I first had to deal with change when I was born. A few minutes after midnight I tried to give my first cry, but there was a problem, my umbilical cord was preventing me to breath normally. It was all around my fragile neck, suffocating me, I was all white for the lack of oxygen. That was my first experience with change. My little body had to go into survival mode to continue living.
A few months later, change struck again. I became affected with poliomyelitis, (infantile paralysis). As a consequence my left leg stop growing for a few months and got one inch shorter than the other. That changed my life for ever.
My nickname was “Dollar,” (at that time, in my country, the value of the Dollar was, one day up, and the next day, down). Limping made me fall all the time, my knees were a mess. When I reached the teen’s years and I started paying attention to girls, been different struck me in a very painful way. I felt inferior. Insecurity took over my life. I felt awful for about a year. One day I was reading a book written by Os Mandino. In that book, he was teaching how to become the best seller in the world. Reading it brought the greatest change in my life. All of the sudden I was in control of my life. I became a leader.
My first birthday was getting close and my aunt was giving me a bath. When she was done, she left me, alone, for a few seconds to go get a towel. When she came back, she found me lying on my back, the water was preventing me to breath. She pull me out and the problem was gone. Until now, I do not know what kind of change that situation brought to my life, probably taught me that staying under water for a long time was dangerous.
At four I was been push in a swing, when I was propelled into the air to end hitting a rock that pop my head open. I still have the scars to prove that changing event. I have not been around a swing, no way!
As a grown up, I choose to be a cameraman for a TV channel. I turned to be the best. I decided to freelance the “Guerrillas” in my country. So one day I found myself in the “emergency zone” reporting. I was so successful that a Army General in charge of the anti-subversive operations in the area, convinced me to be an undercover agent for the army. I did, it was a great challenge. One day, been in his office , he told me that he admired in me my strong instinct of surviving. He added that not even his soldiers, that were trained to do so, were as good as I was. That is what change or adaptation can bring to your life.
When I went to the Amazon jungle, one day, swimming in a river, got caught by a water current that was pulling me down. I fought with all the strength I had. When I realized I could not keep myself afloat, I decided to let it go. My last thought was that my family would not learn were I was. I lost conscience. I, until this day, do not know how much time went by, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself ashore. After that I was sick for about two weeks, with high fever and chills. Native people said it was the fear that I had inside me.
When I turned forty years of age, I arrived to Miami as a journalist. When my Visa expired and I decided to stay in this beautiful country, I carried a lot of different jobs that I was not used to do. Landscaping, construction. In North Carolina I picked tobacco, and learned how to milk cows. Then I moved to Georgia and Colorado, where I milked cows too. I really enjoy that part of my live. Cows behave just like us, like to gossip, want to be loved and spoiled.
Anyway, doing all this type of work gave me a new perspective of mankind. Something that, as a journalist, was not aware of. My life became reacher.
Then I broke my hip, after that I had to learn how to walk again. Then doctors discover I had colorectal cancer. That, I thought, was the end of the world. No it was not. Now, after fourteen years I can say that I defeated cancer.
Diabetes is my new challenge. I am sure I will overcome it.
I have learned how to deal with change. Every time I confront a changing situation, I emerge stronger. Knowing how to deal with it, gives you the freedom to be a better human being.
