We were lucky to catch up with JENNIFER BASDEN recently and have shared our conversation below.
JENNIFER, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?
Most people that know me do not know that I actually come from a very humble beginning. I always say “that I do not judge a book by its cover” That stems from my childhood, I was raised on welfare..we were very poor. Most of the time I did not know where my mom was she would disappear for days at a time..As she was an addict …We( my older brother and I) lived in low income housing until I was about 12.. I didn’t know my father, he left when I was about 5. He went for cigarettes and never came back.. You see I was born with epilepsy and had Grand Mal seizures a lot as a child and he was an alcoholic and it was too much for him to bear so he left.. So when you grow up with nothing as a child you learn to appreciate everything… We had nothing in the fridge I didn’t know what it was like to walk into a store and pick out a new outfit. I had never gotten new shoes, I had never been to a salon and had my hair done or my nails painted or gotten a manicure with my mom. I can remember being 10 years old and wanting to be a mom so bad so that I could love my children and be loved in return that was all I wanted in life… And now I am 45 I have three of most amazing children. My daughter is 22 my Middle Son is 20 and my youngest son is 10.. I have survived domestic violence, been through an awful divorce and raised all three kids on my own. I lost my mother to cancer as well as my father who raised me. I have experienced loss and grief, abuse, neglect, hunger and fear… Yet my glass is always half full and I know somewhere someone still has it worse than I did
Now, I am a single mom.. living in a beautiful five-bedroom house and for the first time in my life, I have my own bed, my own room, a closet full of clothes and new shoes that belong to me and no one can take it from me. I have suffered so much neglect and abuse in my life and I am living complete freedom and when I look around I do not pass judgment I do not give criticism.. I listen.. I try to hear what people are saying and I try to understand what they are going through.. because I know we all have a story and a journey. Now I am able to give back to my community by volunteering in The CASA program and being an advocate for foster children because sometimes children just need a voice..
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I came into the beauty industry as a stepping stone to rebuild my life. I was a stay at home mom For 7 years and trapped in a abusive relationship.. I had no credit no family no savings and no job and frankly no education.. I decided to open a beauty business and start doing body sculpting and hyaluron pen injections As a way to save up and get on my own feet ..that opened the door to beauty school where I became a cosmetologist.. I finished school, escaped my horrible relationship started over and began my new life I am now loving my new career, I have a passion for color and blonding, taking educational classes and learning everything I can about being the best that I can be in this business. I was terrified because I was coming into a business being much older than most stylist.. The girls at school called me Mama Jen but I left it.. they came to me for everything and it made me feel like I had found a new family or belonged somewhere family.. currently I am just focusing on growing my business, continuing my education, and my personal growth. I have incredible clients that have stayed with me through my personal journey. I am in an incredible Salon called liquid the salon they have been open for 20 years and I am just so thrilled to be a part of their team..
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think for myself the most important thing was knowing my worth without that I never would have taken the first step to starting my new life second I would say courage to just make the leap taking that first step and last having faith in yourself.. I’ve always had a passion for creativity and wanting to make the people around me happy and just wanting to be a part of something bigger so my advice would be just take the leap have faith and know your worth take that step and don’t look back we have one life to live.. Something I tell my children all the time is ” Just take the risk your feet are not going to be planted in cement, if it doesn’t work out you can just turn around and go another direction it’s okay to make mistakes but you have to at least try”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenndidthishair?igsh=ZndpdnZ0bDkybWFt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferBasden33?mibextid=ZbWKwL
