Hello! I’m Diomaris R. Tolentino Soto, Dominican, 23 years old. I am completing my thesis to finish my studies of Initial Education at the Universidad Católica Santo Domingo (UCSD). On January 7, I came to live the experience of the aspirancy with the Daughters of Jesus, whom I came to know through a co-worker who was an alumna who had a vocation and who gave me the reference of Sr. Melba Neris, whom I met through the Salesian Sisters about two years ago.
Now I am working at the San Martín de Porres Technical School [Escuela Técnica San Martín de Porres]. Summarizing the experience of these 8 months is complicated for me, if I start thinking about what I experienced as a calculation of how much I have achieved or not, if I have grown, if my internal process has been costly for me or not … But it becomes very simple if I open my eyes and I feel there is a change in my look, when I feel that paying attention to what reaches my ears are not just words, but stories with feelings; and I feel that I am learning to appreciate how detailed life is upon sharing it every day, every moment, with my companions and sisters, with the people, with my family … The feeling is summed up in a freedom that opens doors and closes them as well, in a love that seeks to find the Beloved who loved me first. I know myself more, I’ve been seeing my story as a salvation story. I arrived with many fears and with many desires and I have been discerning them. It has been very helpful to have others to share them with. I am not sure where I will be tomorrow, but today I am doing this experience and I am encouraged to continue seeking more of what He has for me, of his will for me.