We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeanette Canela Montgomery a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jeanette, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

When I first moved from Los Angeles to Arizona, it was supposed to be for one year while I studied for my GREs. I decided to apply for part-time jobs in law offices + local non-profit agencies, as I had just graduated from UCLA with a degree in International Development Studies and Anthropology. It was a humbling experience when I was continuously rejected; some wouldn’t bother calling me back, some saying I was overqualified. I knew I wanted to get my Master’s, work abroad and change the world….Low on funds, I kept applying anywhere that seemed decent for a recent college graduate; I eventually applied to be a teacher’s aide- and before I knew it, I was offered a job as a Second Grade Teacher; mind you, I hadn’t studied this at all! But I needed a job! I worked so very hard that first year, teaching myself how to teach, the intricacies of teaching a little to read, etc. I practically lived at work; my first-year students learned, probably unconventionally, but I had all the heart + passion in the world to teach them that they are more than their circumstances. I could see myself in them and wanted them to feel loved, seen, valued and heard. All things I desired as a child. My one year plan to study for GREs became a passion to help little ones- and then when I realized I could get my Master’s degree in counseling them, I found my current purpose.
In undergrad, I studied politics, inter-racial dynamics, sustainability of resources in third-world nations…I thought I would be traveling the world to change it; instead, I now find myself taking all my learned life-experiences in hopes that I am teaching littles the skills they will need to truly change the world.
If littles now can learn the skills we didn’t as children- communication of our feelings, coping skills, empathy, conflict-resolution, listening to others’ perspectives- can you imagine how powerful that will be to our future?

Jeanette, 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 am a Puerto Rican Latina from East Los Angeles, a former teacher who became a counselor! I am passionate about social-emotional learning, diversity, trauma-informed practices, and making others feel heard, seen, and understood. My Feeling Heart: Mi Corazon Siente, is my first bilingual children’s book that guides littles and their grown-ups through normalizing + identifying feelings & coping skills.
I truly believe we can empower our littles with social-emotional learning to grow up to become positive role-models who will be the change we need in this world.
My goal is to get the opportunity to sign with a publishing house and continue to write bilingual children’s picture books in which littles everywhere *see* themselves, & can relate and learn from.
I am proud of everything I have overcome to get to this point in life and want to share my support to anyone reading this! I am authentic and transparent in my sharings and believe in the power of positive relationships.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I teach littles that resilience is the ability to bounce back from anything that happens; I give the example of all of us learning to walk as toddlers- did we give up after taking the first step and tumble, or did we get back up and try again and again? When I think about my life story, I am proud of my resilience, my ability to bounce back no matter how many times I have fallen. My path has been anything but easy, with minimal good luck, but instead with blessings in abundance. Life has not been shy to deal me rough cards (from a hard childhood, to helping my life partner battle Cancer twice, to attempting to grow our family via IVF six times), resiliency is part of my core. Through all of my personal and professional setbacks, I have learned that self-growth and innovation have resulted each time. A part of me changes every time I have had to overcome something life-changing. I learn, I adapt and use it to take a step forward to where I want to be. It’s also embedded in me PMA: a positive mental attitude, to give me hope and determination during setbacks. It doesn’t mean that I don’t feel, it means that I feel but look for solutions and build a close circle that I can lean on. I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason (I know, unpopular opinion) but sometimes really terrible things happen and it simply cannot be justified. But having confidence in ourselves, encompasses our resilience, our sense of hope and determination, our empathy and imperfections. It helps us offer ourselves the same compassion and support we give to those we love.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest life lessons I’ve had to learn is dissolving my fear of failure and rejection that have held me back from accomplishing my goals. It’s been a transformative process that has shifted my perception of my own self-worth and given me opportunities to learn and grow. A big part of this stems from this notion of perfectionism I acquired as a child, thinking if I was the best behaved, the best listener, I would be more loved, more seen, more valued. I didn’t want to fail and feel rejected so I would consistently try to be the very best and yet the cycle continued. So I continued to try to be the best daughter, best student, best friend, best everything…I just became accustomed to giving….giving, even at the expense of myself…& every time I felt unseen or disregarded, I felt I must have failed.

& then something changed. Albeit, within the last few years, something switched inside of me (perhaps all the trials & hardships of life combined with self-work and therapy), but I started finding my voice within myself. I could still be my very best, and give others parts of myself, but now with boundaries; drawing lines of healthy balance. And knowing that putting myself out there, vulnerable and all, does not mean I am failing or being rejected- just that I’m not for everybody.

Writing my children’s picture book was exactly that. I kept putting myself out there, submitting to publishers and being rejected time and time again. But I believed in it so much that I began to look into other methods to still get it into littles’ hands. I self-published and gained the support of the amazing community I had built on social media. Before I knew it, I had collected so many testimonials of caring people who wrote to me telling me how much my children’s book helped their child, helped them, helped their family; children who felt seen; adults who felt seen…

& while the validation was not what I was yearning for anymore, it was the fuel I needed to affirm that I am meant to do this.
I want to continue writing books and still know my big break will come. I am manifesting that like no other!!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thishappymess

Image Credits
Montgomery Prod. Co., Geoff Montgomery