Mariana Atencio’s Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real is a must-read for women everywhere who dare to carve their paths and be themselves.
The novel is an autobiography of Atencio’s life, taking the readers to envision her as a young girl with a dream to become a successful bilingual journalist in America.
Atencio, a forward-thinking little girl, dreamt of becoming a TV journalist. She confessed this aspiration to her father and received his advice, blessings, and unconditional support. Being told, “I raised you to be whatever you want in life. But remember, nothing is ever free. You have to work hard to achieve what you want.”
She was determined to major in mass communication during her third year at Catholic Andres Bello University. However, due to the ongoing attacks, harassment and violence towards journalists by Venezuelan government forces, she feared for her safety and had no choice but to leave her beloved country to study her dreams elsewhere.
After graduating as an immigrant, Atencio had to overcome many obstacles to become a successful correspondent at NBC News.
“Most of us won’t get to the top by riding the elevators; we will have to take the stairs,” she wrote.
She started as an intern at the oldest Spanish newspaper, El Diario, and worked for Univision News, Fusion TV, and NBC News. In the journey of pursuing her career as an immigrant and a woman of colour, Atencio experienced many challenges including nearly becoming undocumented, a family tragedy that reunited them, and losing her father, who shaped her into a fearless and strong woman.
In her autobiography, Atencio taught readers many inspiring and powerful lessons by telling her story which conveys how bringing our authentic selves to the table is far more potent than cultivating mere beauty or meeting a checklist of expectations. Let’s celebrate our differences and make them building blocks, not rocks to throw at each other.
In the face of terror, our greatest strengths are: resilience, the human capacity to adapt and overcome adversity, and remembering that we are more alike than unlike.
As well, love heals everything and bridges every gap. Teaching a lesson with the yes attitude can take you places you never thought you would go. In life or online, personal or professional, we are all brilliantly flawed. You don’t have to be perfect ― just perfectly you.