Thirty-Five Years!

Hola, 

As everyone is celebrating Thanksgiving this year in the States, I am also celebrating 35 years of recovery from bulimia. I am so proud of myself and grateful for the 27yr old woman who was a mess and didn't think she would make it to 30! Let alone have a life she loves and one she is proud of.

The past 35 years have been filled with ups and downs along with zigs and zags too! I am grateful for my faith that has not only gotten me through tough times but has given me the hope to aim for the life I desired. 

When I was in my early 20's I seriously didn't think I make it to 30. I had done a lot of partying in my teens and early 20's but my drugs of choice were binging and laxatives.  I was a laxative bulimic from 9yrs old to 27yrs old. It was a very dark time as you can imagine. What set me on the road to recovery wasn't some great insight to how messed up I was but I was brought to my knees because I couldn't handle the darkness any longer.  I could barely function in the world and the world of my own making anymore. 

Little did I know when I walked into an Over Eaters Anonymous meeting 35yrs ago that my life would be forever changed. It was changed by the people who taught me lessons, people who supported and loved me even when I didn't love myself.

It's been a journey of facing myself and confronting my pain and forgiving myself and my past. Embracing the unique person I am with abundant love and creating a new world where I can overcome obstacles and embrace the love of God and rejoice in the gifts he has given me. 

In those 35yrs I have worked on myself to move forward to create a life I love by diving deep into personal development and making some dreams come true. When I was an addict, I didn't ever believe I could have anything like the life I have now.  

Let me share my OMG! I can't believe this is happening to me!! Here is the list......

I produced and acted iin an off-off broadway show with 3 other women. Then I decided to leave my fashion career behind and go back to school to study film. I graduated with honors in 2004. In that fall I entered a masters program in Media Studies and Film and graduated with my MA 2yrs later.  I had already had an internship with Albert Maysles, a very famous documentary filmmaker (along with his brother David.) In the fall of 2004 I met the love of my life my husband Jesse. We don't have a perfect marriage because there is no such thing. What I love about our relationship is that we let  each other be ourselves. That at times can be rough for either of us but the respect, love and trust there is beautiful and something I didn't seem attainable. Jess and I had our own documentary filmmaking company for about 8yrs, but only about 4 years of being successful before an economic crash in the States hit us like a lot of people. My husband  and I rebounded  first by him getting a new position at a University in NYC and I went on the fertility journey! It took 3 years but I gave birth to my amazing daughter Myah just 10 days shy of my 50th birthday! She just turned 12 last month and I can't believe what a beautiful person she is becoming. Myah is for me the impossible dream come true!  After Myah was about 3yrs old we decided to move to Costa Rica away from the concrete jungle of NYC.

It's been 8yrs since we left and I  do miss the city for that is where I became my true self! I didn't know 35yrs ago that I could have an unbelievable feeling of self love and a sense of self. Those two things are so important to have and I don't take it for granted. 

Now, I live in a house of mostly glass with a jungle in my yard that supplies us with bananas and family time in the pool. A community of expats and Costa Ricans(Ticos) and a school that has a sign on the entrance "You are Loved Here." 

I thank my higher power God(Yahweh) for my hitting bottom and all the love and support he has given me to rise up with the tools to create a life I love.

Love and Peace 

Gina