Today we’d like to introduce you to Preslie Watson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started competing in pageant when I was just 16 years old. I began that journey because I used to have a major fear of public speaking. What started as me trying to overcome a fear quickly turned into me falling in love with pageantry and the woman I was becoming because of it. After high school, I attended the University of Texas for two years before I decided to pursue real estate and earn my real estate license in the state of Texas. I have now been licensed for almost a year and I work mainly in the DFW metroplex with clients from all different backgrounds and all different price points. While real estate is a major passion of mine and I am a career driven woman, I believe my true purpose in life is to spread awareness for Mental Health. At 19 years old I was diagnosed with anxiety and seasonal depression and I was hospitalized for my mental health. This was a very dark time in my life that took a lot of strength and resilience to overcome. On my journey to healing I realized the one thing that made me feel less alone was sharing my story with other people and helping them through similar situations like what I went through. That’s when I became a volunteer for NAMI north Texas (national alliance on mental illness) and I have been a volunteer for over two years. This year, I launched my own mental health workshop, called “Mind Over Monster” for children grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. My workshop focuses on overcoming your anxiety through comedic methods. I teach them to embrace their anxiety monsters and that it is okay to ask for help if you’re struggling. Some details from the workshop- I start by introducing them to my own anxiety monsters that are sock puppets named “Stressy Jessie” and “Scary Gary”, then we each share our fears, then I read them a book called “How To Tame My Anxiety Monster” to help them overcome the anxiety they shared, then I teach them a fun song and dance about what we learned from the book, and finally each child gets to make their own sock puppet to take home that represents their anxiety monster!
My mission in life is to teach this preventative education on mental health awareness to hopefully lower the statistics around children and young adults who face anxiety and depression. If I could prevent someone from going through what I did, then I’ve done a great job.
Other goals of mine would be to grow my new real estate business and I will be competing for the title of Miss Texas USA 2025 this May!
My goal is to win Miss Texas and share my message on the Miss USA stage of resilience and hope for the future of our children!
Note: I am the current Miss Fort Worth USA and I am a former Miss Dallas USA
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like I mentioned before, my darkest time was when I was 19 years old and I was hospitalized for my mental health. The year was 2020 and everyone was feeling the effects of the covid pandemic. My mental health rapidly declined because the state of our world at the time and also because I had recently had a traumatic experience. I was stalked and harassed for months before my hospitalization and the combination of that fear plus the anxiety of the pandemic were just the perfect storm that led me to my hospitalization and my diagnosis of anxiety and depression.
Although I have faced many hardships and I have had to overcome so much, I don’t regret any of it because it absolutely made me the strong woman I am today. I believe my anxiety is more like a superpower to me now than an inconvenience because it gives me the ability to see pain in others. When I see pain in others I automatically want to jump into action to help them. I believe my journey to mental freedom was bumpy and there are a lot of parts I would not want to relive but it has given me the knowledge to help others and has made me the biggest advocate for knowing when to ask for help. I waited until it was almost too late and almost lost my life because I was too embarrassed to admit my struggles to those around me. But as soon as I asked for help, my support system rallied around me. My friends, my family, and everyone in between was there for me 100% on my path to healing and my only regret is I didn’t ask for help sooner.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a licensed Texas realtor and I am a part of the Boo Reitz Real Estate Group at EXIT Realty Elite. I specialize in residential real estate but my team is equipped to help you in any and all real estate needs. We can help you buy, sell, lease, and invest in your next property! I think what sets us apart from other agents is we really take the time to get to know our clients and we treat them as family members. Buying a home is something that requires a lot of trust and we pride ourselves on being able to provide that to every single client. We take our jobs very seriously, but the best part about our team is every one of us enjoy our jobs to the point it doesn’t even feel like work. Being able to help someone achieve a lifelong goal of owning a home is a magical process to get to witness. Handing over the keys to someone who’s just bought their first home is a feeling I will never get over! Our team is all about creating the magic no matter if you’re buying or selling.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
The legacy that I leave and how I make others feel when they’re around me. I think the most important thing is life is treating people with kindness and respect. I hope one day when I am no longer on this earth people remember me as a kind, genuine soul and I hope they remember me for the work I put into breaking the stigma around mental health and helping those who struggle. I want my advocacy to leave a mark so big that people will remember it long after I am gone.
Pricing:
- Residential real estate – any price points
- Mind over monster workshop – FREE to any schools, children’s hospitals, or youth groups in Texas
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/presliewatson?igsh=YTViMTlyMXp6ZWRs&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bd9UjRGfZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Image Credits
Carlos Velez Studios and Be Grey Photography
