Many ask me:
"And how did you learn to make all those cool designs?"
And the truth is... I don't even know myself 😂
I'm simply curious. Everything I don't understand, I go to YouTube and look up how to do it.
And the rest... I learn by trial and error, like when you solve math problems without being 100% sure but trusting in logic and God.
The closest I got to actually studying design was in 2012, when I took an AutoCAD course at INFOTEP, while studying Mechatronics at ITLA.
Yes, it sounds random... and it was. But everything has a story.
🎓 From Industrial Engineering to Mechatronics: the beginning
I started studying at 18 at UTESA, in Industrial Engineering.
I was doing very well, maintaining a 3.8 GPA.
But life had other tests for me.
My mom couldn't keep paying for my studies. At that time, my boyfriend (who is now my husband 💕) told me about the MESCyT scholarships. I told him that was an urban legend, "they only give that to rich people," I thought 😂
But necessity is an excellent motivator.
🚍 From Alcarrizos to Boca Chica... with a backpack full of dreams
After many turns, I got a scholarship at ITLA.
That was a huge achievement!
Imagine: me, 20 years old, in a classroom full of 17-year-olds fresh out of high school, all shining, and me traveling from Alcarrizos to Boca Chica.
3-4 hours of daily commute.
And on top of that, hungry... because the affordable cafeteria food had a greasiness that scared even the teachers 😅
My hours were extreme: from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Since I had a scholarship, I had to accept any class.
And among so many things, I couldn't perform as well as the others.
I didn't have good internet, I didn't have time, and sometimes, not even energy.
💻 Career change (and dreams too)
After struggling with Mechatronics, I switched to Software.
I tried to switch to Multimedia (which was more my style: design, creativity, advertising), but the director denied me.
She said it would be a waste of a "mathematical" brain.
But the truth was different: I couldn't take it anymore.
I had a Russian professor who spoke Spanish mixed with English, and gave 30-problem exams to be completed in an hour and a half.
I almost had a brain short circuit!
I failed Precalculus twice, and the third time... they kick you out of the scholarship.
Other subjects, perfect. But without passing math, there was no career.
🌱 Learning to let go (even if it hurts)
One day, I went to see the academic director.
With tears in my eyes and a crumpled heart, I told him:
"I can't. I don't have the capacity needed for this."
Today, remembering it, I realize how unfair I was to myself.
But at that moment... I was just a girl learning to be strong.
I let go of something I wanted with all my heart.
And I learned a lesson I still carry with me:
Sometimes it's not a matter of intelligence, but of circumstances.
And no matter how much you want something, if there's no food, rest, or support... your body and mind don't perform the same.
What I needed wasn't more effort.
It was a hand that would tell me:
"You can do it, but you don't have to do it alone."
💭 Today, when I design, I don't use AutoCAD, nor complex formulas.
I use my story.
I use my intuition.
I use what I learn from every fall.
And if you are at a point where you feel you can't go on, I tell you what I would have liked to hear:
It's okay to take a break.
It's okay to change direction.
It's okay to start over.
Because sometimes, dreams don't die.
They just transform.