How 2023 Made Me a Princess in a Spanish Fairytale

Originally sent to my mailing list in February 2024. This “Spanish fairytale” is the love story or the third chapter of the Spain origin story. Republished here in October 2026, four years in.

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El Secreto de la Buena Suerte

So often when friends back home ask me how I’m doing in Spain, I answer that I’m “living the dream in my Spanish fairytale with my prince.”

(Or, if they speak Spanish, le digo sobre mi cuento de hadas🧚‍♂️ español.)

Becoming la princesita or the protagonist in a love story

Becoming la princesita or the protagonist in a love story was not at all what I was expecting in 2023.

But the biggest difference between me now and the me that wrote to you 13 months ago is that I’ve fallen in love.

Ahora estoy en la relación que siempre quise, con mi novio. (Well, now I’m in the relationship I’ve always wanted, with my one-and-only.)

Tall, dark, handsome and Spanish, my sweetie and I first made eyes at a Nirvana tribute concert his band was giving in my home of adoption: La Línea, the city where I live. He had come from his hometown of Algeciras, across the bay, to channel Kobain like none other. My mid-August night’s dream.

That night I met the drummer of his other band, who invited me to their next concert in Bolonia on the Atlantic side of Cádiz province. That fateful 9th of September marked the spark. Fue el momento que nos unió. This was when dreams met reality.

más salud

I had to lay the groundwork in 2020 to truly see myself someday in a healthy, conscious romantic relationship. It was then that I began to advocate for “healthy attachment” for myself, thanks to encouragement from my friend Jen. This opposed the campaign of “letting go” so prevalent in spiritual messaging at the time.

más bienestar

Little by little, I realize I lovingly plant the seeds today to continue to see growth in the future, in many areas of my life.

• Spanish: I allow myself to enjoy and deserve fluency in the Spanish language (poco a poco).
• Spain: I embrace the land, culture and language of Spain and see myself living here as long as I can.
• Skin Healing: I deserve healthy, clear skin and have renewed hope that I can get to the root of a chronic 7-year problem with eczema on my hands.
• Relationship: I deserve a healthy, long-lasting romantic relationship.
• Money Healing: I deserve a stable, sustainable, financially secure situation and to thrive.
• The Cause: We deserve community care and collective liberation, for all of us to do well and meet our basic needs in tense times of militarism, classism, racism, climate change and much else.
• The Biz: I deserve and allow myself to enjoy a very human brand that is strategic in its content, to make a difference.

A summer filled with hope and promise

I promise that at the heart of whatever I next offer will be communal and individual health & wellness, as it always has been. For those of you following along in the journey, get ready for exciting (scary) and new times ahead.

Os deseo lo mejor siempre.

Vamos hablando.

Go back to read the arrival story: Moving to Spain and the fine line between fantasy and reality→