What is your name? What are your children's names and ages?
Jenniffer Fanska. I have two girls and 6 boys for a total of eight children! Katie is 24, Charlie is 23, Brendan is 21, Cora is 19, Jered is 18, Benjamin is 17 and Danielle is 14. I was blessed with five of my own and blessed, even more, to get 3 more when I married my husband two years ago.
What inspired/encouraged you to start your pageant journey?
I have always been fascinated with pageants since being a young girl. During my teen years I entered the Miss Teen Massachusetts pageant but because of unforeseen circumstances could not compete. Then last year at the age of 49 with my children grown and seeing the need to represent different body types and ages in the industry I decided now was the time. Currently, I am Mrs. Pioneer Valley and Miss Voluptuous Massachusetts heading to the Miss Voluptuous International Pageant in Nashville TN next month.
What do you love about your work?
I love that I have made so many friends during this process and met some incredible people who like me want to make a difference in the world. But mostly to have a small part in making the world better by developing the younger generation's confidence so that they can be proud of who they are while redesigning the concept of beauty away from commercialization is an honor.
What advice do you have for others wanting to start such a journey?
It all starts with loving yourself. When you love yourself you exude confidence that attracts people to you and confidence is beautiful. Once you master that you can start on any journey you wish!
What do you do to take care of yourself and how do you make time to do it?
It is not easy to be a mother and work a full-time job in today’s society. There is always something to do and not enough time to do it. However, if you don’t take care of your self you can’t take care of others. I try my best to eat right, exercise through walking and use meditation and have fun. Most importantly if I don’t live up to those standards on a particular day I just take a deep breath and refocus for the next day.
What can we do to support you in the community?
The most important thing you can do is to have a conversation. Keep the momentum going so that it becomes normal to have a different body shape or size and abnormal to filer or airbrush. For me to keep the message going I need to be out in the community as much as possible. Any charitable events, walks, volunteer opportunities are key so please keep me updated!
Favorite spot to take your children around town?
That would be the Acadia Wildlife Sanctuary. It is an amazing place to walk and discover all species of animals. It gives families a chance to unplug and just enjoy each other and the day.
