Today we’d like to introduce you to Marisa Ramirez.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My story starts out with a confused little girl, who doesn’t understand why she has the same feelings for girls that she does for boys. There’s no one to explain anything to her, just a bunch of adults that tell her what she is feeling is wrong and she should stop. This goes on for several years until she learns the magic letters: LGBT. Everything starts to make sense now. There’s a name for what she is feeling: bisexuality. And it’s okay to feel that way. There’s nothing wrong with her. Everyone who told her she was wrong, was wrong. And now things begin to fall into place. Do you like boys and girls? You’re bisexual. You like reading and writing? You should study English literature in college. Do you like telling people what to do? You should become a teacher. The confused little girl is gone, and standing in her place is a confident, queer, Latina woman, ready to take on the world one high school classroom at a time.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road for me. It has been one of the bumpiest roads in the history of bumpy roads. My journey does not have the happiest of beginnings. My father died when I was five years old. It had a serious, negative impact on my mother. Unfortunately, it turned her into an abusive parent for a very long time. My life became very difficult after that, leading me down a dark path towards mental illness and unhealthy coping mechanisms. In the midst of all this, I was trying to figure out my growing sexuality. Around middle school, I thought I might have been gay, but it was in high school that I officially came out as bisexual. Figuring out my place in the LGBT spectrum brought me joy for a little while, at least until the next difficult chapter in my life started. I got into a good college (University of Houston) and decided I wanted to be a teacher. I had found my calling and it felt good.
But as my academic career sorted itself out, my mental illnesses and difficult past affected my emotional state, causing me to jump from one abusive relationship to the next, until the unthinkable happened. In 2016, I was raped. I didn’t know how to handle it and my life spiraled out of control. I threw myself into the most incredibly unhealthy relationship and coping mechanisms, which derailed my teaching career just as it was beginning. The combination of all this hardship caused me to lose my job, certain friends couldn’t stand to be around me anymore and left, my health deteriorated rapidly. The final nail in the coffin was when I spent one night in jail. I couldn’t take it anymore and attempted suicide shortly after that. I had hit rock bottom. But in the psychiatric ward of Methodist hospital, I learned I had nowhere to go but up. Like a phoenix out of the ashes, I rose out of the darkness surrounding my life and started the journey on the path towards healing. I moved back home and started my life over. I decided to go back to school, I got on the right medications, I sought out therapy, I surrounded myself with good people and positivity, and now, I am as far away from that dark place as I could possibly be. I have a wonderful new teaching position at an amazing school, I am one semester away from receiving my Master’s degree in Education, I have wonderful and supportive friends and am currently in a healthy and happy relationship. I have even managed to repair my relationship with my mother. Is everything perfect? Of course not. Some days are harder than others. Sometimes, I face prejudice simply because I am a bisexual Latina woman, and that makes my journey a little bit more difficult. But I have survived the worst possible things that can happen to a person, therefore there is nothing that can stop me from accomplishing my goals and living my happiest dreams.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a teacher at Worthing High School in HISD (Houston Independent School District). I teach 10th grade English. This school has had its fair share of problems in the past. It has a reputation for being a school that you don’t want your kid to attend in a dangerous part of town. However, Worthing has made great strides in the past few years. This school is coming up in the world. STAAR scores are improving, academic performance overall is improving, support for teachers is definitely improving. A true sense of community and family exists at this school. We have all known hardship in some form or another, both the teachers and the students, therefore we all want to support one another and see everyone succeed. Worthing is becoming a beacon of light and hope in the struggling community of Sunnyside, and I am so happy to be a part of that, doing my part to help my students achieve all that they need to lead a successful and happy life.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I feel that luck affects everyone in some form or another. In my case, luck has left it’s marked pretty much all over my life. It was bad luck that my father died when he did. It was bad luck that my mother couldn’t handle his death. It was bad luck that our little dysfunctional family struggled financially due to his death. It was bad luck when I met certain people later in my life. But on the other hand, good luck has been there too. It was good luck that I found such good friends in high school, that would help me through the difficult parts of my life later on. It was good luck that I repaired my relationship with my mother so we could support each other. It was good luck when my case got dismissed and I didn’t have to spend any more time in jail. It was good luck that I was able to find another teaching job so soon after spiraling out of control and then course correct my life. Some of these instances may not sound like luck, they may sound like choices made. But isn’t some form of luck needed in order to make better decisions for yourself? I’ll let you decide.
Image Credit:
Rachael Matthews, Marisa Ramirez
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