellen Show & allowed me to meet beautiful people across the nation.
Here’s a small glimpse of what I do outside the classroom while completing my dissertation.
🎤Student & staff keynotes, culture & SEL workshops, mentorship & family engagement 🫶🏽
I’ll admit it…
There have been times in my life when I’ve confused a wall for a boundary.
When I’ve been hurt, frustrated, overlooked, or disappointed, my first instinct hasn’t always been the healthiest one.
Sometimes I wanted to prove a point.
Sometimes I wanted them to know how it felt.
Sometimes I wanted to match the energy I was receiving.
But I’m learning something…
Protecting your peace and becoming bitter are two very different things.
Boundaries are healthy.
Bitterness is heavy.
Boundaries say, “I value who I am becoming.”
Bitterness says, “I’m allowing what happened to me to keep controlling me.”
Whether it’s at work, with family, friendships, or everyday relationships, we all have moments where we get to decide:
Am I going to respond from my hurt?
Or am I going to respond from who I want to be?
I wrote more about this idea, pettiness, choosing peace, and not allowing someone else’s actions to change your character in my newest blog.
I’d love for you to read it: https://t.co/3gyQqVPuDj
What a JOY it was to have my son, RJ, join me as I presented a leadership session at DLVHS today 😬🙌🏽 looks like he enjoyed it too 😂
Milk 🥛 cheers to the first of many, son! Dad loves you 💙
Final CHAMPS leadership session of the year was a success 🙌🏽 Thank you DLVHS students for being such an amazing group! Leadership, collaboration, humility, deep conversations & connection were on full display! Dm to bring CHAMPS to your school!
When we took this pic at TABC last summer, I remember telling you that it would be one of our last on the same staff.. because I knew you were next in line to be a HC! Nobody deserves it more than you, my brother. So proud and ecstatic! Much love 🙏🏽 @MLuera22_EDHS
People often see the person on the stage and assume confidence comes easy. What they don’t see are the quiet moments beforehand. The overthinking. The anxiety. The introvert in me wondering if I’m enough. The weight I sometimes carry while still choosing to show up anyway.
Speaking isn’t just about me standing in front of a crowd (or standing on a chair while I do it). It’s about every person who encouraged me when I doubted myself. Every hard season that shaped my heart. Every struggle with anxiety and depression that taught me how important it is to remind others they matter too.
And honestly? Some days it’s still hard.
But I’ve learned something powerful: courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s choosing to use your voice even when fear is sitting beside you.
So if you’ve ever felt overlooked, exhausted, anxious, insecure, or like you weren’t enough…you’re not alone. Sometimes the people who seem the strongest are fighting battles you can’t see.
I’ll keep showing up. Not because it’s always easy. But because I know someone in that audience may need to hear that they’re capable, worthy, and not alone either.