“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” — Carol Burnett said that. It’s what came to mind after sitting down with Yesenia R. Almost two years ago we profiled resident Yesenia. Two years is not a long time, but so much has changed in that short span that it felt important to revisit her story with what I’ll call “Yesenia…Chapter Two”.
To recap what we learned in chapter one; Yesenia, a Los Angeles native is the oldest of five sisters. Her mother raised the girls mostly on her own. Yesenia’s father and his side of the family are all alcoholics. Yesenia struggled heavily with alcohol and all of the legal consequences that came with drinking. More specifically, drinking and driving. She accumulated an astounding five DUIs. Serious damage was done. Damage to her vehicles, damage to her relationships, and damage to her psyche. She said, remorsefully, “It’s crazy how it only takes you five seconds to get into serious legal situations and it will take you years to get out of it.” But with the help and support of her fiancé, her mother, and the Alternative Sentencing program at Beit T’Shuvah, Yesenia embarked on a journey to recover her life.
When we last left Yesenia she was doing great! She was a Program Facilitator intern and she had high hopes for her future. Yesenia not only hoped for good things to come, she manifested them—but we’ll get to that in a moment.
There have been changes but some important constants have remained; her mom, her sisters, and her fiancé are still her biggest cheerleaders. She still has the same AA sponsor, an 82-year-old woman with whom she completed her step work. In addition, she has her Dad in her life again. “My dad and I are building this relationship that we didn’t have before he got sober. He has five years sober now, so he’s three years ahead of me!”
Now she has a whole new crew that she calls family as well. “Beit T’Shuvah became my family. My real, real, family. This family taught me a lot, they showed me things and taught me things that I didn’t know I was capable of doing.”
She may not have known she was capable but she certainly hoped she was. “What I did in the beginning when I was a resident was journal a lot, and I used a lot of manifestation.” I told you we’d get back to it. “Some of the things I wrote down, get more than a year of sobriety and become a counselor. I still open this journal every week and I just start crossing things off. It’s my checklist.”
Yesenia was an excellent Program Facilitator (PF) intern and quickly moved up the ranks from intern to full-time PF, then to PF Supervisor, and three weeks ago she achieved another goal and accepted her position as a Beit T’Shuvah Counselor. That was also right after she celebrated her second sober birthday. Check, check, and check!
These feats mean more to her than just another check mark on her ‘what to manifest next’ list. On being offered the counselor position and realizing what it took to get there, she says, “It’s a feeling that I can’t explain, I only know how it feels and it feels amazing. Being that person who had anger issues, dealing with trauma, dealing with PTSD, dealing with cops, being in jail for a year, five DUI’s, ten accidents, 15 crashed cars…I can tell you, I just want to close that chapter. Not forget about it, but just leave it behind and look forward to better things that are coming my way.”
So what’s next on her list? “Next I’m manifesting to stay grounded and keep moving forward. I’m more aware spiritually. I can see things that I wasn’t able to see just a year ago. The more sobriety I have the more aware I am of people, places, and things.
Yesenia is excited to give back what was so freely given to her, she also recognizes what this new position brings to her life. “From the residents I get to help, I also gain knowledge, acceptance, and a lot of courage too. I used to be very judgemental, now I stop, I listen, and I help find resources to a solution.”
Yesenia exudes every good trait that a confident, capable counselor should. She also oozes with gratitude for what Beit T’Shuvah means to her. She even does it in true ‘gratitude list’ form. “It means, 1) family, 2) second chances, 3) lifesaver, 4) It means…” She took a long pause. Her eyes start to well up. “Honestly, Beit T’Shuvah means the world to me. I can never thank them for what they’ve done for me. It’s been a blessing. It’s been life-changing.”
So to Carol Burnett, I say, maybe you’re right, “no one can change your life for you.” Although it never hurts to have (or manifest) some help along the way. And to Yesenia, I think I can speak for everyone when I say, you’re an inspiration to this entire community.
Chapter two. Check!