Today, with the world wide web at our fingertips, it’s easy to get caught in the superficial life that is often exposed! I am not saying that the trips or the smiles are fake, but we don’t know what else is going on in someone’s life! On social media we only get to see seconds of someone’s life, and what they decide to tell us, nothing more!

When I lost my arm, I stopped sharing most of my life! I would post a motivational quote here and there but I chose to keep private in my sorrow! I had a lot of recovery to go through, and honestly, I did not feel beautiful most of the time.

I gained weight, which made me upset with myself, I had scars all over my face and when I looked online, life was just not fair! I unfollowed many accounts because they made me hate what happened to me even more. I would cry and sleep, eat ice cream, cry more. I started to journal in order to pour all this hate and affliction I felt.

As I released these feelings my heart became calm, I was no longer angry, just sad. In my isolation I started to understand my new body, make sense of my life and decide where to go next. I understood that I also deserved to have a normal life, to have a good job, to get married, to have kids, if I wanted! That I could put on a back pack and travel the world and the lack of my left arm would not determine how far I could go.

It is so easy to say “I shouldn't”, “I can’t”, “that’s not for people like me” and I used to think that too. But deep down there is a desire, a “gut feeling” to do something amazing with the time that I have here. So I started to see myself as an equal, if that person can do something, I can do it too! I believed it to my very core and even though I was scared I went to Europe, I traveled to four countries and became comfortable with my new body. I landed a new job in Corporate Training, where I learned so many things about leadership and being an instructor. I build confidence in the classroom and I learned about strategies that helped me leave that same job to work for myself. I traveled more, I stated dating again and life is exactly where it should be for me.

No, life is still not perfect, but I am thankful that I did not give up on myself, that I learned to accept who I am and my body. Most importantly, I feel grateful that I know I deserve a life that is meaningful for me, that I deserve to be loved and to spread love. That I deserve to gather as many happy moments that I can, and if I can, so can YOU!