This is one of the most vulnerable posts I have ever written to be completely honest with you. I felt this topic is significant because it has to do with confidence. This means confidence within my own self, which I have always had, and confidence in trusting my gut, which I developed over the last two decades. Many of us would be very different if we were taught to have true self-worth, self-confidence, and self-love growing up, instead of being put down.

Growing up, I always felt alone because I felt like I wasn’t smart enough. People would compliment me on my beauty, but I honestly felt that beauty is only skin deep. I never looked at the outside of someone for their beauty; I would look at their inner heart, which I was ultimately attracted to.

Let me now take you back a little further; I grew up in a family with 8 siblings; even though I had a large family, I felt alone. I was the baby out of the group, and all of my older siblings had already moved out of the house during my pivotal years. However, even though they were a lot older than me, they would taunt me through the years by saying that my mom dropped me on my head or that I did not have a fully developed brain because my parents were in their 50/60 when they had me. They will continue to casually make fun that I wasn’t smart enough, or I couldn’t speak well. One positive thing that I really made an impact was that they were proud and complimented me on my art skills, and that I drew well. They were proud of me being an artist. Because of this, I took this as a sign that I was good at something so I decided to excel in the Arts, but I still wasn’t fully confident in myself.

Confidence means I am not jealous of others or what others have, but I knew what I love and was confident in that. I was satisfied with being alone and confident in who I was as a person, but I still lacked confidence in how people perceived me. I have an open mind and heart and saw beauty in others, and I was okay with allowing myself to get hurt. Growing up, my friends would always tell me I had a good heart. Little did I know then that my good nature would be taken advantage of for several years.

As I have gotten older, I realized I had many false truths I believed and had to get rid of a lot of toxic people in my life only to truly see myself worthy. I always knew of my worth, but I did not feel worthy as I would let so many people take advantage of me. I started realizing how I would speak to myself, and I would always put myself down. I didn’t know that by doing this, I would lower myself worth each time. I wasn’t allowing myself to grow into the woman I was supposed to be.

I learned that the way you speak to yourself dramatically impacts how your body and mind sees itself. I teach my daughter to say daily affirmations or positive phrases about herself. She repeatedly says, “I am beautiful, I am confident, I am brave, I am smart.” I see a massive difference in her confidence level. If I had access to resources or someone to remind me to positively view myself, I wouldn’t have struggled to be the person I am today.

It took me a while to realize how smart and confident I am and how much I had accomplished in life, along with that, the grit to believe in myself when no one did. Being confident is not just being beautiful on the outside; it is about being beautiful on the inside in which you shine so bright that you radiate. It is also about influencing others how to treat you positively. This energy is so precious, and no one should be able to take this away from you.

That is why CONFIDENCE is such a massive part of my mission in my brand. It is the essence of our core and how we view ourselves. I am not talking about being arrogant, but I am talking about having a balanced soul filled with love and positivity, which will balance out your self-worth. Having the right balance will carry over how you take yourself and how others view you and ultimately treat you. To overcome our past, we have to face it, analyze it, understand the lessons, and make peace and move on. Taking that first step will literally help you move forward and heal. Once you develop self-worth and confidence, you will eventually start trusting your gut, and no one can bring you down. I am finally proud of who I am and what I have accomplished.

Thank you!

XO,
Jenny