My Wife Makes Me A Better Professional

Today is my one year anniversary so I want to write about the greatest woman on earth that I respect so much and am so in love with. My wife's professional journey continues to amaze me. She is part of a development program called Praxis that challenged her to blog every day for 30 days about anything. After seeing the growth she had professionally, I decided I wanted to take up this challenge as well.

Eliana Barrios Avila grew up on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in an area that's economy is made up of cattle, agriculture, and retail. Being a costeña brings a sense of pride that is similar to when someone proudly says they are from New York. She's so sweet, but will have no problem correcting you about her roots. It's something that is in her blood and soul, and I see it as this beautiful passion.

In Latino culture, it's very prevalent for people to depend on their parents until they are married. Going against all norms, shortly after high school, she decided to move to Boston alone to learn English. When she came back, she decided she wanted a degree and found a way to attend without owing money. When she got her degree, she wanted to start a business, so she pitched investors, got seed funding, represented her company on an international TV show, and landed a large government account, all in less than two years. When we got married, she wanted to focus on building a healthy foundation for our marriage so on her own accord, she stepped down as COO, gave the shares of the company to her partners, and found ways to contribute without sacrificing the time and energy our relationship needs for building a great foundation in our marriage. She wanted to empower children, so she created a personal project that now publishes and sells children's books. I say all this because there is a beautiful and passionate flame and in her that I can't describe, but I respect and admire so much.

The way Eli looks at her life is she see's the result she desires and builds everything around that. Right now, her sites are on entering the tech world, which she knew nothing about, but her change over time has been inspiring. From technical obstacles like creating a website, expanding her tech stack, creating decks, doing videos, continually creating content to the personal growth obstacles like overcoming feeling dumb and creating a community in the tech world; her growth has been catastrophic.

It's because of her growth that I want to grow. I never had a website until I saw her build one. I never had a professional photoshoot until I saw her schedule a time to get one. I never had a professional blog until I saw she started one. I never had video content until I saw she started posting them. I never did a challenge like this until I saw her go through it. So thank you for being who you are, amor, and thank you always stretching to make the best Eliana Rose. This #30DayWritingChallenge is my effort to keep up with you and continue my journey to be the best Steven Rose for you to enjoy. Te amo tanto, mi amor.