My Biography

I’m one of those people that likes to experience life fully.  I’ve never been one who is complacent sitting back, looking at the world, and watching it pass me by.  I like to fully immerse myself in the world I am living and surround myself with love, happiness, and peace.  I like new cultures, new religions, learning about race, identity, and travelling to new horizons.  God has given us an entire Earth to explore, discover, and push the limits of our own comfort level to grow and learn.  I want to be like a sponge on this planet – permeable, flexible, and absorbing everything around it. 

I will never understand people who are ok with living in a self-constructed bubble.  I want to experience every facet of life – breath in new air in a foreign country, hear rhythmic hymns and chants in a temple, bring a smile to a child’s face, and immerse myself in someone else’s shoes.  We were given the power and the love within us to transform a life and more substantially, this world.  I firmly believe that good people exist.

I am a cultural mutt.  I have been told I look Italian/Puerto Rican/Middle Eastern my entire life.  I love it and fully embrace my cultural ambiguity.  As a matter of fact, I would rather not identify with one “culture” per say as I am a bit of thief when it comes to music, food, religion, and language.  I take what I identify with; no matter if it is deemed culturally “Indian” or “Caribbean” or “African American.”  I do not ascribe to traditional categorization and I will continually rebel against labels.  I am Raquel; a cultural parasite who takes what she associates with, what calls to her heart, and is constantly learning new rituals and traditions that will expand her “bubble” of reality.  Call me Dora the Explorer, as my old coworker used to call me.

Life is a joy.  By fully immersing myself in the moment, I always try to use all five senses and commit my experiences to memory, as I know in a few years, I will be unable to recall sights, smells, and sounds exactly as they are in the moment.  Videos and pictures are my only hope.  It troubles me that I even fail to recall many of the experiences on my first international trip to Costa Rica when I was seventeen; merely eight years ago.

My college friends call me “paparazzi.”  I secretly love it.  I love capturing and remembering moments.  Some will argue that by capturing a moment, I am missing the very essence of being “in” the moment.  I disagree.  I have done both and will continue to live fully AND remember fully.

I have an esoteric mind and a depth that not many can understand.  I think deeply and critically with regard to my relationships with people, my interactions, and my love for the world.  Yes, I am a dreamer and a lover.  Perhaps I was born in the wrong decade.  I will always choose my heart and often times fail to think rationally as my heart is not a rational organ unfortunately.  But I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Regret will never be in my vocabulary.

I fully love my life.  Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.  No one can take my thoughts, my inner joy, my heart, or my hope.  Those are the seconds of my watch.  Those are the ticks that keep my arms flying and my legs sailing.

Bon voyage to a new adventure.  Dream big, keep your wanderlust fervent.

Sail away.

God's Paintings

Flamingo pink,

Lilac purple,

Faded lemon yellow,

Ocean blue,

And a radiant deep watermelon red,

Brush the sky as the sun slowly retreats behind the swaying dark green palms.

Clear skies tonight with only one purplish pink cumulus cloud interrupting the blue canvas of our atmosphere.

Sunsets are God’s daily artwork to mankind for us to relish in their glory and be stunned by their opulent colors; every day altered yet ever impressive and ephemeral. 

A quick camera snap fails to capture the majesty of His work.

Sometimes I wonder if you see the same sun setting as I do on life’s canvas and if you are as stunned with the beauty of life as I am. 

You are on my mind always.