Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessi Blake.
Hi Jessi, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in many different homes and cities in Texas (primarily in the panhandle). My family and I found each other in the city of Amarillo, where I lived the longest stretch of time in my young life. I was fortunate to have been given the chance to get into therapy from a young age, but it wasn’t until adulthood that I was given the opportunity to share my life story with a small group of friends, where afterwards, I was told how my story could help a lot of people if I could find a way to share it with more people. Quick rundown of my story? I am the biological offspring of two addicts with mental illness who left me just three days after birth. It was a life of living with relatives, teachers, fosters, and even my biological parents for a couple of years (my siblings and I were removed from their custody after 2.5 years). I survived the darkness of abuse. By all accounts, I should be a “statistic.” I do not struggle with an addiction, and while I was diagnosed with anxiety and OCD at a young age, I have been lucky enough to have been afforded the opportunity to see a therapist regularly and have been shown the tools I need to keep myself in a safe space, living with those diagnoses. In the midst of the little horrors of life growing up, I turned to knowledge, education, and creativity to keep me safe, and thanks to those; I graduated from high school (something that is very rare among my biological family), as well as receiving multiple college degrees. I pursued my dream career; a career that I journaled about when I was a child and landed it two years ago. While I have been able to cross off a great deal of things from my life’s to do list; it wasn’t fully realized because there was still the matter of that one little girl somewhere out there who felt lost, alone, hopeless and abandoned the way that I did that I felt I had the best words for her ears, whomever and wherever she was.
My dream to create content in some form of broadcast has always been on my mind and heart, but it wasn’t until the end of 2019 that I began taking action by creating content to post on social platforms and working on how to get a podcast started, and then took that further when I created an Instagram for my podcast as a “small step” toward full podcast recording.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, but I can guarantee the hard work has been worth every moment. 2020 ushered in some struggles that MANY people faced, including myself. After struggling, healing, and growing through it all, I began re-focusing on my plan to format a podcast but wanted to also begin just talking to people and I did a few public speaking events on a very small scale. Halfway through the year, my family was hit hard when my younger sister, Destiny, passed away. So, I ended up tabling my planning while I refocused and worked to help my family and myself figure out how to stand back up on our feet. By mid-2021, I was back at the drawing board and this time with the helpful input of my two long-time best friends. I began by creating an Instagram account (The Art of Showing Up) for the podcast so that I could work my way up to full recording, and I intend to begin recording podcast episodes in April this year!!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do currently have a day job as an engineer for a tech company. I dreamed of having a job in engineering since I was 11, and here I am, literally in my dream career. When I’m not engineering the future of technology, I am working hard, writing and creating content for Instagram as well as building my small recording space and getting some shorts recorded and ready to be released on “debut day.” I’m very proud of this avenue I am on in life. I have worked hard to make it a reality and will never stop working hard for the people who listen and for the followers who see my posts. I think that what sets me apart from others is that I’m more on the introvert side of life, so while my story is big and while I feel (and HOPE) that my words are positively impacting lives, I am definitely a bit more quiet. That’s not to say that I am shy though. I am different in a way that makes me, ME.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That I am an engineer, not for any reason aside from the fact that I have a full tattoo sleeve and have a knack for bright hair colors. It’s never from a place of discrimination, we all have a pre-disposed idea of what people in different careers “usually” look like. It’s been really great seeing the world evolve through and eventually past that though.
Contact Info:
- Email: jessiparkerblake@gmail.com
- Instagram: @theartofshowingup_
Image Credits
Erin Sherrill (@erinsherrillphoto on IG)
