Sometimes it is hard to realize how much you have accomplished, until you decide to put things in perspective.

When I first heard about The Secret, I was about 15 years old. I started dreaming big – my first dream was that I wanted to live on my own. I started taking trips to the grocery store and I used to walk around with the cart as if I was buying groceries for my own house.

Time went by… my father had been living in the US for a while, and when I was 18, I got my green card and decided to quit my job in Brazil, drop out of college and move to the US. I lived with my father for a few months, got a new job, started college here and guess what? A few months in I had the opportunity to share an appartment with someone.

Great. I was on my own. A few years later, I had some serious issues with my roomates, they kept my rent money for months, until the day we were evicted. I was homeless. And on that same day, I lost my job. A couple of friends took me into their home as I searched for another job and another roomate.

My goal was to live on my own and to rent an apartment all by myself. That was my darkest hour – I had no idea how I would do it. I started applying for jobs, hoping to find something decent in the middle of this terrible economy.

1 month later I landed a job at a very good law firm as a paralegal – I had no experience whatsoever, but they liked me very much and decided to train me. A month after I started working, I signed the lease for my own apartment – no roommates. I found a very adorable apartment that was everything I wanted – I saw it when my landlord was still building it, so he made it custom to me!!

A few months after that, I decided to go back to college (after 2 years away). I took an amazing art class that opened up all of my creative channels again, making it possible for me to create new songs, paintings, photographs, etc.

Another month or two into it, and after several tentatives, I managed to quit smoking and I have been clean for 3 months today.

For the first time since I moved to the US, I now have health insurance fully paid by my employer, and I just started a new treatment for my asthma, which will help me accomplish a healthier life.

On top of all that, I am in a beautiful relationship for a little over a year now, and I love my girlfriend more than anything in the world. She is loving, caring and she respects and cherishes who I really am. I feel like together we can take over the world. I have my cat, 2 bearded dragons and a beta fish that are my bundles of love, and last saturday my girlfriend and I adopted a new kitten to our home. We are very happy.

Putting things into perspective sometimes help you see things differently. I didn’t realize how much I have accomplished over the last year until I actually sat down and thought about it. I feel so much gratitude and I am sure this is only the beginning for us!