WHO'S PRINCESS DAISY GUTIERREZ...MY MENTEE.

Princess Daisy Gutiérrez came into the world on July 29, 1984, at 12:07am in El Paso, Texas, born to Joel and Carmen Gutiérrez, who were originally from Mexico, but now lived in the United States of America. Her name was originally going to be Daisy Gutiérrez, where Daisy came from Daisy Duke on the Dukes of Hazard but since her mother kept repeating that she was going to be her little princess, her father changed her name on the birth certificate to Princess Daisy. The idea for her name also stemmed from a book titled Princess Daisy and though she has not read it yet, plans on doing it.

Every parent grows up wanting to protect their child from the world, but then, would that child actually be experiencing the world the way they should? Probably not, and so her journey starts from birth to her current age and location in Phoenix. Who knew that this little girl of Mexican heritage, first generation born in the United States would end up going to college in Tempe, Arizona, by herself, when her other friends had someone familiar with them.

One of her earliest memories is when she was near or at the age of two. She climbed out of the crib around one or two in the morning and went walking to the middle room of the house and became stuck in the closet after playing in it for some time. With early determination, she was able to get out and return to the crib in her parents' room almost an hour later.
She remembers her first day in kindergarten quite vividly. She remembers the school very well because her parents still live a block away. It has wonderful shapes and colors and even has a tower that looks like a pencil. Her original kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Arnold, is now the librarian of her school and knows her sister. Ironically enough, Naomi has even had one of the same teachers, Mrs. White, who when Princess had her in fifth grade as a science teacher, was now a fourth grade teacher.
When Mrs. White saw Princess, she said that Princess looked exactly the same, smile and everything. There is something about the smile Princess has because throughout her life, people have complimented her on it. She has been told it is because she has a genuine smile, even though she needs braces, the crooked teeth are not what people see when she smiles.
Anyhow, kindergarten was exciting because when her father was dropping her off, he let her know that there would be many children there. She entered the classroom with a positive attitude and smile, and when she was picked up, had many wonderful things to share about the day.

Around the time she turned six, her family had to move to Crest Hill, Illinois (near Chicago), unknown to them, it would be for two years. She remembers the drive being very long and is amazed when she thinks back to how many times she asked her parents if they were almost there. While living there she met new family, though not related by blood, her tia (aunt) had taken care of her mother as she was growing up.
It was difficult being so far away from everyone and though she lost a great deal of her Spanish, a trying time for the family came when they discovered her grandfather had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her father explained what had happened to her grandfather and she did the best she could to help out. During an emergency, she was able to stay calm and with her father, was able to help direct the paramedics to their apartment.
When the family was able to come back to El Paso, she was allowed to fly home which had been a good decision considering that when her parents were driving back, had an encounter with a tornado, but thankfully, no one was hurt.
After completing the fifth grade, she realized how much attitude she had given her parents and felt awful about the way she had acted but her parents understood it was a part of growing up. Even so, that doesn't completely make her feel better, but such is life, understanding how to move on.

At the age of thirteen her sister Naomi was born on October 26, 1997, around 8:45pm. She was allowed to be in the delivery room and actually witnessed the birth of her sister. What an amazing experience and one she will never forget. A funny memory was when the doctor asked if she knew what was going to happen after her mother had given birth and she replied yes and went on to explain to the doctor. He stood in shock and complimented her father.
A beautiful moment between sisters occurred when Naomi was in the warming bed crying and Princess walked over to her and began singing/humming to her. Naomi stopped and looked at Princess and she believes that Naomi recognized her voice from when she would speak to her in the womb. Princess did get to help name her and though she wanted to play with the spelling of her name, her father went with the biblical spelling, which was fine with her.
Princess was amazed when family asked if she was jealous of her new sister. She replied no, and explained that she was normally in the midst of helping with everything. She further explained that she was mature and old enough to understand how much care and attention Naomi would need.
Her XV was celebrated in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico, in the Gulf of California or Sea of Cortez. Most of the planning for the event had been done via email and an amazing amount of family and friends had been able to make the trip there. The experience was truly amazing and during the church ceremony, she came to realize just how important religiously it was to celebrate it. Fifteen was when Mary, the Virgin Mother of God was asked by the angel if she would accept the role. Princess also realized it signaled a time when a young lady is truly old enough to know the difference between right and wrong and not just the simple definition of it all, but on a more spiritual level.

A trying time came to her when she did something she never expected would ever occur in the eleventh grade. She said this is the first time sharing it outside a few select people, she cheated on an assignment in advanced English. She had become so busy with all the various activities that when she started on the paper, she was having a difficult time understanding the assignment and fell into that dark trap.
It ate her alive for at least a month until the teacher pulled her and her friend aside. Her friend defended her saying it would never happen. Later that evening, Princess expressed to her father what had occurred and he shared with her something that no one else knew. She has never forgotten that moment with her father and will always cherish it because with everything that had happened, he was never angry with her, though he did have her tell her friend the truth which she knew she had to do. Her friend listened and when Princess asked if they would be okay, she replied, "We will be." Though it would have been wonderful to hear a solid yes, she knew she couldn't ask for that and was thankful her friend would forgive her. Her friend's mother also had a talk with Princess but not in a negative way.
The next day with her father by her side, she explained to the teacher what had occurred and her friend's grade had been reinstated and she allowed the chance to finish the assignment correctly. She earned a 100 and grew immensely from that experience. Good people can do bad things but what they do to correct it and change for themselves is key. This is one of the reasons she holds herself and other people to a high regard because she has had those dark moments before and knows how to handle them.
Princess graduated high school in May 2002 and with one of best friends sitting next to her, both in awe of the crowd, she finally understood how important it was when someone graduated. She had always assumed that she would and had never taken a moment to realize how precious an experience it really was. It was made especially clear when one of her grandmother's asked her father why she was dressed in white when other students had blue gowns. He explained that she was graduating in the top ten percent of her class.
As summer came and went, friends left for college or the university and her parents helped her move to Phoenix to go to school in Tempe. The first night she spent truly by herself (her roommates had stepped out for the evening) was one of the most difficult experiences of her life. The pain she felt at being "left behind" was so foreign to her since she had always had family close to her made the transition that much more difficult. With time, she grew confident in herself and within fourteen months, was actually living by herself because of the various experiences she had had with her roommates. Princess doesn't regret living with them because they helped forge the strength she needed to live by herself.

In October 2005 the ceremony for her Bachelor of Arts Degree occurred and again, an amazing amount of family and friends were able to attend the ceremony. It was again an amazing experience and what she learned when she graduated from high school came to mind. She was one of the few in her family to earn a college degree and couldn't wait for others to follow her path. It had been a difficult one with many lessons learned but with that knowledge, she was able to share it with others and hopefully make their lives easier.

Princess met her now mentor Aracelys by chance in February 2007 when she was asked by a fellow co-worker if she was willing to help during Aracelys' presentation. She agreed and during the conference actually became involved and her experience with Aracelys let her know that she had to do something difficult but that it would be worth it. She knew it would be worth it because someone that had never met her before was able to see that she had something difficult to tell someone and needed to do it.

During her recovery of the difficult ordeal, she was invited to attend Coming Into Your Own (CIYO). It was there she discovered the courage, strength and confidence she had seen in others but never in herself. Princess realized that she had had those traits all along, they were just of a quiet nature, and because she saw them in a certain way in others, did not mean they would look the same within her.

Her second relationship has brought new emotions to her but knows she did the right thing especially when could see herself marrying him some day.

One of her greatest adventures was going to Germany to visit a friend that was getting married and to visit her cousin. The time spent with her friends and family there were priceless. There was a day when she walked the city of Dresden by herself with only the words, "hello", "please" and "thank you" in German and two books. She walked most of the city and was able to buy lunch and visit castles and museums that her friends hadn't even been to yet.
When she saw her cousin it was truly amazing to her because she was the first family he had seen in over a year and here they were in a different country on a different continent meeting up. He looked wonderful and couldn't wait to share the stories he had and what she had to share.
A few weeks after her return, she was let go from the organization she was working for but after a day of sadness, realized it was time to move on and that she was ready. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise. When it occurred she immediately created a list in her head of things that needed to be done and has been working well to accomplish it. Many have given her compliments as to the progress she has made since being let go but she knows things can always improve.
In the end, as much as Princess wishes that some events could be different she knows that can never be because then she would be a different person. Events in everyone's lives can lead to many different emotions but the fact that they get to experience them means they are living. She has never forgotten the moment she announced to her family that she didn't want to grow up, that she just wanted to play with toys and even has moments that wishes she was that little girl again, but has learned that even though people age physically, it's okay to hold onto the younger self and cherish it.