We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annette Goitia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Annette, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

If you had asked me last year what my life plan was, I could give you details of what I was doing. I was closing my very busy childcare center, selling my car and all the furniture in my home, and moving across the country to work as a full time nanny for a very nice family. I was basically in the middle of uprooting my entire life and my path forward was clear and defined. I was letting go of the life I had built in Utah and saying goodbye to my dear family to go on this new adventure. Then everything changed. In March, I received the devastating news that my sweet, 17-year-old grandson had lost his life to suicide. As a suicide survivor myself, this news completely rocked me to the core. While grieving this loss with my son and his wife, I realized that all of the recent changes I had made in my life and this new path I had created were not the right thing for me, my family, and my future. In those moments, I had to completely reverse all of the changes I had made and try to re-create the life that I had just walked away from. The news of my grandson’s death became even more devastating when I heard that the day he took his life, one of his high school teachers told him that his plans to become a mechanic were not good enough and that he would never amount to anything. Those cruel words were accompanying him in his last moments and I swore from that moment on, never again. Through this process, I have decided to re-prioritize my work to make it so that kids do not feel abandoned or alone and feel they have the support and love they need to push through anything.

Annette, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have worked in childcare for over forty years working from a nanny, to preschool teacher, to an Assistant Director at a Childcare center, to becoming the Director and Owner of my own in home licensed learning centers. Because of my professional experiences and my own life journey, I have realized that there are some core issues that are often ignored in most childcare rearing. This is often creating children who become teenagers who are disregulated, lack coping skills, and feel unworthy of existing in the world and do not know where to turn for help. Children who are not taught basic coping and regulation skills often grow up to be teenagers who do not feel they belong anywhere or cannot connect and bond with others, and are lacking critical hormones like oxytocin. I am now working to implement these skills and other important life learning into the curriculum of my child care centers and I work tirelessly to ensure that the children under my care feel safe, protected, and loved.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I grew up in a very traumatic, neglectful, and abusive environment. As a young adult, life was chaotic and difficult, but I did not know any different and thought this was normal for everyone. I thought that depression, anxiety, and disassociating were normal for everyone and because life was so dark and ugly, I chose to commit suicide and failed. With the help of my medical personnel and dear friends, after surviving that experience, I realized there was hope and potential for a better and happier life. In the following years, I fought hard for my happiness and mental health and worked to heal myself and move forward to finding the life I was meant to live.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

If you read my previous article, you will see that even just a few years ago, I had a good plan of where my life was going. Because of the experiences from the last few years, everything has changed and I have had to learn to be more open and flexible with what life brings and be okay with that.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://annettewasden.com/
• Instagram: @wasdenannette
• Facebook: annette wasden

Image Credits

Kelli Ann Morgan for professional photo