Growing up in Colorado, I dreamed of career, marriage, and kids- but it never occurred to me that achieving those personal goals would first mean undergoing some tough personal changes. I've ultimately gone through a metamorphosis that today allows me to proudly raise bicultural daughters- but the road here was long.

My interest in the larger world around my me started off very early- as a voracious reader I sought out novels that would transport me closer and closer to far off places with every turn of the page. It didn't take long for me to want to leave my books, my hometown and even my family behind in order to explore the world on my own.

Leaving home for college was the first step towards expanding my horizons. I started by leaving home for school, then leaving school to study abroad, and ultimately living abroad after graduation. Moving abroad meant embracing a new language, a new culture, and a new love.

While living in Costa Rica was exhilarating, it was a difficult time as I navigated new feelings. Feelings of inadequacy when speaking Spanish, feelings of shame as I internalized my American privilege, and feelings of euphoria while falling in love with my now husband. It was a heady mix of emotions that I wasn't able to define.

It wasn't until I became a mother that I finally understood the importance of embracing and merging my dual worlds. From the moment I laid eyes on my oldest daughter I knew that my job was to root her as much in her Latina identity as her American one. It has become my responsibility model bilingual living for my children so that they grow up to be proud of all the places they come from.

It's not easy- motherhood has brought up many feelings of inadequacy as I navigate speaking Spanish at home with my kids, feelings of despair when people doubt the Latin-ness of our family, and feelings of frustration with the world when I face criticism for the way I parent.

But my job is to raise my girls up to be strong women who are rooted in two worlds- and motherhood has given me the strength to define my own multicultural identity in order to pass it along for them. I could not be more grateful to travel a new journey with my girls.