Meet Trailblazer Mindy Renee Jaffar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mindy Renee Jaffar.

Mindy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hi, I’m Mindy, and I have a big mouth.  I’m a writer, columnist, and proponent of women being who they are meant to be, UNAPOLOGETICALLY.

Although I have a big mouth, I have a big heart as well. I am tough and believe in reasons rather than excuses mostly because I had to. I value life because so much has been taken from me. I’ve experienced more than I would have chosen but that’s also shaped my character.

Some Stats:
– Born and raised in Alaska until Freshman year of high school where I moved to Seattle.

– Joined the Navy in 1994 and in 2014, retired after 20 years of Active Duty Service (Thankfully received a Bachelors and Masters while on Active Duty).

– Mom of two girls (19 and 4) I was a single mom of my oldest for over 10 years and never once thought it was hard. I actually love being single but the right guy at the right time rocked my world and I realized that unconditional love was possible (thus, I had another girl named Ivy) I’m still not sure if it was the bottle of red wine or that he actually is a good guy that got me into the predicament I’m in! 🙂

– After spending my entire adult life in the Navy, I realized what I love to do not because I have to but because I choose to. Writing is my passion and I loved yoga so attained my Yoga Teacher Training Certificate at the best studio in the East Valley.

– Long-term goal – publish my book – “She Had a Name” A memoir of my mother’s murder – my blog is to inspire women to desire authenticity and pursue it with all they have!

Has it been a smooth road?
No road is smooth. A road has holes, detours, turns, and signs and sometimes we change our destination while on the road. In fact, we should be changing it. Life is uncertain and the events that take place even more so but, I’ve come to believe two things:

1. A lot of things that happen had some influence on our decisions and or lifestyle.
2. Some things are completely out of our control but we ALWAYS have a choice in the way we react. No matter how tragic the situation. We still have a God-given ability to choose.

My advice for women, young and old is this: You have the power to choose what your life looks like. Every minute is new and with that, brings new opportunities. Learning who you are and what you stand for is the first step in obtaining all things.

I’ve made many decisions that were not good or advantageous but as I began to know myself and my self-esteem developed, my decisions got better. My choices were based on my goals and who I wanted to become rather than who I was.

There is not a topic on earth that I won’t discuss nor do I feel shame.

We’d love to hear more about Dear Mindy.
I’ve recently made changes to my blog to reflect what my life looks like (real, funny, without filter) which is giving a lot of advice and encouraging women. Dear Mindy: Dear Abby Got a Serious Makeover. I thought why not have a forum where people can anonymously write in and receive an unbiased answer. Unexpectedly, even men are writing in and I love that.

I also started a virtual book club with the theme of women, strength, overcoming obstacles, and success regardless of the roadblock.

I’m known to be strong, resilient, a matter of fact, encouraging but in a pick yourself up by the bootstraps kind of way (I’m not a coddler) love, affection, and transparency. Life is good and there is no bad day, maybe tough, but not bad. That is what people get from me and what sets me apart.

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
This is such a great and important question! Why are we not highlighting all the amazing things women can do rather than what we cannot? There are more opportunities than challenges. We have an innate ability to multi-task. We are a voice for so many and we have to ability to empower rather than victimize. We can be home-makers and pursue a career. We can be athletes or not be. We embody that men do not.

I just watched “The Post” with Meryl Streep who plays Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American Newspaper, and she say’s something so profound when speaking of how she inherited it. She never had a job until her 40’s which was only left to her because her husband died but was is so interesting is that she explains the joy and pride she felt when her father passed the business to her husband and not for one minute did she expect it to go to her.

This mentality still exists today but more and more women are expecting the hard roles rather than accepting. Our capability is not in question and our drive and determination shouldn’t be either. It takes, a loud voice and pure heart to lead the way for others and thankfully we have plenty of women doing it!

Contact Info:

• Address: P.O. Box 1194 Gilbert, AZ 85236
• Website: https://dearmindy.com
• Phone: 480-334-0950
• Email: mindyreneeblog@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dear.mindy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearmindyrenee/

Image Credit:
Jenn Sutton Photography (Arizona), Emma Burcusel Photography (Michigan)

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.