Mitgliedi.lopez

I have never published anything in my life, not even a short story in a magazine. I’ve never taken a writing course except for English 101 in college. I don’t have impressive academic credentials or meritorious writing awards to tell you about.

What I do have is a passion for writing, which remained untapped and mothballed until I’d had my limit of encouragement and threats from my children, family and friends. “I’ve kept all the letters you’ve ever written to me, and if you don’t write something soon, I’m sending them to Oprah,” said my good friend Evelyn one day. So with the threat of Oprah reading my unedited letters and pithy comments, I began to painstakingly pen my autobiography.

I was born in Puerto Rico, in the fifties. At the age of three, I was brought to New York City by my mother, along with my one-year-old sister and my dear grandmother, but without my father. Eventually two brothers and another sister were added to the maternal lineage.

I attended public schools in what later became known as Spanish Harlem. I didn't know a word of English but the daily transition into a world of fun games shared with other children became a welcome respite from the dark and cluttered apartment we called home. In my late teens, my family moved to the South Bronx, where I came to the stark realization that the turf and my circumstances would not change unless I did.

I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the University of Connecticut. UConn served as the springboard that would catapult my dreams into the stratosphere with a little risk-taking and a lot of perseverance. Later in life, I earned a nursing degree and currently work in a hospital until such time as my writing gets noticed by Oprah or earns me a living wage, whichever comes first. I live in Florida with my husband Michael and have two grown children, Aimée and Daniel.