(Featuring Jayda Nix, confident, bold, young woman who is to go into the field of medicine, a junior in high school currently working with me as a mentoree in my office.)

Do you believe your mom takes good care of herself?
I believe my mom takes good care of herself.

Would you think your mom was selfish if she took time to do or buy something just for her, even if you wanted something for yourself?
No, being my mother’s only child she always has put me first. Now that I am older and can buy things for myself, my mother deserves to be able to do nice things for herself when she wants.

When your mom is tired and frustrated, have there been times you wanted to tell her to take a time out? Did you tell her to take a time out? Why or why not?
Usually when I see my mother stressed out, I will give her time to herself to let her feel better on her own. I won’t usually say anything to her because it could possibly make her mood worse.

Do you think if mom took better care of herself that would improve her relationships with others, give an example of improvement?
An example of an improvement could be the relationship between my mother and myself. Because I have not been working recently, my mother has had to come out of pocket for the things I used to take care of myself like hair, gas money etc. If she was able to focus more on herself and not small things like that, I think our relationship can be improved because she would see me as an adult while trying to slowly become more and more independent.

If you could give your mom something to take better care of herself, what would it be and why?
I would want to take my mom to the spa. As far as I know she has not been to one so I would want her to be waited on hand and foot to give her a chance to actually relax. Since she does almost everything around the house, this would be a day where everyone is doing things for her.

If you could say something, anything to your mom when she’s stressed what would it be and why?
I would tell my mom that nothing lasts forever especially not the struggle or stress. This is encouraging to her coming from her daughter to know that things will eventually be okay.

Does your mom show you that self-care is important?
Yes she shows me that taking good care of myself physically and mentally is very important. She always tells me to never do drugs because one incident can cost me my life. She also always instills in me the importance of safe and healthy sexual relationships. 

What do you do to take care of yourself?
I always try to make sure I am not under too much stress. Stress can cause serious health issues so when I feel myself becoming too pressured, I take a break to calm myself down. 

What’s a motto you live by that would express self-care for you?
I must love and care for myself before I expect anyone else to do it. If I don’t take care of myself and love myself, no one else will ever do it for me one day so I must know how to do it on my own. 

Give me your definition of self-care.
Self-care is taking care of yourself in all ways possible. Taking care of your body and not putting any and everything in it, it’s taking care of yourself physically. Taking care of yourself mentally AND physically is making sure you get enough sleep to be sure your mind and body functions properly.