Badassery Magazine August 2017 Issue | Page 48

own personal power. Asking yourself the hard ques- tions about who you are and what you stand for when you come from a place of having no identity in the first place, yeah that ain’t no cake walk. For the first time in my life, I was going against the grain and refused to fit into the masses. And it was scary because I knew very well that once again I would possibly stand alone. But I also knew no one was com- ing. Your life will change the mo- ment you take ownership of your thoughts, your behavior and any- thing that will follow. It’s through mending the cracks in your heart where you can start putting your life together and allow it to re- semble the vision in your head. Because if you don’t show up for yourself, no one else will.  About the Author Petra Monaco. After years of living in the shadow of the past, she struggled to find her place in this world. When her youngest was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, she realized she needed to take a good look at herself, how she was showing up in this world and knew she was not who she was meant to be. She learned the past does not create the future and that she’d have to reinvent herself, rewrite the stories she was telling everyone (especially herself) and start taking action towards what she wanted to create. petramonaco.com    47