Today we’d like to introduce you to Janessa Neighbors
Janessa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello! Thank you for wanting to get to know me! I enjoyed this!
So for starters, I’m not originally from Savannah, GA. I always say I have two home states that I was raised in: Ohio being my birth state and Pennsylvania is where I was mostly raised in. I’ve met my lifelong best friends in Pennsylvania while in school, have had a lot of life experiences that I’ll briefly explain later on, and I’ve created a lot of good professional connections also that I’m still in touch with today. I moved to GA to enjoy the warmer climate as the snow was physically brutal for me due to my scoliosis. I also wanted to finish school in an area that had a lot more opportunity and culture than my hometown. I also wanted a fresh start. I needed to leave behind a lot of toxicity and I had loved ones down here that welcomed and encouraged me to do so. This year marks six years of residency and I don’t regret my decision at all. I also met the love of my life and lifelong friends here so my “yes” to moving, opened many doors for me! GA is the state where I grew as a person and found “me”. Whoever knew me 6+ years ago, has to relearn me now, if they haven’t already lol!
After graduating graduate school, I knew eventually I wanted to be my own boss in something or at least create something meaningful of my own that others would also enjoy. While in my management position at one of our local hospitals here in Savannah, I became a health coach with a wellness company and I enjoyed it! My relationship with food, exercise, and overall wellness dramatically improved with that company plus the ladies I worked with were/are the sweetest! It also allowed me to start re-connecting with myself in all the ways (spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally). My goals were to gain many experiences, learn the company, and learn skills that would help me thrive in whatever I was going to create. That creating part I was stuck on & my “why” for it, I wanted to have a deeper meaning for it.
After a year or so into the business and while also becoming certified in various coaching types, I settled on making this health coaching experience my own thing that I do and just create things to make it more my own. I also started my healing process during this time because before starting it and during the dark times of my life, I struggled with self care & putting myself first. I struggled to find a space where I could be my full self without shame, without guilt, without societal expectations, without the advice echos of my external influences because I either didn’t have it at all from caregivers or I had a space but it wasn’t fully fulfilling. Anytime I attempted to put myself first, the outcome was 50/50 and now I don’t care what the outcome is, as long as I’m happy with it. So, during my continued healing journey, I thought to myself almost two years ago “if I can’t find a community space that is what I’m looking for, where I can just be a human being, I’m making one myself! And I immediately began brainstorming and figuring out what would make a fun environment but also an intentional one. Then one day at work, I had an epiphany and it really hit home for me! So drumroll please!
My life & relationship coaching virtual business that I’m starting is called Nessa’s Safe Space. My first full name is Janessa but I often go by Nessa for short! The Safe Space portion of the business is going to be both for me and those that want to join me in a healing, empathic, loving, overall safe space! The overall creative theme is my own take, which I love multichromatic colors, abstract art, astrology, various galaxy themes, psychological inspiring art, inspiring quotes, and anything celestial.
My main personal and professional visions are to have a virtual safe space outside of the world’s chaos and the personal traumas that we’ve all endured. Where we can talk about our human struggles, we can laugh, cry, find things out about ourselves that we never considered or had but were ashamed of, where we can have open discussions about intentional topics that are meant to help us grow as well as open discussions about random topics that we’re just dying to talk about and make sense of. This space is to help you make time for you, learn about the person you are, learn about the person(s) you are with, build better relationships with loved ones as well as with yourself, and find healing ways to overcome the trauma, that caused an inner disconnection. We tend to lose our sense of self when traumas happen and I wanted to create a space where we can lovingly reconnect with ourselves.
When I reflect on my past life experiences in high school going into adulthood, I had to #1 forgive myself for doing what I had to do while in survival mode & #2, find silver linings in the abuse & manipulation that I endured, in the parentification role that I was trapped in, in the losses of loved ones who were unhealthy for me, in the time losses with loved ones that I had to mourn, dealing with the experiences of my parents’ divorce and struggling to detach from the therapist role that I was put into. I was also starting college and new jobs in these times so managing my time with these experiences was very challenging but I made that my priority, since finding a source of stability was my priority. My body was on cortisol overdrive and my overall health (mental, emotional, spiritual) was in a bad condition but I found a few ways to stay positive. I knew that these traumas mentioned and more, were teaching me life lessons that I could carry with me, whether I saw it then or not. Many people don’t often see it this way & that’s okay, but I’m a firm believer that there’s a lesson in everything. I have found peace and closure in that.
Now, I’m 26, soon to be 27 years old. I’m a Certified Life & Relationship Coach. I’m about to be Certified in Zumba because dance and music has always been another therapeutic source for me. I have Bachelor’s degree in Psychology & Master’s in Healthcare informatics. Most importantly, I found peace and I’m expanding on that peace! I am a health coach still, but I’m wanting to put that more into my own business and not be partnered with another company, hence Zumba! This was something that always spoke to me but I didn’t know where to start, so my vision for it was blurry. But after having coaching experiences with another company, finding both clarity and healing from my dark times, the vision is clearing up fairly quickly. Plus I find so much joy in creating this and seeing how it’s coming together, I know many will enjoy this and will find peace in it too!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been somewhat of a smooth road. The challenges that I have currently are in terms of figuring out what I want to put into the business as a whole, creating resonating content on my social media that would speak volumes to others, staying as authentic as possible, and brainstorm what would make this a fun, intentional coaching experience both for me as well as for the human beings who join me! Financial struggles are going to come and go but I have been keeping this in mind as I want to make a safe virtual space that’s also affordable. I’m setting to launch this within the next 6 months to a year, as that’s my goal!
Also, I currently work during the day, a Monday through Friday job. So, making time to develop this is, is something I plan out weekly and also figuring out how my schedule will be when this launches, is also something that I’m brainstorming. But I know that it will work out in it’s own way for me!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
This will be a virtual safe space that focuses on lovingly reconnecting with ourselves, learning how to put ourselves first, how to build better relationships with our partners and loved ones! It will also focus on how to make time for self care routines, how to set boundaries within ourselves and with others so there’s a healthier relationship dynamic! These focuses are just some of what I am putting together!
What sets me apart from others as I’m part of the LGBTQ community both as an ally and someone who loves all human beings. I’m also open to helping men, women, and nonbinary individuals, and I’m not afraid to talk about mental health topics even if I don’t relate to it. I’m an advocate of men’s mental health as this isn’t talked about enough. I’m also biracial so I completely resonate with that yearning sense of belonging when coming from multiple worlds/cultures. I’m a spiritual person so my perspectives are going to be more so from a place of what positively fuels the soul and what brings that person inner joy, rather than what a set of rules follow, respectfully. What sets me apart and what I’m building, is actually what makes me proud brand wise because my inner teen self, my younger adult self would be proud of me for taking these experiences that many deem as negative and flipping them into a positive, healing space. It’s healing for me and it’s healing for those who join me!
There will be workshops, 1 on 1 coaching for couples of all types and individual human beings who want to be in love with themselves again, open & safe discussions about various topics from time management, overcoming fears, to relationship topics that are often considered taboo. I’m also making courses that deal with attachment styles and love languages, as these two topics often bring a lot of clarity to common conflicts as well as unique ones! These are just a few services! My Instagram is where all the fun is! I post content & updates on there!
How do you think about happiness?
My happiness comes from gratitude because I have grown so much from my dark times and want to continue to grow. I also love seeing someone else happy mainly because it just brings me joy when someone is experiencing life in a way that lights them up.
Activity- wise: dancing makes me happy, painting makes me happy, learning a new topic or culture, listening to some new jams, going to the beach, getting a new tattoo or piercing (6 tattoos & 9 piercings in counting!), my self care rituals I do from meditating, yoga, Pilates, reading a psychological or murder mystery book to getting my feet done, trying out a new restaurant, spending time with those I care deeply about, etc. all these things and so much more make me happy. The experiences that come with those I just genuinely cherish, they bring me a sense of inner peace and allow me to connect with myself more too!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Jayyy1228
