Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joycelyn Parson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Joycelyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?
This is an interesting question of discussion because all week I have been thinking about how I can reach our youth in a time where we are praised for seeking validation and ridiculed for being real and authentic. As a former Teacher’s Assistant, at the time looking to continue my education in the Education field. I was so excited to be part of leading our future in a way that helps them develop the skills needed to succeed in life. However, when I got there I was appalled at what I was witnessing. From the outside looking in, I was like ‘oh I got this in the bag’, kids just want someone to look up to and lead by example. As someone who is the oldest child in her family, I trained my whole life for this, if you know you know. It was a very challenging experience for me but I enjoyed the challenge the kids brought. I think any Educator that loves children would tell you that the students aren’t the hardest part of education. It’s the standard and rigid belief our school systems has on “No Child Left Behind” and lack of funding Education gets that makes it difficult to effectively help our students develop into a successful future generation. I was faced with a lot of challenges that included providing help in areas that have nothing to do with the IQ of a student but more so the EQ. I had a student (5th Grader) asked me about “Anxiety” and being someone who has recently in last 3 years been diagnosed with anxiety and depression I was very surprised at how young she was to being aware and courageous enough to ask. I felt blessed to be trusted enough with this information and I did my best to explain and give some self care techniques that help self soothe anxiety in my experience.
I believe that our school system should be implementing Emotional Intelligence and Awareness into its curriculum. Unfortunately not every student has the luxury of learning such things from home and I am aware that we have social workers on the school premisses for all students. However making this a class where students are comfortable speaking and learning about emotions, empathy, self love, self trust, intuition, and self acceptance. These are the things that really push us as humans to find our purpose and thus finding our way in life. As a 27 year old, I have come to realize that the practice of mastering myself has led me to accept myself in my fullness. My successes and failures, my weaknesses and strengths, my imperfections and humanity as a whole and teaching this in a way that allows students to deal with failure, lost and the cycles of life can really put our future ahead in so many ways.
When establishing my brand, Self Care Boss, I was always certain that I wanted to include a way to empower and encourage young adults, especially the ones who feel lost or incapable of achieving success. That there are a million and one ways to be successful, and I truly believe that it starts with self. It’s starts with the belief in self, to be able to connect with peers who have similar interest and desires for community. It starts with the the belief that, “I too am capable of good things, despite any past or present circumstances”. This will provide a love and justice that serves through all future generations and could quite possibly save humanity in ways that instills hope in our future.
With the amount of mass shootings in America, to the point of the level of violence being the normalcy in our country; A lot of that is seen, heard and felt with our children regardless if they understand what is going on or not. Tensions are rising, and as hard as it is for adults to navigate through life without the “vices” of drugs, alcohol, and s*x the distractions from reality. Our children are taking the heat relentlessly day in and out without any way, voice and say in the matter to alleviate the madness, the adults are choosing to put up with.
So, in the meantime, I would change our educational system in the United States to provide Free Therapy, and an Emotional Awareness/Intelligence Class to be in at every grade level and reinforced at the end of the year for learning and retention. I am Joycelyn Parson, The Owner of Self Care Boss, where we build community and uplift our future generations by focusing on emotional, physical and mental health, taking back our power in our lives to be responsible for the direction, health and innovation of our future.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am Joycelyn Parson, The Owner of Self Care Boss, where we build community and uplift our future generations by focusing on emotional, physical and mental health, taking back our power in our lives to be responsible for the direction, health and innovation of our future. I started with posting motivational messages, and deep diving into my personal development, sharing bits of what I am learning in my 20s and being vulnerable in times where I didn’t feel the most confident and on this search for external validation. Surrounding that I had this need to be successful and and obsession with perfection that prevented my from seeing my strengths and personal progression. So, I created a Self Care Boss Planner that highlights moments of daily Gratitude to combat my constant needs for external validation. It was personal for me to work on my own life because I feel as though I have lived for others most of my life and it was easy for my to blame others for where I was in life or nor in life rather that take responsibility for my own. Therefore, I started on a journey or personal development and journaled to find who I am and what I wanted in my life. This caused me to realize that I had chosen to take the backseat in my life and nothing I wanted for my life way in my life. This resulted in heartbreak, family conflicts, friendship endings, as I found that boundaries allowed me to be me in environments that respected me. As I progress with business, I recently took a break to rediscover the impact I wanted to make with Self Care Boss and reinvent the Mission that includes Love, Community, and Wellness. I will be launching my Self Care Boss Blog soon, to build a diverse community with the same goals and vision for the future. I also want to reach our youth, specifically High School and First Year College Students who are going into the biggest transformation yet and having the support to navigate it. It’s bigger than me, and will require a community of leaders, educators, creatives, innovators to really show up in a way that empowers us all to take on life and the responsibility it is to live it.
I have Planners that are for High School students ADHD – ADD Friendly, which provides Brain Dumps and College or Work Life Prep and Resources for Financial Aid and International Travels. Adult Planners that are also ADHD – ADD Friendly with Adulting Resources and Financial Planning. I am working on the Self Care Journals for Personal Development, Retreats for Self Care and Expansion of Self, Book Club, Faith Blog for Jesus Believers, Community Service and ways to give back to our community, and so much more. Feel free to follow us on Instagram and Facebook @self.care.boss to stay up to date on Blog Launch, New Planners and Journal drops, and Connect with a Community of like minded individuals.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The Pivot. I am in the middle of a pivot in my life, business, and career. 2 year ago, I was engaged, I was starting my Teaching Career, I started my online business selling planners for motivation, habit tracking and goal setting. 1 year ago I was no longer engaged to be married, I quit teaching, and I stopped selling my planners because after a year I had, had 0 sales but also minimum marketing efforts. I was heartbroken, lost, and unmotivated by the lack of external validation and success I was getting. I took a year. I took a year to find me and heal and sort through the chaos my mind and heart was going through and even today as I write I have doubts on whether I am going in the right direction. One thing though, that has been very clear to me is that I am very passionate about elevation in all ways, shapes, and sizes. I want to elevate hope in the future with love, compassion, empathy, strength, and resilience. So with that being said, literally, take it one step at a time, embrace the unknown, pour into yourself and find out who you are at your core, sift through the chaos of opinions and definitions of success, and be patient with yourself as you embark on a different path. Pivoting is acceptance of the unknown, a kind of acceptance that brings peace. Pivoting is the resilience needed to succeed, it says “I’m not failing or behind, I’m simply shifting”.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The rewarding aspect of being a creative is watching you vision come to reality. It almost gives a overall sense of satisfaction and self validation at what I created and brought to life. I also believe that being able to share and collaborate with other creatives and putting together our strengths to be able to bring a project to life is just my favorite dose of Dopamine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://v-assistance.my.canva.site/?fbclid=IwAR2XOjP8p2jelha0zDPqoVJGZcOnKf5jp3TOYwMXHqwYDXj2EAnTWOa9RbY
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/self.care.boss/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/self.care.boss
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joycelyn-p-/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilyblackwoman
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theejap
- Other: Follow us for updates on Blog Launch, Self Care Retreats, Book Club and More!
Image Credits
Photography Credits : Brandon Anderson (BigBillionaireB) Much Thanks!