09/29/2022
Today marks 11 years since the day I moved from Venezuela to the USA.
I was 17 years old, just a kid with lots of dreams. Dreams that I knew I wasnāt going to be able to achieve if I stayed in my country.
I moved here by myself, my parents stayed in Venezuela. I remember crying for hours the night before and when I said goodbye to my parents. They knew Venezuela wasnāt going to give me the future I wanted to live.
When I was 13 years old, I got interviewed for a Golf Magazine and one of the questions was āWhatās your biggest dream?ā and my answer was āTo get a scholarship to play NCAA Golf in the US.ā
Since that moment I never looked back; I wasnāt the best at that time but I had a lot of heart and the unconditional support of my parents.
I attacked that goal like I attack life; taking risks, and always believing I can do it.
Moving to America at 17 gave me the opportunity to show my skills to coaches around the country; when I got a letter from the University of West Florida to do an āofficial visitā it felt different than the rest. I remember purposely closing my eyes every night and envisioning that I was signing the Letter of Intent with UWF. It happened, just like I visualized it- with my parents next to me and now with more dreams than ever.
4 years of college golf, a bachelors degree, a masters degree in Business Management, starting my business, my first paycheck, failing several times, falling in love, heart breaks, my dad passing away, failing again, meeting the most awesome friends, traveling the country doing what I love, living what some people call āThe American Dream.ā
We will always be against the odds. You create your own opportunities and your own future. There will be people that will influence your journey- but at the end of the day, youāre the only one that can get off the couch and beat the odds.
Nobody is ādestined for greatnessā but I do believe we are all destined to be great at something and life is about discovering your real purpose in life.
I am forever grateful for this beautiful country, that has given me opportunities that are impossible to get in 99.9% of the world. As I say every year- never take freedom for granted.