Cynthia Acevedo travels far from home to honor her true self while becoming a star for Dress for Success
Dress for Success Worldwide honored 16 incredible women on April 5, 2011. Â One of those women was Cynthia Acevedo. Â I had the great pleasure of meeting her. Â Her smile simply radiated happiness and joy. Â She received a Womanly Journey bracelet as a gift from me to symbolize her Extraordinary Journey. Â Cynthia shares her story of coming to a new country and being triumphant in her life!
“I am Cynthia Acevedo and in 2007 I moved to New York from the Dominican Republic. I decided to move to the USA because of all the opportunities it offers. I have a BA in Business Administration but it’s been changeling to work in my area.  I took some computer training classes and the school referred me to Dress for Success.  Dress for Success helped me to interview and land a job.  Once I got my job, I became member of their Professional Women’s Group. This program offered me professional clothing, scholarships, network opportunities, and a great environment to grow professionally. We met monthly and great speakers would delivery topics which helped me transition into the workforce smoothly.  After completing the Professional Women’s Group, Dress for Success chose me to be an Ambassador for the 2011 Worldwide Gala. This has given me the opportunity to shine as a star. I was able to share my stories with others and even modeled for a TV and internet show.  I met wonderful and successful people.  Being treated as a star everywhere I went with Dress for Success is an experience I will cherish forever.  This experience gave me confidence to keep on believing in me.
My inspirations come from great speakers & mentors, self esteem books, meetings and events that are full of people with positive attitudes.  When I attend Dress for Success meetings, I always leave with a positive attitude and motivational thinking. The speakers, the participants, and Dress for Success staff always inspire me when they share their problems and how they deal with them.  The most helpful suggestions come from stories that are similar to what I am going through and how differently they approach it.  Women that balance their professional and personal lives inspire me to say yes Ican do it too.
I find meditating to bring me the most personal peace!
My experience with self esteem has been progressive. I feel valued and respected now. Â One of my greatest accomplishments that improved my self esteem was being chosen by Dress for Success to be one of their Ambassadors. They express that I am responsible, respectful, proactive, positive, happy, and trustworthy. These appraisals boost my self esteem. I did not know how powerful my behavior and attitude was impacting others around me. I always try to speak in a positive way even in a stressful and frustrating situation.
My relationship with my self esteem has changed throughout my life.  I view problems in a different perspective. I used to think about the negative outcome before the positive. Now I try to approach to problem and solve it the best way I can without complaints. I used to complain before giving solutions to the problem. I learned that problems are part of life and we should try to solve them in the best way possible without feeling guilty for whatever the outcome is. This behavior has had a great impact on my life. Some women at Dress for Success have come to me and express that they don’t know how I can be so happy all the time. I might not be happy all the time but I try to give a smile to anyone regardless of the problem I am facing at the time.
Dress for Success has had such an amazing impact on me that is has changed my path. Dress for Success always trusts me on any mission I take on. Â This empowers me and boosts my confidence. Being an ambassador means you have stood out from others, accomplished goals, and demonstrated a positive attitude. I was very surprised when they chose me for this great opportunity.
My inner strength and confidence allow me to continue on this path. Â Dress for Success’ help continues to reinforce my self esteem.
A story of personal triumph for me is that through my experiences I have demonstrated to  my family that I am a very strong and capable woman.. I did this by getting a degree, moving on my own and representing a great organization; Dress for Success.
My challenges along the journey have varied.  It was challenging at the beginning when I struggled to paying bills, when I would get sick and  that I found myself having no support.  I did not have the skills that I needed to succeed.  Cultural barriers were also a challenge.  My drive to succeed gets me through the struggles. The help from Dress for Success is so very beneficial. Every gift I receive from them helps to learn and has also taught me how to save money.  Their speakers always present on great topics which help and guide me on my path. Throughout my journey their staff has always been supportive.
I gain my inner strength from positive and energetic environments.
If I could go back to the beginning of my journey, I would have benefited from knowing how to accept people the way they are. Â I found that I used to focus on trying to change them or expecting them to agree with everything I said.
I would like to share with others who are going through challenges to surround yourself with positive people that celebrate your successes and that trust you.
An interesting thing I learned about myself was that I am very impatient and in the beginning I did not ask for help from others when I needed it. Â I celebrate that I have moved through those challenges!”
