Twice Uprooted: Reverse Migration & a Coffee Farm – Yeira (Pt 2)

“And the air… if you're from LA, you know that faint smell of pee in the morning … and the air was so clean here. It was crisp. It was so unbelievably clean .”

What happens when an outspoken, willful teenager is suddenly uprooted from the familiar concrete grit of 1990s Los Angeles and dropped onto a rural coffee farm in the mountains of Guatemala?

In the second half of our deep-dive conversation with Yeira, we trace her family’s profound journey of reverse migration. After navigating the shifting urban landscape of LA, her parents make a radical pivot; seeking safety, language immersion, and cultural roots in their ancestral homeland. What follows is a breathtaking story of severe environmental culture shock that beautifully transforms into a deep lifelong romance with the Earth, agricultural community, and self-reliance .

From treating a conservative private Christian school as her personal teenage "anthropological study" to discovering the profound psychological safety of a place where she never had to answer the question, “Where are you from?”, Yeira de Leon reflects on how navigating life between two radically different worlds shaped her identity, her worldview, and ultimately her modern career as a therapist .

It is both a geographical and deeply emotional ride about uprooting, belonging, and the choices that define home. Welcome back to Cultureful, where strangers become neighbors.

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Connect with Our Guest & Community:

• Follow the Journey on Instagram: @TheCultureful
• Connect with Yeira: https://www.canopyandlightcounseling.org/ 
• Discover More Identity Stories: Head over to our channel and subscribe to stay close with your global neighbors.
• What do you think? Feel?: with us: Leave us a comment on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or Instagram! We want to hear from you.

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Production Credits:

Hosted, produced, and edited by Jess Lin. Executive production support by Ruben Gnanaruban.

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Watch on YouTube: Live at 8am EST 5/24/26: https://youtu.be/Lf9YeldcEWc 

Transcript

Yeira: 0:00

if you're from LA, you know that faint smell of pee in the morning. and the air was so clean here. It was so clean. It was crisp And it was unlike anything else I'd ever smelled. It was so unbelievably clean. Um, I did like that. it was nice that I didn't have to answer questions of like, "Where are you from?"

Jess: 0:19

Hmm.

Yeira: 0:20

It was the first time I didn't have to answer that, because I just-- we were all from the same place.

Jess: 0:29

You're listening to Cultureful, where strangers become neighbors. I'm your host, Jess Lin. This is the second half of my conversation with Yeira. In the first half, we explored her childhood in two very different neighborhoods in LA, and we met her as an outspoken, active, and playful kid. In this episode, we'll pick up when she's a teenager and her parents decide to move the family back to Guatemala to a coffee farm We'll journey with Yeira, see her uprooted, fall in love with a place, and then deal with being uprooted all over again. We get to travel with her to Guatemala and see up close what home and community were like for her there. It's both a geographical and emotional ride. Come along for this journey with Yeira Welcome back, Yeira.

Yeira: 1:21

Thanks for having me back.

Jess: 1:24

break. Yes. we were starting to get into, the immediate like environmental culture shock you had when you got to your home in Guatemala for a couple years. Um, yeah, take us back into that.

Yeira: 1:41

Oh, yeah. No, it was, it was wild. It was wild. It was very, very wild. My parents are crazy. Um- It really was. I just, you know, I just remember feeling so confused, and I remember being so mad at them.

Jess: 2:00

Hmm.

Yeira: 2:02

I r- I remember feeling, like, so out of place, and I just felt like, " How dare you strip me away from where I belong," type deal. it was a very, very, very awkward phase of my life. Um, coming down to, like... I mean everything, everything, right? So like I said, food, culture. People were very religious. That was weird to me.

Jess: 2:27

Right, 'cause you hadn't been raised religious.

Yeira: 2:29

No, that was so weird. Like, people, like, would go to church, and everybody talked about church, and they talked about, like, God, and they talked about all these, like, things. And I'm like, "What are you... What is that? Like, what?" And, um, granted, I knew the principles, like the golden rule and, and you know, all s- sort of stuff. My parents, however, never really told me, like, "This is coming from the family of, you know, the Bible or religion." They kind of just were like, "This is... Be a decent human being. Treat others the way you wanna be treated. Don't be an a#$&*!#," right? So, like...

Jess: 3:08

had given you some of these messages, like cherry-picked, like their favorite messages they had, like, told you, but not in the context of the Bible.

Yeira: 3:14

Right. Not in the context of the Bible. So I grew up... I did not grow up with any kind of context of dogmatic belief or religious belief in any way. Very grateful for that. Very grateful. I feel like that has really, really been the fundamentals of, of, um, who I am today, and one of the reasons why I feel like I am a great therapist is because I have this very non-biased view of the world in that way, right? Because I feel like religion was something that I didn't... Because I didn't know about it, I'm so open to being like, "Well, tell me about it." And I don't have any premeditated anything 'cause I didn't know anything about it. Um, so that was cool. but I learned a lot about stuff like that. So I did tell my parents, "I wanna go to a Christian private school because I wanna learn. Like, I wanna know whatever..." Yeah, it was my choice. Oh, yeah, it was totally my

Jess: 4:15

So you ended up going to a Christian private school while you were there?

Yeira: 4:20

I did. Um,

Jess: 4:21

Okay.

Yeira: 4:21

I, had a great time. I, um, I went to a Christian school. It was a private school. I made tons of friends. I learned all sorts of things about the Bible. it was, it was really, really fun. I really had a great time. They were very, like, conservative and religious, obviously, 'cause it's a private school. And my parents were like, "Are you sure this is what you want? Like, out of all the things, now this is what you want?" And I'm like, "Yeah, I wanna learn." And my dad's like, "Okay."

Jess: 4:54

Uh-huh.

Yeira: 4:56

so I did, and that was fun. It was different. I had a great time, had great s- great teachers. I had a great experience with everyone at school. Um,

Jess: 5:05

You said it was really fun.

Yeira: 5:07

it was so much fun.

Jess: 5:09

What was

Yeira: 5:10

I... I think I really enjoyed the fact that, like, everyone shared kind of like a same, same belief systems. I grew up with so much diversity, and everybody was so different, that it felt like I had to learn things about everybody as a kid. So it was like getting to know, like, "Okay, I have to remember that Carlos, you know, s- is here and he lives here. However, I have to remember that Lin over here, and she speaks Japanese, so she might..." Like, it was a lot of, like, as a young kid, I look back on it now, but it was a lot of, like, emotional responsibility of, of learning people's different, like, cultures and backgrounds. Well, this one it wasn't. There was no learning anything. It was just, like, everybody was kind of the same and, and it was the first time I had ever experienced that. Um, and there was something very liberating about that where I didn't have to, like, think about it. it was very conservative though, and that was kind of not so fun, but eh.' Jess: cause I was gonna say, like, it sounds like a lot of things, you know, culturally would be similar between you and your classmates, but then if they had been raised religious the whole time, and if you're kind of like... Were you kind of in these classes being like, "Well, this is, like, interesting information, but I don't buy in. This is just interesting that everyone else..." Were you kind of like an outsider kind of, Yeah, 100%.

Jess: 6:45

it was like anthropologically almost

Yeira: 6:47

Girl, it was 100% anthropological for

Jess: 6:51

Oh,

Yeira: 6:53

anthropological. as a teenager. I went in with the purpose of, because everyone... You have to remember, right? Everyone else had all of these, like, ideologies that they practiced or believed in. I never did. So this was my way of learning, anthropologically speaking, what everyone else was talking about so that I could reference and be like, "Oh, that's what they meant." Like, there was, um, the prayer where-- Uh, what is the name of the prayer? I'm Christian now, by the way. I decided to become a Christian later in life.

Jess: 7:29

from, well, maybe informed partially

Yeira: 7:32

maybe, yeah, maybe. Maybe, yeah.' Jess: cause I was gonna say at any point, like, dur- 'cause this was high school, right? No, this was, I got held back because... Oh, yeah, Guatemalan education was definitely way more advanced than the American education. so I was held back.

Jess: 7:51

Yeah, I was gonna say, like, how was the transition from, like, going to school in English and then your, you're saying your Spanish wasn't that great, and then now you have to do everything in Spanish, I assume.

Yeira: 7:59

Yes, everything was in Spanish. There was no English in Guatemala. I grew up in a village, so no, No English, and, um, it was, I got held back.

Jess: 8:09

back in, like, middle school?

Yeira: 8:11

Mm-hmm. I mean, it was fine. It didn't really affect anything, but I definitely got held back a year because of it. and it was an interest- Again, it was just, to me, I loved learning, and it felt so different. I felt like it was so much information, and it felt like I had so much to learn. That was fun to me,

Jess: 8:32

Hmm.'Cause everything was... There's so-- Yeah.

Yeira: 8:36

There was So, much.

Jess: 8:38

It's just interesting that everything was different for you, but then people also had so much in common, so then you didn't have to learn to culturally navigate all these different people and their things. So, um,

Yeira: 8:51

was a very weird dialectic of, uh, at the same time, even though things were so different, there was so much solace in being, in being exposed to, like, one of the same. it was nice that I didn't have to answer questions of like, "Where are you from?"

Jess: 9:08

Hmm.

Yeira: 9:09

It was the first time I didn't have to answer that, because I just-- we were all from the same place. Even though technically I wasn't from there 'cause, you know, I was born somewhere else. But it was just really nice to just belong, and it was just the same for everybody. And of course, I wasn't in the grand scheme of things, but it was just really... it was a whole different experience in LA where you would have to ask the questions of like,"Oh, where are you from? Where is your family?" Da, da, da."Why do you look like that?" Like... And here it's like, eh, everybody was just, had brown hair, was brown, spoke Spanish, came from the same village, and there was something really nice and refreshing about it. It w- it really, there was. And it was really, um, also very, very beautiful to learn what community looked like to the people in my, in my town, right? So it was-- because community looked so much different there,

Jess: 10:13

How'd it look?

Yeira: 10:14

but it was way closer. It was very, very close. While LA still had a lot of differences, even though my, my neighbors and community were still pretty close considering the fact, it was nowhere near close as the Guatemalan people. They were complete... It was a whole different situation there. Um, Guatemalan people are truly, it's, uh, the-- are just culturally are very community-based, um, at least in, in smaller villages. At least in mine, where I'm from, where my family's from, it's very community-based. There's a lot of getting to know you and actually sitting down to getting to know you. It wasn't just like a passagery like, " How you doing? How's your day?" It's like,"No, really, how are you doing? What did you do? Tell me all about it." Almost to the point of like nosiness, you know? Um, but that's just how they are. They're not being nosy. They, they genuinely wanna know, like, what did-- because they will tell you what they did.

Jess: 11:14

Uh-huh. This is kind of like, as I had-- as I went to undergrad in the Midwest, but I'm from LA, right? And so, um, so I went to, yeah, undergrad in St. Louis, and, like, I was so confused the first semester 'cause, like, a whole bunch of my Midwestern new, classmates, they would like, every time you s- you run into them at, on campus, they would be

like: 11:37

"Hey, how's it going?" And then, like, wanna have, like, a long conversation about how is it going, and I was so confused at first'cause I was like, "Okay, now I gotta go?" You know? I thought this conversation

was over, but they were like: 11:50

"No, no, no, no, no, but, like, how, how did your class go? And, like, how was lunch? And, like, how..." You know?

Yeira: 11:56

Yes, exactly that. Exactly, 'cause you kinda grew up and you're like, you learn to say, "Hey, how is it going?" But you know that it doesn't mean how is it going, you know? It's just like hi It's just

Jess: 12:10

and then bye.

Yeira: 12:10

of saying, "See you later." like, there was no real investment.

Jess: 12:15

Mm.

Yeira: 12:17

And this was different. There w- everybody was very much invested of like, Oh, well, you live here, so you must tell me. You must tell me how your day' Jess: 'Cause like everyone is someone's somebody because like everyone kind of grew up together and, you know, like neighbors, family, and relatives. Yep.

Jess: 12:37

Okay, so you mentioned that like, you know, in Guatemala you were living on a coffee farm.

Yeira: 12:41

Mm-hmm.

Jess: 12:42

who was arou- like tell me about the living situation. Like were you living with your grandparents and your parents like together? Or like what was around? Yeah. Tell me about like the setup.

Yeira: 12:51

Well, it was a farm. We had animals. We had... It's like a big wide open, like ton of space, ton of space, but it was a coffee farm, so it was-- It-- we live on a mountain, and there's cliffs, and there's like coffee cliffs ob- um, and it's, it's really pretty actually. It's actually really pretty. Now that I think of it I'm like, "Oh, so pretty." Um, very panoramic type feel. air super clean. fruits everywhere. There was like every fruit imaginable. there was papaya trees, and lemon trees, and orange trees, and mango trees, and, lychee. We had lychee, which is very random. But yes, we had lychee. We had cacao, you know, the like, the plants. Yeah, we have, uh, literally everything. cows and chickens and turkeys and peacock at one point. we had dogs, we had cats, we had gardens. We had, anything you can think of really, we had it. Like, it was really fun. It was a lot of space. It was, um... I lived with my aunt. My aunt lived in the farm, and it was... Yeah, sh- it was just her and my parents and I that we like, we moved into her, her house, I guess. It was originally my grandma's house. Um, but yeah, we just kinda moved in and, and it was, it was, fun. It was super quiet, which was very different than LA.

Jess: 14:22

Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Mm. Yeah.

Yeira: 14:23

and in the air, if you're from LA, you know that faint smell of pee in the morning. That wa- yeah, faint smell of pee. You didn't have that?

Jess: 14:33

I had the-- I, like, I remember when we went to school, like, the building smelled like pee, and it'd be like

Yeira: 14:39

Oh, no, no. Faint smell of pee, overcast, like

Jess: 14:43

Oh.

Yeira: 14:44

like it was,

Jess: 14:45

I'm not sure I thought of it as pee, but I, I m- I know, like, I know

Yeira: 14:49

smell Yeah, it's, it's it's definitely pee.

Jess: 14:55

Okay. Okay.

Yeira: 14:57

It's definite- yeah, 'cause you know the sewage system is so bad in LA. Like it's just so bad. I, till

Jess: 15:04

I was far in the burbs. I was far in the burbs.

Yeira: 15:07

Oh, you were in the burbs. Yeah. No, no, no, I was in the city. Like, no, no, it was a faint smell of pee in the morning. so I grew up in that, right? So I grew up with like the air quality not being good ever. If anything, it was like bad to worse. and the air was so clean here. It was so clean. It was crisp And it was unlike anything else I'd ever smelled. It was so unbelievably clean. It was, it was awesome. Um, I did like that.

Jess: 15:37

So you, you're talking about how, like, when people stop and they greet, and they're actually, like, curious and wanna have a whole conversation and get to know you. Like, what was the... So I know you were going to school, and, like, for the adults in the village, like, what was the pace of their lives Like,

Yeira: 15:54

Too slow, girl.

Jess: 15:55

do they go to the farm in the morning and then, like, what happens after that? Like, not sure 'cause you were at school. Okay.

Yeira: 16:01

know. Well, I never saw them working. That's a great question. I promise you I never saw anybody working. I mean,

Jess: 16:08

Probably was when you were at school or before you woke up, right?

Yeira: 16:11

probably. A lot of them, I will say, I- because it was, again, mountain, everybody had a farm to some degree, shape or form. So I think all of their jobs were, like, outside in the field, whether that's harvesting corn or harvesting coffee or harvesting some sort of something. It was very agricultural based. I think that's what they were doing. However, when I got out of school, I can tell you nobody was working. Everybody was out. I feel like all I ever saw people, all I go... I remember thinking to myself, "What are these grown-ups doing?" Like, all they... I remember thinking all I saw was them at the little, like, park plaza hanging out, drinking beer, talking s&*!, chilling, dancing. It's a lot of dancing. and that was it. Like, I remember thinking to myself like, "What are these people doing?" And my parents were right there with them. Like, they were just...

Jess: 17:07

Were they farming?

Yeira: 17:09

yeah, my, my dad farmed. it was very n- it was a very nice lifestyle. Now that I look back at it as an adult, I'm like,"That was a nice lifestyle."

Jess: 17:18

What kind of dancing? It was salsa?

Yeira: 17:20

they did more of like the cumbia dancing. It's a lot more cumbia and merengue based than there was salsa. Salsa and bachata didn't become a thing in Guatemala until, like, way later. I remember think- like, everything was rancheras. It was, like, regional Mexican music or cumbia, lots of cumbia and lots of, like, merengue. That was, that was pretty much it. Or, like, the native, dances that, that were with the xylophone, called the marimba in Guatemala, and they're like a two-step. It's kinda like a ballroom dancing, but not.

Jess: 17:55

Mm-hmm. Mm. Mm.

Yeira: 17:56

but different,

Jess: 17:57

Did you learn any of them, or was it mostly like adults that would dance?

Yeira: 17:59

No, I learned. My parents taught me. My mom taught me. I learned how to dance when I was, like, very young. It was good times.

Jess: 18:07

You're realizing now. You're like, "Hmm."

Yeira: 18:10

like, "Wow, what a great life. Why would they move?" Anyway, but yeah.

Jess: 18:15

so you were saying that your parents, some of their goals, for moving y'all back to, um, Guatemala, like partially was to get away from some of the crime and insecurity in LA, but also they wanted you to learn the language. Also, they wanted you to learn the culture. It sounds like you definitely learned the language.

Yeira: 18:35

Definitely.

Jess: 18:36

up learning the culture by the end of the time that you were there, like what was your relationship to the culture there?

Yeira: 18:42

by the end of the time I was there, I feel like I was definitely Guatemalan. Like, and what does that, what does that mean? To me, what does it mean now, right? I have this genuine love for plants and for the earth in ways that I didn't have it before. There's this genuine appreciation for, like, l- just nature and landscapes and being outside and being close to the earth and, and animals and simplicity. I don't think I had that before. and I don't think I've steered a- I mean, I could show you around, like, I am covered in plants. Like, Yeah.

Jess: 19:16

when I went to drop off the equipment, I was like, that was the first thing I noticed. I was like, "Oh my gosh, your apartment is just like so beautiful," 'cause there's so many, there's so much green in here, and it all looks like it's thriving. Yeah.

Yeira: 19:27

yeah. that's what I learned. I feel like it definitely... I learned to love plants and nature and being outside in a way that I can't really describe it. It's literally, who I am. It's like the DNA of who, what makes up me type deal. I, didn't have that. at all. So I learned how to grow my own vegetables. I learned what farming looked like. my dad and my mom were very intentional about teaching me how to garden and how to farm and, I could legitimately grow my own food if, if, I mean, I need space. Obviously, I live in Atlanta, so I can't do that here. But if push came to shove, like, I can grow my own food..I know what it takes to have cattle or, um, if I ever wanted to grow coffee or, like, wanted to take over the farm or, I mean, I would be able-- I feel that I have the knowledge to do that because they taught me that. at the time I wasn't appreciative of those skills because I'm like, " How's this gonna help me?" But turns out it is very helpful. Um, I think it also helped me to see the world in a way that I didn't see it before. I think it shaped lot of who I am, For sure.

Jess: 20:42

Tell me more about how you see the world, how that was impacted.

Yeira: 20:46

I believe that people, are inherently good people. We just sometimes make bad choices, and I firmly believe that people can change, and I feel like a lot of it, all of these perspectives, um, were based on just the community that I got to experience, where it's like somebody good made a bad choice, right? Like, you got too drunk and you went and you crashed your car against the pole. Doesn't make you a bad person. Terrible choice. Doesn't make you a bad person. And I think that was an introduction to all of these things. Now, you might wonder, "Well, Yeira, you m- you experienced a lot of things in LA." But it was different because there wasn't this, like, close proximity, to the embeddedment of the culture like it was in Guatemala. it just felt more personal. and also these ideologies of being one with, like, nature and Earth, and taking care of the land so the land can take care of you. that was something that inherently changed me to really have this reverence towards the Earth just in general. So I definitely feel like all of those things did shape me for who I am today.

Jess: 22:03

And the things that, in the beginning when you first got there, you were saying, like, everything was different, and like people, like the way they talked was different, and the environment was different, and the food was different, everything. by the end of your time there, did it feel like home?

Yeira: 22:19

Oh, yeah, 100%. Yeah, for sure. Oh, yeah. it still does. If I go back, it still feels like home. which is really beautiful. I can go back to LA a thousand times, it does not feel like home. I can be... I literally have gone to Inglewood multiple times. I've been to Redondo Beach multiple times as an adult, and I'm like, "Nope, never again." like I am so far removed from that city in general that, like, I can go back and I might know the name, but

Jess: 22:48

it's not like where your roots are.

Yeira: 22:50

No. I have no roots there. Like, I don't have any kind of connection to LA the way that I did before or, or the way that I do in Guatemala.

Jess: 23:00

Yeah. This is kinda hitting me too'cause I have the same feeling when I go back to LA where it's like, "Oh, yeah, I like grew up here," but I don't feel like I'm... The connection isn't there, but then when I go back to like specifically my dad's hometown in Taiwan, like that's where like all of, my aunts and uncle, like everyone grew up, and like I still have cousins there, and it's just like when I'm there everyone's like Oh, you're this person's, oh, you're this person's granddaughter. You're this per- you know? And it's like, it's like a warm hug homecoming even though I've, like, never, like, lived there.

Yeira: 23:30

Right. Yeah. But I think it's all about connection, right? Connection and community. W-

Jess: 23:37

fabric there is, like, still super strong, yeah.

Yeira: 23:39

Super strong. Like super, super strong, while in LA that's no such thing. It's very individualistic, and I think it's very much embedded in the American culture, while everything outside of America is not. so I think that's probably the biggest difference, is that I have zero roots or connection to LA now. Um, as a matter of fact, most of the time if people ask me where I'm from, I'll say, " I'm from Atlanta," and I'll just completely just not even claim it anymore. Like that's... Because it feels so far removed, right?

Jess: 24:13

After the break, Yeira moves back to the US, but it's nothing like she knew before, and what she's up to now. Stay with us. Hey neighbor, it's Jess. so I got feedback from a listener, Stacy. Thanks for the feedback, Stacy. To try out being more conversational in the intros and outros. fun behind-the-scenes fact, I've been told for most of my life that I talk way too fast. so I've always had to try to slow down so people don't constantly say, "Huh?" And since starting the podcast, maybe having a microphone up close made me overcorrect. Anyway, I've been trying it out today. Let me know in the comments what you think. And I loved getting Stacy's feedback. I would love to hear from you too. Leave me comments, feedback, whatever, wherever you're listening. Thanks. Now, back to Yeira's story. and I'm really curious, like, an experience in your childhood where you, had to act as support, logistical support linguistic support for your parents because they were somewhere that was not, the systems and the language like they're familiar with, right? What was it like for you to see them, where they're from, in Guatemala and kind of... Did that change your relationship to them?

Yeira: 25:41

It felt like a break. It felt like we were on vaca- I was on vacation. I felt like for the first time in my life, I didn't have to think about bills. Um, which sounds kind of terrible now that I'm saying out loud. But yeah, every month I would think about like, "Oh, I have to remind my dad to pay the bill," blah, blah, blah. Like, I have to like write the money order, you know? And not that I had to s- 'cause I obviously didn't have the money. My parents paid for it. But like the logistics of paying the bill, like writing the money order, things like that. I didn't have to worry about any of that. Like, I got to actually be a kid, and not worry about any of that. That was really nice. I feel like my parents were in their place and I was in mine,

Jess: 26:24

Mm-hmm.

Yeira: 26:24

everybody just did their own thing.

Jess: 26:28

It sounds like, I mean, they taught you a lot of stuff in LA, but then they, like, had even more to teach you in

Yeira: 26:32

It was different. It was a different kind of teaching. Um, I think there was a lot of h- the, the principle of humility was probably the biggest lesson, and it was really beautiful. It was this idea of like, you don't need things, like materialistic things. And detachment to materialism, I think was like the biggest, the biggest difference, which I would say is, till this day, again, like very much embedded into the foundation of who I am. and I think it came with this idea of like, this is your responsibility. You just go to school, and I'll take care of all this stuff. And it was nice. It was nice to not have to,

Jess: 27:10

stuff anymore. Yeah,

Yeira: 27:11

was so nice.

Jess: 27:13

Did you see them in a different light, do you think?

Yeira: 27:17

Oh, absolutely.

Jess: 27:18

in their element?

Yeira: 27:19

Yeah, for sure. I think it was the, the best move. And honestly, if h- we had never came back, I think it would've, we would've been great, you know? Um, thankful we came back because obviously I wouldn't be who I am today if that hadn't happened. But, um, think it would've been great either way.

Jess: 27:40

So that's the perfect bridge into like, At some point you move back to the US, and how did you feel when you found out that you had to move again?

Yeira: 27:50

Mm, that's a good question. I, um, I remember I felt very confused. Like, I was really confused about like why, like, what is happening, why? And then my parents explained to me that they were like,"Well, you... This was not supposed to be permanent. It was supposed to be temporary." And,

Jess: 28:08

you.

Yeira: 28:09

but it had grown on me. Um, I was hanging out with all the locals. I was doing all the local things. I was, I was living my life. Um, yeah, no, my dad was like, "This is not permanent. You, you have to go to college." And like, "This is not it." Like, "You're not... You, you need to... We- we're moving back." and my dad's whole thing was like, " I want to give you the, uh, the best opportunities you possibly can." And he's like, "The best accessibility to education," and that was his biggest thing, was education. He's like, "And Guatemalan education isn't that, so we are leaving so that you can, if you decide that you don't wanna go to school, that's your choice. However, I want you to have a choice."

Jess: 28:51

Wow.

Yeira: 28:52

so we came back.

Jess: 28:54

And that was the move to Atlanta?

Yeira: 28:56

That was moved to Atlanta. Yeah, my uncle moved to Atlanta first from LA, and, um, my uncle was like,"You guys should come here. There's lots of work." And my dad's like, "I guess." So we moved and, um-

Jess: 29:10

like that, "I guess."

Yeira: 29:13

And then we, we moved and I was so confused. I'm like, "What is this place?" This was the ugliest thing I had ever seen in my life. Like, I remember I could not... I, I legitimately was like, "Why does anyone live here? This place is hideous." Like, I didn't understand why it wasn't a city, but it wasn't-- there was no open space, so my, my brain just couldn't wrap itself around the idea of, like, suburbia.

Jess: 29:43

Okay, so you are in the suburbs now. Okay. Which you had never lived in before. You had lived in city, and then rural, and then... Wow. So now this is like, diff- okay. So

Yeira: 29:54

to...

Jess: 29:54

but it feels like a different place. It feels like a

Yeira: 29:56

It's a whole different place. Yeah, it's a different place that I didn't move to the city of Atlanta, I moved to, like, like, the suburbs. I was so confused."This is not a city. It-- there's no space. There's not enough trees." So like, I was so confused. I didn't understand why anyone would wanna live here. Um, I didn't wanna live here, and I didn't wanna live here for a long time.

Jess: 30:16

Okay, so that wasn't like a...

Yeira: 30:19

oh, I never fell in love

Jess: 30:20

Guatemala was like, there was an adjustment period, and then you fell in love, and then this, this is not that.

Yeira: 30:25

This was not that. I never fell in love with Georgia. That never happened. I was waiting for the day that would happen. It did not.

Jess: 30:32

now you're, and now you're still here.

Yeira: 30:34

I'm still here, but I'm getting out. But that's not the point. Like, d- I never fell in love with Georgia. it's more of like, I've been here so long that I just gotta love you because I'm here, and you've seen me grow up, and I've had all my friends h- are here now, and, like, my life is here, and, and I love it because of that. But for me to genuinely look you in the eye and be like,"Jessica, I just love Georgia,"

Jess: 30:59

It's not Okay. So it's

Yeira: 31:02

No.

Jess: 31:02

you don't love it as a place, but your people are here now.

Yeira: 31:05

My people are here. And now, as an adult, I do love Atlanta. I do. I think it's great. And it's-- I'm...

Jess: 31:12

different from the 'burbs, so

Yeira: 31:14

Atlanta's very different from the... I think I, I lo- learned to love the city of Atlanta once I moved here as an adult, which was, like, some time ago. But, as still a kid, like, no. And then it just I just never understood the suburbs, you know? Even though I grew up there, like, I just don't get it. I'm like, I know all of my friends love the suburbs, and they constantly try to convince me to move there, and they're like, "You should move to..." And I just, I'm like, "Ugh."

Jess: 31:42

It's not for you. It doesn't have to be for you.

Yeira: 31:44

No, I-- my response is always like, " Over my dead body." And they're like,"That's dramatic." And I'm like, " It is what it is."

Jess: 31:52

So okay, to, to wrap up, catch us up to like present day. What is, 2026 Yeira up to?

Yeira: 31:58

so present day, so, Yeira went to school. she chose to go to school, because my mom and dad created that opportunity. So shout out to them. Love them dearly for that and all the sacrifices they ever made for me. Um, I went to college, and then I went to grad school, and I became a therapist. so a lot of existential crisis in between there to try to figure out what to do with my life. but I...

Jess: 32:25

candidates

Yeira: 32:27

Oh.

Jess: 32:27

that got weeded out?

Yeira: 32:29

No, there was no other. It's just one. There's When I was in kindergarten, this is just to give you a picture of who I was. I was in kindergarten, and the teacher in kindergarten, Miss Mendes, never forget her, um, she was-- she asked a little boy in front of me, "Oh, what do you wanna be when you grow up?" And the little boy was like,"I wanna be a garbage man." I don't know why he said that, but he said that. And everyone laughed. And then, she came to me and she asked me, and I was like, " I'm gonna be a lawyer."

Jess: 33:01

Okay.

Yeira: 33:02

That decision carried me my whole life. Like, I was gonna be a lawyer, there was no changing my mind.

Jess: 33:11

That's not a therapist.

Yeira: 33:12

No, that's not a therapist. I had an existential crisis that led me to decide that I was being a lawyer wasn't for me. I worked in the legal field for a long, long time, like 10 years, and I was a paralegal, and I just... Jessica, every day, I felt like I was selling my soul to the devil. I was just like, "This isn't it." Like, there's something el- I was like, " But then I decided that I was gonna be a lawyer, so, like, how do I change my mind? Like, is it too late? Am I too far gone?" Like, there were so many things. and eventually, major existential crisis. Quit my whole life. Quit my job I just quit my job. it was a whole thing, and I moved back in with my parents and I was like, "Well, I'm gonna go be a therapist now." My dad's like, "Are you sure this is what you want? Like, you really wanna like, like, are you sure?" And it was a lot of... But my parents were very supportive, and they paid for all my bills. They're so-- My parents are saints. Um, yeah, no, they definitely supported me through that, and so I decided to become a therapist, and this is how I'm here. so 2026 Yeira has gone through a lot of existential crises, and she's a therapist now. I have my own private practice. I specialize in trauma and, ironically, existential crisis.

Jess: 34:33

That's not ironic at all.

Yeira: 34:35

Or maybe it's because I had so many in life. I I really love working with people who are going through existential crisis, like that's my jam.

Jess: 34:43

I didn't know that was your specialty. I

Yeira: 34:44

But my specialty is trauma and substance use. But then I just kind of have like in the past several years kind of like it's that and now. I really love working with people that are going through existential crisis. Like, come to me all those who have no idea what they're doing with their lives. Like,

Jess: 35:02

I, yeah. That is great to know because I feel like at every point in time I have a couple friends who are going through that. So I'll point them your way.

Yeira: 35:12

Sen- I love it. It's great,

Jess: 35:14

so, um, that brings us to, the closing questions. The first one is the plug. Do you wanna plug your business?

Yeira: 35:21

Oh, yeah. So as you can see, it's blatant marketing and advertisement. I'm just kidding.

Jess: 35:26

that are watching, but some people are just listening.

Yeira: 35:28

Oh, yeah. Canopy & Light Counseling. Um, I run this private practice with my best friend, Sarah. I met her in, undergrad, and we are best friends, and I love her dearly, and she's my coworker. She's my best friend. She's my ride or die. It's, it's great times. We have so much fun together. that's it. That's, that's all I got.

Jess: 35:50

Are you, only taking clients in the state of Georgia?

Yeira: 35:55

Yes. At this very moment, yes. In the upcoming months, maybe next year, we might be taking clients from other states but not as of today. Not, not right now

Jess: 36:07

good to know. so Georgia-based listeners, you know, check her out.

Yeira: 36:11

Check. Yes. So we are a virtual practice. I do not have a physical office. I'm not in person, unless you're doing yoga therapy. In that case, I am in person. but yoga therapy is, uh, very specific, and it is, I have to have worked with you, um, in order for that to be an intervention we do together because of the nature and the sensitivity of, yoga therapy.

Jess: 36:38

Cause you're also a yoga teacher.

Yeira: 36:39

Ah, Yes, Yes, I am. I forgot about that. I am a yoga teacher. I am a 500-hour certified yoga teacher.

Jess: 36:48

And you do trainings.

Yeira: 36:50

Yes, and I do trauma-informed trainings. Like I said, my specialty is trauma, so I have devoted my whole life's work to learning trauma, um, and how it affects your body and what it does to your brain, and how the bo- mind-body connection is super strong. I just felt like it was just natural that I learned that. I teach trauma-informed yoga.

Jess: 37:13

I also love that your, I'm not sure, like whatever is behind your logo, like the

Yeira: 37:20

the macrame?

Jess: 37:22

Yes, the macrame, like it also is like a mountain scape. Like

Yeira: 37:26

Mm-hmm.

Jess: 37:27

does that remind you of Guatemala?

Yeira: 37:28

Yeah, it was intentional.

Jess: 37:30

Yeah, It's beautiful.

Yeira: 37:32

the logo, and the tree. That actually, that tree is the national tree of Guatemala. It's the ceiba.

Jess: 37:39

Beautiful. Okay, last question. Last but not least question. is there a saying or sayings you heard often while

Yeira: 37:48

Oh, yeah. Um, definitely use your voice. That was a big one for me. Use your voice.

Jess: 37:54

said to you in English or Spanish?

Yeira: 37:56

hmm, that was definitely in Spanish. However, my brother would say it to me in English.

Jess: 38:04

Oh, you would tell your, your

Yeira: 38:06

to think. My brother, yeah, I love him. My brother, my brother is hilarious. He's the funniest person I've ever met. Um, he's just like, because they would say it so much that he just picked up on it, and he would just say it just to like be snarky. Like it wasn't coming from a place of like, "Use your voice," he didn't know. It was coming from a place of like, "Yeah, use your voice." Like, you know? You know how brothers are. Yes.

Jess: 38:33

so how would they say it in Spanish when they said it in

Yeira: 38:36

Usa tu so yeah, I did hear that all the time, and also respeta, which means that you need to respect. Like, and that was any time that they felt I was being too sassy. It was like, Respeta." And then they would-- And my mom would give me that face, and I already knew what she meant by that. Like if I... Yeah, and if I didn't listen, she would do this, oh, it used to be so painful. She would grab the corner of my ear, and she would just pull it. That's child abuse.

Jess: 39:07

the corner of your

Yeira: 39:08

Yes. And she would try to be discreet about it. She'd be like, "And say something else, and I will give you something to cry about." And I would... And I would just try to cry, and then I would like... That, I'm pretty sure that's child abuse.

Jess: 39:23

child abuse is defined so differently depending on where you go. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeira: 39:29

Yeah.

Jess: 39:31

Uh,

Yeira: 39:31

Yeah.

Jess: 39:32

Yeira, thanks for this conversation. Thanks for sharing all this stuff with me.

Yeira: 39:37

you so much for sh- you know, having me here to share my story. I appreciate it. And you know, I've never sat down to really, like, tell someone my story all at once. so I appreciate the opportunity.

Jess: 39:51

That was my conversation with Yeira her story makes me reflect on choice. What choices her parents made for her, like moving and moving again, but also what choices they trusted her to make for herself, like going to a Christian school, deciding to go to college, and then choosing to change career paths. Her awareness and her gratitude for her parents giving her those opportunities It's a great reminder for me to be grateful for the opportunities my parents gave me too. none of these opportunities are a given. What's your take? what does this episode make you reflect on, think, or feel? I'd love to know. drop me a comment wherever you're listening or watching or on Instagram at The Cultureful. Links to connect with Yeira are in the show notes. This episode was produced and edited by me with executive production support from Ruben Gnanaruban Thanks for listening. I'm Jess Lin. Take care of yourself and your neighbors, and I'll see you soon