Arlene Diaz, AU Graduate, Class of 2000
I was standing in my living room about over a year ago and listening to the Oprah Winfrey Show. A lady was talking about how she became depressed because her boyfriend left her for another woman. A friend of hers kept sending cards with little pictures she drew with little uplifting sayings. Finally the lady came out of her depression and then the two, the lady with depression and her angel, came up with an idea of how to market these little cards.
They started out of an apartment with just the two of them, from there to one store, and then to 5,000 stores all over the United States! As I was standing in my living room, I said to no one, "You don't have to have a boyfriend leave you to make cards!" I thought of all the poems and songs I have written and how I was given the gift for words. My mind was reeling!! Where can I get the money, how would I start? The word solution went over and over in my head and as I closed my eyes the words.
I had a speaker, Phoebe Hamilton, who came to speak on mini-grants, while I was an Advocate at Cedarcrest. I knew that I had to attempt to throw this out to her. I made the call that day to Phoebe and she told me about another grantee who also received a grant for cards. In my mind as she spoke I thought, "Darn I am too late someone already beat me to it". She quickly dispelled my fears and said, "But they do not have to be the same, what is your idea?" I told her I want to use my literary talents to give hope and inspiration to other people in recovery so they can know they are not alone. She encouraged me to contact the other grantee to get some cards so I can get an idea of how I can make my cards different. I was on a roll!
The more I talked about it the more "hopeful and inspired" I became at the idea of giving back to people who may think to themselves, "I can't." The name Brighter Horizons 52© was actually thought up by a dear friend, who gave me hope through my most trying times. The 52 in the name is the year I was born. When I was depressed, lonely, angry or tired these card were what helped me get out of my slump. I do not know how I found the courage to write very positive one-line sentences while I was emotionally struggling but something greater than myself was at work guiding me.
The two words "I can't" are not a part of my vocabulary, today. To think that I did not learn to read or write until I was 8 years old! Finally, I want to acknowledge and give a special "Thank you" to Mrs. Roberts for teaching me phonics.
~ Submitted by Arlene Diaz, August 17, 2004