Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day… Teach him how to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.
In the same respect, teach someone to depend on others for safety, they’ll always depend on others and eventually it could backfire. Teach someone to defend themselves or allow them to learn without dampening that desire, and they’ll learn to protect themselves and others.
So here’s a question… Should a girl learn some form of self-defense? I’m guessing your answer is probably going to be yes. Likely a lot of you are screaming how important it is.
My next question… Why? Why should a girl learn self-defense? Again, I’m going to take another stab in the dark here and say, your answer is somewhere along the lines of, “Well, because she could get raped,” or “Girls are at a higher risk of being abducted.” On both counts this is true.
Next question… Should a girl carry a handgun? Now, let the debates begin… There’s going to be some yes’s out there, but there’s also going to be some reluctance… “Well, that is dangerous.” “Someone could get hurt.” “They can carry it, but she should have no reason to shoot someone with it.” “She doesn’t need a handgun because she’ll never have to use it.” “Why should she carry something that is useless and dangerous?” All things I have heard since learning to handle a pistol…
Next question… If she does carry a handgun should she be trained on how to use it? Now I know there’s going to be some Heck yes’s out there but there’s also going to be this, “Why do you need training on something you’ll never have to use?” “She hit the target at the Concealed Carry Class she doesn’t need training.” “It’s simple enough, just aim and shoot. Why waste money on training when there’s more important things to spend money on?” “You aren’t going to use it so training is pointless.” Again, all things I’ve heard since learning to handle a firearm.
Now what I want people to start considering is this. Why is it so dang important for a woman to learn hand-to-hand defense but not learn to properly defend herself with a gun? We have class after class after class of women’s Jiu-Jitsu, Krav, boxing, Muay Thai, you name it and we are STRONGLY encouraged to go go go… But when it comes to learning about a handgun, suddenly we take a step back and start saying that using a handgun for self-defense isn’t necessary… Suddenly all those bad scenarios that were going to happen that would cause us to use Martial Arts, suddenly disappear… So we hear something to this affect…
“You really should learn a Martial Art. It would be really useful, with you being small statured and all. You aren’t a big person and you really should know how to defend yourself just in case someone tries to abduct you, or rape you.” Or from parents, “I don’t feel comfortable with you going places because you don’t know who you are going to run into and I don’t want something bad to happen to you.”
Now, with a handgun…
“You don’t need to carry a handgun. The likelihood of you ever needing to use it is so slim that it just isn’t necessary for you to carry it.” With training involved… “So, you’re spending money on learning something you are never going to have to use? It’s not that hard to point and shoot.”
Now, with that said, I make my point again… Why is it that we are only at risk of bad crap happening to us if we are not carrying a handgun… At least this is some peoples opinion… Which, reality check if that’s the case, of course I’m going to carry a handgun! If that keeps all bad things from happening… There’s just no question…
I actually started writing this particular post December 13th of 2016… Literally picked it up from here which I find funny… Was re-reading old stuff deciding what needed to be trashed and what should be posted… So I will finish it with this…
Now that I’ve gotten out in the world… Just over a month ago now, someone broke into my vehicle at work, busted the window and took over $600 worth of stuff. Could I have shot them for it? No… Not without facing some sort of repercussion because my life was not in danger. But it wouldn’t be the first time someone held someone at gunpoint during a robbery or opted to abduct or beat the snot out of the person they were robbing… And yes, we can start the “What if” game… but in my opinion, it’s better to prevent the “if’s” if at all possible…
On the same note, 15-20 minutes from where I work there is a guy who’s been raping young women…
And last weekend I found out one of the ladies I work with is being stalked by a guy who is putting trackers on her vehicle and when he shows up she has to call the police to escort her to her vehicle because he will attack her otherwise…
I did some research a while ago, looking up security camera footage and whatnot, when you can grab a screaming flailing woman by the hair, drag her through a gas station into the parking lot and shove her into a vehicle and NO ONE intervenes… There is a problem.
So ask me again why I carry a handgun…
Last year I decided to take my training up a notch, I joined a Krav Maga School, Israeli Hand-to-Hand Combat designed for the military, they don’t consider themselves a martial art either… they are strictly self-defense and combat… I figured it was a good way to go so that I could get in some hand-to-hand weapons training, knife and gun disarming, as well as getting more efficient at my stand up game… Almost a year of that, and I still get punched in the face… About the only thing I’ve improved on in my sparring is, I’ve learned to overwhelm my opponents right off the bat so that they become more focused on blocking and not getting hit, over landing a punch or kick… So, unless I know I can take it to the ground safely, I’m best to keep my distance for now…
I don’t train because I’m scared, I don’t carry because I’m scared. I train in both self-defense and firearms because I enjoy them, it’s empowering to know I can handle both and because my safety is my responsibility, not anyone else’s. Plus, my training helps others feel safe, others know that if something goes down, I will have their backs as much as I can. Granted, at the moment I work with a bunch of far left liberals that would probably freak if they knew I was carrying a handgun. But they’ll be ok. I’ve had a talk with my weapon and it knows it does not have my permission to grow legs and randomly start shooting people…
Having a gun isn’t something you boast about, just the same as the best fighters never get into a fight, the best conceal carriers are the ones you never know have a gun… it’s called concealed carrying for a reason…
Stay safe, train hard, carry consistently, enjoy life… Be blessed…
Jessica
Author: imforhim
A Father’s Role
Dad’s play such an important role in their child’s life.
One can spend years and years trying to get over it, and I thought I had. Until the last two years or so… The night I was driving down the road teary eyed because I just wanted a father. I want someone to connect with on that father daughter level…
Once you hit your late teens, you don’t get that anymore, because it becomes borderline inappropriate.
Life happens, people you thought you could trust at one time become strangers… They hate you… Yet you have to put on a façade because others can’t know how much you’ve come to detest that person… Always calling you stupid and complaining about the things you like, the things you believe, the lifestyle you choose to live… You know when they joke with friends or family about their “disrespectful and sarcastic” child, it’s really not a joke to them, they really feel that way… The moment you realize your safety is of no concern when it comes to them forcing you to do something, so what if it causes a midday hospital trip, at least they made their point, right?… When nothing you do is ever right… You’re afraid to go to them for help or questions because you might get your head ripped off…
And yet when you are around family you wonder if they notice a shift… from the playful banter of a newfound family to a relationship that has been tattered and torn to pieces… Yet you still pretend it is all ok. You listen to them talk about this “Special and wonderful” person who really, you wish would just disappear… Because he’s not that special and he’s definitely not wonderful… He’s a jerk and he’s mean and he’s careless. But we still pretend it’s all ok.
I don’t have a dad to do dad things with. I don’t have a dad to talk to. I don’t have a dad to be there when I need him.
And no matter how many times I tell myself I don’t need a dad… It’s a lie every time.
Out of the many father figures/male role models I tried to have, only one I was so mad at that I said he could die in a hole in hell.
But I’ve become far more bitter… far more angry… With people… with myself… with God…
Anyone I try to get close to leaves be it physically or emotionally. It sucks. Because it terrifies you when you think you want to let someone in, but you are so freaking tired of people saying they’ll never leave or they’ll always be there for you and you know they mean it with the best of intentions, but you just wish people would stop making promises they can’t keep. So you come to the point that you don’t trust… and you don’t let people close, or at least, you try not to…
It’s hard to become your own person living that kind of life… Because your confidence is broken, your self-esteem is broken… You get it into your brain that you can’t and your stupid and you’ll never be… And then you break… The anger lets loose, you become tired of faking it. You become fed up with just taking it.
I’m here to say this… If you have the determination, you have the grit and the hustle… And you’re not willing to let anyone dictate your future or your success. You’ll come out strong on the other side.
For those that struggle with that missing father, I don’t know that it will ever get better. You may always be jealous of those dads you see playing with their kiddos. I don’t know… And I’m not going to be the one to tell you it’s going to get better or easier… But I will say this… You don’t have to let it affect the rest of your life.
It takes a lot because now I’m speaking to myself too… But we aren’t broken. We aren’t missing anything. We don’t have to be angry and bitter to the people who we perceive have done us wrong. Me personally, I don’t know that forgiveness is on the to-do-list anytime soon… But I know I need to do it. If not for them, then for us. Forgiveness is an important part of the healing process, being unforgiving is simply wasted energy.
I’ve been lucky… I’m surrounded by a great group of colleagues and most of them are focus on over coming and learning to build yourself up. Changing the thought process and changing your life. They keep me present. They keep me knowing where my faults are so I don’t lose my mind completely… Because I aspire to be like them. The compassion and empathy they show… I WANT to be like that… They inspire me every day and give me little tiny actions to get me on track. One day… I will get there… We will get there…
To the dads… Don’t take your children for granted… Boys need their dads just as much as girls do… Time with the wife is extremely important… Work is tiring… Sometimes you’re hurting… Sleep is also important… But your children are only there for a time… They can grow up without you, or they can grow up with you… But either way they are only going to be there for so long. What you do now, shapes their emotions, habits, self-esteem and confidence later. Don’t let them think they are stupid, don’t let them think you hate them… Discipline is good. Spank them, ground them, give them a butt chewing… But don’t give them the silent treatment and decide you aren’t talking to them ever again, don’t only interact with them when they are in trouble. They need to know they can confide in you, especially girls… They need security. They need safety, even us gun wielding, badass MMA and Krav martial artists… We need to know we have safety, and if we don’t feel safe, you’re not going to be one we ask questions to or want to learn from, we’re not going to want to talk to you, tell you how our day went, tell you what we learned, tell you how school went or how this class went or how work went…
Give your children hugs, give them affection, play with them, talk to them… Teach them so that they not only grow up without feeling like there is a piece of them missing, but so that their children grow up without feeling rejected or unimportant. I know men aren’t “wired” for compassion and empathy… but it’s certainly helpful.
Anyway, I think that is all for now…
To Recap…
To the fatherless or motherless… We got this. Forgive, be determined, be the person you want to be, be confident, be happy, it will all work out eventually no matter how hard it is now.
To the dads… Do your job. Be a dad…
Y’all have a good night…
Jessica
New Year!
2017… A full year went by and it took a drastic turn that I didn’t expect… 2017 was a year that beat me down in ways I didn’t expect, but it also was the year I exploded. The year I began getting my crap together.
I started the year with vehicle issues. Left me with only a few hundred dollars in my bank account. For the last few years I have been wanting to attend a workshop by Dr. Perry Nickelston who has been a mentor long before I met him.
I signed up for a course at the beginning of summer after Dr. Perry said he would be in Texas in the fall, thinking I would have time to save for his course when he announced his workshop the weekend before the other course I signed up for. So I took a chance. Saved my spot for the PMC Workshop and hoped and prayed I would have the funds to go.
And that was the beginning of a wonderful new turn.
I met my mentor, role model and inspiration and as you can tell, still a little star struck lol… In fact, I am not so ashamed to say, that the first time I met Dr. Perry he made such an impact that when I had to leave before he left because I had a 5 hour drive home, I had to fight back the tears, and I sat in my truck for a good 10 minutes or so and had to collect myself so I could drive without being all blurry eyed…
Prior to going to Dr. Perry’s workshop I signed up for an Amino Neuro Frequency Class in Florida, because I wanted to learn about it. Dr. Perry had talked about and done some videos on it, but I wasn’t convinced. I decided I trusted Dr. Perry with my career and signed up for a class he was teaching.
While I was at Dr. Perry’s PMC workshop he introduced me to Amino Neuro Frequency Therapy. I had an issue during class where my knee would start to shake, and then my other knee would shake, and the rest of my body would eventually follow. It’s something that happens all the time, especially after chiropractic adjustments or high levels of stress. When I asked Dr. Perry if he had any ideas, he told me my gut was inflamed and threw some discs on me. I started shaking while he was applying discs and then he put a disc on and it immediately stopped the shaking. Prior to Dr. Perry I had gone 3-4 days with minimal amounts of food because I wasn’t hungry. Felt overstuffed and miserable if I ate anything. Within 10 minutes I was starving… And suddenly all the food I packed wasn’t enough.
So, then began my ANF journey. I knew I had to sign up for the second ANF class.
It has opened up such a huge door for me, I talk to people all over the world, Ireland, England, Argentina, Germany, Australia and all over the US and Canada. It’s been crazy!
It’s been a frustrating battle and if I didn’t have the right mentors and friends and family backing me up I probably would have stopped.
But the plan for 2018 is to get my Personal Trainer Certification so that I can work with human movement too!
Because honestly, reducing pain by human movement is peeking my interest and combining it with massage and ANF is absolutely fascinating!
So here is a shout out to everyone who has been an inspiration on this crazy journey of life. Everyone who has helped me get to this point and continues to help me! To all my test dummies and guinea pigs and all who support me no matter how crazy I might sound!
To my mother, Dr. Mike, Dr. Perry, Karl, Liam, Martin, Mrs. Karen and Mr. Craig, Deneille, Amanda, and those who are coming on to the scene like Ryan, and all the other ANF peeps who keep me going!
And the handful of people I have yet to meet, but have been such an inspiration to me and have opened the door for me to find my own confidence, hustle and grit, Gary Vee, John Burk, Kerwin Rae.
2016 I was terrified. Starting school to become a massage therapist…
2017 I was expecting to just trudge through and continue working for other people.
Worked for other people, but started my own business and did so much more than just trudge. I began making something of myself.
2018… Bring it. Show me what you’ve got and lets go. We’re going to make it explode.
Thank you all… Thank you for your time and advice and help for those I talk to and interact with.
Thank you all for content you put out that helps me learn and continues to inspire me.
Happy New Year,
I wish you all the best!
Jessica
What I Learned From Being Thrown
What my horse has taught me both about life, and about running a business…
Most know, I had a difficult time with a BLM Mustang I adopted… I got thrown on the ground +10 times over a 2 year period which caused me to be absolutely terrified of her…
I knew for her sake I couldn’t give up on her… I knew she wasn’t trying to hurt me. She wasn’t doing it to be malicious but she wasn’t doing it because she was scared either…
I began making phone calls and having various trainers look at her… 3 of which told me if I didn’t stop I would get myself killed. Many more told me that I would never be able to ride her. And one guy in particular would drive by EVERY FLIPPING time I worked with her and would let me know that she was dangerous and I shouldn’t be handling her and that I would never have the ability to get her trained…
However, I kept going… Found a trainer who was supposed to work with her for me, except he made me work with her… Told me she was troubled and hurting physically and got her adjusted by a chiro.
Sent me home with homework and I rode her for a few weeks… Except I didn’t have the money to keep paying him to work with us, so after a while I lost confidence because I hadn’t ridden her in so long…
Then comes along Dr. Mike, who gave me these RIDICULOUS plans that made me wonder if he was trying to kill me… But when he saw my lack of confidence, he started working with me rather than with her. He held me accountable, gave me tasks that had to be completed in order to keep him working with us… After a time, my mustang and I were rocking it!
In the last 2 years of being able to work confidently with her, we’ve started maneuvering at all speeds, jumping, trail riding, trailering out to other barns, and I’m taking her to a clinic this spring! She’s turning out to be my most dependable little pony… I feel more confident riding her some days over my other mare who spooks at her own shadow…
I couldn’t give up on her. It took me 4 years in total from start to finding someone who could help me. I had 2 or 3 people who were intermittently encouraging me with her because evidentially I would come off and they would suggest I look into selling her… I was told I would end up dead, that I would never… for 4 years… I was deathly afraid of being on her… And it didn’t seem probable… But we did it. With the right group of people, we did it…
So what has this taught me about running a business?
It has taught me that determination is a key factor. It has helped me become more confident in myself when people are telling me that I can’t. That I don’t have the ability to run a business.
It has taught me that with the right group of people, I can do the impossible.
That learning, is essential. Because if you aren’t living, you aren’t living.
That sometimes, it’s scary. Sometimes, it looks like we’ve hit a dead end. Sometimes, we want to quit. But we can’t. We have to keep pressing forward. We have to be courageous, we have to be determined, we have to be persistent and sometimes, we have to travel off the beaten path.
It’s taught me that things take time… You can’t rush a good thing.
It’s taught me that HUGE things come from the small and unlikely…
It’s taught me no one but myself can motivate me to do something…
And most importantly, it’s taught me that whatever I set my mind to, it can be done.
Honestly, my advice to anyone looking to start a business is to do it. There’s a few people I would direct you to, Gary Vee is AMAZING for entrepreneurs, he gives you a swift kick on the behind and makes you feel like the laziest person in the world but dang it! He gets the point across! John Burk is another amazing one! Not for the faint of heart mind you… But he’s phenomenal when it comes to motivation…
I’m starting my business in a less than ideal way… I know this… But it’s kind of all I’ve been left with. And I’m doing everything I can though to make sure I’ve got a hustle… And I’m really excited because my goal this next week is to spend time at some crossfit gyms and see if I can start generating interest in what I do… But the magic cake mix is persistency, hustle and grinding…
Find your mojo and let it flow. If you have to work your hours around whatever job is bringing you money. It’s only for a time. Life’s too short to be wishing you had.
Happy hustling,
Jessica
It’s YOUR story
You know, I don’t understand people some days…
I found out that an old friend of mine, is pregnant… She’s like 19 or 20… And has had more boyfriends than I can count…
About a year or so ago, I knew another young lady who was 17 when she got pregnant if I remember correctly… Also having more boyfriends than I can count…
Neither are married…
Another young lady I knew, married at 19, child at 20…
I know that being single sucks sometimes… You start hitting 19 and 20 and suddenly your group of friends gets smaller because everyone is working and trying to make a life, and getting married and having children and suddenly you find yourself the odd one out because you have no one to do anything with… And as it should be family takes priority and bills are important to pay…
You start getting shafted by your best friend because she will only freaking talk to you after she dumps her boyfriend or gets dumped… You’ve known her for 18 years and you still get the cold shoulder when she gets a boyfriend… -_-
So it leaves one learning to be happy by themselves… It can be a lonely road to travel when you have no one to talk to, and when you find someone who is willing to give you attention you feel kind of deprived…
But seriously, your value, your future and your life are SO much more important than being stuck as a single mom at 19… Being stuck as a single mom at 22… Do something with your life, don’t wrap yourself up in boyfriends or being so set on needing to have an established family by 25… YOU have SO MUCH potential whether you think you do or not and as bad as it might sound, being tied down at 19 or 20 isn’t it. You are still so young with so much life and ability in front of you, go live life till your 25 THEN look at starting a family… because as a teenager and even in your 20’s there’s so much growing and changing left to do… 20’s is still the time you’re figuring out how to “adult”. And that’s OK… I promise…
Now, I do understand on some occasions that someone gets lucky and they marry at 18 and 35 years later you are inspiring people and still as happy as you were the day you got married… And I LOVE it! I do!
But those cases are so far and few between… Kids these days (yes, anyone under 28 is still a kid…) are in such a hurry to get married… It’s ridiculous…
When I told my ex that I was done with our relationship the first words out of his mouth were, “I’m 27 years old, I was supposed to be living in my own house, married and having children by now!”
WHO SAYS?! So what if the rest of your friends are tied down, because trust me! Having kids before you’re ready SUCKS. I’ve known a handful of people who regret getting married, regret having had kids at the age they did… I watched a lady who broke down in tears at our dentist’s office because the receptionist asked how her day was going and she started bawling saying that she found out she was pregnant with twins and she hates kids…
And some that know me would tell me I don’t understand because I have absolutely no desire to have my own children…
But it’s not that I don’t understand… I would rather see people I care about living life and wishing they had their little bundles of joys earlier in life, over regretting they had their child and not doing anything with their life… Because children are a huge responsibility and once you end up with more than one or two, they are very consuming… shoot… one is consuming enough…
The thing is, when you can learn to be happy by yourself… when you learn to accept yourself without needing approval by a boy, or a girl (can’t forget about you guys…). You’ll attract a much better potential spouse… There’s a theory running around, and I forget who or where I heard it, but if you grow to be the best you can, and be the kind of person you yourself would want to marry, is the person you will eventually attract.
A little bit of patience goes a long way… Don’t jump in bed with the first boy or girl that flirts with you… Don’t be set on marrying that ONE person…
I wanted to have one boyfriend and one husband… I refuse to have sex before marriage, I refuse to let anyone push me into such…
If you love me enough, you’ll be my friend first… If you love me enough, you will respect my boundaries… If you love me enough you will wait for me, you won’t cheat on me because I’m making you wait a minimum of two years before we get married…
I may not have the best self-esteem, but I know how I want to be treated. And by golly I’m dang stubborn…
I am 22 years old, and have had one boyfriend… nothing more, nothing less… I spend my days working, studying, learning, now traveling to learn, spending time with family, working on my horses, and bettering myself… And right now, until I am ready to settle down, I have no interest in delving into a relationship…
There was a time I was hoping to be close to being able to adopt my first child at 25 or 28… But I’m ok with that not happening. If it doesn’t happen till I’m in my late 30’s, I’m ok with that… Even in my 40’s… I don’t care… I know I have a purpose in life, and right now, it’s not to have a family…
Anyway, again, I feel like I’m kind of all over the board here, feeling like I’m rambling… But to break it down, all that to say this…
Live life. Don’t be too quick to make life altering decisions. It’s your life, no one else’s and you deserve to live it to the fullest.
Patience is key, and don’t get caught up in the heat of the moment… It may seem right, you may feel like you’re on cloud nine and everything is hunky dory… But even the best things can be horrible for you…
But sometimes, the best things really are the best things… And it’s wonderful and grand… And I can guarantee you, the best things aren’t going to fall into your lap. You need to hustle, you need to grind, you need to give it everything you have…
I recently had an opportunity that did actually fall into my lap. Actually, I think it chased me down and tackled me… But it fell into my lap because of my background of everything I’ve accomplished this year… Because of my passion and desire to help and give and learn… And even though he knows I got fired from my job because I wouldn’t comply and do what I was told… He knows WHY I wouldn’t comply, because I wasn’t willing to throw away my foundation, my morals, or my integrity in order to appease my boss… He loves it. Because he agrees and I think it only confirmed that he wants me on his team.
Anyone can go anywhere in their life… We’re all stories in the end… Just make it a good one.
Make it yours, no matter how hard you have to work… Eat crap for however many years so you can live the life you want later. Push through, don’t give up. You’ve got this.
Now, keep your head screwed on straight and go hustle…
Jessica
What I’ve Learned Besides Technique
In the last week and a half I’ve met a lot of people… One of those people being Dr. Perry, my role model and inspiration for a minimum of 4 years…
The other being someone who I was told by my amazing teacher through massage school to learn under if I ever got the chance…
I also saw two very different people… You know how, there’s that one person that you want to “be like” in a sense, you admire their every move and are in awe every time they open their mouth? Then you finally get to meet them and you realize they aren’t everything you thought they were?
Dr. Perry has officially set the bar of how I want to be some day… Obviously, in my own way… But I watched him all weekend and he was accepting clients, but he charges like $300 for an hour session! Which was crazy! But those of us who couldn’t afford to schedule an appointment with him, he didn’t turn us down… I watched him through 4 out of 5 scheduled clients and he gave us pretty dang close to the same amount of care… If we had a problem he wanted to at least evaluate us and get us on a path to helping it…
Dr. Perry wants to teach concepts rather than technique, and you want to know why I’ve had any success treating TMJ? Dr. Perry’s concepts… Because he gave us things to take and mold and try and test, rather than a protocol to memorize that limits us…
Erik on the other hand, I could barely get in a question with his helpers, much less Erik himself… Granted, I was at a disadvantage because Erik and/or his helpers personally knew over half of the 153 people who were there… On breaks they were busy, during lunch and after class they were out of there so daggum fast that you didn’t get a chance to ask questions… And the one time I stayed late to see if I could ask about some of the technique, I could tell Erik was getting agitated that his ride kept getting distracted… So I figured I would try to wait and let them leave…
I never want to become so engulfed in my work that I become inapproachable or untouchable. If I get to the point of being able to teach, I would want people to come to me and ask questions… Even if they are coming to me for self-care questions, Erik himself said this weekend, people become experts at treating others for the things they have to fix on themselves…
And it’s true, someone comes in to me for a hip injury and needs to know how to maintain it, I can give them a laundry list… Why? Because, I had to recover from a nasty hip injury and I went through great lengths to learn how to correct and maintain it…
However, they come to me for an arm issue or a jaw issue, though I’m learning, I still get a little stumped…
If there’s anything I learned out of these two workshops other than some killer techniques it’s this…
I want to be the person to inspire…
I want to be the one who teaches, guides and helps…
I want to be the one to foster the desire to learn…
But I also want to be the person to be able to charge $300 for an hour…
But I never want to be so set on making money that I won’t help someone who can’t afford it…
Over the last couple years people who barely knew me and people who did (and still do) know me have stepped up to help me on this journey… Both with their financial investments and their time investments… I have not forgotten, nor will I forget, I have some goals I am trying to reach, but I will return the generosity that has been given to me…
But momentarily I want to just take a moment to thank everyone who has been on this journey with me… My mom for stepping up and helping me where she can… My siblings for taking over chores that I don’t have time to tackle working 5-6 days a week or when I was going to school… My massage teachers for helping develop my passion and spending extra time with me just letting my brain be crazy… Dr. Dukes and Dr. David for putting me on this path in the first place… Dr. Mike for making school possible… And Dr. Perry, who has gotten me off on a whole other tangent and may not be fully aware that he’s stuck with me from this point forward if he will let me… And those who have just been supportive of my journey… It’s always good to know I have people who believe in me…
And Dan the chiropractor from NJ… Who may never see this… I met him at the Primal Movement Chains workshop… He asked me what my job was, I responded with “Just a massage therapist.” He asked me why the doubt in myself and I explained to him that I didn’t feel like I had enough knowledge to really make a difference… I promptly got a talking to because I should think more highly of my job title because if I continue down the path I’m on I will be able to help more people than any MD or Chiropractor… Which, I’m not completely sure on the whole Chiropractor thing… But after learning with Dr. Perry, and getting to learn with him again come August, I think I’m ready to take on the world!
I’ve been blessed with an amazing opportunity… An opportunity that I’ve questioned at times, working three jobs 5-6 days a week and still not making enough to support myself, my 3 horses and my dog and cat without my mom’s help… But I have a good feeling about the next year or so… I’m excited to see where it goes…
God Bless,
Jessica
Tithe
I’m getting ready for these two sets of classes which I am totally stoked about! Can’t wait to hit the road…
But in the meantime, I’ve been trying to find time to write on something that has been on my heart for the last three weeks now…
Tithe…
Yes, giving money to the God, through the church as we are instructed to do in the Bible… Now, due to my time crunch as I still have to get ready to leave and go shopping and finish packing, I am not going to provide all the scripture and whatnot, however if you are ambitious you will find the scripture in the Bible…
Anyway, tithing is important, it is even something that we are told that we were allowed to test God’s word in. That when we tithe we will receive even more in return.
I don’t actually know where, if at all it is found in the Bible… I could not find a “where” but I am told it is in there… That we are to give or tithes to our church “home” and that should be where our tithes go.
However, some of us are between churches and even though I am still “tithing” it has not been going to a church. It’s been sitting in a place until I found a church home.
The problem I was having was that I was feeling called to tithe at a church I do not call home. So after talking to some people and praying about it something finally dawned on me…
Do you still pay rent at an apartment? A hotel? A rental house? Yes… Even though it’s only temporary… So if we do not have a church home, but we are in between with a temporary church that we are going to every week, why not tithe?
So what I did was I wrote the Tithe Declaration/Prayer on the back of my envelope and all the tithe that I had set aside I gave to the church… I felt a little uneasy once I had done it, but then I knew I made the right decision.
After that, I started seeing God’s work come through again… I always love seeing the results in Tithing, it tickles me that when we don’t tithe we go through dry spells, but the moment we tithe things seem to flourish… After tithing, my clients gave me “bonuses” to help me pay for my classes, and I got new clients, heard from clients I haven’t heard from in MONTHS, was told I would be able to make payments on a class until I could afford to pay them in full, found out that 3 of my 4 classes I won’t have to pay for a hotel because I have friends who have family that are willing to let me stay with them, gas prices have dropped from $2.15 to $1.91 in the last two days right before I leave… I’ve only got one things I mentally struggling with financially and that is I’ve got something I want to do during my class this weekend, but it costs $300 and as much as I could learn from it and benefit from it, my brain says it’s crazy to pay $300 for 45 minutes of someone’s time… Even if it is one of the people who I most look up to in the world of bodywork… So by no means, is it a NEED…
Every time I tithe God never fails to amaze me…
And do I know for sure that my theory on tithing at a church that isn’t “home” is right? No, I don’t know… But I know the idea was put into my brain, I acted on that idea and I am seeing the reward… To be honest I don’t know if it’s backed biblically or not, but it makes sense and it worked for me. I know I am trying to be obedient to God’s word and I think for that God will Honor that…
God Bless,
Happy Tithing!
Jessica
Memorial Day 2017
And Memorial Day is tomorrow….
I am sad because this year I am not able to do my chair massages for the vets at the Memorial Day BBQ at the Museum. But next year… I’ll be there…
Anyway, a lot has changed and after being around the Vets last year and seeing the impact of the remembrance of fallen soldiers… it moves you. If you have any emotion at all, it moves you…
Now, as I am exposed on a weekly basis to all my Veterans I continue to have a learned respect for these men and women who put their lives on the line, who lost their lives in doing so…
We thank the families who have sacrificed, who spend their Memorial Day remembering a spouse, sibling, grandparent or child.
Because some of us don’t have the discipline or the courage to stand up for our country voluntarily like that. Myself included. So someone else had to fill that place.
To be honest, actively I am not one to do anything special for Memorial Day. But unless I am around Veterans or active-duty it’s hard for me to get in touch with those emotions.
But I will say this. To the millions who have fallen for the sake of this country. We thank you. You will always be remembered. You will always be a part of something great. You did not sacrifice for no reason at all…
So for everyone out there, take a moment to remember:
It’s about the 626,000 Americans killed during the Civil War.
The 116,000 Killed in WWI
The 405,000 in WWII
The 36,000 in the Korean War
The 58,000 in the Vietnam War
The 2,300 killed in Afghanistan
The 4,500 in Iraq
And every other person who willing sacrificed for our freedom, for our country, for our safety…
Thank you…
God Bless…
Jessica
Totally just took me 4 hours to realize I didn’t put the title up!
The Plea of a Massage Therapist
As a massage therapist no one tells you that you go from being well taken care of, to having little to no time or desire to get massages and chiropractic adjustments.
Most people go to work and find some time to get a massage, or get adjusted…
But here’s the thing, on your weekend that you get, we are working so you can relax and enjoy your weekend.
On your holiday, we are working so you can enjoy your long weekend/vacation.
When you get off work, we stay late so you can get taken care of.
Before you go to work we get up early so you can get taken care of…
Sundays and National Holidays we are closed, no one is open… so we don’t have the choice to get a massage…
By the time we get off work at 6:45 or 8. We are hungry. We want to go home, eat and go to bed. Most of us have kids or a husband or animals that we want to get back to. Some of us have things that just need doing. We don’t want to be social, we don’t want to talk to anyone, we just want to go home. We work a 9-12 hour day, on our feet with no breaks, we are lucky if we get a 45 minute lunch break. People think our 10 minute recovery time should be included into our 15 minute lunch break.
And heaven forbid someone is running behind and you are told to extend the Massage another 15 minutes and you only have a 30 minute lunch…
We can’t get up early and get a massage because no one is open, plus, it just sucks to get a massage before you work all day.
If you are a homebody then the one or two days you might have off, you don’t want to go anywhere, see anyone, or do anything. It drains you to work everyday.
Then we go to work with people complaining about their pains and they just want you to fix them. Then they want to complain because it wasn’t good enough, it was too rough, too soft, not enough kneading, no hot stones, no oils, too much oils, still can’t move this, still hurts there, and we as the massage therapist do what is necessary to fix it. Or completely prevent the problem in the first place…
We either don’t have time, due to animals and/or family and work, or we are just too tired to go anywhere on a day off…
But no one sees the blood, sweat and tears that goes into being a massage therapist…
No one knows how much physical pain the massage therapist is in, or how tired they are…
Part of why I wanted to join this line of work was because it is such a positive environment. Massage therapists and chiropractors are both generally very friendly, very chirpy, very kind hearted and down-to-earth people. Those were the kind of people I wanted to work with.
And being with other therapists as well as being a therapist myself gives me a new perspective on things. Sometimes we have to try to be chirpy and happy, but we do it because at the end of the day, the fact that we helped someone be in less pain, or destress after work, or just enjoy their day, is what makes us feel good.
We endure our pain so that you can get taken care of.
And you know, I’m sure my Chiro has done it for me. I’m sure out of the 7 years he’s worked on me he’s had at least one day that he’s been sore, or tired, or both.
So now it’s my turn.
And you know what, I get to work everyday and I’m excited. I love my job and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I love my clients, I love my co-workers, and it really is the best job…
All I ask, is that you let your massage therapist know that you appreciate them. As long as they were respectful and tried their best to do their job, take care of them, tip them well and let them know that they helped.
Also, be honest with them during your massage. They can better accommodate you while you are on their table. Once you get off the table they can’t help when it comes to your massage. At least not till the next time. I guess I can’t speak for everyone but I would much rather you tell me at that moment “Hey, I don’t like this.” Than go behind me and tell everyone how I don’t listen and I hurt you and wouldn’t lighten the pressure… because I’ll tell you what, when you get off that table saying everything was great and you loved it, and then you complain up a storm, somehow it always gets back to the therapist… so please, just be honest. Don’t worry about hurting our feelings. Constructive criticism is always good. Just don’t abuse it… please…
“Hello, my name is Jessica, and even though I’ve been working 8 hours already today, my feet feel like they are walking on needles, my shoulders feel like they are on fire, my low back aches, I’m having trouble baring weight on my left leg, my thumbs are killing me and I’m ready to fall asleep while standing here, I am excited to be your massage therapist today and I’m happy to help! Where can we start? What would you like for me to do? And do you only want to relax or would you like me to see where we can make changes so you don’t hurt tomorrow?”
We start face down and I happily give 60-90 minutes of my work to my client. All for about $12.
It sounds like a rough gig. And I’m not going to say it’s easy.
But again, I love it and I wouldn’t change a thing! It’s all worth it at the end of the day. And my clients who are regulars that I see every week make it well worth my time. When I see certain people hit my schedule I get excited and I know it’s going to be a good day!
But on the same note, every day is a good day when you genuinely enjoy your work…
Have a great weekend! And get lots of massages!
Jessica
Dating is a Learning Curve
I know this is public… And obviously not every situation has to be shared through this. But I did this so that I could learn and so that people can hopefully learn from my mistakes…
I dated my first boyfriend for a year. That was a rough one, I invested so much emotionally, physically and mentally, when I realized things weren’t going to work, I struggled to end the relationship. I tried twice in March to tell him I was done, I half way tried again at the end of March. Telling him that I needed to be done, but didn’t tell him I WANTED to be done.
I didn’t want to hurt him. He is far more sensitive than me and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Then I realized that hanging onto him was only hurting both of us more. It was hurting me more because it was adding to my stress, I found that every other night I was venting about something. And him, he was trying to find ways to relocate so he could be 4 hours closer putting him only 30 minutes away from me so we could actually see each other.
I got tired of skipping things I wanted to do because I was trying to spend time with him because I knew if I didn’t take that time, I wouldn’t get to talk to him. Our evenings were screwed up… My family is busy getting kids ready for bed, getting everyone showered and ready for the next day. So after dinner at 6:30-10 I’m doing absolutely nothing. About 10:00 pm mom wants to spend time with me till she goes to bed.
My ex-boyfriend on the other hand wanted to watch movies from 6:30-10 and would get huffy because I would go talk to mom and by the time I got him called back, he was already in bed. OR I would choose to talk to him over spending time with mom, and he would sit on his phone the whole time. Making me regret not going and talking with mom.
He took me to a military ball back in November and I never told anyone because I was ashamed of the fact that he did this to me and I still stayed with him, once his buddies left, he spent the last hour and a half on his phone. So I sat there watching everyone else talk while he played on fb. On top of that, he was supposed to pay for half of my plane ticket up there. He told me he would pay for my dress and the hotel… Then he tells me that he paid for one dinner for me, my mom and my two sisters, and paid for the tickets for the ball for myself and him so felt we were even… I had spent well over $500… Which, I was relying on halving at least $300 back.
To begin listing problems I was having, his cursing had gotten too much. I don’t curse so it eventually wears on your ears when the smallest mishap causes a string of curse words. He would lose a game on his phone and you would hear “You Mother F’ing, son of a f’ing B****, you F’ing F’er,” and I would ask him if that was really necessary and he’d answer back with a short tempered yes.
He was obsessive over the fact that he would always carry a gun around my mom’s husband because he wanted to have the upper hand if her husband did something he didn’t approve of. He told me on multiple occasions that he would shoot her husband if he felt like it was necessary.
He hated both of my parents, regardless of the fact that they were nice to him despite the fact that they did not approve of him. But rather than trying to get to know them, he chose to avoid them in every way possible.
When it came to his temper, he couldn’t handle owning it and controlling it. It was always “well so and so made me angry.” “Only you can let them make you angry.” “No. They made me get angry.” He could own up his mistakes in a heartbeat when it came to me. Which was something that pulled me closer to him. But when it came to his temper as long as it wasn’t me, it was everyone else that made him angry. Or it was his anxiety, apparently his anxiety causes him to have a hot temper too…
Due to respect for him, there were some pretty major things that supposedly played into his anxiety that I cannot publicly say, but I didn’t see those things… I feel like they should have been more obvious, but it took me talking to other people within the army for me to start seeing that the things my ex-boyfriend was telling me weren’t adding up.
Then you start reaching the smaller stuff, like, I do MMA for a reason, I LOVE to roughhouse and pick some sort of play fight. He wouldn’t. In fact, he would get upset if I tried to roughhouse with him. I kept trying to tell him I wasn’t a delicate flower and I don’t get hurt easily but he never would. Or that his sense of humor was wrapped up in Chauvinistic jokes. Whether he actually believed it or not, I can’t say I know for sure, but I was concerned that it would be a matter of time before he decided to transfer that mindset to me if that’s what he liked to joke about and then blame the army for it. He decided that I would need to do the majority of coming to see him because it was more important for him to blow his money on things he wanted to do so he couldn’t afford to come see me. But heaven forbid I didn’t have the money to see him because I have classes I need to pay for… And thus, he would get mad when I wouldn’t take off work because I was/am dead set on getting the classes paid for. He just wasn’t a happy person in general… He wasn’t happy with his life, he wasn’t happy with himself, he carried around his past and put in on a pedestal and coddled it using it to “Ok” how he handled situations and how no one was EVER going to disrespect him.
Anyway, I’m going to give that a break and say this, he was sweet to me. He was amazing, he opened all the doors for me, he paid for all of our “dates” and even when he would ask for help on something more expensive he would still usually pay for it. He had the ability to be very kind hearted and selfless, but I had gotten to the point with everything else, I couldn’t do it. He definitely showed me things to look for in a future husband, but also showed me a lot of things I thought I could handle, but can’t.
When I realized I had developed feelings for someone else, I knew something had to be done fast because I wasn’t going to be the girl who cheated. So two weeks into trying to grow a backbone and tell him I was done, I was getting my timeline out. Saturday I figured out I was done and knew I was done. I didn’t want to tell him that day because he had to work the next morning and if I told him, he wouldn’t sleep that night and then he’d be at work miserable the next day. His schedule was one day on, one day off, so he had Monday off, but between me not wanting to talk to him and him being “busy”, we really didn’t even talk Monday. He worked Tuesday which meant he had Wednesday off. However Tuesday was when I knew I was in trouble because I actually liked this other guy that I work with. So that nailed Tuesday night as the best day. He got off work at 10:30 pm and called me because I missed his phone call on his break while hanging out with this other guy at work, and he had off Wednesday, that gave him Tuesday night and Wednesday to recoup before work on Thursday.
So now that that is over, I’ve heard from him a handful of times, he wanted to tell me that he was willing to change, which was all things I heard before. And that he loved me and he was wrong. But rather than allowing that to pull me in for a 4th time, I called him out and moved on. He later called again, to let me know that even though I am essentially dating, that he and I could still make the relationship work. And he called me again later to let me know he changed his mind, that I’m too immature for a relationship, that I don’t deserve the success he’s going to achieve and that if I had worked as hard as he did for the relationship that we could have made things work. Here again, I called BS and we got off the phone. After that I finally decided I was removing all forms of contact with him. For both his sanity and mine.
I had to reason it out. I cared too much about how he felt and so it took me reasoning why it was bad for him, for me to keep holding onto him. Ultimately he wouldn’t be happy, and if he was happy that I wasn’t happy in the relationship that just brought up a whole new load of problems. I wasn’t going to wait around to figure that out. Or, with the fact that I got to the point I avoided telling people I was dating because if they were interested, I didn’t want to squash that hope, knowing that if anyone took me up on it I would either have to tell my ex or cheat on him… Well, finally someone finally took me up on it asked for my number, asked to go meet up. Luckily for me I had already determined how and when, so it all just happened simultaneously. Naturally he got mad when he found out I was already going out to dinner with a “friend” and I got the lecture about it being too soon and having no time to heal. The problem was that mentally, I was done with the relationship in February. I had come to the grips with the fact that I was done. And I’m one of those people who are kind of emotionally separated anyway. If I decide someone isn’t worth my time, I can walk away without batting an eye. Like with this, I feel bad for him, but I’m enjoying life and after I broke up with him, he was kind enough to show me just how crazy he is which only made sure I knew I made the right choice.
I have a guy momentarily who is trying really hard to be only a friend, but is failing miserably… He’s so funny, because he’s such a boy that it’s actually ridiculously cute… He’s that teenage boy that reaches up to stretch and tries to put his arm around you without you noticing… Except he does it in different ways. Like, sitting on the other side of a bench, he fidgets enough that he works his way so he’s leaned up against me or he grabs a hold of me in play and lets his head “accidentally” fall into my lap… He’s just a dork and I love that about him… He reminds me a lot of my mom’s husband which is something that intrigues me about him… and he’s a complete polar opposite of my ex. He calls me, he texts me, he picks me up from home, or picks me up from work, takes me to the lake to eat dinner… It’s not at all what I’m used to. When he sees me, he leaves his phone in the car or in another room. We can roughhouse and when I tell him he bruised me he laughs and tells me I deserved it… Which, as backwards as it may sound to people who don’t wrestle, I love it! But, he seems to be leaning towards moving away for a job. So we are just supposed to be maintaining a friend status till he decides what he wants to do.
It’s funny though because my parents dropped by his apartment for a surprise visit and he took it in stride, wasn’t expecting it, ran around his apartment “cleaning” which consisted of pushing in a chair, taking his clean laundry out of the living area and into his room, taking his pillow that was on the couch (he was sick) and putting that into his room while he muttered about his immaculate apartment being a wreck… He’s a neat freak… But he did, and afterwards we had an almost 20 minute conversation about how much he liked my parents…
Where my ex, would have lost his crap and would have been going about how dare they drop by like that and not give any warning and probably threatening to shoot them if they ever did it again.
Here’s the thing. Even if this guy does move. I will not at all regret any decisions I have made. Because he gave me needed motivation to leaving a bad relationship and he taught me that there are guys out there who have what I need. He’s also helped me see that city slickers may not be so bad after all, especially when they are willing to explore your world too… And he does, he takes an interest in my MMA and he’s trying to muster up the guts to see the horses… But he’s also the first person to tell you he’s a little Pansy and he needs to man up.
My only regret will be if he decides to move and then I will be legitimately sad. Because I have already allowed myself to get close to him and he’s down now, doing an in person interview for this company… So yeah, I’m feeling a little pouty already.
But, if he moves, I’ll get over myself pretty quick like and know that though this guy is 100 times better than my ex, there’s someone who’s going to be even better than the guy I’m liking now.
And I’m not putting all this out there to publicly bad mouth my ex… I’m putting it out there because all that crap I mentioned, I didn’t see till 7 months into the relationship and then realized there “might” be some issues… Then 10 months in I realized these things couldn’t be ignored, finally the 12th month we had two and a half breakups, each time he pulled me in saying he would change, he screwed up, he’s sorry, give him another chance, and I would allow him to drag me back in.
Don’t do it. If they want to change they will change. They won’t feed you some BS excuse like, “You had to tell me.” Or “Guys don’t take hints.” Because one thing I will say, is there’s guys who joke about not being able to take hints… But I know a few who do even though they won’t admit to it. Because I’ve seen how they treat their wife, or me, or other women. Obviously you can’t be stupid with it, any person deserves to be told, but when it’s something obvious like, your boyfriend is ignoring you and playing on their phone and you tell them that it drives you nuts when people are on their phones while someone is trying to talk to them… That’s a pretty obvious hint…
I think a second chance is fair, after being outright told there’s an issue and this is what it is. That way it gives them an opportunity to fix it, but at this point, I would like to hope that I wouldn’t allow myself to get pulled back in by some sweet talking boy who knows how to play their words.
If a guy or girl cares about you, you’ll know it. You won’t have to play this game of we’re done, I’m sorry, I love you, we’re back together. Every relationship is going to have issues yes… But it shouldn’t be every little thing causing issues, and you definitely should never feel like you aren’t a priority… when friends, or hunting, or fishing, or a flipping phone takes priority over you, there’s a problem.
So, now that I’ve written y’all a 4 page book, I’m going to see if I can go through here and cut some things out to make it shorter… wait… that put it at 5 pages… I got it down to 4 pages… but I cheated and made the margins smaller….
Anyway,
God Bless,
Good Luck,
Jessica
imforhim 