Hood Girl Glow Up

Hey guys, it has been a week for me!!!!!!! I have such exciting news!!!! I got a promotion at work and I am so excited and in disbelief! I am now office manager at the Dermatology practice I have been at for 4 years. I have been back office lead since I started and I have always worn many hats at the practice. I was the do it all girl and I loved it even without the title. Some people would tell me “girl you do too much” or “girl you don’t make enough for this” I always hated those comment, because I don’t need a title to work as hard as I do, nor do I expect the pay! I do it because 1: I have a strong work ethic, and 2: I fucking love what I do!!!!! Yes I get tired and its busy but I am so blessed to be in the position that I am in! I bust my ass because I knew one day it would pay off, and here I am now!!!!!!! Why is this such a big deal?????? Well your in for quite the treat with all you are about to learn about me!

I grew in in San Diego, Ca (city heights basically hood life) we didn’t grow up with much there was 4 of us and my mom was a single mom. She did the absolute best that she could with what little she had. We were bussed out to a school in Scripps Ranch (about 30 mins away from home super yuppy neighborhood) we went to school out there with a program that placed students at better schools with hopes that they graduate and get a better education. I don’t think the people who did this thought its all through……. I definitely didn’t wear the same clothes, I had to get the “free lunch” I didn’t have a car, I just didn’t “fit in” with the “scrippys” and it was shitty. I hated high school, I didn’t care about finishing, I missed so many days of school, my grades were awful, I had a bad temper and didn’t take shit from anyone.  With that combo and attitude you can only imagine the messes I got myself into and everything eventually led to me getting kicked out of school my senior year. I was sent to Hoover High in City Heights and that went from bad to worse! I tried so hard to fit in with the “scrippys” so when I got to Hoover the “cholas” were awful to me and I didn’t “fit in” with them. They hated that I talked like a “valley girl” and always gave me shit. I eventually dropped out as soon as I turned 18 and started to work. I always worked jobs to get me by.

I moved when my mom bought a home in Hemet I was almost 19 and I eventually met my baby daddy (my oldest sons father) we are gonna call him “L” and got pregnant! Yup 19 year old Priscilla pregnant and no schooling behind me.  I was a stay at home mom because L always took care of me. I remember bringing up going back to school but L wasn’t very open to it, he and his father just said they were always going to take care of me and not to worry. (LADIES DON’T EVER DO THIS, GO TO SCHOOL EVEN IF HE IS PERFECT) fast forward to when my son was 21 months, L and I split, we were young and dumb and couldn’t figure shit out and its always easier to run then to stay and work on it.

I ended up moving back in with my mom, she told me I could come home with 1 condition: I had to get on welfare (that was so hard for me but I knew I needed this for less than a year) so I could go to school, my mom refused to let me work a dead end job, so she made me sign up for Medical Assisting school. I didn’t have a diploma so they let me take a test to test into the school. (lame)

Halfway through school I met Alex (my husband this is very important info lol) I did a 9 month program graduated with honors and on my last day in school I found out I WAS PREGNANT!!!! Yup straight up novela!!!!! Dude I was so scared, mostly because I had let my mom down again. I had my beautiful baby boy and stayed home another year.

When baby boy was a year I went and applied as an MA at the local community clinics. The H.R lady who interviewed me (lets call her “D”) was the sweetest. We went through the interview, and she asked if I had a high school diploma? I told her I didn’t and she told me I needed it to work as an MA. I told her I was going to get it and when I did I would call her. She agreed and told me I would have a job after I received it.

I left feeling defeated but I knew I could go back and get my GED, when Alex got home I told him I needed to go get my GED. He immediately said “NO!”   skkrrtttt WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY NO????? why not???? He told me he would support me but I needed to get my high school diploma and not sell my self short. He told me he knew I could do it and he believed in me. I agreed….. I got my high school transcripts and signed up at the local adult high school and got a high school diploma (took about 4 months) I called up D and told her I had a high school diploma and just like that I was a brand new MA. (ps all those MA memes talking about single mamas can suck off, at least we tried stop taking trash some of us make more than you now okkkkkuuurrrr!!!)

I worked at the clinic for 4 months one of the providers pulled me aside one day and said you are so smart and good at what you do, I am going to make a call I think you will be great for this job. She got me an interview with a local dermatology practice. I had the interview and the manager said “we never hire anyone with less than a year of experience, but you come highly recommended” Interview went great and I was offered the position as a dermatology MA. This is where my love for dermatology started. I was assigned to the physician Dr. V who I work for now, and when she told me she was leaving to start a practice I was so sad because I had learned how she practices. In derm the MA’s scribe for the doctor, you assist in surgeries, you are the doctors right hand. Dr. V leaving meant I would float doctor to doctor. I stayed even after she left but I was unhappy, I eventually looked for her practice and joined her in 2014. Lots of people talked shit about me leaving “she is dumb, stupid decision, traitor, the practice won’t last, she will be back and blah blah blah”

I left Dr. V after a year in a half because I wanted to be closer to home. I was traveling 80 miles a day and when I looked around I found a position with a huge hospital corporation. I was going to be 16 miles from my house, it was perfect and it was still derm! WRONG that’s the worst decision I ever made, I worked long hours, never got out on time, and had taken a $10,000 pay cut! Ohhhhhh and the drama was so real lol! I lasted 1 year and I will never forget the morning I got a call from Dr. V ( I was home because I had drank too much the night before and called out, thats something I never did) She left a message and said “I have a position if you are interested call me.” Hell yea I am interested, I called her and accepted the position I didn’t care how much she was paying me anything was more than this other place. Plus my sanity has no price on it!!!!!! I put in my 2 week notice and was finally where I belonged.

Since I came back I have put 100000% I realized the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I realized I love how amazing Dr. V is, she is caring, and honest, she has ethical values behind her, she dosen’t work for the check, she works because she loves helping people. That is mind blowing and beautiful.  She has instilled so many of these values in me, and I am so grateful. She has trained me for a leader position. I was her Lead medical assistant and I wore that title so proudly.

Yesterday she pulled me in the office and said close the door. I panicked and thought for a second…. shit what did I do! She tells me how much she has seen me grow, all the tasks I am given are completed, she told me I am showing real leadership, and that she is so glad I am on her team, she said LOYALTY is everything to her and I have shown how much love I have for the practice. She said “I am promoting you to OFFICE MANAGER” I looked at her shook and tears streamed down my face and I said “thank you, for believing in me” she looked so confused and said “what do you mean you are doing so much already” I just cried and through tears said “you have no idea what this means to me, this hood girl is making something of herself and I never in a million years would of thought I was capable of this” she said “but look at you now running a very successful dermatology practice” more tears running down my face. I can’t remember how much my raise is because my head was spinning and I could hear all those people in my life that ever believed in me and their encouraging words: “you got this babe your amazing! (Alex), Damn mija I am so proud of my baby girl (daddy) Go Nen you got this (tuti) don’t ever sell yourself short (mono). Its ok that I don’t now how much I am making because I am not in it for the money I am in because I am making a difference.

Here I am standing tall and not ashamed of my rough start. To some this might just be a job, but to me this is so much more. This is proof that you don’t have to settle for anything, you can make something of yourself even if you fuck it up a little, don’t let your past make your future use those emotions to keep it pushing, you are beautiful, you are a star and above all you CAN BE A BOSS!!!!!!!

This hood girls GLOW up has been so real, raw, and full of obstacles and guess what this is just the beginning!!!!

xoxo

Prissy