When they reached out, I thought it was a joke. There’s NO way they’d ask me, I said to JD while shaving carrots for dinner. There’s GOT to be someone else.

They picked the wrong person. It must have been a mistake. Maybe they think I’m more legit than I am.

JD looked up from the cutting board and said, “Your imposter is showing…might wanna pick it up and tuck it back in.”

There—in our kitchen—we debated whether I should give the commencement speech for my alma mater, Whittier College.

We went back and forth until JD looked up from sautéing vegetables and asked, “How many Latinas will give a commencement keynote this year? Less than one hand of fingers, I’d guess, so why not step into showing what’s possible?”

And THIS is why I never debate my husband: I WILL ALWAYS LOSE.

A few months later, my daughter helped me put on my cap and gown just before the 2024 ceremony. It was—hands down—the most nervous I’d ever been to give a speech. Ever.

I agonized over what to say, then simply decided to give a nine-minute speech about what I wish someone told me when I sat in those exact seats years prior.

Funny enough, it’s the exact words I’d repeat to myself at every iteration of my career. Want to know what that is? You can find it >>HERE<<.

As we all find our way through life and business, I hope you make many mistakes so you learn to value the lessons, and resist the temptation to dwell in disaster or triumph…in doing so, we’ll find our way to our life’s purpose.

To making moves, and moving tassels from one side of the cap to the other,

j*