Who is AnnaMarie Squailia?

            For my first blog, I thought I would give you some information about who I am, what I have been through, and how you can inspire your children.

            My parents separated/divorced when I was around five. Things were great until I was 11-12 years old and my mom moved my brother and me to a different state. Then I had a very rocky childhood. Rejection, abandonment and low self-esteem were my constant friends.

            When I was married, I promised myself that I would never get a divorce. We went to Bible College. We became a youth pastors and then associate pastors. Our marriage was having problems. People who knew about it kept asking me why I was still with him. But I had made a promise. Then things got really bad. I could not live with him. I could not get a divorce. I could not let him destroy my children. I was at a point of despair and indescribable pain.

             My faith took me through that terrible period, and I was able to give myself permission to break my  promise.

              I tell you this so you can have hope. I was emotionally and mentally gone but I overcame it. If I can overcome it, so can you. It’s not easy. There are times I feel like I am just keeping my head above water. But I have risen from the pit, I have learned to survive, and I have inspired my children to be better people.

            For the last 14 years I have worked two jobs. In order to see and have an impact on my children I homeschooled them during the day and worked when they were asleep.

            I was able to do all this because I believed that it was possible. You too can believe you will make a difference in your children’s lives. No matter where you come from or what you have been through, you can rise above it. You can help your children succeed in life. There will be problems and they have to go through difficulties but you can give them the foundation they need. They will not always make the right choices, neither do we.

            60-80% of our success in life is because of our emotional intelligence. It is something that is learned. It is something that we can improve in our lives and our children’s lives. Have you heard that leaders are made not born? That is because we are in charge of our emotional life. We have the power to change our lives. Once we have changed, we will inspire our children to change because they will see the difference in our lives.

AnnaMarie