Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Annie Martinez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Annie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I’ve gained resilience over time, and definitely wasn’t as resilient as I am now. My resilience came from being knocked down by life back to back and being driven to rock bottom. It began in June of 2020 when I lost my brother due to gang violence 3 days after he turned 26 years old. Unfortunately at the time, I let my grief affect me in a negative way and I was in a constant battle with myself trying to regain focus. After 3 years of trying to pull myself out of a spiraling hole, I had finally found some comfort putting all my faith into God and letting him into my life. Soon after in January of 2023, I then lost my son’s father due to gun violence right before he would’ve turned 31. I felt hopeless after recovering from a restless fight and being knocked right back down. Learning to go through such hard times on my own really made me see how strong an individual can be. All in all, my resilience comes from the struggles and battles I was appointed and the strength and power it took for me to overcome them trusting that what I endured would have a beautiful ending one day. I hope to help others regain their faith in God’s plans and the strength we need for us to succeed in life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
The life-changing incidents I experienced really changed my whole perspective on life. Now, my perspective on life as a woman is we really can’t depend on anyone to take care of us. Nowadays, it seems like everyone doesn’t want to put in the work of taking care of our own selves and children without keeping in mind of what would happen if the person(s) they rely on are no longer around. I never thought I wouldn’t be able to have help from my child’s other parent, having that reality check gave me no option but to become emotionally and financially independant. I come from the city of Escondido which is in San Diego county, and unfortunately I am not the only woman that has experienced losses and left behind with kids to grind for within the community. Looking at my son and 3 nephews along with the rest of the children in the same situation being left without a dad or a mom made me want to hustle, because now I feel it’s up to me to make sure I stop this ongoing cycle of losing our loved ones to the street life. After having to regain power over my mind and emotions, I once again finally picked myself back up and put all my hurt and pain into hustling and making sure that when it’s my time to go when God calls me home that the new generation of kids are left with something I created for them.
I got into the beauty industry back in 2019 when Covid hit, I was a new mom and had to figure out how to make some income, so I decided to take some courses for lash extensions and instantly fell in love but since I had some bumps in the road I took a few breaks through out my journey. This last time I finally got back in, I never looked back and kept going. I enrolled myself in esthetician school full time and started grinding, I’ve been working on merchandise for my business and perfecting my art in the beauty industry.
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?
The three qualities that were most impactful in my journey was learning how to be uncomfortable in order to grow, determination, and discipline. My advice for people early in their journey is to accept the discomfort of change in order to achieve their highest self, stay focused and stay consistent.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I would love to expand and collaborate with others that have been dealt similar cards in life like myself and are interested in helping the community.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: homegirlsbeautybar
- Facebook: Annie Martinez
Image Credits
Jose J. Hernandez
