Early in life, Juanita believed that she had shown a love and interest in color and “dressing” a room. Her love of color and changing a room around made it easy for her to discover this as a passion that she really enjoyed. Her eyes would move around the room as she determined its character and flow. As a child, she would watch her dad doodle and sketch on envelopes or the corner end of a book while he talked over the telephone. It wasn’t long before Juanita began to doodle and sketch as well. She also loved to paint and display colors through her drawings. Paper and pen meant the privilege to draw or make a mark that would in some way express her thoughts or feelings. It was a happy place for her.
Her love of color was made evident as she began to draw and paint and dream of what the possibilities could be for her life. She had the ability to express herself through color. Whether the color was bright and bold or soft and calming, Juanita was happy and at her best when expressing herself in creative ways. As she grew older and thoughts of a “career” began to surface, Juanita wanted to pursue a field that involved her love of art and self-expression; however, she was strongly encouraged to consider an area of study that would provide her with a “paying” profession. Slowly, but surely, her thoughts began to change. Now, her focus moved from what would make her “happy” to what could make her “marketable”. She loved working with children. This would be an opportunity that she could pursue. She was interested in the science of speech and completed her training in Speech Pathology. This seemed to be the best opportunity for her to work with children in a very helpful way.
As a Speech Pathologist, Juanita found herself enjoying the work and loving the children. For many years she served in that capacity. She would pull out small groups of students from other teachers’ classrooms for 15-30 minute speech sessions for them. She began to entertain the idea of what it would be like to have a classroom of her own. One day, after thinking of how much fun the classroom would be, Juanita obtained her certification as a classroom teacher and a “Kindergarten Teacher” was born!! Little did she know, however, that this change would bring her back to her love of color and arranging rooms. What an awesome and fulfilling challenge for her. She loved it!!
Juanita filled her classroom with vibrant colors and awesome classroom arrangements. She arranged colorful “nooks and crannies” filled with varied activities that sparked students’ learning. Throughout the school year, her classroom changed and grew. Her colleagues would often express how much they loved her classroom. They would even ask her to assist them with their classrooms. It was through these exchanges with her fellow teachers that thoughts of her former love of color and decorating began to emerge. What were the possibilities?
Now that Juanita has retired from a profession that she truly enjoyed, she has the opportunity to write a new chapter. Juanita needed to prepare herself for moving forward. After searching for a quality home staging program that would equip her for success, she enrolled in Debra Gould’s Home Staging Program. The course provided both the training and the vision that would help to meet the challenges that she would face. With one home at a time, Juanita hopes to provide a caring service with the mark of excellence!
