Women Rise Above It

Please note that this is in
collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and the makers of Pine-Sol® Products, this post was created and written by
me for lilbitsofchic.com and express my personal views and opinions.

The makers of Pine-Sol® Products have teamed up with Latina actress
Rosie Perez to launch the ‘When Life Gets Tough, Women Rise Above It‘ Campaign
celebrating women who rose above their struggles. This subject got me to think
about my biggest struggles in a low income community and how I rose above many obstacles
to be the first one in my family to get a Bachelor’s degree.

My parents immigrated to the U.S. shortly before I was born and I grew
up in low
income housing for most of my childhood. Even though behind closed doors my
parents were stressed out about money, they always made me feel blessed to have
what we had. And so, I carried on through most of my life, in an environment
that I always felt was my home until I started noticing our socioeconomic
status. I noticed others taking the “shortcuts” and ending up in jail and experimenting
with drugs, but what stuck out to me as a young girl is that most women couldn’t
leave bad relationships because they depended on a man financially. I simply
didn’t want to be another statistic.

By some twist of fate I took a
class called AVID in 8^th grade, I wasn’t even sure what that class
was, but I think one of the funner classes was booked. AVID turned out to be a
college prep class that changed my way of thinking about my future and I
realized college was my key to be an independent woman.

I may have not been in the best
schools, my parents couldn’t help me with an essay let alone a college
application, but the goal of going to college motivated me to tap into every
resource available. I still think back and feel proud of myself because I was
only 15-18 years old making things happen. I was taking AVID every single year,
enrolling in Junior Achievement that not only taught me how to give a good
handshake, but landed me an internship at a bank, selling bread to fundraise for college tours, fighting
with counselors because they would mistakenly place me in the wrong classes (I
would bring my dad as back-up because they wouldn’t listen to me and demand
that they put me in honors and AP) and meeting with college student volunteers
to help me fill out college applications. I knew that if I didn’t jump
into higher education right after high school it wasn’t going to happen. 

The hustle paid off when the acceptance letters started to trickle
in- SDSU, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA and then my last acceptance letter
was from my top choice UC San Diego with a Junior Achievement one year
scholarship and the rest is history. Now, not only have I been financially
independent, but I was able to make my parents proud. From their sacrifice and hard work I’m happy that I could share my Bachelors of Science
in Economics from UCSD with them.

I know us women face all sorts of trials
and tribulations which is why I encourage YOU to share your story of triumph by
entering the Pine-sol® sweepstakes on www.WomenRiseAboveIt.comor www.LasMujeresNoSeRinden.com where you will have a chance at winning:

• Once a week for 12 weeks, Pine-Sol® will award one lucky winner small tokens of appreciation. (Flower bouquet + Pine Sol coupons) ARV: $150

• Three first prize winners will receive complimentary house cleaning services for a yearARV: $2,400

• One grand prize winner will be awarded an all-inclusive trip to enjoy a peaceful spa experience at a deluxe hotel.ARV: $5,000  

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
 Open to legal residents of the 50 United States & D.C. 18 years and
older.  Ends 1/31/14 at 11:59 a.m. PT.  To enter and for Official
Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions, visitwww.womenriseaboveit.com. Void where prohibited.

☮ & ♥,

Pau