Meet Jasmine Pugh

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

Jasmine, 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?

Oh baby, its been a journey! Let’s start shall we:

Growing up, I was bullied a lot. For silly reasons like: what shoes I wore, how I spoke, things I was interested in, how I dressed; and one that hurt the most, how I looked.

I could get over people laughing at my Sketchers, K-Swiss and Reeboks; they’re shoes, who cared, as long as my feet were covered and protected, that’s all that mattered. Same sentiments applied to wearing regular brands instead of name brand clothes. If I had any, they were borrowed from a friend or only bought with my “birthday or holiday” money. But again, I didn’t care, I took pride in all my belongings because they were simply mine. Being called names or talked about did bother me, but I played it off by laughing or if I was really irritated by it, I may have said something rude back in defense. Still, I tried my best to be confident as me and to never let a hater see me sweat.

I was quiet and shy [still am at times, mostly in new environments], but I still held my chin up. Somehow the mystery of me gained me friends, once they got to know me and see how funny and kind I was. I joined the cheerleading team my freshman year of high school, because I was determined to get out of my shell and the shadows of others. That led me to go after a passion of mine, theatre. Once I got into plays my confidence and self-esteem really sky rocketed. The stage brought me to life. Looking out at dark sea of heads and bright lights ( if you’ve never been on stage, that’s literally all you can see, silhouettes of heads and beaming lights) all eyes on me, portraying a character and bringing them to life, I was ecstatic! People congratulating me and acknowledging my talents, gave me a huge confidence boost!

I remember Sophomore year of high school, my grades were slipping because I had a hard time managing all my school work and extra curricular activities, [which now I know was me having ADHD] so my parents had be pull out of all my activities. I was hurt. I remember a classmate asking, “you not in plays no more or cheering or marching band?” I replied with a “no” and their reaction was how I felt, disappointed. It definitely took a toll on my confidence, because I had just found something I loved and was good at. I got back into to plays Junior and Senior year and my confidence made somewhat of a comeback.

After high school my confidence wavered more. I continued plays for a couple of years and met new people. I tried to balance school, work, friendships, a relationship and struggled. As stated, I got diagnosed with ADHD at 19 years old, so I was trying to find a way to manage my life and my mind; that put a dent in my confidence, badly. But me being me, I continued on with my chin up and was determined to “figure it out”. I graduated, landed a good job, got married, had a baby; then life took an unexpected turn.

I lost my job due to Covid in 2020 and the last bit of confidence I had was gone. Every issue or emotion I forced down into my subconscious, was now racing my mind. I tried being strong for friends, my daughter, her father, everyone around me, but me. My mental health took a hit, I lost my mind. I was hurt and heartbroken by so many things all at once. My confidence was nonexistent. I didn’t care about anything or anyone, really. Literally on the edge. Then something changed. I looked at my daughter and prayed to God to help me. I’ve always been spiritual and throughout my life, my confidence came from God. I would pray and ask God for help and somehow, someway, blessings came to help me. That’s exactly how I got my confidence back.

How I developed my confidence and self-esteem:

I chose myself – something I hardly did, but I’m so proud I did. I’m self-full.

I scheduled an appointment with my therapist and went to therapy for 11 months. My mental is clear, no more fog. – get the help, talk out your thoughts with a professional – start your healing journey.

I got closer to God – the best decision I made. Whoever you believe in, get closer to your higher source.

I started a fitness journey – after having my daughter and not realizing until recently, I was dealing with post partum depression, and it affected my mental and physical health, so I started kickboxing and baby, that was another form of therapy.

I started pampering myself- when you look good, you feel good.

I created boundaries – say “no”. No need to explain.

I started journaling, again – writing down your thoughts keeps the mind clear.

I got creative – If I was feeling any pain or heartache during my healing journey, I put it into my art. I started my Instagram reels and YouTube channel. I even created a beauty business.

I spoke/speak affirmations over my life – speak highly of yourself, it positively changes the mindset.

I’m in the best place mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Confidence is key to everything. To take a risk you must be confident and trust yourself. Something I plan on being for the rest of my life! So can you!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m a very creative person, I love all things art, music, dance, writing, acting, singing, painting, makeup – literally ALL. THINGS. ART!

I’ve always been passionate about writing and acting. That’s where content creation comes to play on my journey. The best of both worlds, writing and acting – all created by me.

I started this journey back in 2022. I’ve dreamed of being a content creator since 2017. I’m so happy I decided to take the leap when I did. It has opened many doors for me and has given me the confidence boost I needed.

I created Jmac Essentials because I wanted to display all things essential to me. I started by doing trending makeup transitions, my favorite form of content. I love makeup and showing off my skills with before and after makeup videos, its so fun. I started taking pictures of my transformations, as photographer is another fun hobby of mine. That really helped me get comfortable in front of the camera. I even re-studied an “Acting In Front of The Camera” course in 2023. I enjoyed it, it helped me loosen up and have more fun by being myself. This also led me to go after my all time love, live theatre. I auditioned this year for the play, “For Colored Girls…”. It was the last show I performed in 12 years ago. When I got the role, I cried tears of joy because I longed to be on the theatre stage for years. My favorite part about the entire experience this time, was having my daughter there to see me.

It had been years since I was on stage but on this journey called life, you have to be BOLD and do the things your heart desires. Same applies to my content creation, I love creating and replying back to viewers. I love planning, editing and bringing my creative ideas to life. I love to inspire, encourage and motivate people through entertainment,

Due to personal reasons, I only released a few videos this year but I will be back soon with fresh material that I’ve been working on. I took a writing course this year; there will be plenty of original content coming from me in the near future. I’m excited about it!

If there is something you dream of, go after it, take the class, invest in yourself and craft. Be BOLD about your journey, no one is going to do it for you and it’s much more satisfying knowing YOU did it!

Be on the lookout for Jmac Essentials content in 2025, I can’t wait for everyone to see it!

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?

My three most important qualities, skills and/or areas of knowledge are:

Confidence / Trusting myself

Emotional Intelligence

Boundaries

Doing anything new is uncomfortable, especially publicly. If you are trying to brand yourself, you have to be confident, have emotional intelligence, and lastly have firm boundaries.

Be confident in yourself and trust that you are capable of the ideas of your mind. That’s why you thought of them, because you know you can execute it, you just have to BELIEVE that you can. Trust yourself in everything you do and be confident that it’s the best choice for you.

When you are aware of your behavior, apparent about your intentions, able to regulate your feelings, considerate of others and able to effectively communicate, life gets better. When you treat yourself with respect because you’ve taken the time to understand yourself, it makes you have compassion for others, but in a healthy way. Therapy helps a lot with this. It’s imperative to be emotionally intelligent, it keeps you out of mess.

Lastly, having firm boundaries is the foundation of the three. When you have boundaries, you are being emotionally intelligent because you know it’s important for you to not spread yourself thin. Allowing behavior that you don’t tolerate of yourself from others, is not emotionally intelligent and damages your confidence and trust in yourself. Also, you have to have tough skin for the naysayers. Implementing boundaries to protect product or idea knowledge from people who could possibly discourage you is important. It helps you continue to be confident in yourself and to follow through with your plan. If you receive negative comments; the confidence, emotional intelligence, and firm boundaries you established will help you keep your composure and avoid responding to negativity.

I feel these 3 qualities, skills and/or areas of knowledge are essential to everyone’s journey!

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I’m overwhelmed, I do things that make me happy.

I pamper myself – I get my nails and hair done and get dressed up

I eat food I like – comfort food is a must

I workout – walk, yoga, kickboxing. Anything to relieve stress.

I meditate and pray – it helps with mental clarity and reassurance

I sleep – sleep the stress away and wake up feeling refreshed

I hope these tips help!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jmacessentialsofficial
• Facebook: Jmac Essentials
• Youtube: Jmac Essentials
• Other: Tiktok – Jmac Essentials

Image Credits

All images taken and edited by me.