We recently connected with Jaclyn Croel and have shared our conversation below.
Jaclyn, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Since adolescence, I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum (I was the kid who would wear my dress-up princess dress and plastic click-y shoes to the grocery store with my mom; she always encouraged my extra-ness). I owe a lot of who I am to both of my parents to be honest; my work ethic, how to find my Truth, my purpose and my confidence. My dad would always say to both my brother and I, “You’re a leader, not a follower,” and to be honest, I never knew the purpose of that statement until I took the space and time to do some soul searching. There’s never a day where I haven’t said that same thing to myself ever since I figured out what that meant. I’m from a small town, a place where life moves way slower, a place where you actually take the time to stop and smell the flowers, to enjoy the little things. But it’s also a place where the standard set by its own society is judgment, hypocrisy and a lack of acceptance. My childhood through teenage years were anything but easy: that time was also full of the aforementioned. Though these actions are not okay, I know that being faced with adversity at such a small age and size, built the tough skin I needed to prosper and overcome the not-so-great experiences. It has taught me the true meaning of my dad’s statement: to never conform, to never stray from who you are at your core and to *never* turn your back on your own personal Truth.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
In today’s world of extreme neurodivergence, I have the opportunity to satisfy my own ADHD with hobbies and the “nontraditional” career life. Every form of art is a daily practice in my life including things like performance art and healing. Since the age of four (ish), I have participated in both gymnastics and multiple different genres of dance. What I didn’t know then was how powerful the healing of art is spiritually, mentally, emotionally and sexually. Part of my story is that not only am I a survivor of sexual assault but I am extremely open about my experiences as I have found a path of healing for myself in all things artistic and creative allowing me to help others on their own journey to healing.
Not only am I a proud self employed woman (Jaclyn McKenzie Beauty) but I also have a partnership with an international beauty brand and achieved multiple magazine mentions, spreads. and covers only a couple of years into my career as both a Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist. In the hair world, specifically color speaking, I am both a red specialist and lived-in color specialist. Regarding the world of haircutting, I specialize in both wavy and curly hair and textured cuts. I was an art student in college before attending beauty school so color theory, balance, harmony, texture, chemistry, 3-D art forms and personalized conversations are nothing new for me. It is extremely important to me that every single human regardless of race, ethnicity, age, size, gender or sexual identity has a place where they feel safe to just be themselves. Too often in this world, people are judged by something physical instead of their own personal character. Everyone is safe in my chair.
A few years into my beauty career, I fell into the darkest part of my journey. This was a very, very heavy time for me. I was running from years of trauma, turning me to negative outlets. A friend took me to a pole dancing class with her and at the end of class, the instructor allowed some time for us students to freestyle. At the end of this 3-minute song, I found myself in an extremely vulnerable state for so many reasons: the pain of my past, the destruction of my behaviors, finding my love for dance again. It is now 10 years later and I am not only a Certified Pole Instructor, but I am also a professional and international Pole Dancer and have a partnership with a Polewear brand. Not only do I teach, but I also help others on their own journey to healing as an Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Master.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
To be honest, narrowing it down to only three is actually pretty difficult. I think it’s safe to say that the following count not only as qualities but also skills and areas of knowledge as they are all a daily practice: Gratitude, Honesty, and Integrity.
Two things I always say are
-always lead with honesty and integrity
-if you have the power to control how something/someone affects you and chose not to set a boundary, you in turn, forfeit the freedom of feeling some sort of negativity. Boundaries are healthy and important.
Gratitude is a daily practice. I always make time for my solitude in order to connect to this feeling. Small things like sitting at the waters edge with my toes in the sand right at the waters edge where the waves break over them, taking the time to put myself and my happiness first. My solitude has taught me not only my power, but also who does and who does not deserve my energy, what I do and do not deserve, what I’m willing to put up with, my peace, and my joy. It has taught me the power and importance of aloneness allowing me to connect to my wholeness offering both honesty and integrity to those who cross my path (including myself). Honesty isn’t always going to be a warm, fuzzy feeling either. We have been conditioned to actively chose avoidance in order to “keep the peace” that (literally everyone knows) doesn’t actually exist: avoidance does not create or equate to peace. But at the end of the day, peace isn’t the goal of any kind of relationship, love is. In order to honor that, we are required to have the tough conversations in service of that love which means we have to grow up and check ourselves. Honesty isn’t always easy, especially while unlearning other traits/qualities we’ve found to hold us back. If you can be honest with yourself, you are automatically building integrity. From truth comes honesty, with honesty comes integrity, with integrity comes respect, with respect comes courage and so on.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I feel like artists of all areas are always down to collaborate even if they aren’t actively seeking a collaborative opportunity. I’m always an openminded individual who dabbles in all things artistic. From dance to modeling, backpacking to caving, I’m always open to new people, ideas, souls, and ways of life. Culture is the only way to keep growing and the only way to gain a well cultured way of life is to forever invite new outlooks, ways of learning and states of being. I grew up in Girl Scouts so traveling to places less traveled is my MO. GS introduced me to backpacking, white water rafting, caving, kayaking, and all things adrenaline-seeking. Growing up, my parents were very work-ethic forward. Growing up, we wood-heat the house meaning we had to cut, chop and stack wood throughout the year for the winter months. We had a garden, lived in the country, road our bikes everywhere, and only had 30 minutes of screen time a day. I’m so incredibly thankful for this as I now am confident in many skills but also in who I am. I didn’t realize when I was younger, but when they would teach us things like woodworking skills, building a shelter, edible vs poisonous plants, working on vehicles, cooking over a fire etc, they were teaching us to be self sufficient. The times we would go camping in the most random places, where it was only us in the woods for miles on end, were my most appreciated trips. I know now, that they were providing me with the perfect examples of aloneness, wholeness, and solitude. You can most definitely explore all three of these things with souls that allow you to feel complete in your own silence. Collaboration allows for the same exploration within the new confines and boundaries of a new relationship whether it be personal, professional or otherwise. I am always open to exploration with folks that allow me to both learn new things and to teach the skills and knowledge I have accumulated.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jaclynmckenziebeauty.com
- Instagram: @jaclyn.mckenzie @jaclynmckenziebeauty
Image Credits
Hailey Marion Photography
Sara Herzog Photography
Triptychs Photography
Mod Bettie Portraits
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
