By Belo Miguel Cipriani It took losing my sight in 2007 from a violent attack for me to realize that vision comes from within. Blindness was initially both physically and emotionally painful, making me question everything and everyone I believed in. However, I knew my distrust of the world would lead to a life of constant unhappiness and that trusting in my new body would be the first step in a... 

By Tim Delgado At the age of 23 I was working full time, going to school full time, in a band, in two soccer teams, surfing, and trying to party four days out of the week. I wasn’t getting much sleep and I was running on coffee by day and alcohol at night. I was heading straight into a breakdown and the opportunity arrived for the breakdown to be triggered. At work, as a driver, I was in a serious... 

By Celeste Ramos Connie Ramirez, known simply as Penny by friends and family, and Mom by me, was an exceptional person.  She was not only an inspiration to me and my family, but to thousands of other people as well.  My mother was a special education teacher at Shelby Elementary School in our hometown of Merced, California for 29 years.  She also volunteered and served as president of the board... 

By Dora Gutierrez My name is Dora.  My story is about surviving a bad marriage with a clear head. I’m originally from Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.  Like every typical immigrant family, my parents and at the time four children, came to the US in June of 1983 with the so-called American dream of a better life. I being the eldest in the family (now six children), I always wanted to set a good example. ... 

Celebrating back in the black. By Lillian Passadori, Central Valley Pacific Mortgage In 1965 my mother came to the United States from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico — just south of the California boarder.  She was only 15 and worked in a clothing factory as a seamstress in a sweatshop in L.A.  She earned just enough to get by. Shortly thereafter, she met my father, got married and by the...