Welcome to our city, Karina!
This week’s article pulls on my heartstrings quite a bit. I met this young lady at the Grimes County Go Texan Cook Off in January where her boyfriend was cooking on our cookoff team. They had recently started dating and Friday evening we were first introduced to her. Karina Munoz, from Madisonville, came into our circle and fit in perfectly from the very beginning!
Karina grew up with two hard working parents who worked long hours at Monterey Mushroom Inc. in Madisonville. She is the third of four children, with two older brothers, a younger sister, and seven nieces and nephews. Karina was raised Catholic and attended mass regularly, sometimes as a family and sometimes with her dad dropping them off. Her family, like many others, celebrates often and is very family oriented.
Fun places Karina has traveled to are Fredericksburg, Playa del Carmen in Mexico, Jamaica, and Colorado. Nashville and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico are on her bucket list.
Karina is most proud of herself. As she looks back at all the obstacles she has been through and overcome, she is at peace. She says her greatest strength is always finding a way to do better in her relationships, work, family, and self. She strives to be the best version of herself in being a friend, future spouse, sister, and daughter.
When asked Why Navasota - she answered because the town has been so welcoming and inviting. She loves all the things the community offers all the different events, walking around town, eating and shopping. Navasota reminds her of her hometown of Madisonville, except a little better! She loves the community relationships she has already built and looks forward to meeting even more people in town.
Her first date was at Rail & Rye, where she sees herself being 70 years old and still remembering where she sat at the restaurant on that very first date. She enjoys nights on the rooftop at Rail & Rye where she listens to live music and hangs out with friends. Karina sees Navasota as a great place to raise her future family. She recently volunteered at John C. Webb Elementary and pictured her future children attending the school.
Karina’s two favorite people in town are myself (I didn’t want to mention this, but she insisted) and Becky Munoz. She likes how I was one of the first people she met and that I always introduce her to others. She likes Becky because she is very sweet, always smiling, always giving a helping hand and is the “cutest little human being.” Her favorite restaurant in town is Martha’s Bloomers Tea Room, where she enjoys eating their strawberry spinach salad.
Mistakes Karina has made and overcome are being too hard on herself, being a people pleaser, and questioning herself too often. She has gotten help overcoming these hurdles by having alone time and apologizing. She likes to take walks and work out to process things going on in her life. A regret she has is worrying about what others think of her. She realizes that is wasted time and energy.
Her mom and God are her heroes. Both have helped her through every obstacle and whatever life has thrown her way. They are always there no matter what. She and her mom talk daily, whether it’s by text, phone call or seeing each other in person.
Various things about Karina: Something interesting about her is that she always wanted to be a teacher or own her own bakery. She dreams about her future family - marriage and kids. If she could have dinner with anyone it would be her favorite singer, Miranda Lambert. (I laughed here because out of all the many questions I asked her, this was the question that took her the least amount of time to answer!) She loves Miranda, her music, her sassiness and says she has always been a fan. If she won $5 million, she would buy land and put her entire family on it. She would also donate to a charity for children. On her day off she likes to take naps, clean, organize, take walks around her cozy neighborhood, and have quiet time. The last thing she read was Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. Her dream job is to be a parent. If she attended a yard sale, she would look for pieces of furniture to redo - she says she currently has three pieces that need to be redone. Karina would like to be remembered as a family oriented, kind-hearted, genuine soul who went out of her way for other people and that she loved people hard.
One of the things I admire most about Karina is her wisdom at such a young age. Even though I have had numerous conversations with her in the past few months, I was impressed to know how smart she is about life and all the things life brings. I also admire her work ethic. It seems like she’s always working at her regular job or her side job as a wedding planner with her companyAll Things Wedding - KM Events.
Karina - I am so thankful “Meagan the Matchmaker” introduced you to our friend Swank Backhus.Anyone who has met you would agree that you are a perfect fit for any town, but I am so glad you chose mine to move to. I am blessed that you are not only my Navasota Neighbor, but my lifetime friend!
The column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jennifer Ramirez. Opinion columns are NOT the opinion of the Navasota Examiner.
Jennifer is a lifelong resident of Navasota. She is passionate about her community and supports all things local.