Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Buckner.
Hannah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Where I am today has everything to do with the things I have overcome over the last several years. From my dad walking out of my life when I was 12, to my mom being sick in the hospital for months when I was 16, even though the amount of heartbreak I have gone through. I know all of this sounds like basic stuff that an individual goes through, but on top of it all, I was never really close to my family, it was just me and my mom. For years, I struggled with the absence of my father, especially after him and I had a phone conversation where we had a falling out because he got mad that I was explaining respectfully how I felt neglected by him for the several months leading up to that point.
On top of all of this, at this time, I happened to be in middle school, which was before the makeup and braces and all of that, in which, I was not necessarily the prettiest child. I got bullied a lot and got down in the dumps, and my grades began to plummet along with my mental health. This got to the point of a severe mental deterioration, that led to major physical symptoms of depression and anxiety. I remember sitting in the bathroom crying my eyes out and puking just at the thought of having to talk to someone about my issues with my dad, and many other things. After my eighth grade year, my mom got remarried, and we moved to a small town west of fort worth. I started high school here as a shy, cornered and sheltered kid. I didn’t ever want to move but little did I know it was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Over time, I began to learn to cope with the physical symptoms of anxiety, but I never really learned to control them. This got to a point where a single thought of something that relatively scared me, specifically a social anxiety, a situation where I felt that I may be judged, or looked at in a weird way, or that I would be afraid of saying the wrong things, it got to this point where I knew I was okay, I knew better, but I could not control these physical symptoms.
About my junior year in high school is when I began to seek help, I began to see a therapist, and it never really seemed to help. I ended up going to my PCP and being diagnosed with major depression and anxiety, and that has been my biggest and toughest struggle in life. Leading up to now, I have lost multiples of friends to suicide, drunk driving, and other things, as well as family members, all within the last year or two. I have gone through the rough over and over again. My senior year of high school is when everything really peaked. Graduation was a mess, I went and got out of there so I could say goodbye to high school, and shortly after I broke up with a boyfriend of two years during my first semester of college that fall. I had been cheated on, lied to, yelled at, left, and still took him back. It was draining, I didn’t know what life without him was like at the time. August of 2018, my parents began going out of town for work, therefore, I was home alone a lot, and one day a for sale sign ended up in our front yard, and my mom told me they were selling the house to move to Virginia.
Thanksgiving day was a life changer. This day is the day we left our house for the journey to North Carolina, as well as the day I broke up with my boyfriend. Through this move, I decided I was going to stay here in Texas on my own. As of today, I live on my own, hold three jobs, and reside in my own apartment with my two pups, and live my daily life. I take everything day by day, even throughout all of this. A lot of this seems simple because typing every single detail would take forever. If I was to sit down and tell you about this, every small detail, you would understand just how much I have overcome mentally, and in life, in general. I look forward to potentially working with y’all.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The obstacles in my life have definitely been learning to be alone, and on my own, as well as dealing with an absent dad, and heartbreak. The biggest obstacle was learning to deal with and cope with my mental disorders.
Please tell us more about your work/business, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
For my business, I sell health insurance. Therefore, I am self-employed and contracted with my company. I focus on helping others, which has been my entire life goal, and my future I want only to help people and see others smile. If telling my story can help someone, even just one person, then I’m going to do it. What sets me apart from others is my drive to overcome and push forward to the next day and my attitude. I am most proud of myself for stepping outside the box and learning to do this on my own at the age of eighteen.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is happiness. When you are happy, you have succeeded. If you are not happy, then what is the point? Without happiness, you have this empty feeling, and you don’t get that drive to push on forward.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 8176683299
- Email: hannah.buckner@ushadvisors.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/hannahsheabuckner
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shea.buckner.31
- Twitter: twitter.com/hsbuckner
- Other: https://youtu.be/TlPy1KSco9A
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