How a content creator found creative ways to thrive over the past pandemic year

Casting a glimmer of light onto a dark year

By Jen Meza

Getting through the past 15 months has been anything but easy but best-selling author Jen Meza found her way, in part with the creation of her Our Best NS Adventure Journal.

Finding her way

“Life is happening for me and not to me.” That is what I kept telling myself when I lost my job in March 2020 when the pandemic hit Canada.

I had worked for WestJet for over eight years and absolutely loved my job. When I was forced to make a decision on taking reduced hours, an early out, or a temporary lay-off which had the possibility of turning permanent, I leaned heavily into my intuition and took an early out. It was heart-breaking.

At the time, my husband was also not able to work due to the lockdown regulations. Needless to say, it was an extremely stressful time. We both were relying on CERB payments to get by. I pulled out my never before used sewing machine and started making masks and selling them. My husband laughed when I said I was going to sell them, but this was before they were widely available. Before I knew it, I had a waiting list I could barely keep up with. This helped bring in some extra cash.

Continuing to lean into my creative side, I signed up for an online journal making course. I thought the idea was cool even though I wasn’t sure where I would take it. I considered creating a gratitude journal, but that had been done many times. I really loved the idea of a travel journal because I always used one while backpacking to capture all of my adventures. However, travel was restricted due to the pandemic so it wouldn’t exactly be a great time to create a travel journal.

Then it came to me to create an adventure journal for Nova Scotians to inspire them to get out and explore their own province. We had essentially closed our borders and many small businesses were suffering, especially those in the tourism industry.

When I moved here 10 years ago, I was shocked at how little Nova Scotians had seen of their own province, and I thought, what better time than now to encourage Nova Scotians to explore their own backyard and put money back into their own economy when we needed it the most. I also wanted to be able to give back to a province I love so much, so I decided to donate ten per cent of the profits to The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.

When I announced on my Instagram that I had created Our Best N.S. Adventure Journal and it was available on Amazon, I was actually blown away by the amount of support I received. Everyone was sharing about it on social media. The next morning I received a message from my neighbour who said, “I think you would want to see this,” and sent me a screenshot showing that Our Best N.S. Adventure Journal was a number one Amazon Best Seller!

Since then, I’ve been asked to do radio and TV interviews about the journal, and it’s really brought a shimmer of light into such a dark year. I truly feel like this past year has taught me so much about myself. In losing myself, I found myself. I am strong, I persevere, and if I can get through 2020 I can overcome anything.

Home is a place where you feel like you belong, where you can be your true, authentic self and still shine. This is why I call Nova Scotia home. If you do as well, Our Best NS will help you rediscover this spectacular province of ours, and the result will be a beautiful journal of memories to look back on.

Our Best N.S. Adventure Journal is a journal for you to record your memories of exploring Nova Scotia. It comes with 10 inspiring day-trip outlines, your own N.S. bucket list, and almost 100 pages to record your own adventures. It also includes a bonus section where you can create your own resource guide of Nova Scotian beaches, hikes, restaurants and other tourist destinations.

Find more information on the Our Best NS Adventure Journal and where to buy it here

Jen Meza backpacked around the world and is now a mom of two striving to up-level family life and to teach her kids never to settle for anything less than great. She wants to inspire others to up-level their family lives as well. Originally from Vancouver B.C, she now calls Nova Scotia home. Jen is an artist--her business Fringe Street Designs offers woven wall hangings as well as DIY Loom Kits. Jen is the creator of the best-selling Our Best N.S. Adventure Journal and Our Best PEI Adventure Journal. The intention behind these journals is to inspire and encourage Nova Scotians and Islanders to get out and explore their own province.