Altagracia Bonilla

My mom was a role model for me to never be afraid of anything and to live a life of service.

(Excerpt from an interview with Brenda Bonilla - Author, Professional Speaker & Acupuncturist)
Georgia, USA

My mom was born in Dominican Republic in a small town outside of Santiago. Grandma had a lot of kids and my mom was the oldest, and for some reason she just came with this clarity of purpose and drive. My mom was able to go to school to finish eighth grade, and then she had to stop her education in order to work and help support the family. She came from a poor family.

Mom wanted to be an accountant. She loves numbers but that was not a possibility because she couldn't pay to have that education. But she was able to use her math skills in learning how to sew and she went into the city, got a job with a store that made custom men's shirts. And from there, she started meeting different people who saw this talent and drive in her, and they encouraged her to come to America. They said, you need to go to New York. You need to go to America. Your skills are wasted here.

So she went to the US and like many immigrants in the 1950s, she showed up at the home of a friend of a friend. She was then in her 20s already with two kids, my siblings. She learned to sew with a machine and then went to night school and learned how to make patterns and worked all the way up to assistant designer, which is how she retired. She may not have become an accountant but she used her math skills to save up, provide for her children, and be comfortable for the rest of her life.

Mom was just someone who knew that there was a better way of life and sought that, was single focused and unafraid to go for it.

And when I think about mom’s influence in my life, I realize that I also have that fearless spirit. I've never been afraid to open a business for myself. I've never been afraid to speak in public. I've never been afraid to start a new career, stop and start a new one. So I have that fearlessness there. I moved to California and started my skincare salon because I was trained as an esthetician. Then I started getting hired to work for different cosmetic companies as an educator. And then with my constant thirst for new knowledge, I came across an acupuncturist and just fell in love with that. With my roots and my history living in Dominican Republic, a lot of how my family treated illnesses was in the kitchen mixing up concoctions that took care of our asthmas and our fevers. I knew the body can heal itself given the right information so acupuncture became a natural next step for me. I became an acupuncturist and set up my own practice. And I was conducting workshops, speaking at seminars again and that became the evolution to being a professional speaker and published author. For as long as I can remember, people have been putting microphones in front of me and it never scared me.

The other thing that has always been modeled for me by my mom is being of service. She just has such a big heart and compassion for people. In her 90s, what she did during COVID was crochet potholders and beanies and scarves for women with cancer. She doesn't know how not to serve. And I'm very proud that I have that as well. If I see a need, I don't hesitate to step in and help out as best I can. So I'm really grateful to get that from her.

I volunteer at my church. I've taught so many different levels of Sunday school. I've taught women to heal their bodies, I've sponsored retreats, and I've put on a lot of events in service of others. I was recently on the board of directors for the Foundation for Living Beauty, which is a wonderful organization that serves women with cancer. I was also a volunteer at the pregnancy center helping women through post-abortion healing. Wherever I feel that I can serve, when I can create a positive impact I definitely do it. I am realizing, thanks to my mom’s demonstration up to her beautiful age of 96, that my life is not just for me, my life experience is for others and to be a part of the human family is to serve each other. All these things I’ve done while raising my two boys and taking care of a household.

Thank you Mom for being a wonderful example of fearlessness and service!