Birthday & Anniversary Reflection

This past week I celebrated my 6th anniversary as an Avon independent sales representative on the 12th and celebrated my 37th birthday on the 13th. As I’m sure like many of you, this time of year I reflect on my journey in life & business.

I still remember and can actually feel the excitement I had when I joined Avon 6 years ago. I still remember vividly the moment I felt & acknowledged that this decision was going to be something that was going to change my life. I will admit though I did not envision what occurred. In 2018, after 3 years of working my Avon business on & off, I decided that I needed to truly make an effort with my business & create what I had envisioned, which was a successful online business, where I am able to help others look & feel confident through my Avon business & here on my blog. Halfway through 2018 my life & the way I saw my world around me completely changed.

Up until this point, those around me looked at my Avon business as a “hobby”. It was not important & many times was made to feel bad for enjoying my Avon business. I will admit, in some ways they did have a point because at this point I was not earning money on a consistent basis like I would be able to with a “normal” job. I tried quitting… a few times actually. Something in my core would continually tell me not to give up, I was on the right road. Then, May 2018, the universe, God, who or whatever you want to call it, showed me first hand how much I can earn with my Avon business and most importantly, it showed me that I can financially provide for myself & my family. For most of my adult life I made myself believe that I NEEDED a man in my life not only to help provide financially but also to be happy. During this time, with such a boost in earnings, I was able to do things like visit my mom & sister in Florida. This tripped was something I was not able to do on my terms before.

Since then, my Avon business is not only a way for me to financially provide for my family but it’s also lead me on the path to discover my passion for makeup & skincare. It provides an avenue for me to have something for myself. Most of my adult life I dedicated all of my energy & time to being the best mom & wife I could be. My whole life revolved around my family in an unhealthy manner which then led me to divorce & fighting cancer in 2019.

I am not the same person I was when I was turning 31 and joining Avon. Since then I’ve discovered & had to utilize my strength & tenacity to start over. I’ve taken this time to figure out who exactly is Jen Duplisea Antunes that is not connected or reliant on someone else. I’ve had to reflect, acknowledge & most importantly forgive myself. It hasn’t been easy. There have been some days where I struggled. If you read my July blog, you know it’s still occurring. I will say though, the downs are what are helping me heal & be able to move on to the next chapter of my life. What is the next chapter of my life? Well, below is image of my vision board that I’ve recently done.

As you can see, my next chapter is about living a healthy, stable life filled with love, happiness & new adventures. The first step I’ve recently taken is beginning a gratitude journal. I start & end each day writing down 3-5 things that I am grateful for. I want to stay positive and continue to focus on all the positive changes I’ve made thus far.