Friend,

My team got together yesterday and showed me all of the birthday wishes and the generous contributions that you made for my special day.

I just want to say: we have the best supporters in the country. Thank you.

I spent my birthday with constituents in Key West. My birthday fell on the same day as the Women's March, and I got to march with hundreds of people, including my husband and children.

Here's what I told the people who spent their Saturday with me marching down Duval St:

As I get a year older, I have been reflecting about where I came from and how I got here.

The truth is, nobody would expect a woman like me to become a Member of Congress.

My mom, my sisters and I came to the United States from Ecuador when I was a young girl. We lived in a one-room apartment. My mom worked double shifts. She was a home health care provider. She went to school on nights and weekends to learn English.

This country welcomed us. Despite those humble beginnings, it gave me the opportunity to achieve whatever I set my mind to. We knew that we could succeed through hard work. We knew we had arrived to a country where anything was possible, even when we faced challenges and hardships.

That vision of America -- the very future of our country -- is at stake in this November's election.

Today is, of course, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I am reminded of his famous call to action: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

I know that you, and all of my amazing supporters, will never be silent in the moments that matter.

Thank you for your well wishes, your contributions, and your drive to fight for a better world.

Debbie

Paid for by Debbie for Congress