I am a nurse from New Orleans. I have attended ADC Miami last year and would like to return this year. If I return I be sure to announce it to everyone so more people will go.

I so need this trip work been so overwhelming

I 💜 You so much when I was. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer I have been following you every since you give me hope you give me love people your just an AWSOME AWSOME LADY! Keep your head up BABYGIRL !!!!! Much 💜❤️ Heather Sayers

This will be my first vacation ever. Never had any because I was busy putting my kids to school. I hope I win it. I also would love a good smile like yours My teeth are a mess. I am a mess in all ways. No vaca, no good smile. God bless you! Love your witty contribution in what is going on nowadays in our country.

I was born in Aguadilla Puerto Rico in 1964. I am 52 yrs old and have NEVER learned how to dance salsa. This cruise with soooo many dancers would be my ultimate dance class for me. My wife and I always take in family members who need a place and right now my sister in-law and brother in-law live with us, plus 3 dogs. We work, work, work and taking this cruise would be the ultimate vacation. Learning to dance salsa has always been my dream come true.

My name is Brittany. I haven’t had it very easy but I never gave up. I’m recently divorced from a very unhealthy relationship of 5 years. I had to deal with physical, mental, and emotional abuse. But I never gave up until enough was enough. As a child a was I was sexually abused for 6 years but still I never gave up. I’m determined to make my life beautiful and to continue to see beauty in the world. I love dance and the expression of love and pain that it can bring. I think this cruise can do this for me.

Well I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise but unfortunately I work to help my step mom out etc I’ve had to drop out of college to help my mom with bills etc I promised my grandma before she passed that I will continue my education in the fall of 2018 or the spring of 2018. I’ve been through so much from in my life from dropping out of the Marines due to medical an it crushed me an my dreams to where I had to find myself again an it too some time. Now I’m getting back on track. I was diagnosed with spinal meningitis as a baby an I have so Manny surgeries the last one was I was 19. I enlisted at 17 but graduated at 19 an I had to cancel all of my paperwork. Now I’m just workin to pay the bills. I love listen to u, u are what people should strive to be,you are truely inspirational an admiring hopefully I can win if not I still get to to watch u

Hello my name Is Ray i am a singke father of 2 kids one 21 one 19 now and a 2 year old granddaughter…5 years ago i confronted my ex wife about her cheating on me it broke my heart but she did not denie it…so sadly she decided to leave me and my kids….and ro make it worst it was with my older brother…..we were living with my retired parents at the time as we sold are house….and my mom had just retired…she helped me get the kids off to school each day so i could work my normal hours…..7 months passed and at this point i loss a wife and a brother and then my Angel of a mother was taken from are lives……she died with a broken heart over all this ……so now just my son and my retired father live here and last month my Father was diagnosed with cancer he has been having radiation treatment for 20 days now and has 20 to go….hopefully it will end the cancer in his body…
As for me since my ex leaving i jave really never healed from it….i have just worked and tried to do the the best i can for my kids…..and be the best father i can be tjankyou dor your time Ray Garcia

I am nominating my daughter. She’s had a rough go of it. She has a new baby and is not with the father. Although she has tried to get along with him and support him having a healthy relationship with the child. He continues to display instabilities and drag her to court unnecessarily. It amazes me the judge just doesn’t say why are we here… my daughter is spent mentally and physically from this battle. And did I forget to say the child is ill and on oxygen and he continues to take him in a smoke filled environment. Which is against the court order and dr’s orders but it’s just minimized when brought to the courts attention. My daughter feels she has nowhere to turn. She’s just getting back to work she’s been on an unpaid maternity leave since April.. hasn’t even been back to work two weeks. Financially she’s drained but has to try to keep up with him in this court battle he insists on simply because she is done with the relationship. Prior to that she’d have to beg him to see the child. He’s simply punishing her… she needs a break and she loves to sing and dance … please choose my child ❤️

Hello Rubia, I want to start by saying Thank you for asking to learn about us, as your fans. I am a 37 year old, divorced, single mom. I have 2 kids, one son, 17 years old and my daughter, 9. I am not sure where to start on telling you about me. This could take hours and I don’t think you want to spend hours reading this. Here I go…. I was in an abusive marriage and spend my younger years with my ex husband. I was lucky enough to have two amazing kids out of the unfortunate relationship. I am single, and will probably stay that way for a long time. The gift of having a broken “picker”. I work full-time and also go to school part-time. When I am not at work or school I am 110% with my kids. I am striving to complete my education for Business Management. Finishing my degree would mean being able to move up the corporate ladder with my current employer. I manage an apartment complex that is a HUD subsidy and section 8 for seniors. I love my job and the people I work with. What would a cruise mean to me? Well, in all honesty, I cannot afford a vacation right now, but would love to take one. I would enjoy having adult interaction! It would mean a little time and sanity to myself with the opportunity to explore things I probably will not in my life get to experience. I tried to keep this i minimal I am sure you have a lot to read. Thank you so much for everything that you do. You are a real inspiration, whether I win or not, I will always be a fan!

I had to walk away from my abusive marriage with just the clothes on my back. I gave that man the power to beat down my self esteem. 4 years later, I finally feel like I want to love myself again. I really need this cruise to just throw caution to the wind and relax and get to know myself and have a great time.

Who am I and what’s my story? Hmm. MY name is Elizabeth Keeler and I’m 30 almost 31 years old. I live in Nashville and I’m a single mom of a beautiful little boy. I have 3 jobs. I work in a print shop, I’m a floral designer as well as a housekeeper, I’m actually the “hey can you” person. Anytime anyone asks for something to be done, I’m that person. My mother is so gracious to watch my son while I work. I am the survivor of domestic abuse from my father and also my son’s father. i love to dance. I usually put in my earbuds, put on some music and just let loose. Whether it be while cleaning, while cooking or just blowing off steam. I don’t have formal training but have always wanted to learn. I was a cheerleader in high school and was asked to be a majorette. Later in life I’ve just never had to the money or time to learn. Although I should. I’m in a bad bout of depression, so keeping my head above water is hard. I haven’t missed a beat with work in over a year. I don’t miss a beat with my son. I have no me time, I have no time to decompress and to just breathe. Winning this cruise would give me a chance to do something for me, learning something I love, with some really cool, loving people and I get to clear my head in the process. Outside of that, of you don’t choose me, choose my mom, Kelley Keeler-James. She has been a single mom of 2 children. She (we actually, I own it with her) has bought us a wonderful home for her 2 kids and 3 beautiful grandchildren. She never misses a beat and is always there for anyone who needs her. She needs time to get away (and to learn to dance, she needs to know more than the mashed potato and the twist. Haha) sorry my essay is terrible and all over the place, I’m sure that irritating as a teacher, but I hope you get the overall gist. Thank you Ms. Garcia, not only for your kindness, but the opportunities you give. Your opportunities give young kids a chance to make it. You make them feel included and loved. I pray more teachers become like you.
Your fan,
Beth.

Hi Rubia, my friend Linda has had a challenging life. Her husband dies when her 2 boys were young, she was a single parent. Raised her 2 boys alone. She was diagnosed with breast cancer,had breast removed & lymph nodes. She survived that. Had both hips replaced, lost her 25 yr old son 3yrs ago and last yr was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She is doing well even though she just learned it spread to her liver. She takes care of herself, eats right & exercises. She is one of the strongest women I know.shes a hell of a fighter. She is the absolute most kind,giving person I know. I am proud she chose me as a friend. No matter what struggles she has, she’s always doing something for someone else. I met her at work. We worked with about 25 people. No matter what was going on in her Pvt life, she made sure she baked a birthday cake for all of us. Our favorite cske, from scratch. She lives food. Lives to cook, bake and yes eat it too. I love her so much. I think this cruise would be a wonderful gift for her. I’m sure there are many heart warming stories. I hope this is one that moves you because she’s absolutely moved me in the way she has kindness, caring, compassion and courage. Thank you for this great opportunity. God Bless
Lori. Xo

Lindsayyy! First of all I am super excited about this. Second of all I hope there is no character limit on this because I am about to type it up!

I think it was either the first ever or the second time they were organizing the Aventura cruise that I went to. I taught a ladies styling class with Jonte and performed Green Light (our modern/salsa routine in white pjs and with pillows!) With Raymond. We also brought some of Mambo Orleans dancers with us. It was a blast!! I had a ton of fun but more importantly it helped us significantly to put NOLA back on salsa map. After that we got so much more recognition, we got invited to AllStar salsa fest in Cancun, Philadelphia Salsa fest, and so on.. we also organized the Mambo Jam two years in a row. All started with Aventura… when you told me about this opportunity I got super excited because dance defined who I ve been for so long. Even now, I use it to help people with Parkinson’s with my free community dance classes specifically designed for people with PD. I do research on dance’s impact on depression, self efficacy and confidence, and balance, gait and motor functions with the same population. These are all my community service. Not part of my job requirement, nor i get paid for it. I also use dance in education at Syracuse University as part of my class design where I teach about human body and the brain connection on my class called “Movement and Brain Function”. Although dance has influence every single decision I made (including the reason i moved to USA to begin with) now unfortunately I have been away from salsa scene for way too long. Living in Syracuse (with no salsa scene whatsoever, i mean none, not limited, none!), working a lot, getting married, buying a house, popping a baby …… i feel like I lost who i am. What i love. What made me feel confident, sexy, friendly, outgoing, and positive.. on top of the financial burden we suffered with my husband losing his job, then his next job going on strike, added to the financial burden of having a baby we are all the way to our neck covered in debt. Since I met my husband we did not even get a chance to do a weekend getaway, or a date at a spa, let alone a vacation or honeymoon. This year we had to take my baby to Turkey to see my family. We used my summer salary for that. Now we do no have funds to cover our bills for the summer. Long story short, the finance put a lot of pressure on our very new and fragile relationship. I also had a lot of postpartum depression after having the baby, feeling i do not have any hobbies left, i do not have any “me” left. All i do is count pennies to make the ends meet every week and make sure my baby is well taken care of. I still have ton of baby fat. I do not feel good about myself. I need a reminder of who I used to be, how life used to be fun, and what made me happy. My husband never seen me in my dancing days. I feel like he doesnt even know the most important side of me. He sees this constantly rushing, stressed out, insecure woman. I want him to meet real me. I want him to meet my friends who i see as my family. I want him to see me under different light, and see the sparkle in my eyes when i dance all night. I want him to be also away from all the stress and drama. He is black. He has a mexican son. I am muslim. Accepting what is going on in the world right now has been very tough on him as he feels afraid for our lives every single day. I want him to escape this madness for a few days and just enjoy us. Again, though i know this will benefit our relationship and our mental health greatly, we do not have any means to spend any money for any date nights let alone trips. So you offering a chance for us to achieve that would be the greatest gift. I was there with aventura when not many people knew about them. I chose their cruise over the competitor they had at the time. I hope they will be happy to see me return as well. 🙂 No matter what your decision is, even just to type all of this out and share this bottled up feelings with someone helped. Thank you either way. Love you girl.

This cruise would not only be an experience of a lifetime (because it is my first cruise) but since weight loss surgery I need a major pick me up. I’ve dropped almost 150 lbs and still not taken an actual vacation for the “NEW and Improved” ME.

Hi Rubia!

My name is Lanis, but the Salsa dancing community in Austin, Texas knows me as “Zany.” My nickname was given to me as a teen in Spartanburg, South Carolina for my weird, one-of-a-kind goofy ways. For International Day, I received the chance to learn basic Salsa dancing steps at a local high school, however due to the lack of resources that I had wasn’t able to pick up on it for 3 more years in Charleston, South Carolina (where I had the opportunity to hang out with Salseros on a weekly basis). After finishing my Bachelor of Arts in Women’s & Gender Studies in May of 2011, I moved to Austin, Texas where I discovered that this city had more of a “scene” than the last city that I’ve lived in. Just in the last 13 months, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to take workshops with professionals here in Austin from all over the country. Today, I am working with a few catering companies in the city, discovering what it is like to be a Travel Consultant, and when I’m not doing those things, I like to sing, dance, and crochet (okay, I can be an old soul).

Sailing away with ADC from Los Angeles this September would be a dream come true for a few reasons:
1. As of today (February 7th, 2017), I’ve never been on a cruise.
2. Texas is as far West as I have ever traveled.
3. This would be a way for me to tell others how AMAZING ADC is (as a Salsera & a Travel Consultant).
4. Last, but most certainly not least, it would be a honor to meet you, Rubia. You have spoken about how history has affected us in the U.S., and I’m grateful that you have shared your life experiences with us all throughout the world! I hope your students & the people who love you are PROUD of the amazing person that you are! Thank you for being an inspiration!

Hi, I’ve struggled with Major Depressive disorder all my life and was formally diagnosed in 2012. I had back surgery in March 2005 as a result of being a former battered woman and several car accidents. The love of my life left me and my 3yrold in December. I’ve been praying, working out, lost 20lbs and just want to dance again. I’m West Indian, my mom is Venezuelan and East Indian and my father is Chinese and African….so I just need to dance again. It is the only time I know true happiness. It’s been a long road to stay alive for my 24, 21 and 3 yr olds daughters. My life has changed so drastically in the past 10years and I just want to dance and be happy.

My name is Michelle and I’m a full time United States Marine and a single mom. My first trip was last year on ADC and I absolutely loved but didn’t fully get to fully enjoy it. I have gone through several medical issues and unfortunately will be retiring from the military in a few months. I had to cancel my original booking once I found out of my fate of my career. I’m trying to plan financially for me and my daughter. I can only hope to enjoy the experience once more. I met Rubia for a brief moment at the hotel pool side party, and seeing her inspired me to want to be more outgoing and live life to the fullest. I can only hope to be granted a chance to enjoy this experience once again. Thank you and good luck to everyone.

Dance has always been an integral part of my life. When I dance, I can be whomever I want to be. I can literally shut the world out and listen to the beat that plays in my heart and soul. My weight, body shape, skin color, economic status- none of that matters when I dance. Dancing is the one thing I can do and feel my best while doing it. I feel ADC will be my chance to learn from experts and meet one of my most important female role models, Ms. Rubia Garcia. She is the epitome of style, grace, sexiness and passion. These are all qualities that I strive to have for myself. Music and dance have always been art forms that brings people closer and enrich the lives of those who submerge themselves in it. I’d love the opportunity to be in the presence of so many awesome people!

hi I am Gabrielle I am 32 years old I am a student at cedar valley college . I am inspired by your story simply because it has show me that after a divorce and the betrayal that leaves you feeling hopeless and stuck at rock bottom that there is hope and things that can fulfill my desire to do more be more and live for me ! So here’s a little insight on my background and hopefully you can understand why this would be a life changing exsperience in my life that is right now need more than ever ! In June of 2014 I was in what I thought was an amazing marriage to my best friend from childhood .needless to say the first two weeks in June I was bombarded with the chaos of some outing his infidelities and deceete. It crushed me but I forgave him , I was on probataion at the time for a charge I took for a guy I was with six years prior and had gotten a call that my drug sweat patch had come up dirty and I was to appear in court June 23rd of 2014. In court my husband admitted to the courts that he had broken his evil with thc oil in it in the bed while I was sleep . Not thinking to tell me the judge wasn’t trying to hear it and revoked my probation and sent me off to prison . I spent a year and four months in prison thinking that no matter what I will still have my life and my husband and I are moving forward and all things are up to me being positive strong and being a great wife . I got home. Late 2015 and was suffering from ptsd due to my incarceration . Also my husband needless to say had fallen short of being there for me towards the end and I could feel he wasn’t as excited about my return as I thought would be . Lon story short the truth came out after months of him be little game making me think I was crazy drowning in his lies and soon was feeing like I was better off dead than alive. He watched as he torn me down piece by piece with the lies and neglect as well as the social embarrassment he would use to make himself look as if I was dragging him down.in September I found out I was pregnant and not wanting to be in that situation I left him two hours before he was to get home from work . For two months he belittled me and called me everything but by my name . I mustard the courage to tell him I was pregnant He changed and wanted to be involved but being that I.no longer trusted him I told him no . 10 weeks in I find out the baby has numerology tubular disorder and it’s rare to make it past 12 weeks without it ending fatal . That was the longest most painful two weeks I had ever experienced on December 21 I received a message from a friend telling me he was telling people I was a loser and I’m lying about being pregnant on December 27th I was rushed to the hospital due to a miscarriage . I was deviistated my family was lost in what to do I wouldn’t leave the house and cried for months .months past and I gained enough confidence to at least go on walks with my dad and shortly could talk to friends and family on a casual level in December of 2016 I realized that rock bottom had finally been reached and I no longer would have to worry about writhed or not it would get deeper for me . I still trusted no one and wanted things but I wasn’t sure of what I wanted .one day my dad and I were ridding around running errands and he asked if I thought about going to school I said no thinking it was to difficult to get enrolled and didn’t want to burden anyone with the questions .well push come to sho e that day my father and I stoped at the nearest college to my home and I was officially enrolled . In all of this I I lost a part of me that lacked confidence and independence who I am or want to be . Although school is great I take online classes mostly and two in classes on campus.. I don’t have any friends other than family And spend. All my time alone painting writing music playing guitar or working out . I am stuck and all tho i am not nearly as broken as I was before I still feel like I have a greater purpose I just don’t have anything to inspire direction . I find I start to get discouraged and feeel like I will fail before I even try . I want to have what you have when you speak of what ADC has done for you , that glow that confidence that undeniable trust that this changed you and will be if it others . I really hope that you choose me as a candidate for this amazing opportunity . I have the desire to do great and inspire great things if I am show a door that can help guide me or just push me in the right direction. Thank you so much for reading this and for being the voice that speaks beyond the pain the heart endours .
Yours truly,
Gabrielle “Elle” williams

ADC2016 was my first ever time on any ADC cruise. I was nervous because I’m not a dancer nor do I want to dance in front of others. When I read that Rubia was going to be in the cruise I was super excited. Rubia makes videos that enlighten as well as educate and I am a super fan! When I got on the boat I was intimidated because I knew I wasn’t as good as everyone else. On the boat, I met Rubia and also watched her dance with several people. She had the most confidence as well as she was the nicest person I’ve ever met. That gave me some confidence because I admire her. A friend of a friend asked me to dance bachata with him on the pool deck and even though I was hesitant, I agreed. I had so much fun and I thought about how confident Rubia was and that gave me some confidence. I have decided that I want to get into Latin dance and boost my confidence even more. This cruise has opened my eyes to many cultures and taught me to just let go and dance. This cruise also helped me realize that you have to just get over that initial fear and dance like no one is watching!!!

This trip would be for my fiance. Here father has parkinsons disease. He also had hernia surgery last week, he can’t sleep at night and she and her mother are up with him all night. I’m not currently working and she is, she works 12 to 16 hour days 5 days a week and then comes home and take of him. She really needs a break and this voyage would give her a piece of mind for a few days.

Her father had surgery at St Vincent Hospital in Los Angeles, this can be verified. Please give her a much needed break.

Regards

This last year has been really trying for my family and I. We are a family of 6 and we had carbon monoxide poisoning which the reading was 886 which should have killed us all but something or someone had there arms wrapped around all of us. Since then my 16 yr old has been suffering from seizures and panic attacks . My 14 yr old speech can be messed up at times. I suffer from memory lose and panic attacks. Seeing your posts daily Miss Rubia truly brings a smile to my face and I truly appreciate you.

Hi my name is Jose Quinones i would like to talk about my fiancée Alissa Evangelista we both move to Jacksonville NC to live we both work very for our two boy and her sister that lives with us we are going though hard right now i hirt my back at work and now im home taking care of our two boyz we have a one year old and a two year old its not easy for me to be with out a job and be home every day but now my woman is trying her hradess to keep a roof over our heads snd food on the table she works at a call center and also drive for uber on the weekends and money is very hard right now im going to something for her on valentines day at our house but its so hard and i know im not easy cause shes 24 years old and im 37 years old she Italiana and im Puerto Rican she try very hard for me when we go dancing she can olny dance bachata and i do it all but with my back bing all f….d up i cant do much but cook and clean and make sure my boyz are good we try to take the boyz out to the when she is off but her job is never do its always something sje has her mom to deal with sometimes with her alcohol but now mom is doing real good but her brother is in the hospital with lungs disease so trying hardess to be there for everyone but our relationship is going down cause shes not spending much time with us but i had to change my of thinking and be there for and to stress her she alot on her plate has it is so i got make it good for at the end of the day i pray every day she is ok never know what can its not easy for one person to take on that much of responsiblety shes never been on a cruise it would mean alot to me her to go on this cruise i love her with all my heart and i dont know what i would do with out her by my side she means the world too me thank for you time and god bless you Jose Quinones

Not one for brevity, so I gave my life story to a lumberjack and Tasmanian devil for editing.

Be the best artist? Sure, but how to pay the bills??? How about a career in fighting fires? I didn’t think that was for me. I was usually the destructive pyrotechnic according to the ashes of what was once a book of matches, and the empty hairspray bottle consigliere. My brief stint as a male sex line operator and Hip Hop recording artist gave me the courage to rock the ladies and crowds, but it’s hard to sell a damn record in this digital domain market. I came to the conclusion it would be best to combine my talents together into a TREMENDOUS (Trump diction reference) metaphorical ball and live my life as a mix of all these.

That’s right… I started my career in basketweaving.

While I was creating the grandest of holiday fruit baskets I received a telephone call. The muffled voice on the line time-stretched into what seemed an eternity. David, a longtime friend, had a family emergency, and had to cancel his Carnival Cruise trip. Worst news ever, it was. Who will slaughter all the ladies by smoothness in the Carnival nightclub? Being the hoggish individual I was, I disregarded my friend’s quandary and continued on my path to attain Carnival’s Diamond Member status. Did I mention unlimited pizza?

Through the years, I channeled all my moxie in basketweaving and became an phenomenal dancer. By my second cruise, I had earned a kick-ass trophy from Carnival for an impromptu dance contest. I knew what others were thinking: this chump is gloating about a little-league-lookin’-ass cruise ship trophy. Yes, maybe. But, the way I see it, I was a luminary. That was my Kodak moment no one will ever take from me.

After review of your campaign, I offer two options: Unite as allies and win BIG in cruise competition, or oppose me and lose in the final bracket. I’ll be waiting at the ports with my rum runner bags and passport. The choice is yours. -Black Sheep

Hi Rubia! My name is Amber. I’m a 35 year old mother of 3 girls (14, 11, and 3). I try to live by the motto that things can always be worse. While I’ve had it easier than many in a lot of ways, my story is far from happy. I was born the eldest of two children to drug addicts/alcoholics. I was given to my grandparents at 3, while my parents kept my younger brother. I was sexually abused by a family member for about 10 years (7-17). My father went to prison for murder in 1991 and my mom went to go get a pack of cigarettes in 1989 and ended up in Florida until 1998. My brother died in a car accident in 2002 at 18. I lived a life of domestic violence with several significant others for many years and was a single mom. I finally met a good guy and things were looking up when my cousin (who was raised as my brother by my grandparents) died of a heroin overdose in 2012. I had no idea he was even using. With the help of my husband and family, I went to nursing school and even had another baby. I have PCOS with excessive hair growth. All my kids have medical issues and go to Children’s Hospital in Cincy, OH. I am happy with my life. It’s not perfect, but it’s beautiful in it’s imperfections. I have never done anything for myself…i always try to think of others first. I need this. Thanks for reading my story and I admire strong women such as yourself!

I’ll start off this post by admitting that I’m unsure if the actual submission for participation went through. I’m exhausted but I had this video pop up on Facebook regarding a competition and thought I’d take a chance. I hit submit several times but I haven’t received any sort of confirmation of receipt. Either way, I wanted to nominate my God mother Leslie and if nothing else show the gratitude in a public arena that words alone could never express. Throughout my lifetime, just as anyone else, I’ve experience several setbacks. In retrospect those same situations restored my belief that people have a love within them that is undeniable, and that belief is consistently reinforced on a daily basis through small gestures that sometimes go unnoticed.

I was in car accident at nine years old that caused irreparable damage, at some points in my life close to homelessness, and the list goes on. To be honest, it’s my belief that the events we experience within our own lives are meant to assist us in connecting with one another. Passion, empathy, respect, love, all of these important aspects of human emotion stem from our ability to empathize and understand one another. It’s in the everyday struggles that we truly see the character of man.

So how does this tie into my god mother? The simplest answer is that when I was lost, and had no idea just how far from his grace (God) that I’d fallen, she restored me. She took me to church, She’s the reason I was Baptized on Mother’s Day,and she challenged me to be great despite my disabilities. Thanks to Leslies relentless challenges on faith and intellect, I received my Bachelors and she continues to hold me accountable after all of these yeas.
To be honest I was a little jealous when I found out that I wasn’t the only lost soul that she’d adopted into her family as her son. I failed to mention that when we met, we were just two coworkers working at the same warehouse. I was the guy who had no immediate family in the state that I was living in, that spent thanksgiving alone at Jack in the Box one year.

Leslie is sixty plus years’ young, and still chooses to use her talents as a therapist to restore those within the community. The people that this ever evolving, time conscious, sometimes cruel world has forgotten. These are the people that have steadily been her focus for years with little to no gratitude or expectation. She continues to depict through a lifetime of servitude that age makes no difference in our responsibilities to one another. I’m always joking with her, because I call her the lifelong student. We’re always discussing her latest degree, or the nonprofit organization that she plans to open. There is no limitation that she accepts as the answer. “There’s always a reason for the season,” is one of her favorite quotes. Did I mention that Leslie is disabled herself? Every day she continues to fight an uphill battle while motivating others to reach a platform that they themselves cannot see.

Now I’ve read many of the comments submitted by other contestants, so I fully expect this submission to be overlooked. There are plenty of deserving people in the world that just want to be shown the love that they themselves are willing to give. I just wanted to take the time out to say thank you.

Who am I?
I am not a statistic! I can sit here and tell you how I am a survivor. I survived growing up in domestic violence. I survived growing up in emotional abuse. I survived growing up in poverty. While all true… a victim of circumstance, I chose different for myself. Where many fall into drugs, alcoholism, violence, welfare and etc., I chose to depend on myself and become a productive member of society. To be more than a just a survivor. Predominately everyone is a survivor. It is an innate human characteristic to survivor, but it takes a certain effort and will power to not be a statistic. That is who I am, not a statistic. I put myself though college and became a first generation college graduate. I have been blessed to have an IT career spanning over 11 years now. I am even an entrepreneur having started my own IT services business a little over two years ago. And for recreation, I dance, swim, karaoke, bowl, paint, crochet and more.

How has ADC changed my life?
I was blessed to be able to go to ADC 2014. It was such a great experience! So many firsts all wrapped into one, e.g. going to Miami, The Bahamas, on a cruise, new foods/people, and etc. ADC changed my life in so many ways. Never in a million years did I think a sheltered poor boy, who grew up in a challenging home to say the least, would have the opportunity to explore the world, meet new people and indulge in his dance passion. I learned that I deserve to splurge on myself. I deserve to get away, see the world and meet new people. So having the opportunity for ADCLA would continue just that as I have never been to Long Beach, CA nor Ensenada, MX. I have been longing for another ADC experience!

Hey Rubia!

I have been following for you about a year and love your posts. They are filled with passion and so much truth and education. They are filled with facts. Something that is missing in our current political climate, unfortunately.

I’m going to be straight up honest, in that I am unaware of what ADC actually is, but what I have read it sounds like an amazing opportunity. During the time that I attended a local community college, I chose to take dance classes as my credit for gym, and absolutely loved it. After the semester was over, I actually went to the professors home studio and continued dancing with her among many others, in the basement of her home. Those hours swept me off my feet and took me into a world that was calm and beautiful. And I need that more than ever, at this point in my life.

I’m about to be 36 on February 11th, and the idea of going over the hump of 35 frightens me. Probably not like many assume that it would. The reason being is for the 3 1/2 years I have been fighting a battle with my own body.

A little back story. I was the first person on both my maternal or paternal side, to accomplish obtaining a bachelor’s degree. It is something that I am proud of, fought hard for, and it can never be taken away from me. I graduated in 2011, with my bachelors in International Studies with a focus in Human Geography and a minor in Geography. Then in 2012, I applied to the only graduate institute I wanted to go to, and was accepted into the program. I was making my dreams come true. I was getting ready to go back to school after the summer break, in 2013, when I was suddenly struck with intense pain that landed me in the emergency room. When they were doing routine checks, they had found lesions inside my liver and spleen, that resembled liver cancer that had metastasized to my spleen. Being stubborn, like I am, I went back to school. I had to finish my last semester of on campus work, before I would do the internship than my thesis paper and presentation. But the pain got so bad, that I had to take medical leave from school and focus on my health. In March of 2014, I had a liver biopsy. The biopsy results showed, in July 2014, that I did not have liver cancer, but a rare chronic auto-immune disease, called Sarcoidosis. For 10 months, I was fearful that I had liver cancer, and would die within 5 years. That changed me. But to be diagnosed with this chronic auto-immune disease, comes with it’s own battles. Basically, my body attacks itself, healthy organs and all. Since 2014, I have been diagnosed with 5 chronic conditions. Conditions that have landed me in a place of stagnation. I have been forced to move back in with my parents. I have upwards to 15 appointments a month. I’m unable to work, and have been fighting for temporary disability. I have to take multiple medications. And some days, I don’t want to get out of bed. But most of that is due to the depression and anxieties I have because of all of the health issues I have been dealt with, in such a short period of time. Some days I look in the mirror and I don’t recognize myself. I see a glimmer of a woman who used to be within inches of getting everything she ever wanted. And it’s startling sad.

But, this year…I told myself that I am going to try and regain some of that spirit I lost. Fight for the things I want most. Because that’s who I am. I am a fighter. It’s the reason I went into the field I did, because I have so much fight…I fight for those who need help getting their voices heard. I sculpted my masters program around human and environmental rights. Which is how I found you. I saw one of your videos, and was like, “Wow, she is my spirit animal.” So, the question remains, “How can ADC change my life?” I believe that if given the opportunity to participate in this cruise, it will spark my inner fire. It will bring out the soul of who I am, while allowing me to escape, and just live in the moment. I need a break to be free. And I have never felt more free than when I was dancing. I want to look in the mirror and see the reflection of woman achieving her dreams, just at a different pace, and she’s completely happy with herself. I believe this opportunity can bring that out of me.

I would like to nominate my sister . She lives in Ohio she is newly married. However, she struggled alot in her life before in jordan . And she left her family to build a new family in a new country knowing nothing about it . I want he r to experience the best time in her life in America
As I believe she adores dancing 💃 and it is the only way to forget any bad moment. I would be greatful if you gave my sister this chance . She deserves it. she has a sweat heart ❤️

I’m a LA resident pet business owner with roots in nola and other places who thinks it would be fun & great to dance with new people

Welll….. what I can say is we have surface similarities. I was homeless and I was married. Throughout my life, including my family, I’ve been at service to others. People are drawn to me and from that we have very serious conversations which can be very draining. I’ve never went to school for being a counselor or a therapist but people feel I’m qualified LOL. I truly feel we are all we got and to save another is to save yourself. As to why I need this cruse…. My separation has put me in a place in my life where I find myself staying busy to fill a void of loss and purpose. I have four kids and they spend most of there time with there mom. I’m a family man by nature, so I’m sure you can understand the pain of separation and the feeling of failure due to my circumstance. What I’ve learned is perfection is a goal that can be the death of a soul when the love of one self is ignored. I TRULY NEED THIS!! I say this because I feel it is time for me to live and enjoy life for me a little. To be honest I would have some difficulty doing this because of always thinking of others first and myself second. Well damm that!! I deserve this truly. I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise and I love to dance. I don’t know much about ADCLA but it sounds like fun and would love to be part of it. Thank you for the opportunity and I will continue “teaching lyfe ;)”.

Dancing through life, love, adversity and loss.
All about my 23 year old daughter.
I have never done anything like this before nor am I very good at writing or putting feelings into words but I really feel driven to give this a shot. Not for me but for my 23 year old daughter, Emah.
A little backstory, so please bare with me. (Excuse any grammatical/spelling errors)
I will start with the birth of my beloved children. I have Emah of course but I also have a son (21 years old) also. Just three months after the birth of my son their father and I separated and divorced. I would like to think I have done everything in my power to provide and love them both through the years but life has not always been easy for them. Their father remarried and moved over a thousand miles away having little to really nothing to do with them. In 2005 I became very ill. It took close to two years, multiple doctors and repeated ER visits along with hospital admissions to get a diagnosis. I choose not to share my diagnosis because this is not about me but I will say that I am still to this day battling my life altering illness. From the moment I became ill my kids began a new journey in life as caregivers. I have not been able to work and provide for them as most parents do. You know, the new cars at 16, the college tuition, on and on.
Now the reason for this submission. At a young age my daughter Emah displayed a passion for dance. You know the typical ballet, tap and jazz classes and recitals. She is a performer through and through. In the sixth grade she auditioned and was accepted to a performing arts school. Every year she would audition for the annual musical\dance performances and receive various parts. Due to my illness as time went on in the latter part of high school she had to withdraw from this school. She enrolled in online courses and also dual enrolled in the local college while taking on full time employment and also making sure I was at all of my medical appointments caring for me. (I could no longer work) Did I mention she also volunteered on the pediatric patient floor at our local teaching hospital. She has knitted beanies for cancer patients. But still in any other free time she continued to dance. Any kind-any where. Salsa, country line dancing, jazz, hip-hop….It was her outlet, her release, her passion. In 2012 (age 18) we lost the only home her and her brother ever knew. We found a place to rent and moved. Emah continued to be the glue holding everything together. She was hired as a server at a new upscale restaurant and worked to take care of bills. This took up 98% of her time. Therefore no time for dance. On a positive note, she met a very special young man. He was one of the managers who was brought in from out of town to open the restaurant. This young man knew no stranger, was kind, loving and cared about every person he met. Not even exaggerating. Anyway, they fell in love. In 2014 they moved two hours away and my son and I had to move to my parents and share an eleven foot by eleven foot bedroom. It was hard to let her go but she deserved to be happy. She was able to get back into college with the goal of finishing up pre-requisites and apply to nursing school. Planning on becoming a pediatric oncology nurse has been a goal of her forever. She became a fulltime bartender at a seafood restaurant. She was very busy enjoying her new life making future plans of marriage and children.
Really trying to keep this short… Fast forward to January of 2015. When arriving home after working a double shift she found her life partner on the floor unresponsive. Two days later he was pronounced brain dead after suffering a massive stroke. You can do the math but she was only 21 at the time. His memorial service was filled to maximum capacity at a large historic cathedral here in Florida with people from all over the US paying their last respects. (An annual charity golf tournament has been established in his name to award high school senior applicants college scholarship funding.) I will never forget her saying at his memorial service that this was where she was supposed to walk down the aisle for their wedding not to say goodbye. From January through August of that year until their lease was up I stayed with her. I watched her suffer. I watched her mourn. I watched her go through the motions daily just existing. Nothing prepares a parent for this. It was such a tragic loss and I was afraid I was losing her as well. She lost weight, seeming to wander hopelessly day in and day out. She began writing a blog of her journey through mourning that many people now follow. I invite you to please at least briefly skim through it, as it is also why I am entering her in this. It is titled Chapters after Loss at http://fischstrong.wordpress.com . Refer to the oldest dates and work your way to the current.
Now back to dance. Being in a bigger city until that August and after starting her blog she found dance again. She randomly went to a class and started practicing again. One of her goals prior to his death was to try out for the local NFL cheer dance squad or and NBA squad. She still plans on working towards that. She began making short videos and choreography. She would look for Latin/Salsa places. She would look for hip-hop classes; anything just to dance.
Well after that August she moved back to our hometown. She found a place to rent and the three of us are together again. She is back in college, working fulltime and will be applying for nursing school this fall. She is once again carrying the load of making sure I am cared for. Making sure our bills are paid. She has little free time once again for dance but has sought out groups/classes here. They are few and far between so I have suggested she start her own. Dance in any form is Emah’s release. It is her freedom and brings life to her. She has little to virtually no time for it but manages to squeeze it in recruiting others along the way.
Emah has done so much for our little family and while experiencing negatives continues to find the positives. I wish she could just have a short break/vacation so to speak. Time for her. We tried to save up for a little family vacation but it just didn’t happen. I wish she could just dance through life because it gives her so much joy and in the end that is what I wish for her; joy, happiness and a place of peace.
I again invite you to skim through her blog from beginning to end. You will see why I am hoping you will consider her for this opportunity. Her words will bring you to tears make you smile and open your eyes to what really matters in life.
(Not sure how I could get her to California from Florida but hey where there is a will there is a way.)
Thank you, her proud 53 year old ill mother.

Hello, after reading the stories posted on here, I truly feel there are several stories that are much more worthy for this opportunity then mine.

My heart goes to many of the people and families in these stories. 🙏

NOW THAT I CAN DANCE!!!! I just want to dance all day long!!!

Wake up! wake up! Are you okay honey? Yah, I think so… no wait I
can breath right. Man, I feel like the room is spinning. Do you need to go
to the hospital? No, give me a minute please. Heres some water. Honey,
your pillow is soaked! Your side of the bed is soaking wet. I’m feeling
better. I will try to get in with my doctor in the morning, go back to bed
sweetie I am feeling better.

Hello Dr. W.D. office (name withheld). Yes my name is David
Rodriguez and I am a patient of Dr. W.D. I would like to see if I can come
in as soon as possible to see him. Sure, let me see if their is an opening
today. Hello David? Yes. He is all booked for today but he has a
cancelation that just came in for tomorrow at 8:45am, would you like to
come in then? Yes, Please.

Hello David, what brings you in today? Well Doctor, 2 nights ago I
woke up because my wife shouted at me to wake and told me that I was
gasping for air. I woke up in a heavy sweat and felt like my chest was
ready to explode. My lips felt numb and my arms and legs felt very heavy.
I tried to get up but I felt like the room was spinning. I’m just very afraid
and want to know what’s happening to me. Did I just have a heart attack
doctor? Well David I don’t know we need to run some test and make sure
that your levels are OK before making a determination as to what is going
on. I’m gonna schedule you for blood-work and a urine analysis and we’ll
go from there when I get the results.

The date was September 23, 2014 this day is a day that I will never
forget. The next words is what my doctor told me and it will forever ring in
my ear and I always carry with me when I’m feeling unmotivated. He said
“well David at 436 pounds I can almost guarantee you that you won’t live
to see your 43rd birthday”.

The next three weeks for the most trying weeks of my life waiting to
hear back from the doctor as to what was going on. As he put me on
heart medications and medications for cholesterol and a battery of other
medications that I did not know what they were for I was popping these
pills daily with the feeling that these will keep me alive. Test results came
back that I had a mild stroke and the words that my doctor told me rang
even more in the heart and ears. I kept on telling myself one day I will,
one day I will make up my mind and go to the gym, one day I will get
healthy again and be able to run and keep up with my children. As I kept
on seeing commercials and listening to commercials about planet fitness
I decided one day to check them out. After all, I was doing a lot of
walking in the parks with my wife but every five minutes I had to stop and
take a breath. After a few short months I went from walking and taking a
breath every five minutes to walking for about an hour and feeling good.
I would go to the gym and use the treadmill for about a half hour and I
felt really gassed. I felt like I did not belong sometimes, but my wife kept
pushing me and telling me that I can do it.

After a few short months I felt stronger in my legs my pants started
to get looser and I started seeing results in the mirror every morning, I
was starting to shrink. I went from walking for five minutes to walking for
an hour and then walking for a few hours and felt great afterwards.

One day coming home from picking up my wife from work I seen a
man running at the park, I turned to her and I said I promise you one day I
will be able to run again I’m going to push myself to be able to run and
not get tired. My wife turned to me and said I know you can do it it’s
gonna take some time but I know you will be able to run again.

I have kept the words one day I will in the back of my mind every
time I set out to meet a goal. I start off by saying one day I will. Then I
picture all the people doing what I want to do and keep that vision in my
head. From 436 pounds to losing 10 pounds and then another 5 pounds
and then after that losing another 3 pounds and seeing the difference
and filling the difference this kept me motivated to do even more every
day.

I reached a point where I felt that I couldn’t do anymore in the gym
or even walking in the park. This is when I reached out to a family
member who I knew could whip me into better shape. I reached out to
David Candalaria to ask him if he would take me as a client and help me
reach my fitness goals.

I told him from the beginning what happened and where I was at
that point. I told him that I went from walking for five minutes to now
running for about a half mile at that time and want to do more. He started
training me almost a year after I joined planet fitness. And from that day
forward I felt my weight was just falling off and I was regaining my health.

As my doctor charted my weight loss over the years he has been
very impressed as to what I was able to accomplish. From 436 pounds
and losing almost 237 pounds without any surgery or any miracle pills or
any fad diets I felt very proud along with my wife and kids about how far I
have come in this journey of getting healthy. I am no longer taking any
medications and truthfully I am in the best shape of my life full of energy
and truthfully get very antsy when I do not go to the gym or do
something that involves physical activity.

I was never one to put off doing stuff that needs to get done and
getting healthy to stay alive was something that I could simply not put off.

Today I could run for about 2 1/2 miles without stopping and enjoy
every minute I spend in the gym with Dave as my trainer and looking on
other people and knowing that what they can do I can do. I not only say
that but I also say one day I will do that better than you can.

If there’s anybody out there that you’re reading this story and feel
that you can’t reach your fitness goals I hope you will adopt my saying
and tell yourself one day I will. It’s not easy but keeping your eyes on your
future self and knowing one day you will get there and do things that you
can’t do today is a reward and a journey that you should take no matter
what.

Hi, to be honest i can’t compare to half of this stories.. god bless them all. I have been bless with a great family that has there ups and downs like anyone else. i hate to complain about life because shit happens and we move forward. I’m a single mother of a 10 year old daughter that has been fighting depression. i would love to go. i seem not to get out of the fog i been in. i know i’m strong but when you have alot come down and you think your not worth it. it gets hard, but like i said I can’t compare to half of this stories. its really awesome what you are doing. with everything going on in the world ..i’m sure we all need a vacation.

Hey Rubia, my name is Shaquan (Shay). I have been dancing for about 7 years now and it has been the light in my life, Salsa being my forever dance love. Not too long after I began dancing my cousin, whom I call my brother, began dancing as well all the way over in Italy (our family lives in Alaska). Whenever he would come home we made it a point to go dancing with each other. I am still in awe at how, in two different parts of the world, we found this one thing that made us so happy and that we could share together. My brother always tried to make me step up my Latin music game, i.e, he wanted me to stop listening to Prince Royce constantly. He was the smartest, coolest, most down to earth person you could have ever met. Knowing your outlook about certain things in the world you guys would have been able to hold a conversation for hours. Maxie was bright in that way, and others as well. He decided to leave us this past fall. Since then I decided that I can’t keep putting dance on the back burner any more. I can’t keep saying I’ll do things later, I have now I need to live now. I’m back in the gym after gaining so much weight when I went to school. I’m going dancing (and lasting thanks to the gym), and I’m ready to get on a boat for the first time and hope to not end up like Rose and Jack. I’m terrified of many things about this trip and even if I don’t win I’m still going, come hell or high water. My brother would tell me to stop being a punk so I won’t be punking out on this one. Thanks for being such an inspiration Rubia!!

Hi my name is Amber started off my year kind of rough my mom had passed away on December 30, 2016 was a long roller coaster for her. It is been very hard for me to try to overcome losing my mom that she was my everything I talk to her every day I talk to her four times a day we called each other and I am still trying to deal with this hardest decision was for me when I had to turn off her medications for her at the hospital. Life is a big journey for me to get through the grieving process for my mother I Kinda am numb to life as I speak I think I more or less going through all of the motions of being here but I don’t think sometimes I am here. My mom was only 53 when she passed away she had a lot of spunk to her think she was alone because my grandmother died the year before that and my mom felt like she was so alone in life but I also feel like the hospital messed up on my mother but I guess I will never know . I kind of feel that a lot of people that are in my life are against me and are not helping me through the process but I need to be going through. This would probably give me a different outlook on life if I win if not there are some good stories that need it more than me. Thanks for the great opportunity .

Here’s my story:
Born and raised in the Republic of Panama for 21 years. Bilingual (Spanish/English), 6′ 3″, 260 lbs. At 21, I attended St John’s University in New York and graduated with a BS in Computer Science. Sowed my Panamanian oats until I hit the wonderful age of 33. 9/11 happened and I got my happy butt out of NYC. 6 months after 9/11 I met my 1st wife. Got married and became the proud poppa of 2 wonderful daughters who are now 12 & 9. Then all of a sudden my life got flipped turned upside down. Divorced after 13 yrs of marriage and have been living in baby momma drama land for the past 2 1/2 yrs. Despite shelling out $1,500 a month in child support, covering my children’s health expenses and being an active father who sees his kids EVERY OTHER WEEKEND and HOLIDAYS, this woman has made my life a living hell. A couple of highlights:
1- She filed a bogus restraining order that prevented me from seeing, speaking or hugging my kids for 2 months before it got thrown out of court.
2- Leveraged the bogus restraining order and got me banned from my children’s Elementary school (where she is a teacher) for 2 years. Ban recently expired last month. Yeah me!, but even after the order was thrown out of court, she REFUSED to give her blessing to rescind the school ban!
3- She prevented me from attending a family reunion in Panama with the girls by not adhering to the divorce decree and assisting me in getting passports for the girls. She has since been found in contempt of court, but we missed the reunion, so big whup!!
4- She constantly disrupts my plans with the children by scheduling events like dentist, doctor and hair appointments during the days I’m in town to be with them.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Como dicen en America, “It’s NO BUENO!!” I think, NO I know that an Aventura Dance Cruise would be a major positive event in my life. I remarried this past November to a wonderful woman and it would a gift from the heavens if I would be honored with the opportunity to get away with her, enjoy the open sea, meet some wonderful people and get my dance on! An ADC cruise is the perfect way to get some stress free mental days off, leave my inevitable drama behind for a couple of days, dust off my rusty Latino dance skills and make some lifelong memories.

I look forward to making SHIP happen with you and the ADC families one of these days!

Cuidate! Keep the videos coming!!

#ScholarSHIPGiveAway
#FriendSHIPWeek
#TeacherLyfe

I am a single mother of two little boys, who works a full time job and a part time job and I am 2 years away from my bachelors in Education. I felt the need to get a degree in education and become a teacher because, I once wanted to be a lawyer but having two kids I realized that the change in the way our government runs needs to be completed through the next generations. I currently volunteer tutoring history in a local program called Upward Bound and Urban League for low poverty children attempting to get scholarships to go to college. I am going to teach in areas where there is a need to teach, or a shortage of teachers as that is where I believe the real change will happen. I started watching your videos in August and decided after hearing your story and the similarities even though we are worlds apart, decided to change my atmosphere, I found a local salsa teacher and started taking salsa and bachata lessons. However, my hectic schedule doesn’t allow me to do it as much as I would like. I realize when I become a teacher I will be living off a different budget so I am saving to buy a home for me and my children and don’t really get the opportunity to spend extra money on myself. I am praying a I win a trip to do something I love and dance nonstop for 96 hours! I want to make new life long friends as I have here locally. We have a small salsa scene here in Nebraska and I want to go and be able to come back and tell them stories so Nebraska in November will jump on the boat with me! Thanks Rubia! <3 Dianna McClary #futureeducator