I have discovered one thing I can count on in this life: it won’t be what I expect.  
 
My parents lived in Panama, where I was born. After my bout with malaria, we returned to Brazil, where I contracted polio. A few years later, my father was assigned to work as the Consul of Brazil in Chicago. It was there that my sister and I attended school and learned English. After Chicago, we moved to Frankfurt, Germany, where I spent my pre-teen years, and then to Miami. I attended middle school in Brazil, and when I was 15, my father was assigned to Kobe, Japan.

We uprooted many times, which naturally took a toll on our relationships with family and friends. However, despite the challenges and accommodations required due to my use of a wheelchair—such as accessible housing—traveling was always a “happy place” for me. I was fascinated by meeting people who seemed completely different from those I had known before. I relished learning about other cultures and delighted in speaking their languages.

My mother and I moved from Tokyo to Los Angeles, where I started university at UCLA. My degree was in East Asian Studies, but it soon became apparent that this interdisciplinary major offered limited career options. After graduating, I worked at Bank of America for five years before deciding to pursue graduate studies, first in teaching and eventually in Educational Counseling and Guidance. After many attempts to find my first counseling position, I was hired at Glendale Community College, where I worked as an academic and career teacher and advisor until my retirement in 2020.

Wow, that’s quite a mouthful!

I lived and I learned. Through so many years and experiences—some good, some bad—I am convinced that there is still so much to learn about the essence of life. If we have the courage and curiosity to seek it out, we can begin to tap into the vast wealth of knowledge and truth available to us.
I invite you to join my journey.