Today we’d like to introduce you to Salina Romo
Hi Salina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My life restarted 11 years ago. I gave birth during a very dark time in my life and at that time I had to make a choice to either continue on the path that I was on or to choose a new way of life for myself and for my son. This choice did not come easy, only because as a human staying comfortable is always higher priority than getting uncomfortable. The difference now is I have another human needing me to care for him, do you know how hard that is when you don’t even know how to take care of yourself? He was worth it though, he was worth more to me than I ever was, more than gold, more than money, more than anything. He is what made the choice easy. I went through a program called Westcare Nevada and they gave me two different counselors Ms. Mary and Ms. Angel and they helped me learn how to process my feelings and my emotions, they helped me learn how to take care of me, so I can take care of my son, they helped me learn how to love myself again. To this day Ms. Angel will answer my calls and help me process what I can’t on my own. Once I learned real self love and not ego driven love, my whole perspective changed. I learned that I was worth it, that I was worth everything I never gave myself. I learned I wasn’t all those lies I was told and told myself all my life, I don’t have to be someone else, I’m amazing just as Salina. I don’t have to be like you or like her or him, I just have to be me and thats enough!
Now I have a life that I was always supposed to have. I have 3 beautiful children, a husband that knows all my deepest darkest secrets and only uses them to know how to love me better instead of using them against me. I have my family back, friends that love me for all the good, bad and the ugly. I own my own business today, I never went to business school, I don’t even know how to run a business but I use everything I learned in the streets to my advantage. I changed my perspective yet still use that “hustler” mentality to excel in my life. That perspective change helped me turn my pain into power.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Getting clean and changing my life was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Living the street life is comfortable, no bills, no responsibility, I remember jail was just a vacation. So getting out and getting a job, my own apartment and having a baby to take care of was a huge reality check. The key is to have people in your life that have been exactly where you are and can show you how they do it. I clung to my predecessors because I had no idea what I was doing. After 11 years I still have struggles whether it’s mentally or emotionally. I still act out when I feel like my back is against the wall. The old Salina is gone but she’s still in there and she will come out if I feel like I need protection. I fall short every single day but I never stay, I pick myself back up and I move on. At the end of the day you have to be okay with you because the people around you aren’t always going to be there to talk you off the edge. “For every dark night, there’s a brighter day that follows”- Tupac
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
On the business aspect side I have a catering business. I fell in love with cooking about 7 years ago when I was a stay at home mom. I just started playing with food and recipes and I realized how good I can make my food. Everything I make is always better than the restaurants so one of my friends told me I needed to start selling my food. She told me for months to do it but the fear of not being good enough held me back. Finally one day I said screw fear, I can do whatever I set my mind to and I just posted on Facebook that I was selling my “quesabirria” and people actually bought my food. The support is what keeps me going. I’m mostly known for my birria but I make such a variety of dishes. Everything I make is made from scratch and I know what every herb and spice does to help nourish your body. There’s not one meal I cook that doesn’t have 3-5 different spices and herbs and they all blend together perfectly. I also offer my services free of charge to churches, rehab facilities, old people home etc. The only thing I ask is they buy the groceries and I’ll cook it. All my extra food goes to the homeless, I will drive around and give plates away for free to the homeless in our community because I believe everyone deserves a home cooked meal.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Not really, I didn’t start my business until after Covid.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anything_from_salinas_?igsh=MWhtemN6dGhwNHA3aQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salina.romo.1?mibextid=LQQJ4d
