@Chaos.Cat.Is - Duisburg, GermanyThis incredibly brave amputee tattoo model hails from Duisburg, Germany. Lisa S. “Chaos Cat” survived bone cancer when she was a child. But it left her trapped in a body which she never felt at ease with. After years that were marked by sadness and frustration, she took the brave decision to have her leg amputated; and she hated it. But she had no clue that this would enable her to start a new life, open up new possibilities and finally allow her to be who she always wanted to be. This beauty took a moment to share her voice with us! ● “We only have this one life, so let’s dream, be hopeful, learn to love and embrace change. It’s not enough to just make it through your life day I day out. Every human being should have the life he or she longs for. Everybody can make it, no matter what life throws at you. No matter how lost you sometimes feel. Make the best out of your life. Only you yourself have the power to make yourself happy. It’s your life, your responsibility. “ @CHAOS.CAT.LS AMPUTEE TATTOO MODEL DUISBURG, GERMANY ● What are you waiting for?! Share your voice with thousands of women around the world. Submit your info online at www.WeThinkLoud.com/befeatured. ● A Journey Led by Destiny Chaos Cat survived bone cancer when she was a child. But it left her trapped in a body which she never felt at ease with. After years that were marked by sadness and frustration, she took the brave decision to have her leg amputated. This, so she thought, would enable her to start a new life, open up new possibilities and finally allow her to be who she always wanted to be. And it did. Read her story - both in the German original and the English translation. Cured from That Wretched Cancer, But Marked for Life When I was diagnosed with bone cancer - reasons unknown - at the early age of 12, my path of life hit another dimension. I was still too young to really understand what was going on. So, I did what I was told in order to survive. Two years of chemo therapy and plenty of suffering, especially for my parents and my family. During a major surgery my femur and tibia with the tumor were removed and replaced by an endoprosthesis. After that I was classified as cured. Cured from that wretched cancer but marked for life. Marked by a story that will forever be part of me. And marked by a knee that was stiff after the surgery. But that wasn’t the end of a long and often arduous journey. I had just started to live my life. So aged - almost - 14 I went back, back into the world out there. But everything was different. Or was everything the same and it was me who had changed? I grew older and experienced mean classmates, constant teasing, bullying and it all made me harder and more self-confident. All of that was necessary so that I am able to laugh about such people today. I never managed to identify with my fate, let alone accept it. I hated my leg. It just wasn’t me. The scar was deep and tough, the joint itself was stiff, immobile, like glued together from the inside. All I wanted was to be a “normal” child again, living a “normal” life. But that wasn’t going to happen. Something else was planned for me. I was never a normal child, was never like all the others. My life was formed by fate. But it took years until I was able to accept this. I grew older and wiser and my life was similar to those of others. I learned a trade, made friends, went out partying and dancing and found the love of my life. Wasn’t my life all that different after all, despite my stiff leg?! I learned to live with my leg, with my fate. But I never really came to terms with it. Year after year I went to see doctors, asked about new methods to mobilize my knee. But in vain. There was nothing the doctors could do, except for pointing out how well I was managing. Was that the best they could do? Really? Telling me I was managing and should accept things as they were? I couldn’t! And I wouldn’t! I had a desire for so much more in my life. I had aimed high, had big plans. Wanted to do things that just weren’t possible with a stiff leg. I wanted to get more out of life than just managing, than just getting by. I wanted to live my life according to my own ideas. Long Years of Soul Searching Over the years many thoughts crossed my mind. I had moments when I felt depressed. I was utterly sad, despite having everything I needed: Friends, love, a cool job and an incredible family. But that was not enough. I wanted more. When I turned 25 and lost my job once more, because I just wasn’t happy with it, I started re-thinking my life. I spent endless hours on the internet. Looked for people that had similar experiences; that were in a similar situation. I looked for ways to be happy again. And then the day came when I finally found people who shared my fate. Thanks to Facebook I finally found my tribe, other survivors who also went through a lot. This was the first time in my life that I actually met other people who had battled with cancer. Many of them were diagnosed with the very same cancer I was had. For me this was just mind-blowing. Why didn’t I think about this earlier? I should have searched for these people much sooner. I never had the feeling I was understood. I was never able to talk about my life - until I met these people who had gone through very similar experiences. That was like an epiphany. And it suddenly dawned to me: I wasn’t alone anymore. After having talked to many people, I developed new ideas, new wishes. As you know I was never able to befriend my stiff leg or accept my situation. And I finally knew where my journey was taking me. By now I was mature enough to realize what I really wanted. Was mature enough to realize where I belonged and what my destiny was. My fate was not just to survive the cancer and live with a stiff leg. No, that was not my path. My path was to grow, to grow beyond what I thought was possible. And to take a decision that would change my whole live once and for all. Taking A Decision and Seeing It Through And that’s what I did. After many discussions with people in similar situations I knew what I needed to do. I knew what the only right and realistic way for me would be to have my leg amputated. Initially this thought scared me, but only for a moment. The more I read about it and the more I heard about it from others, the surer I was that that was the way I wanted to take. So many new possibilities, so many new paths and people, so many new thoughts and feelings. And then? How can I turn this new idea into a reality? How do I explain this decision to the people around me? How will it actually be? Will it hurt? Will things really be alright? Or will I regret this decision? Will I manage to fulfill all my desires with this change? Suddenly there were so many new questions. But then, I was without fear, only full of new hope. Finally, I had found a way forward that felt like it was my way. A way that could actually lead to where I had wanted to be all my life - without consciously knowing it. Supported by my husband and my family who - after many questions and long explanations - always stood firm by my side, we approached the doctors again. And finally, they also saw this as a realistic way for me. So, my new dream about my life came true. Suddenly so many doors seem to open. All those years I had been waiting for such an opportunity, always hoping, but always looking in the wrong direction. But now my heart was bursting with joy. And there was no way back. My decision was final. And once I have made up my mind, I will see things through to the end - no matter what. This was my dream, my desire for a new life, something I have waited for so many years. I was so happy that all my fears just disappeared. It felt as if a sad part of my soul deep inside of me was finally filled with joy and hope again; as if I finally blossomed again. The way I was looking for so long was finally found. And this time the way was truly my way. After I had finally convinced everyone that I was serious about this, things could move. Once I made an appointment, things began to feel real. In November 2016 I had my leg amputated. Everything went well. I woke up, looked at my new little leg and felt like newly born. Finally, I had a body in which I felt at ease. So, this was my new life, my new stump. I didn’t lose anything except for my sadness and my frustrations. I only won; won a beautiful stump, new opportunities, new hope, a new life, new chances. It’s been almost a year since the amputation. And my path since then as not always been as planned. But nevertheless, I am more than happy. I don’t want a single second of my life before the amputation back. Except for the on and off phantom pain, I feel great. This has been my true destiny. A hard and at the same time in so many ways easy decision led me to where I always wanted to be. Never had I thought that I would take such a decision, to make that move and be happy again. Be Who You Want to Be Many of the old doors closed, old friendships died, old habits are forgotten, old wounds have healed. But by closing old doors, new ones open. New true friends, new habits, new temporary pain ... life is full of surprises. And it‘s essential for us to learn to grow. You need to learn to take decisions. You need to learn which people and which things are good for you. Ad which are not. You need to learn to sacrifice in order to be given new things, new hope, new friends a new life. Only the ones who are willing to take the risk and change will experience the joy of personal growth and true development. Standing still makes you sick. We only have this one life, so lets dream, be hopeful, learn to love and embrace change. It‘s not enough to just make it through your life day I day out. Every human being should have the life he or she longs for. Everybody can make it, no matter what life throws at you. No matter how lost you sometimes feel. Make the best out of your life. Only you yourself have the power to make yourself happy. It‘s your life, your responsibility. Try to look at things from various perspectives. Life is not only black or white. And if sometimes you only wish to be, “normal” see it as a gift that you are not, “normal.” You were chosen to be so much more than “normal.” And not everyone is so lucky! ● #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #HearMeRoar #voiceofawoman #MyVoiceMyPower #SHOP #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #voiceofawoman #woman #myvoice #empower #womenpreneurs #bossladies #womanboss #womanpower #bosswoman #womanempowerment #woman #womanquotes #womancrushwednesday #fashion #blogger #bloglife #bloggerstyle #bloggerlife
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@KrystalGuerra - Salt Lake City, UtahThis first-generation Latina reigns in Utah! Krystal Guerra is the CEO of Guerra Media and is known as a marketing and business powerhouse. In addition to running her own business, Krystal has spent the last eight years working in software as a service to recommend and market solutions that drive results. She has worked with hundreds of clients ranging from mid-size to large enterprise Fortune 500 companies and has been involved in raising over $4 million in venture capital. In 2017, she was a Utah Women in Tech Award Nominee and has been featured in multiple publications and TV networks including ABC4 Utah, Fox13 News and KSL 5. Krystal’s work to advocate for women in business, the Latino community and mentor youth have fueled her success and notoriety. You can most likely catch Krystal at the airport boarding for her next adventure. This beauty took a moment to share her voice with us! ● “My voice is powerful because even though Latinas have entered the workforce in record numbers, we face the largest wage gaps among women. On average, Latinas in the U.S. are paid 47% less than white men and 31% less than white women. As a nation we claim the creed, "all men are created equal" yet the data still speaks otherwise. I live out loud because it's hard to become what you don't see, and I know what it's like to have needed to see someone like me as a little girl. I now work to equip and empower other women to break through the compound biases that contribute to inequality in the workplace. I believe we rise higher together and there's room for more of us at the top.” KRYSTAL GUERRA @krystalguerra CEO of Guerra Media ● What are you waiting for?! Share your voice with thousands of women around the world. Submit your info online at www.WeThinkLoud.com/befeatured. ● #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #HearMeRoar #voiceofawoman #MyVoiceMyPower #SHOP #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #voiceofawoman #woman #myvoice #empower #womenpreneurs #bossladies #womanboss #womanpower #bosswoman #womanempowerment #woman #womanquotes #womancrushwednesday #fashion #blogger #bloglife #bloggerstyle #bloggerlife @MrsWanda @LunionSuite - Haitian-AmericanThis Haitian-American powerhouse was raised in Turks and Caicos and now reigns in Miami, Florida! Wanda Tima has a passion to discover the heritage of Haiti. In 2011, Wanda started the “Haitian-American” Facebook page, “L’union Suite”, and “L'union Haitian Professional” directory soon after. L’union Suite is the number one digital platform for Haitian-Americans with over 300,000 subscribers and a reach of 3 to 5 million weekly. Wanda has worked with Haitian celebrities like Karen Civil, Pierre Garcon, Andre Berto, Mackenzie Alexandre, Mona Scott-Young highlighting the best of the best of Haiti and the Haitian culture. Wanda has been featured in Forbes Magazine, Black Enterprise, Polo Lifestyle Magazine, recognized by the National Association of Haitian Professionals as a Haitian leaders, Consulate General of Republic of Haiti in Miami Beacon of Hope and Achievement Award, Legacy Miami-Dade County 40 Under 40 Black Leaders of Today and Tomorrow, University of Miami’s Planet Kreyol Pearl Award, Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida YoPro 20 under 40, Miami Dade College Maya Angelou Legacy Leadership Award. This beauty took a moment to share her voice with us! ● " I advocate for women to live life with passion and purpose. The ultimate goal is to leave a legacy for the women that come after us, that is why our voices are so powerful. What we speak into existence is imminent as long as hard work and determination are right behind it." WANDA TIMA-GILLES @MRSWANDA @LUNIONSUITE THE HAITIAN-AMERICAN ● Wanda Tima was raised in Turks and Caicos on the beautiful island known as Grand Turk, and later moved to South Florida as a teen. Wanda is the oldest of four children who come from Haitian immigrant parents. Her roots hailed from the historic and majestic Cap-Haitian, Haiti. After graduating from Dillard High School at the age of 16, she was inspired to apply to colleges and universities with uncertainty. Wanda became the first person in her family to earn a college degree when she graduated from Bethune-Cookman University with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication with a specialty in Journalism and Public Relations. Wanda worked in broadcast media at various radio stations, interned for BET Network and subsequently two television stations in Daytona and Orlando, Florida. Excited about her heritage and with a passion to give back; on October 2011, Wanda started “L’union Suite”, a Haitian-American site dedicated to highlighting positive and uplifting stories about Haiti and Haitian living abroad from celebrities to every day heroes. For her, this was a personal project aimed to help other Haitian-Americans who wanted to learn more about Haiti and its culture, who often felt disconnected from the experience. By December 2011, Wanda co-founded “The Haitian-American” the Facebook page quickly grew to over 100k fans while averaging 5 Million views weekly. In 2015, after receiving numerous emails and calls over the last 2 years from consumers and celebrities looking to purchase or work with Haitian-owned businesses; Wanda expanded on the idea and developed “L'union Haitian Professional” directory. The site is a welcome home environment for Haitian Professionals. The company prides itself on creating an avenue for customers to locate, research, contact and review Haitian-owned businesses. Wanda has long realized the need for a better Haiti, and she realized that the solution starts with each one of us. Today L’union Suite is the number one digital platform for Haitian-Americans with over 300,000 subscribers and a reach of 3 to 5 million weekly. The platform includes a business directory, yearly celebrity fundraising events, a monthly Facebook live shows, a monthly podcast show, and her team have traveled inside and outside of Haiti covering events working with Haitian celebrities like Karen Civil, Pierre Garcon, Andre Berto, Mackenzie Alexandre, Mona Scott-Young highlighting the best of the best of Haiti and the Haitian culture. In summary, Wanda is determined to change the world’s perception of Haiti and its diverse people. If you want to know Wanda know this; she loves blogging, traveling, networking, fashion, and she is a workaholic. With blogs and posts going viral, she became known as the unofficial Haitian ambassador, working with the Haiti’s top Hotels, Companies, Haitian-American athletes, celebrities, politicians, Haitian Minister of Tourism and even the president of Haiti. On April 30, 2018, Wanda and the L’union Suite teamed opened up their very first computer lab at College Bell Angelot in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. VISIT WANDA TIMA ONLINE AT WWW.LUNIONSUITE.COM ● What are you waiting for?! Share your voice with thousands of women around the world. Submit your info online at www.WeThinkLoud.com/befeatured. ● #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #HearMeRoar #voiceofawoman #MyVoiceMyPower #SHOP #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #voiceofawoman #woman #myvoice #empower #womenpreneurs #bossladies #womanboss #womanpower #bosswoman #womanempowerment #woman #womanquotes #womancrushwednesday #fashion #blogger #bloglife #bloggerstyle #bloggerlife Email us at [email protected]@KiaXJames - Atlanta, GoergiaThis powerful boss lady is a part of one of the most creative movements for women in Atlanta, Georgia. Cina James is one woman of the dynamic duo that formed Black Girls Create International. This beauty took a moment to share her voice with us!
● "I think its important that women of color hear from others who have been where they're trying to go! For so long as we've been working in silos, my voice is here to remind us that "we" exist and that we will succeed!" @KITAXJAMES CO-FOUNDER @BLACKGIRLSCREATEINTL ● BLACK GIRLS CREATE INTERNATIONAL was created by friends Cina James and Manda Northern in November, 2017. The purpose of this organization is to empower creative women of color to start their own businesses, to build those crucial relationships necessary for success and support, and to help women build a sisterhood through which anything could be accomplished. Urged on by the fact that there's currently no other organization in the Atlanta area that's dedicated to uplifting, connecting, and empowering creative, entrepreneurial women of color, Cina and Manda knew they had to do something to fill the gap. The idea for BGC started over brunch one Sunday and within a week, Cina and Manda had put something together. With both ladies being a serial entrepreneur, they knew rapid action was the key to bringing this idea to life. ● What are you waiting for?! Share your voice with thousands of women around the world. Submit your info online at www.WeThinkLoud.com/befeatured. ● #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #HearMeRoar #voiceofawoman #MyVoiceMyPower #SHOP #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #voiceofawoman #woman #myvoice #empower #womenpreneurs #bossladies #womanboss #womanpower #bosswoman #womanempowerment #woman #womanquotes #womancrushwednesday #fashion #blogger #bloglife #bloggerstyle #bloggerlife @SimmoneL.Bowe - Nassau City, New Providence, BahamasThis inspirational queen reigns in Nassau City, New Providence, Bahamas! Simmone L. Bowe is The Limitless Life Coach, seasoned speaker, certified coach and human resource professional, author and mentor. She inspires people to live free of personal and external limitations so they can embrace authenticity and purpose. This beauty took a moment to share her voice with us! ● “In my industry, I want to inspire people to be authentic no matter what, no matter how different you may be, no matter your mistakes or pain. Be you and your unique voice deserves to be heard! Authenticity is important in corporate and public life because people will try to force you to conform to standards of beauty, brains, ethnicity, and femininity that do not affirm or reflect your true nature. As a full figured naturalista, I use my voice by embracing all of who I am, knowing I am enough and my voice matters.” SIMMONE L. BOWE @SIMMONEL.BOWE SPEAKER + AUTHOR + COACH + HR CONSULTANT ● What are you waiting for?! Share your voice with thousands of women around the world. Submit your info online at www.WeThinkLoud.com/befeatured. ● #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #HearMeRoar #voiceofawoman #MyVoiceMyPower #SHOP #WeThinkLoud #HerVoice #voiceofawoman #woman #myvoice #empower #womenpreneurs #bossladies #womanboss #womanpower #bosswoman #womanempowerment #woman #womanquotes #womancrushwednesday #fashion #blogger #bloglife #bloggerstyle #bloggerlife ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS ON OUR BLOG!
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