Back in the day

I know I promised you all a recipe by Kohy today, but someone passed out on the couch watching the basketball game last night. In his defense, he did cook me dinner so all is forgiven.


His big recipe debut will be tomorrow, but in the meantime, I thought I’d entertain you all with some of my back-in-the-day pictures and tell you a little more about myself in the process.


I was born and raised in South Florida. Although I look happy in the picture below, I’ve been told that I was the crankiest baby ever in the world of all babies. Check out those dimples, though. I mean, I could afford to be a brat with dimples like those.

Baby Eunice- 1983


My parents are from Peru, but I haven’t been there since I was about 7.

Looking fly and toothless in 1990


I was a chatty child at home, but I was deathly afraid of strangers. To the point where I barely spoke to anyone from kindergarten through high school. Seriously. If you speak with anyone who knew me back then, they would describe me as “that girl with the big eyes who never talked”.

Second grade picture with my favorite cat shirt


In my head, there were so many reasons to justify my insecurities. My hair was too poofy, my eyes were too big and the braces! Well, the braces didn’t help any.

In all my metal glory- 1997


After high school, I gained back some of the confidence that I’d lost in my teenage years. I think that happens to most people. In my case, the turning point was when I made the huge decision to walk away from the lifestyle (religion) I was raised in.

With my mom and little brother-2004


I truly believe that above all else we need to trust ourselves. That gut feeling you get about big decisions is there for a reason. I wasn’t happy in my old life. When I finally listened to my gut feeling, I became a happier more confident person. I was finally able to be myself and love myself.


The reason I’m bringing any of  this up today was because of Rachel’s post about being your own hater. After seeing her vlog, I had to stop and think about what makes me confident and how I got to this point. I believed and trusted in myself and made the decision that was best for me. That’s not to say that I don’t have days when I feel bummed. There have been plenty of those lately! But, I can always come back to the root of who I am and know that I will be ok.

2010

You may be asking what this has to do with nutrition or fitness. Self-esteem and self-image are totally intertwined with being healthy. It’s your love for yourself that leads you to make nutrition and fitness goals in the first place. I hope you stop and think about this today. And quit with all the hating already!