Day Fourteen - From Panic to Power

Moving forward meant trying to give my children a better life.

I would show up at their school carrying a bag filled with little trinkets and different items to sell, doing anything I could to make extra money. Then one day, I saw an advertisement for a sales position. It said to send in a résumé—but I didn’t have one.

That didn’t stop me.

I kept calling until someone finally answered. When I got the owner on the phone, I said, “I don’t have a résumé, but please give me an opportunity. Let me work for two weeks. If I don’t show you progress, you don’t have to keep me. After that, I’ll work on commission.”

I wanted that job so badly because it was right down the block from St. Teresa’s, where I dreamed of sending my son so he could be with his friends and receive a better education. I couldn’t afford the tuition unless I found a job—and this opportunity felt perfect.

The owner took a chance on me, and that chance became my breakthrough.

The company provided cleaning services, and within two weeks, I sold more jobs than his entire office had sold in a year. I was hired and given the flexible hours I needed as a mother.

Every day, I would leave work, walk to St. Teresa’s to meet my son for lunch, return to work, and then pick him up after school. I was finally able to work while still being present for my child.

That job taught me how to sell, how to build relationships, and eventually, how to run my own company.

This is what persistence and determination look like. I didn’t have a résumé, experience, or anyone opening doors for me. What I did have was courage, faith, and a mother’s determination to give her children something better.
When you are a mother and you know you are your children’s only option, you do whatever you have to do.

That opportunity changed the direction of my life—and my journey continues.

Reflection:
Sometimes your breakthrough begins when you refuse to accept “no” as the end of your story. You may not have everything they ask for, but courage, persistence, and the willingness to prove yourself can open a door that changes your entire life.