Hey y’all. Meet @jenavieve, she is a photographer, dog lover and proud owner of a very cool ford truck. Follow along this week as we dig into life, love and passion for sandwiches.
What qualities do all your friends have in common?
I think we are all different in our own amazing ways, but at the core of who we are is our hearts. We are all tenderhearted people who care a lot.
What’s your secret talent?
My body is pretty bendable, I was a ballerina for 15 years.
What’s the most anxiety-inducing thing you do on a regular basis?
I'm a pretty calm person, but trying to fall asleep when I have to wake up early almost always gives me anxiety. I've been that way my whole life; I become afraid I won't fall asleep and won't get enough sleep. I've gotten better at not letting it happen, but from time to time it still pops up.
What would the adult version of an ice-cream truck sell and what song would it play?
Amazing question. Ideally, it'd play "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves and sell smoothies and iced coffee.
What always cheers you up when you think about it?
My dog. Just the thought of him brings a smile to my face.
Do you like things to be carefully planned or do you prefer to just go with the flow?
I am the worst at plans. At making them and following through with them. I'm a much more go-with-the-flow, hop-in-the-car-and-let's-adventure-that-way kind of person.
If you owned a restaurant, what kind of food would it serve?
Sandwiches because they're the best meal of all time. My sister Erin would have to be the chef though. Her veggie and turkey sandwiches are my favorite thing to eat.
What did you like/dislike about where you grew up?
I grew up in Minnesota, about an hour outside the city. Not quite farm country but still enough space to roam and run as a child. Minnesota was a wholesome place to grow up; my childhood was filled with backyards, lakes, and forests to roam in. We played baseball and rode our bikes to the Dairy Queen for fun. Summers were hotter than hot and winters were beyond freezing, but I don't ever remember being bothered by that.
What’s your good luck charm?
I actually don't know if I have one. Is luck real? Is it karma? Is it fate? I'm not sure.
What’s the oldest thing you own?
Before my grandma passed, she gave me her rosary that she got from her father in Spain when she was a little girl. It's one of the most important things to me I have in my possession.
What was the biggest realization you had about yourself?
I think I've had many, if we're lucky we have a lot. I've learned that all life is is learning more about ourselves as time goes on. I'm in the last year of my 20's and I've come to understand myself more than ever about work, love, relationships, self-communication, and much more. It sounds silly to say that the most important thing to do is what makes you happy (in all those categories) but it's true. At the root of all those realizations is what brings the most happiness. Understanding what we want in a relationship is ultimately about what will make you happiest. Learning the life-work balance is all about staying happy between the two. Figuring out what part of your job or what path in your career is best for you is about what yields the most happiness. Learning to give and receive love is the ultimate learning of how to be happy. At the core of everything we do is the endless quest for pure happiness.
What awful movie do you love?
I am a sucker for teen drama, and every movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. I've seen them all, and I will cry at the end of all of them. Yes, the Notebook is actually amazing, but have y'all seen The Longest Ride or The Best of Me?
Why photography?
I started shooting when I was around 13. My grandpa had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and I was just old enough to understand and see the effect it was having on my family. I couldn't grasp the reality behind forgetting your family, your life, and your experiences. I was terrified by the entire thing, that he was forgetting, that someday I could forget. The only way I could keep everything close to me was to take pictures of it. I got obsessed with remembering my life. My family, my friends, my everyday life. My dad gave me one of his old film cameras and I brought it everywhere with me. There was a point where photography had turned into so much of a job and a career that I had forgotten why I started in the first place. I began taking pictures of my life again and it reignited the passion that I had lost for a minute there. After all, I think the beauty of life is in our day-to-day, not just the grand adventure we take.
What is paradise?
I think paradise is in being calm. In the moments when our brain isn't tied to stress, or what we have to do. In the moments where you can be present with the people who matter most to you. My family is my everything, and the time that we all get together means the world to me. Yes, tropical places look like "paradise" but those places mean very little to me if I'm not sharing them with the people I love.
What is god?
I think god is love. Every religion is beautiful in its own way, and every book each religion follows has amazing stories and lessons. But I think the foundation of each religion, and what I've taken away from learning about all of them is love. To be the best person you can be, to help others unconditionally and as my mother says, to "always come from a place of love." We went to church when I was little, mostly for holidays. We were never your typical family in that regard though. My mom is quite the gypsy. We were raised on astrology, the phases of the moon and that every living thing has energy. We were taught to believe that love is at the core of everything we do and that you should take
