"I couldn't believe that I was nominated, let alone chosen. In my opinion, I'm just doing the least I can do."
The “least thing” Joëlle talks about is being a full-time caregiver to her mother, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, while simultaneously raising her young children.
For Joëlle, changing the structure of her own life to improve that of her loved ones was a natural reflex.
“My mother was an intellectual. She was still at university in her fifties, just because she wanted to learn. She was a proud, independent woman. I wasn’t going to let her lose her dignity.”
Moreover, when we asked Joëlle what beauty means to her, she answered precisely that: dignity.
A caregiver and people lover, Joëlle recognizes that beauty and dignity go hand-in-hand. But for her, dignity goes far beyond appearance. It's not a pressure to look good, but a desire to be able to present with confidence, and THAT is what she wanted for her mother.
“I want her to continue to feel like herself, even if she is a little less so every day. I do her hair, put cream on her, put makeup on her. I don’t do it for her looks, but for the moment it allows me to have with her. Time stops and I feel like for a moment, she recognizes herself.”
Joëlle recently realized that what she does for her mother is also subconsciously becoming an example to her children. It’s a way for her to make them understand that there are less beautiful experiences in life, but that these things don’t have to take beauty away from those who experience them.
“It’s also a way to make them understand that in life, you have to take care of mom,” she says with a laugh.