Refusing To Let The Pandemic Get the Best Of Me
Name: Valeria Calderon
Are you currently a Pathway Member?: Yes
What was on your manifestation list?: Higher salary in my new job, purchase of my first dream home, and more travel.
What workshops did you use, and what blocks did you discover during the DIs & workshops?: Unblocked Money, Unblocked Love, How To Manifest, Unblocked Inner Child, Expander Mini Workshop. The limiting beliefs that I discovered in the DI's were that I was not born into wealth because I come from a family of immigrants. Therefore, I am only meant to work like a slave to hoard the little bit of money that I am only worth receiving. I am not smart enough to ever really be financially successful, and I am not qualified enough to deserve an easy and comfortable life. All of this also ultimately ties into my race and gender. I'm just a little brown girl who is only worth little.
What expanders did you find?: My cousin, who lives in Peru, married a young woman from Bolivia, who is so unbelievably successful, intelligent, and exudes such power in her personal life and in her professional life in the world of marketing. She lives in a country (Peru) that is considered the third world. However, she travels the world and enjoys the fruits of her professional labors. She purchases any and all tangible items that she desires and lives in a home that is considered to be in a wealthy neighborhood of Lima, Peru. She is also just a couple of years older than me.
What tests did you face? Which did you pass? Not pass?: I'm still so relatively new to this - I started in February - and therefore, I'm still trying to figure out what tests look like, as well as pings and the magic dark. So I wouldn't exactly know if what I faced was a test or not. I just know that in January, I separated from my husband; in February, I started TBM, and in March, NYC was hit with official quarantine. It's been a massive rollercoaster of emotions. And the only thing keeping me sane was the TBM workshops.
Did you experience a magic dark period? If so, tell us about it.: I'm honestly not sure. Because I'm going through a divorce at the moment, I feel like a lot of my emotions are constantly up and down between that, the quarantine, and all the in-between of day-to-day living these days.
How did your manifestation come through?: I am in my first year of teaching blind and visually impaired kids for NYC's Department of Education. Getting hired in September, I knew that with my Master's Degree, I would be entitled to a starting salary of $67k. However, for reasons unbeknownst to me, the DOE starts all new employees at a base salary of $54k, and you're given six months to submit proof of a salary-step. Like any first-year teacher and a new graduate student with massive student debt, I wasted no time and applied for my salary-step that very first month of work. I was told that it takes about six weeks for the application to process and get approval before the first check with the correct salary differential is implemented.
At the time of filling out the paperwork, I realized that there were other qualifications that one could apply for in order to get another salary increase, and one of those reasons was past teaching experience. Immediately I thought I should apply. I come from a family of teachers, and my parents opened a preschool during my freshman year of college, where I worked there for the next six years. I thought that perhaps I would give it a shot and submit my past experience with my family business. I prepared myself for the possibility of getting denied for a couple of reasons - (a) either they don't consider preschool as academic teaching experience, or (b) they will see it's my family's own business and not consider it legitimate.
I figured I'd still give it a shot. Fast forward to January; I now find myself separated from my husband and a little panicked about how I'm going to manage to pay my rent, debt, and the basic necessities of day-to-day life. The NYC DOE had told me that they were experiencing some difficulties with their systems that was creating a backlog of more than a 20-week delay on salary applications. I tried not to panic as I started going into saving mode. I could only hope for the best while preparing for the worst. And I didn't want to reach out to my parents, who have always helped my brother and me financially our whole lives. One day, I stumbled across TBM on Instagram. When I realized there is a TBM Podcast! I decided to commute to and from work every day while listening to Lacy and her guests.
My life began to transform, or more like, my spirit began to transform. Day in and day out, I dedicated my days to at least one or two of her podcast episodes while on the subway. Until one day, I decided to take the leap and become a Pathway member. I said, "If there's anything I'm budgeting for now, it's this." March arrives, and NYC goes into a state of emergency. It felt like overnight NYC just completely shut down, and we all found ourselves scrambling to take shelter. NYC teachers were asked to go in for three more days after students were ordered to stay home until further notice. I remember thinking how scary and crazy this all was, and no one knew what to expect.
When that 3rd day ended and I was able to officially begin my quarantine, I decided to cut off all ties and communication with my estranged husband. I wished him well during all of the madness but asked him to no longer contact me, not even during this pandemic. I needed to begin my shift. At this point, I let go of the salary applications. I thought to myself, "If they couldn't fix the problem during the regular school year, they're definitely not going to fix it now during a global pandemic." But I continued with TBM. Two weeks into my quarantine, I received an email from NYC DOE's Salary Differential Department. I was approved for my salary-step of a Master's Degree from $54k to $67k. I was OVER THE MOON!
Pandemic or not, the moment I surrendered and zero'd in on my inner work, my extra income to pay for my rent would arrive on a silver platter. Two days later, a second email comes through that I was approved for my previous childcare experience, and my salary would now be adjusted from $67k to $71k. WHATTTTT!!!!! THIS IS UNREALLLLLLL!!!!! I had completely forgotten about that second application and was completely content with the new salary step. The final icing on the cake was in April. My little brother, who is ten years younger than me (so I feel like his mom at times), is out on the west coast, weathering this pandemic alone. Naturally, my parents and I are always making sure he is ok, especially now since he had to file for unemployment due to COVID-19.
The morning I got my stimulus package, I called him to see if he had gotten his. He said he had, but he wasn't sure how long it would last him. Before we hung up, I told him to call me if he needed anything, and that included money. I knew he wouldn't call me for money; we are both similar in that way. So as soon as we hung up, I jumped onto my bank account and wired the $1200 stimulus package without any hesitation. This goes beyond any financial goal I could have put on my manifestation list. The fact that I am now in a place financially where I can help my brother support himself during a global pandemic and provide my parents some peace of mind that he has some more money in the bank is more than I could have ever dreamed of. Just last week, the DOE notified all employees that we would be getting a 2.5% salary increase starting next week. I am now looking at almost $72k for my annual salary. I feel so grateful. I feel so humbled. I feel so valued and worthy that it has all just brought me to my knees. Thank you, Lacy.
WORKSHOPS
Money / Love / How to Manifest / Inner Child / Expander Mini Workshop
