CATE empezó con una decisión, no con un plan perfecto.

Esta es la historia de esa decisión.

I arrived in this country two years ago with everything I am, and a body I didn't recognize. I stopped dressing like myself. I stopped taking up space like myself. Perimenopause. Prediabetes. Anxiety. Panic attacks. I was disappearing, not physically, but in the way I showed up to the world.

One day, I watched my husband printing Star Wars ships on the 3D printer, and something clicked. I looked at the jewelry everywhere, the same pieces on everyone, and none of it said anything. None of it was me. I had a clear picture of what I wanted, and that clarity is what made me start creating.

In December, I made a decision that seems small but wasn't: I was going to dress how I wanted. Regardless of my weight. That decision, before losing a single pound, was the one that changed everything. CATE wasn't born when I lost weight. CATE was born when I decided I wasn't going to wait to be another version of myself before taking up space.

Today I feel like the living representation of the frailejón, a plant that survives in the most extreme conditions. That doesn't need much to exist. That simply persists. CATE exists because I refuse to be just another employee. I want to be an example for other Latina women in this country that yes, we can. Recognition, success, and building something that lasts are not reserved for someone else.

No tienes que estar lista para empezar. Solo tienes que decidir que no vas a seguir esperando.