Abby Torres

Abby Torres grew up taking care of others from an early age. Her parents, new in a country in which they didn’t speak the language, would rely on Abby to translate for them in matters of life and even finance. It’s no surprise that she’d find her calling in the mortgage lending business.

“I remember my dad saying, ‘I have to go to the bank.’ Every Saturday was the day we would go to the bank. He would always take me with him and have me ask about a loan. I was only like 10 or 11 and I didn't understand a lot of the stuff, but I just wanted to make sure that my parents weren't taken advantage of. It was a lot of learning for me and I had to mature very quickly.”

Now the mother of two young boys, she’s made a home for herself in Chicago, but keeps close to her Mexican roots. Though she was born in the United States, she is deeply connected to her heritage. Something she shares with her children to help them understand who they are.

Yet more than her upbringing or roots, it’s how she views life that is the most meaningful to her. The lessons she shares with her kids are the same advice she shares with others.

“I try to tell my kids that your day is determined by your attitude. Sometimes my oldest son will fight me on certain things, then he gets upset and I'll say ‘You know, you choose that attitude and you choose to have that, your day will be determined by it.”

Navigating life can oftentimes be difficult and frustrating, but as Abby points out, it’s about having the right people in your life to keep you grounded and above all honest about yourself.

“We're all bound to have bad days when stuff happens. There are days when you have insecurities. I've had my many insecurities, and I still do, but that's something that I have to learn to overcome. Your partner, your friends, family, whoever it is for you, I think there always has to be that one person who's going to call you out on stuff. I don't think we all have that person where you're like ‘You did not just tell me this,’ but you love that person for telling you the truth.”