Author Cecilia A. Garcia

This past weekend, I was honored to be one of many authors to attend the Louisville Book Festival. This year was the first in-person event after having the festival virtual in 2020 and 2021. Having a virtual book festival allowed the authors to get to know each other, but nothing could beat being in person and meeting new readers.

As I sit here and reflect, I give gratitude for another year of circling the sun. It's hard to believe that just one year ago, I was in the final stages of publishing Always Forward, and now, I'm in the final stages of publishing book three- Carry On. It may have taken me seventeen years to get Always Forward out of my head and onto paper, but now it seems I may never stop writing!

The following commentary is strictly my perspective around the holidays while being deployed. I do not speak for members of the military. Like many of my previous blogs, this is my point of view only. When you are celebrating holidays while on deployment, it can be difficult. You miss your family, you want to know what everyone is doing for the holidays, but then you also want to shut everyone out and block out anything related to Santa, gifts, and everything else that comes

By definition, surrender means to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority. Now, in terms of the military, a soldier never wants to surrender. It’s drilled in our brains from the moment we start our training, never to surrender. It’s ingrained in us that if you surrender, you are weak.

Every day as part of my morning routine, I journal and write down at least ten things I am grateful for. I have been practicing gratitude journaling for several years now, and it helps me start each day on a positive note. Today, I decided to take my gratitude journaling up a notch. I decided in honor of celebrating my forty-first turn around the sun, I would write down forty-one items that I am grateful for.