Morning Glory

Updated 6/20/2026

"So what's your story?"

I wrote this with the intention to hopefully encourage, inspire, and empower others. 

I dropped out of high school at age 17 to begin a career as a waitress. By 25 I was a single mom without even a driver's license.  Now I am a college graduate, a licensed educator, culinary instructor, wife of 15 years, home owner and soon to be business owner (inshaAllah). 

When someone asks what happened that made me change my life, I tell them exactly what it was. My children. The minute I decided to be a mom I made a commitment to provide my sons with as much stability as possible. 

when they were babies and toddlers, to make ends meet I worked as a deli clerk, then I became a licensed in-home child care provider. When my older son started K-4, I went from living as a single parent to moving in with his dad to see if we could make it work, not for love. I began studying for my HSED and driver's license. I was 28 at the time and went to waitress again. I didnt know the first thing about college or how to get into one but a billboard got me thinking about going to college. The next year when Darren started school I applied to one of the top colleges in the state, Alverno (that was the college on the billboard). I was accepted. I began my studies in Psychology. Their dad wasn't supportive at all of my schooling.  We were both stressed. The enviroment became toxic. I didn't want the kids growing up in a home with constant strife so I began planning to move out. After having moved out, I had to leave Alverno due to not having any mode of transportation. After taking a semester or two off I decided to go back to school. I had also been in the application process for the Milwaukee police dept so I decided to study Criminal Justice at Milwaukee Area Technical College. After passing some of the MPD's tests, I couldn't get over the 6 foot wall so that disqualified me. At MATC I switched my focus from Criminal Justice to Human Resources. I was 33. At that time, an old friend Brian, my now husband, came back into my life after having been absent for 12 years. In 2011 we got married. I took another break from school while we settled in to our new life. I knew I had to finish what I started and that I wanted something more than waitressing. I felt that I was meant to reach my potential.  I enjoyed the hospitality industry and you could always find me in a kitchen baking, cooking or hosting get togethers. I always thought of enrolling in the culinary program at MATC but every time I mentioned it, someone always said that there was a wait list, so I never looked into it. But this time I called to see for myself. The program had low enrollment and there definitely wasn't a wait list. I often thought of the possibility of owning my own business and prior to this it seemed out of reach. In Milwaukee, the food truck industry was up and coming. This was a little more within my reach. So I set out to take on this dream. In 2014, I went to school Mondays thru Thursdays and waited tables Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I was able to be home during the evenings to spend time with the family. In 2016 I began working on food trucks and in restaurant kitchen and accumulated several hours of experience.

Finally in December of 2017, I graduated with a degree in Culinary Management. 

My plan was to secure a job as a chef or sous chef for a few years while paying off debt and saving up for a food truck.

In the spring of 2018, one of my culinary instructors forwarded an email to all graduates. The email was from the West Allis School District. The districts Career and Technical Education Department was looking for recent graduates with work experience to be hired as a Culinary Instructor in their Family and Consumer Science Dept.  Being a teacher always crossed my mind but never seemed within reach. But I figured that since I received this email, there must be a chance. For a split second, I contemplated ignoring it, I thought to myself that I'd never get picked. But hold on, apparently I am capable of accomplishing some pretty great things. For some reason, I started the application process. I was really hoping that this too good to be true job would turn out to be true. Over that summer I continued waitressing, working BOH and working on a food truck. By August, right before the start of the school year I received a confirmation letter. I got the job. This is all God. All of it. He was at the forefront, in the backround and in all the details and still is.

My first semester teaching was intense! I had a few breakdowns. At the same time, my husband was in danger of losing his source of income. He was a mechanic and had his own LLC. The residential garage he was earning out of was about to be up for sale. Thankfully for us, we were good friends with the owner. We struggled to secure a loan, it took some finagling  but managed, and by October 31st, 2018 we closed on the home. The house needed to be renovated but we didn't have the luxury of time to do so. We moved in January 1st. 

Recap: In a years time, I received my college diploma, became a licensed educator and a homeowner. That year almost broke me. I was under immense pressure, presssure that is too much to write about here. None of this was easy and honestly it came with immense strain and difficulty. Today is December 18th, 2019 and so far the hubby has made many updates to the home including a gorgeous new kitchen, roof and upper bathroom addition. The bathroom has yet to be completed. Each month was a struggle financially but we always paid everything and paid on time. Our goal is to refinance early 2020, pay off debt, purchase a food truck and be up and operating by the summer. 

I share this story with my students beginning with my childhood and what led up to me having dropped out of high school. Since I didn't take the traditional route teachers take to teach, the students find my story intriguing. As a teen, I lacked guidance at the most crucial stages. I was at a high school where I was just a number. So today, I stress to students how fortunate they are to be at a high school where they have so much guidance and support from staff and administration and I encourage them to take advantage of it. 

What's your story?

Issues

Issues, we all have something we haven't dealt with. We stay occupied and try to pretend it never happened. it's not there or hope that it goes away. But it keeps popping up and sometimes, just when you thought you were free of it, there it goes again. A few days ago I was on vacation sitting poolside, sunbathing with my Aunt.  I noticed a young dark, thin girl in the pool. She must of been about 10 or 11. She was with a gentleman who looked to be about 55 or 60. They were frolicking, he would toss her, she would come back clinging on tightly, they were very close, almost intimate. I could not focus on anything else. I think my aunt was going on about something but I couldn't say because I was zoomed in on the little girl and that man. As i continued to focus in on them, I began to feel angry and that anger started growing. The anger turned to rage and rage turned to hate. I had my sunglasses on so my aunt didn't noticed the tears. When I was around that girls age, I lived across from a pool and of coarse I frequented the pool often with cousins and siblings. On one particular day, I was playing with the usual person, he would chase me and hold me with my back towards his front and hop me to the deeper end then throw me. We did this repeatedly, it was fun. But on this day he wouldn't let me go, he started breathing heavily, tightening his hold round my waist, hopping around the pool at a steady pace I tried to remove his arm but he kept saying hang on. I tried harder to remove his hand but couldn't. I didn't understand exactly what was happening but it didn't feel okay at all. He finally released me. It was then that I felt used then discarded for the first but not the last time. I was too young to realize that I should be angry, I wasn't even sure if what happened was wrong or just something boys do. I loved and trusted this person. It never came to mind that I had rights and they could be violated. I kept it to myself and put it somewhere way back in my head. I don't remember anymore summer fun days at the pool after that. The man in the pool could have had pure intentions, I doubt it but it doesn't matter. What matters is my peace, my healing process and not letting my past prevent me from living fully in the present. As I was aware of my thoughts, I stopped myself from continuing to hate that man. I forced myself to let those emotions go and allow myself to enjoy the moment and focus on as as many positive things I could, and there were many options to choose from. I thought I forgave that person who wronged me, I thought I was healed.I guess it is a process. Please, tell your daughters, nieces or whoever, please explain to them their rights and what to do if anyone attempts to violate them. This blog is part of my healing process. I'm a messy person, my issues are many, I will conquer them one by one.

thank you for reading.

Marvelous

I was going to begin this blog by stating that I am no marvel. But, I am, and so are you. Meditate on that. Feel it. Embrace it. Be it. Live it. That is mostly a reminder to myself. If the odds had their way, I wouldn't be where I am. I'm by no means farther ahead than anyone, just way far ahead from where I began. Some of us really know what it means to hang on to hope. What are we hoping for? I hope for peace. That's it. Peace if I'm broke or have things, sick or healthy, alone or surrounded by others. I don't have it all together, all figured out, so what makes me marvelous? The same things that get us all up everyday, forgive ourselves for our yesterday's whatever , embrace our humanity, repent and submit to our Creator. Acknowledging that I am in need of compassion and mercy and because I have such ease of access to it, I also must offer it freely to those who have offended me and hope that when I am the offender (cause who's perfect?) that i will be offered forgiveness. That is how I move forward. If you could use some peace in your life, maybe take some time to reflect on who you could ask forgiveness of or maybe who you could forgive.

Guilt

Today I overheard a girl refer to a meme about women's indecisiveness when choosing a place to eat. Apparently we are apprehensive to choose because we made such a horrible first choice at the beginning of creation by picking the apple to give our man. It dawned on me. I have been carrying around this underlying sense of responsibility, some need to make up for a supposed sin of my very late ancestor. After all, how can we be trusted to make concrete decisions after that first mess? We must be unreliable. Not all women were raised to think that we are the bad seed. If you were raised in a Christian home, as I was, maybe you can relate. I no longer identify with those types of ideas, however they definitely still have an impact. I never allowed myself to feel or believe I was good enough. If I have an absentee parent, I question what am I doing wrong that they don't make any effort to have a relationship with me. If my boss is upset I question my actions or behaviors first. If my loved ones are unhappy I question what I did or could do differently to make them happy. The truth is, I am not responsible for anyone's happiness but mine. I have been working on being more aware of my thought patterns. This way I can stop a self-defeating idea using reason and logic. I imagine a guilt free mind. I want to know what that feels like. I can safely say that my intention is to work towards pleasing my Creator. If I continue on this path, I can trust that if I make a mistake, I can forgive myself and ask for forgiveness and after that have a clear conscious.  I wish for anyone reading this to make a conscious decision every day to trust your abilities, intuition and intentions. If you are striving to please your Creator, love will flow forward.

Goals

I'll get to where I've been, but first please allow me to share with you where I want to be.

As a Mescalero Apache, I want to learn all I can about the history, art, literature, culture, food and faith of my ancestors. I would love to learn the cooking techniques and incorporate more indigenous ingredients into my diet.

As an American, my hope is to build a stronger community through communication and continue to break down barriers of misinformation. I'd like to see less government involvement, less war for profit, and more unity among races, religions and classes.

As a Muslim convert, given the current dynamics surrounding equality vs. superiority, i would like to lessen the gap of misunderstanding between the 3 major religions of the world. I want to highlight our similarities while simultaneously debunking common myths and misconceptions concerning our faiths. 

As a professional, my goal is become Chef/Owner of a small business.

Labels

Who is Malina? I hate labels. I do my best to stay away from them, but then how would I describe myself? As I write this list, it does not go in order of importance. This is who I am today, not who I was or who I may become. I'm in my early 40's. I am the oldest of my fathers 6 children, otherwise from my mother, I was the middle child of 5 for a while until my mom married again and had her last two kids. Of my mothers biological children, I am the 3rd born. I am a wife and mother of 2 son's ages 16 and 17. To make things easier, I'm going to start a list of  "I am's"

• Mescalero Apache, French (i will add to this after I do the DNA test)
• American
• Muslim
• College Graduate
• Culinary Instructor

I'm on a journey to learn how to be a more compassionate person. I've been hurt and have been the cause of pain, both the cure and the poison, depending on who you are and at what point in my life you interacted with me. There are some things I'm super proud of and some that I'm super ashamed of. I don't profess to be a good person, just human and far from perfect. Thankfully I am on a healing path and am enjoying the benefits of the healing process, in turn I hope to be a source of healing for some and better yet, for many. 

Throughout this blog I will share stories of my past or present experiences, post videos and sometimes just post about current events. 

Thank you to whoever cared enough and took the time to really get to know who I am.