My Journey

Hey, I’m Andrea, but you can call me Dea.

I have always started introducing myself saying: “Brazilian, Australian citizen for over 11 years, mama of 2 boys, wifey, beach lover, Allied Health Virtual Assistant with a background in Early Childhood Education”. But now, I have just realized that this is not even close to who I really am. And this time, I’ll introduce myself in a different way. In a vulnerable way.

I can describe myself today, being a 37 year old woman that has just come out of a hurricane that motherhood is and is finding herself again. I can describe myself as being someone that has never loved herself, that was always trying to please others, that has never really got to know herself in a deeper way, and since last year, I had to hit rock bottom(again) to start my self identity journey.

I do not have a vivid memory of my childhood, but I do remember that I was quite angry in the way I communicated and today I understand it was my way of being heard. When I was a teenager, I was the rebel one. I feel really bad for my parents, but now I also understand that was a result of me not feeling safe or understood. As a young adult, I remember always being really independent, certain of what I wanted and what I did not, hardworking and not afraid of chasing my dreams. I can definitely say that this lasted until I became a mother, 7 years ago, to my first boy. Before getting pregnant (and planning to do so) I was migrating to Australia, really focusing on getting my citizenship and building a life with my husband here, and so did I. Back then, my selfcare journey started when I started to take care of my body (which is a topic for another blog). Then when I got pregnant, a completely different reality hit.

All those fears, insecurities, doubts, questions, started to pop up and when he was born, that intensified so much. I feel like I was literally dying and my new self was being born with him. A very fragile, young, new self. When my first born was 2 years old, I had my second born, which is 5 years old today. From 7 years ago, to today, I embarked on a huge journey of so many changes, lost, doubts, eros, questioning, learning and victories as well. Definitely feeling the unconditional love that motherhood brings us, my boys are my world, but girl…It has been really hard.

There are so many things that I have learned from being a mother, which we will be talking about in the many blogs I’ll probably write, but today, I just want to say that I wish someone told me how hard was going to be since the beginning, which I would probably have prepared a bit more, or study a bit more, or ask for help a bit more. 

I’m here today, writing this, so I can be that person for you. My journey as a mother so far has been extremely beautiful and powerful, but extremely challenging as well. I lost myself completely in the process and had to pick up every single piece, rebuild myself again, and now, I can say I have survived the hurricane. And I know you will too. 

For the past 7 years, I have left the Early Childhood field where I have worked for over 15 years. I had to reorganize and reinvent a routine where I was taking care of my babies and also working on side projects to make ends meet. I have lost and gained weight (myself and my self esteem). I have opened 3 small businesses that completely failed. I have gone back to early childhood education and encountered myself having anxiety attacks. I then had to reenvent myself again and change careers, change routine again, make a few debts and have merged with the Allied Health Industry. And I then had to meet anxiety attacks again to reinvent myself completely again and start following my dream of having my own business. 

For that to happen, I had to dive really deep into myself, my fears, my beliefs, my values, my spirituality and my real goals. It was heavy, it was exhausting, it was extremely challenging, but it really changed me for a better way.

Today, writing this blog, I can honestly say I’m going back to who I really am. I feel I’m getting complete again. I feel I know how to take care of myself, I feel I know what makes me happy and what does not. I feel what works for my routine and my family, and I feel more grounded as well as connected within myself. (Cliche I know, but it is the truth).

Today, I own my own Allied Health Virtual assistant business, I have a stable income, I have a flexible routine around the children’s schedule, I have time for myself everyday and I feel safe. And this is what I want to support you in doing. 

No, my life is not perfect and no, it was not easy and it is not easy today. I had to be very raw with myself, very honest and very courageous to change who I am, to go against the system, to take all the leaps I did. But I can 1000% say, it is so worth it.

The message I want to leave here today is: You are not alone. What you are going through is part of the process but it does not need to be that heavy. There is always a way to make things better and girl, YOU CAN DO IT. If I did it. You can do it too. 

You can find yourself again. You can reinvent your life and routine, you can learn how to love yourself again, you can create healthy boundaries and you can succeed in it. 

And I’m here to support you through this journey. 

Your Empowered Chapter. I have started mine. 

Love, 

Dea