Introducing the DMB’s of Courtney Howell

Hi there! I’m Courtney, a new contributor to the Detroit Moms Blog. I couldn’t be more excited to team up with this AMAZING group of women to celebrate every aspect of motherhood—the breathtaking, the bizarre and the downright poopy.

{Down With Detroit}

After graduating from Grand Valley State University in 2011, I started my job search and moved from Grand Rapids to metro Detroit. I’ll admit, I had my doubts about Detroit upon first moving to the area. The city had just filed for bankruptcy, and as an “out-of-towner,” I never heard about anything positive happening in the city. But after a few field trips downtown for various events, my eyes were opened and I was completely blown away by what I saw.

There is no other city like Detroit! Its energy and spirit cannot be contained. It radiates from the center of the city into the suburbs. It’s contagious! While there are areas of the city that look worn-down, don’t be fooled, it is stronger than ever. Everyone loves a comeback story, and Detroit is well on its way.

As Detroit reemerges from the ashes and reinvents itself as a city with a bright and promising future, it is making the rest of the nation take notice and rethink the negative perceptions they have formed. Sure, Detroit knows what it’s like to struggle, but the struggle is only part of the story. The struggle is what has made Detroit strong—and that’s something that I can personally relate to…

{My Life}

You see, in my junior year of college, an unplanned pregnancy changed my life forever—but not in the way you would think. Despite what the statistics said about young motherhood, I was determined to succeed. Spoiler alert—I’m defying the odds and paving my own way.

To make a long story short, I graduated college in less than four years (just two days before I gave birth to my daughter), landed my dream job and have hit the ground running ever since, receiving two promotions at one of Michigan’s leading integrated PR firms (all under the age of 25). You can get to know me better and read my full story here.

As the voice of young moms in Metro Detroit, I’m here to prove that being a young mom doesn’t limit or define you. Like the city of Detroit, I’m proving that with a little bit of grit, hard work and perseverance, anyone can emerge from the struggle of their current situation to build a bright future.

I recently started a blog, Motherhood & Main, to help other young moms navigate the crossroads of life. It serves as a community where moms of all ages can come together to share experiences, empower one another and bring positive change to the conversation of young motherhood within society.

If I haven’t made it crystal clear by now, nothing can hold me back. I’m ambitious and tenacious and I have a burning passion to make a difference in the lives of others. As a young mom with a go-getter mentality, I have big dreams for my life and am focused building a solid future for my family.

When I’m not busy working (or blogging), you can find me making the most of every moment with my family. My boyfriend AJ and I recently celebrated our four-year anniversary and are painting a picture of what a stable family looks like for our daughter Payten, who just turned three. While we may not fit the picture of the conventional American family, we’re committed to each other and have big plans for a bright future.

{Babies & Beyond}

Sometimes I look at other people my age and wonder what life would be like if I hadn’t gotten pregnant in college. But as quickly as that thought comes into my mind, it’s replaced by all the joy my daughter brings. I could not imagine life without her! She is my pride and joy—my why—and she has taught me so much about myself.

As a Type A, list-making perfectionist, I’m always working hard to be more productive and achieve the next thing. However, I’ve learned that productivity and parenting don’t always go hand-in-hand. Part of being a mom is learning to let go of perfection and plans to embrace the chaos (and beauty) that comes with raising a child. I’ve learned that being in the moment is more important than crossing off whatever else I had planned on my to-do list that day.

After all, the last thing I want is for my daughter to remember a mom who was too busy to play with her. Instead, I want her to look back on her childhood with fond memories of a mom who wasn’t too busy to have an afternoon tea party, play dress up, go to the park, make a fort, bake brownies just because or turn our living room into a disco dance party.

While she may be the only girl in her preschool class, she certainly loves all things sugar and spice. She’s a performer at heart and loves to sing and dance. She even likes to watch (and mimic) makeup tutorials on YouTube. But as much as she loves to play dress up and use her imagination, she’s tough enough to hang with the boys. For as much as she loves Doc McStuffins and the rest of the Disney Princesses, she also likes the Ninja Turtles and knows all of the superheroes.

She never ceases to amaze me. It seems as if every day she surprises me with something new she learned at school. She is smart, caring, confident, inquisitive and independent. And while we’re entering into the “terrible threes,” she’s a girl who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask, and that’s a valuable trait I want to nurture and channel in the right direction.

This is just the beginning of our story, and I hope you’ll follow along. I’m excited to join DMB and represent the voice of young moms in metro Detroit. Check back here for more of my posts, or stay in touch with me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.