Today, for "Women's History Month", we are celebrating with this beautiful young woman
Meet Jenn Riccardo, 34, wife, mother of 3, a fighter...
Jen Riccardo was born on an Air Force base in Mountain Home, ID where her parents met. When she turned one, the family moved back to her father's hometown in Averill Park, NY. Much of Jen's family served in the military, so she feels she had a more structured upbringing than most of her friends. Jen was a very active child with a rigorous extra-curricular schedule.
Growing up, Jen was surrounded by music as her Grandmother was a well-known music teacher in the local school district. When she was three or four, Jen started singing, and shortly after, she learned to play the piano. After a few years studying music theory, Jen began to play the trombone and the violin. By the end of her middle school years, she was selected to participate in an "All-County" music ensemble, for both singing and band. Soon thereafter, she picked up the cello. By her high school years, Jen was a multi-instrumentalist and involved in all of the offered school music programs. She even played in her Grandmother’s community orchestra, switching instruments as needed.
Athletics were another huge pastime for Jen. After a year of begging her parents, Jen started karate lessons at age seven. In only four years, she became the youngest in the dojo to complete first rank to black belt, and won many tournaments for her age bracket. At 10 years old, Jen began running for a track and field team, she played football for a year in eighth grade, and eventually played high school tennis. Obviously, with music and sports, Jen's free time was fairly limited, and at age 14, she began to feel burnt out. Jen wanted more time with her friends, and to focus on her other interests in photography- something she thought she might pursue as a future career. Jen was told there was little money to be made in the arts, and was instead pushed toward a "stable" career in healthcare. Jen began to battle with depression.
Fast forward to 2005, Jen was working as a nurse's aide, and had just given birth to her daughter. Three years later, in 2008, her son was born, just as the economic recession began. Now with two children to care for, she and her husband were struggling to make ends meet. In desperate attempts to help her family stay afloat, Jen picked up multiple overtime shifts at the hospital, and started exotic dancing on the side. Even with all the extra income, it just wasn’t enough, and she and her husband lost their house to foreclosure. Jen's depression spiraled out of control and she struggled with drug use to cope with her pain.
Hopeful that a change of location would give them a fresh start, in 2011, Jen's family moved to Maine. Jen continued to dance for money, but also continued to struggle with drug abuse. Eventually, Jen obtained a more stable office job, though she still suffered with depression. She would mentally tell herself she wasn't good enough, had gained too much weight, and thought that maybe life would be easier if she just didn't exist. Jen tried to offset these terrible internal voices by getting more involved in her community. She became a Cub Scout leader for her son’s pack, and began coaching the Old Orchard Beach Little League team. For a few years, this helped her have a sense of purpose.
In 2017, Jen got an active managerial job in a restaurant, just as she found out she was expecting another baby. First trimester complications forced her to step back from the managerial side and take on more light waitressing work. In 2018, the family welcomed a little girl, and Jen was able to continue her waitressing for three more years. Even though she had a very active lifestyle, Jen continued to gain weight, and her feelings about herself kept getting worse. By 2020, Jen was the heaviest she had ever been, and knew she needed to take control of her health. Jen is now doing intermittent fasting, and though she is not quite to her goal weight, she has made significant progress and is finally starting to feel good about herself. Today, Jen works for one of the largest car dealerships in New England, and she is very happy with this career change and where it might take her.
After all these years, Jen is finally learning to change her inner voice and to believe in herself. She whole-heartedly believes that people can grow and change for the better, and she has never given up on her life. Jen has had her fair share of troubles, from depression to drug-use, but without those experiences, she would not be the strong woman that she is today.
Jen's favorite quote:
"Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it."
- Lou Holtz
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Thank you Jen for sharing your story, your struggles and achievements!
#whm #womenshistorymonth #womenempowerment
1 Comments
Mar 5, 2021, 10:38:51 AM
Janine Budesheim - I am absolutely so happy and proud of my granddaughter for achieving such a “turnaround” in her life. She has turned out to be an amazing woman and devoted mom.