Brax Girl Ed 44: Ann Jeansonne

Building & Becoming

There is something beautiful about reaching a season of life where you begin to realize that you are no longer simply following the path placed before you, you are choosing it for yourself.

For Ann Jeansonne, this season is filled with that kind of becoming. She is engaged to her best friend, building a future alongside him, growing in a career she loves, nurturing a creative business of her own, and slowly giving herself permission to imagine a life defined not by where she began, but by where she wants to go.

“Today, I would describe myself as being in an exciting season of building and becoming.”

It is a fitting description for a woman whose story has been shaped by growth in many forms: learning to trust herself, finding strength through difficult chapters, experiencing a love that gave her room to become more fully herself, and discovering that fulfillment does not always live in extraordinary moments. Sometimes, it is simply found in a peaceful home, a beautiful meal, people you love, and the freedom to create a life that feels genuinely yours.

Creating Her Own Canvas

Creativity has always been woven into the way Ann experiences the world.

Professionally, she has built a career in marketing, where strategy and imagination naturally meet. Beyond her full-time work, she is also building a digital design business, an endeavor that gives her another space to experiment, learn, and create work she feels deeply proud of.

“Creativity is more than just a hobby or a career for me. It’s a big part of how I see the world and express who I am.”

For Ann, creating is not confined to a job title. It can be found in a professional project, a design brought to life through her business, or simply in the inspiration she notices around her. At its heart is something she has always loved: taking an idea and transforming it into something tangible, thoughtful, and beautiful.

And perhaps that instinct extends beyond design. Ann is, after all, doing something similar with her own life, imagining what could be and having the courage to create it.

Becoming More of Herself

Some relationships enter our lives and ask us to change. Others make us feel safe enough to discover who we have always been.

Meeting her now-fiancé became one of those defining chapters for Ann.

She was carrying pain from earlier experiences when they met, including experiences that had shaped how she viewed herself and the world around her. His belief in her helped Ann begin to recognize possibilities within herself she had struggled to see before.

“He has always encouraged me to push myself, pursue the things that make me happy, and not let the difficult parts of my past define who I am or what my future can look like.”

His support did not do the growing for her. Instead, it created the safety and encouragement for Ann to do that work herself, to push beyond things she once believed she could not overcome and to develop a deeper belief in the woman she was becoming.

As Ann so beautifully puts it:

“One of the greatest gifts of our relationship has been realizing that the right person doesn’t change who you are, they help you become more of who you were meant to be.”

A Different Kind of Milestone

Long before this season of engagements and wedding plans, Ann experienced another milestone that quietly changed what she believed was possible.

She became the first person in her entire family, both immediate and extended, to graduate from college.

The accomplishment represented far more than receiving a degree. It meant stepping into territory no one in her family had entered before and discovering that her beginnings did not have to determine her destination.

“It was a reminder that where I came from didn’t have to determine where I could go.”

That lesson would continue to follow Ann into adulthood.

She has had to unlearn the belief that certain opportunities were simply not meant for someone like her. Growing up without a lot made it easy to imagine that the circumstances she knew were also the boundaries of the life available to her.

Today, she understands things differently.

The opportunities she has earned, the career she is building, the creativity she is exploring, and the life unfolding around her are not things she needs to shrink away from. They are things she is allowed to pursue.

Love, Loss & What Matters

Ann’s understanding of love has been shaped by both its beauty and its loss. Losing people she cared deeply about, most significantly, her mother, changed the way she thinks about time, family, and being present. It made her more intentional about saying I love you, making memories, and appreciating the moments she has with the people around her. Her fiancé, family, and closest friends have also shown her what it means to feel supported and truly loved.

“They’ve taught me that the people we share our lives with are ultimately what make it meaningful.”

Today, fulfillment looks simple and meaningful to Ann: a happy marriage, close relationships, a peaceful home filled with pets, travel, new experiences, and finding beauty in everyday life.

Her Laguna Beach “Of Course”

Ann’s proposal unfolded in Laguna Beach. Although she suspected something was coming, the moment her fiancé asked, “Ann, will you marry me?” still felt completely surreal.

Her answer? “Of course.”

More than the excitement of an engagement or wedding, Ann was thinking about what the moment truly represented.

“More than anything, I remember being excited about the idea of forever. Not just being engaged or planning a wedding, but actually getting to spend the rest of my life with the person I love most.”

For Ann, it was the realization: “This is my person, and this is the life we’re choosing together.”

A Ring With Their Story Inside

Ann and her fiancé first visited Brax Jewelers together, giving him an idea of what she loved. He later worked privately with Brax to design her ring, a pear-shaped diamond with a diamond band and a hidden halo he chose as a surprise.

Even more meaningful, the center stone was the exact diamond Ann had tried on during their visit.

“One of my favorite parts of the story is that the center stone is the same stone I tried on when we went into Brax to look. I obviously didn’t know at the time that it would eventually become my ring, which makes that detail really special to me.”

Ann also remembers how personal the experience felt: “They made the experience feel personal and comfortable, and I could tell they genuinely cared about helping us find something that felt right for us.”

Learning to Give Herself Grace

Growing older has taught Ann to approach herself with greater compassion. Through therapy and personal growth, she has begun understanding where some of her anxieties and reactions come from rather than judging herself for them.

I’m still learning all of this, but I think getting older has taught me that healing isn’t about becoming a completely different person. It’s about understanding yourself, giving yourself grace, recognizing your own strength, and finally believing that you are worthy of the life you want.

When life becomes overwhelming, Ann finds her way back through simple things—reading, being outdoors, cooking a nice meal, and making space for the small joys that allow her to slow down and recharge.

Creating With Meaning

Creativity remains an important part of Ann’s future. Alongside her career in marketing, she hopes to continue growing her digital design business and creating work that feels thoughtful and personal.

“There’s something really rewarding about creating something that not only looks beautiful, but also helps someone communicate their story or bring their vision to life.”

Ann also hopes to make more room for her love of animals, whether through volunteering, supporting organizations, or eventually using her creative skills to help animal-related causes and rescues.

The Life She Gets to Choose

Ann looks ahead to marriage, creating a home, becoming a mother, growing in her career, and continuing to explore her creativity.

“I feel like I’m finally at a point where I’m not just thinking about what my life is supposed to look like, I’m getting to decide what I actually want it to look like.”

And the lesson she hopes other women carry from her story is one she has learned for herself:

You are allowed to want more. You are allowed to change your mind, take up space, pursue opportunities that scare you, and build a life that looks completely different from the one you started with. You can be soft and strong, nurturing and ambitious, a loving partner and an independent woman. You don’t have to choose between the different parts of yourself. Be someone who trusts herself, honors her needs, and knows she is capable of ALL things.

For Ann, building and becoming means understanding that where you began does not determine where you can go. The life ahead is hers to choose, and hers to create.