Hello My Name Is...

A women who had a second chance in life. From living in L.A to San Diego.

Hello, my name was Googgie. I was raise with my 8 siblings. I was born in East LA and it all started in middle school.

I was abused, mad, sad and rejected. So, I joined a gang and became the leader of girls. I became a bully in my school because I hated my life, myself and everyone around me. To ease the pain I begun to take drugs and drank alcohol.

My first attempt of suicide I was 11 years old. My second one was at the age at 16. During this time I was also bullied at home. So I felt I didn’t have peace anywhere!

At this point I was very depressed. My mom did not know what to do with me. I would hear her pray/crying for me. But I didn’t feel anything anymore.

Adding to that pain, my brother who I literally called my best friend, was shot and stabbed in front of my house. I couldn’t focus in school anymore. I missed him so much, I was only a teen.

I dropped out of high school. Then my family decided to move to San Diego for a fresh start. So, we moved to San Diego and I got a job as a Teacher Aide in the military base. My mom became a women of faith and I felt I was given a second chance.

At the age of 17 I met my husband while visiting my family in Tijuana. He was also part of my healing process. We are now married 39 years, have 3 beautiful children and I love to be part of Transforme Project team. I love to help my community by making people smile and I’m also known as the “momma” or “snack lady”.

I consider myself to be a true survivor from bullying, cancer (that’s a story for another day) and depression. Through Transforme Project I can help people like me and I like to remind them that we all deserve a second chance. Now, my name is Nena Amezcua and I’m joining this social media campaign #SPEAKPURPOS3 . We are all in this together, tell me your story. I am here for you.