I am a Phoenix

Since I can remember, I have always identified myself with the Phoenix. This bird that has the ability to turn into flames and then raise from the ashes has always felt like a metaphor for my life. I can still remember the times when everything seemed to collapsed and burned, but then, with the same energy that I went down, I was able to pick myself up from the ashes. Little did I know that this bird would have such an impact in my life to the point that I would study at University of Phoenix and now I am a college graduate from that school.

Every time I see the commercial with people saying "I am a Phoenix" I know inside me that I truly am one; not because the degree says so, but because I am able to transform my life, to burn the old, and to be reborn. Life is about beginnings, middles and endings. I feel like now I am transitioning from a big ending to a new beginning. Closing the door and finishing school has the symbolism of turning a page in my life, the one of formal education, to begin the one of practical education and of studying all those things that I always wanted to study but did not have the time because I was in school. There is a part of me that says ... mmmm .... maybe I should go for a Masters, even a PhD so I could become a psychologist, but the other part of me says that I've been in school for too long and no book or degree will be able to teach me who I truly am. Many times we read books trying to find the answers to our questions, trying to find ourselves in the books, thinking that if we have this title or that degree we will be enough, we will know enough, we will feel complete. Unfortunately, no title or degree or book can show you who you are. No label is able to give you the power to feel complete. That is something you need to feel within and embrace. I think this is the next lesson in my life, learn to accept myself just the way I am, knowing that I am complete and powerful, and that I do not need validation from anybody or anything to know who I am.

Blessings!