My Story Unfolds

Welcome to Brain Thoughts with Joselyn!

My name is Joselyn. That’s J-o-s-e-l-y-n.

And for the longest time, I let people call me whatever variation felt easiest for them. It wasn’t until the early 2020s that I realized what was actually happening. My name was being pronounced differently, and with that, it was becoming something different. I was no longer the Joselyn my parents called me. The Latina Joselyn, who grew up in South America, whose roots were planted in her immigrant parents’ hard work, and who carried the hopes and dreams of her ancestors. I had quietly become the Americanized version of the girl who arrived in this country with big dreams and an even bigger heart.

It took an honest audit of my life to see it clearly.

More than half of my life has been spent in the United States, and that has shaped me in ways I am still unpacking. The years changed who I was. The country changed how I saw the world. Somewhere in those 18-plus years, I had become a smaller, fainter, farther version of who I once was.

When I came to this country at 11 years old, I had dreams big enough to embarrass most adults. I grew up in a very rural part of Ecuador, on the coast, where the heat was strong and burned your skin every single time you walked home from school. Modern society existed, but we just lived on the outskirts of it. Not by choice, but by circumstance. And in that space, without the noise of technology and trends and everything competing for your attention, I learned how to just be. That ability to unplug? I earned it young, and I have never taken it for granted. I learned how to be present before anyone was calling it a wellness practice.

After school, I would sit under the big fruit tree at home and read, or lie back and stare at the sky and find shapes in the clouds.

One of those childhood dreams was to become a writer. To tell the story of my family, my friends, and everything in between.

So here I am. Almost two decades since I first arrived in this country, telling stories through my looking glass of life.

This blog and podcast are the beginning of a lifelong dream. A space to share my thoughts honestly, stay true to myself, and spread joy and God’s love through writing and conversation.

To my parents, my loved ones, and my friends who have believed in me and in this dream, thank you. You know who you are.

And to my brother and sister-in-law: you warned me I would be returned home if I were ever kidnapped. Apparently, the kidnappers would happily pay ransom just to get some rest from my many questions about the world and life. This one is for you, too. You believed in me even when believing in me meant enduring a lot. This podcast is basically your fault.

Welcome to Brain Thoughts with Joselyn. You’re in for a ride!

Love, Joselyn