Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Yazmin Castellano. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Yazmin, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
It is scary when you are taking a leap of faith into the unknown. Leaving all the material things that brings you security: marriage, job, house. Leaving behind what brings you safety within yourself: thoughts, behaviors, ideas, beliefs. All of that just to follow your instincts. Accepting the fact that you don’t know who you are, what you like and dislike. Have the courage to rediscover the women that has been screaming inside of you for so many years. That woman wanting to come out however; doing so will result in breaking with many beliefs, breaking generational cycles, loosing friends. It is a moment in life when you ask yourself: Should I be trust to myself or should I continued living a life to fit into everyone’s expectations? Do I have the courage to face loneliness, fears, guilt, lost of loved ones? This is my story:
I was married for 16 years. I have children from that marriage. My husband, at the time, and I both worked. However; my marriage was not doing well for the last 5 years. Since my ex-husband and I were dating, we always decided to have only 2 children.
At that time, I was very involved in church and decided to follow church rules and stopped using my birth control methods. A year later, I got pregnant with my youngest child. Throughout my marriage, my ex-husband was very inconsistent with maintaining a job. I was working full time as a mental health professional however; the program for which I was working for closed operations. I was pregnant at the time; my ex-husband was working part time as a cashier at a local grocery store. My pregnancy was very difficult, I had contractions throughout my pregnancy, baby was not developing in the womb, constant visits to the hospital, etc. My ex-husband was vey lazy, refusing to work full time and demanding of me to work. Even though I was at risk of early labor, I had to clean and prepare the room for the baby. I had nothing saved from my previous pregnancies and no money to buy new baby items. My church community got together and provided me with all the basics for my new baby. I was very blessed. My baby born with special needs. It has been quite of a journey since I got pregnant with her. I have to take her to constant appointments to specialists, therapists, etc.
One night, my ex-husband threatened me. I remembered it like today. It was around 11pm, it was raining. We got into an argument, he threatened me and immediately the words of my grandmother came into my mind “study, be prepared so if you have to walk away from a relationship or an emergency situation, you do it” and so I did. I just took my baby girl who was connected to a feeding machine, my other 2 children and left the house.
I had no place to go, no money, nothing. I called my friend whom received me at her house. She allowed me to stay in a room in her house for 2 months until I find my own place. So, the journey begins, finding an apartment where I could live at with no income. I applied for welfare. I felt extremely ashamed as no one in my family has ever, never received any government benefits. And here I am the one in the family with the highest college degree living out of welfare. I want to say that I have no family here in Florida. All my family lives in Puerto Rico. It was me, myself and I with my 3 children.
I remembered many times I had to leave my two oldest children home alone at night as I had to run to the ER with my little one. Just praying to God to protect them form any harm. Also, my oldest child had to take some “parental role” at an early age (7th grade). I was able to build a family dynamic in which my kids respected the authority of their oldest sibling. Also, my oldest child was able to become mature enough to step up to the plate of the responsibilities of a parental role.
Yes, although I am a mental health counselor, my kids received mental health therapy for support into processing their grievance: loss of their house, loss of parents being married, loss of their father (their father decided to walk away from them) and loss of having a comfortable life style.
That time was very hard for me. I was going thru depression, anxiety because of the divorce, dealing with my ex-husband, the emotional and mental impact of all those changes on my 2 oldest children and dealing with my baby health issues.
I remembered there were time that I had to be creative with food so I can stretch it to feed my children for 2 days, meaning that mom many times went to be with no dinner.
How did I deal with all that? I used prayer a lot, I used exercise, journaling, venting to my friend. Taking a daily walk, it was extremely helpful for me. It helped me to clear out my mind, to take time for myself, to have a time where I was able to feel free. I also decided to build a new bonding, connection, family identity with my kids. We spend a lot of time together. Remembered that I used many coupons to go out to eat at least once a month. I searched a lot of free community events where I went with my kids to have fun.
I also decided to focus on myself, to be the best version of myself, to rediscover myself. I had to learn Who am I? What do I like? What I don’t like? Tap to that inner woman that was always inside of me but I locked her up in a jail. It was extremely scary as I had to break with a lot of conditioned ideas received from my family and church. I had to overcome fears, shame, insecurities. I had to learn to be vulnerable (super scary as I learned that being vulnerable means you are weak) and build my confidence as a woman by just being myself (the scariest thing I could have ever done).
Finally, I was able to start working part time as a mental health counselor where I was able to set my own working hours. That was great as it gave me the flexibility to take my baby girl to her doctor’s appointment.
I have been in this journey for 9 years. I am extremely grateful for all the blessings God has giving me. Yes, I took that leap of faith leaving absolutely everything behind. Starting a new life with absolutely nothing: financially, mentally, emotionally.
God is giving me more that I have ever thought I could ever have. I have 3 amazing children. My youngest girl still needs lots of care for her health. The bonding we have as a family is unbreakable. I have been blessed with an amazing life partner: hard worker, loving, caring, kind, he treats me like a queen. I have a great job, that has opened the doors to so many opportunities in my professional career. Currently, I am completing my doctorate and this week I was able to get our home. All my dreams are coming true. Yes, the journey was painful, scary but the results are full of joy and most importantly: freedom!!!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Yazmin Castellano. I was born and raised in PR. I moved to Florida around 21 years ago. I am a mental health professional. I have a B.A. in Clinical Psychology from Sacred Heart University, PR, and an M.A in School Psychology from Interamerican University, PR. Currently, I am working towards completing my Ed.D. at USF. My doctoral degree in Education with a concentration in innovation. I chose that program as I want to create a school with an innovative curriculum for children with Autism.
As a mental health professional, I have worked with the Hispanic/Latin/Latin X community. I have worked with children, teens, and adults with mental and behavioral challenges. I attempt to provide hope, answers, and support to parents of children with disabilities.
As a professional, I have participated as a trainer or panelist in several national and international professional conferences and TV shows. The objective is to advocate and raise awareness about the challenges, needs, and differences among Hispanic/Latin/Latin X culture, especially families with children with disabilities.
Feedback received from Professors and supervisors is that I am highly passionate about what I do. They also say I am an overachiever. My motto is that “giving up is not an option .”I do everything possible to provide answers, support, and solutions to the families I work with.
I am incredibly proud of my family. My family is highly diverse: we have different cultures, races, minorities, and genders.
We love each other and support each other. We are one.
It makes me proud every time I have a parent telling me that they can see the “light at the end of a tunnel.” They have “hope .”Just to know that I have planted the seed in the life of a human being, even better if it is a child, is the best award I can receive.
Some information about what I do in my free time: I love spending time with my family, dancing, reading, journaling, workout, walking by the beach, meditating, photography, travel.
I have Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages where I post most of my professional accomplishments.
I envision myself as a national and international public speaker advocating for minorities with disabilities.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Coming from Puerto Rico to USA was a challenge. In Puerto Rico, I was working as a college professor. However, English was not my “forte.” I still do have a strong accent, and proud of it. When I started looking for a job with my resume from Puerto Rico, employers could not relate to my work experience. I had to begin with the basics, learn the language, learn proper pronunciation, get used to the culture, learn my surroundings, etc. I had to work very hard to build my professionalism. I had to demonstrate that, regardless of my accent, I am a smart, reliable, skillful, knowledgeable professional. I had to perform many tasks, excel at all my jobs, being noticed by my supervisors. Little by little, I build up my resume in the states. Currently, my professional background, and experiences, speak for themselves about me
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am grateful for finding my purpose in life which it happens to be my profession. Fulfilling your purpose in life and getting paid for it is a win-win.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/castellano_yazmin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yazmin.castellano2
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yazmin-castellano-587a4a54/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKw2hsflScy73f4jXEPuAZQ
Image Credits
Yazmin Castellano