For 2023, my only New Year’s resolution was to live the year saying “YOLO.” Maybe it’s cheesy or stupid, but I feel like, for the most part, I have lived my life very rule-abiding. And to be honest, that was getting boring. When it came time to make my resolution, I told myself that I wanted to spend the year doing things that make me nervous (but in a good, exciting way). After all, I won’t be 20 forever.
When it came time to make plans for spring break with my best friend, I knew I wanted to do something spontaneous. After deciding to go to New Orleans and booking a hotel, we started to talk about different things to do together. Somehow, despite mutual hesitation, we booked an appointment to see a psychic.
Let me start off by saying I am definitely what you would call a “spiritual” person. Coming from a Latin household, I grew up believing in the power of curanderismo (a blend of holistic, traditional, and religious healing methods) and brujeria (witchcraft). In my house, sage, incense, crystals, and even eggs are seen as healing.
My mom and grandmother used to warn me about people claiming to be psychic when I was young. They would tell me stories about witches and dark magic, and how getting involved with things like that would only bring negative energy towards me.
My friend, growing up in a similar household, shared my anxieties. Despite this, we still booked the appointment.
In the Uber on the way to the psychic, I saw a woman holding a baby bundled up in a pink fluffy jacket. The baby was smiling brightly and the mom was looking down at her baby with an equally bright smile. I turned to my friend sitting next to me and said “I really want a baby. After undergrad, I seriously want to start thinking about having kids.” My friend looked at me and smiled, used to these comments from me. Some background on me: I want the full suburban fantasy. I think the two things I want most in my life is to be in love and to be a mom. The idea of making breakfast for my kids and partner before rushing to drop them off for school sounds so beautiful to me. I really want that one day.
Fast forward to the actual reading. I am sitting in front of this white-haired woman. In the middle of us, a tiny wooden table and a deck of cards. She shuffles the cards, telling me to put intentions into it, then proceeds to flip cards down onto the table. I thought about love and school.
Just as a disclaimer– I told this woman nothing about me. I don’t have this information online. I also never confirmed or denied anything she told me, I simply let her do her thing.
The first thing that she tells me is how great of a mom I am going to be one day. To three kids. She said that I will have my first kid probably right after grad school (kind of scary). She talked about how strong my connection is with my mom (think Gilmore Girls, but Latina. That’s my mom and I) and grandma. The psychic also mentioned that I would move away from Austin, but that my mom and grandma would follow me. She also talked about how she sees me working with kids (I am majoring in human development with an emphasis in early childhood). She mentioned that I am learning a language that will be useful for my future job (I am currently learning sign language, and intend to work with autistic children). She even talked about a guy that I’ve been on a few dates with, and predicted that we will date until he meets my mom (oddly specific).
She also told me that I give off very fertile energy, and to get on birth control, which did make me laugh.
It was over in 25 minutes. As I said my goodbyes to the woman, I felt the overwhelming urge to cry. Trying not to freak my friend out, I smiled as she replaced my seat behind a red curtain. When her reading ended, we walked to a nearby coffee shop where I immediately started crying. Not because I was sad. It was the opposite. I felt so happy and excited about what I had heard. So did my friend. She said during her reading, the psychic predicted that my bestie and her long-term boyfriend would eventually get married. Travel a ton. They would even someday babysit my future kids. That image in my brain made me really emotional.
I wish I could write about every tiny detail. Simply put, it was so amazing to get to talk to my best friend about our readings, our hopes, and kids. Our hopes about love. Anxieties about careers. Gratitude that it seems like we are on the right track. We sat down over tea and talked about what we hoped would come true and what we thought wouldn’t happen. I cried a lot. It was such a memorable moment in what was such a special trip with my best friend. I don’t know if I would have gotten a psychic reading a year ago, but I do know that I made myself proud by branching out of my comfort zone. You only live once!