Plans make God Laugh

They say that if you want to make God laugh, then make plans.I had both plans and a vision for 2017.My plans included spending 2017 in Mexico to reconnect with my culture, to try to regain what I've lost in the two decades I have lived in the U.S, and to find the pieces of myself that I thought I could only find in my homeland. I was going to write an "Eat, Pray, Love" sort of second book, it was going to be equal parts memoir, history and culture. If I got lucky, maybe I'd even mend my broken heart and find find love, what would it even be like to date a Mexican in Mexico?!It was going to be called "From, From: ...." (The ... would be filled at the end of my journey).Then, in April, I walked into love with a man that I still cannot believe actually exists.A man that shares my values and culture (I had never dated a culturally Mexican man).Being Mexican with him is beautiful; we go eat tacos at the Piñata district after church on Sundays, not as a field trip, but as a way of life.There are a million things we never have to explain to each other.At the same time, there is so much we teach each other about Mexican culture and how diverse and dense, and rich it is ( he is from the north (del Norte) and I am from the south ( pa ya del D.F).Then I realized how much of Latino history in the U.S is hidden, how vital and integral we have been to this country and how little it is known or celebrated.We have so much material for Oscar-winning movies, best-selling books, critically acclaimed documentaries, so why are we not doing and achieving those things? We were there during every single historically important moment in U.S history, so why do not even Latinos know about it? And then, Donald Trump won the November election, and my plans were out the window.I certainly cannot leave the U.S now, not even for a year. Oh no, there is much work to be done, here and now.So my plans have all changed for 2017.But my vision, my vision was constructed with prayer, with deep reflection and truth.So while my methods had to be adapted, I am on a mission to reconnect, discover, and grow.2017, I am excited to receive you.