We All Grow Summit 2016

I know this post is  late, but my life has been insane the past month. Now that I am all settled, here is my recap of an experience that changed my life.

I had the pleasure to assist to the second We All GrowSummit back in the beginning of March. First and foremost, I want to thank Ana Flores for creating this summit – it was a beautiful experience and I am already excited  for next year to live it again!

I had been wanting to attend the summit, but I was feeling overwhelmed with life and didn’t know if I had the time,, so I never bought a ticket. About a month before, Neutrogena and Latina Bloggers Connect launched a contest with the #MisMomentosNeutrogena that offered four lucky winners a pass to the summit. I figured I would participate, but never thought I was going to win, but I did and felt so lucky and grateful!  

Being my first blogger summit EVER, I was very intimidated and nervous, but also very excited. To be honest, I was expecting a more competitive vibe, but to my surprise I found a true sense of sisterhood among the attendees. These amazing, talented women exceeded my expectations and taught me a lot.

It was very intimidating to meet some of the bloggers that I have been following for years and put a  human being behind the post, the Instagram photos and the snaps. Yet it was also very refreshing to see that they are humble, and approachable no matter how famous they are.

DAY 1:

I left Austin around 5 am to catch my flight to Long Beach, CA. I had a layover in Phoenix where I had a pretty amazing breakfast, but then  off I was to a new experience! I arrived to Long Beach airport, which actually is a pretty amazing airport maybe because it doesn’t even look like an airport. I hopped in an Uber to Hotel Maya where I was staying and the summit was taking place. As the Uber approached the entrance I could feel the adrenaline pumping and my nerves going nuts.

The first day, we had day trips. Some girls went to LA with Transitions Lenses, some went to Catalina Island with Neutrogena, but I went on the Drive What Matters ride with Mazda up on the Pacific Coastal Highway. We got to try all of the amazing Mazda cars, from the Mazda3 to the CX5. Then they treated us to a yummy lunch at Parker’s Lighthouse restaurant and then to the Museum of Latin American Art. I also got to meet two AMAZING women Miss Laur (Lauren Garcia) and La Cooquette (Maria Sierra) that inspired me throughout  the summit to get out there and create more content.

Lastly, we got to have a very fun welcome cocktail sponsored by Hampton by Hilton. We had some bubbly and great laughs to close the first day of this amazing adventure.

DAY 2:

It was game time! We heard lots of amazing talks starting with an inspiring talk by influencers that had made it to the TODAY show.  The talented and beautiful Liliana Vasquez from the LVGuide was among those speakers. After that, I got to learn more about and perfect my media kit thanks to Mentor.Me and the great workshop they put together for us. Then I headed over to the Dove suite to get pampered with a mani and some goodies. 

At the end of the day I got to meet three super talented women who work at Pinterest at the Pinterest Happy Hour they put on for us.

DAY 3:

We started our day with breakfast in bed by Aguacates Frescos, which included yummy quiches, fresh fruit and OJ. After, we had a great meditation session by Christine Gutierrez sponsored by Dove. She truly made us all feel like the goddesses we should be feeling like every single day.

Next, I continued on to learn some awesomeness from the super talented Maura Wall Hernandez from The Other side of the Tortilla, who is a total badass at Google Analytics, which is essential to help a blog grow. Then I headed to the Neutrogena suite to get pampered and get lots of goodies. Lastly I heard all of my favorite bloggers on a single panel discuss embracing individuality in lifestyle blogging, which I really needed as I will be transitioning this blog into lifestyle and travel.

 All in all, this summit was a magical four days where I made amazing new friends that I am looking forward to see at Hispanicize this week! I was reminded of the power of embracing and celebrating one another and, most importantly, I was just so inspired to keep growing my blog and my brand and to taking it to new heights.