Inspiring Conversations with Marisol Parker of Moonlight Therapeutic Massage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marisol Parker.

Hi Marisol, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Hello, my name is Marisol, and I am the owner of Moonlight Therapeutic Massage, and this is my story. I was born in Mexico City and moved to California when I was fifteen. I came to the United States only knowing a few words in English, such as: apple, table, and chair. I started high school in California in my sophomore year and had to work extra hard to be able to graduate with my class, and I did so with a 4.0 GPA. This put my mind into a state of achievement, which led me to want to pursue a career in criminal justice. When I graduated high school, I received a gift certificate for a massage. This was my first massage, and I did not know what to expect. I remember leaving and feeling impressed because of how the massage left me; I was relaxed, and I felt good. I was impressed that someone’s touch could have such an effect on a person. So much effect that it left the impression of one day, maybe I could open my own private practice. After graduating high school, my mind was set on going to college for criminal justice. However, 6 months before graduating as a police officer, I was unable to finish because I was going through an ugly divorce at the time and had a baby girl to take care of, and my priorities changed. With that being said, I did not become the police officer that I envisioned myself to become. Fast forward 13 years later, I moved to North Carolina and remarried with three beautiful kids, and realized I needed to do more. I have been working odd jobs throughout those 13 years, and it did not fulfill me as someone who has higher expectations. I remember brainstorming careers, and the one career that stood out was Massage Therapy. It then took me back to that first experience, and I realized this was the path I was going to take. I did my research and found a school in Winston-Salem, which was about an hour away from home. I applied and was accepted. In 2018, from January to September, I graduated from Massage School as a salutatorian and then took my MBLEX exam. I passed and then received my license in November 2018. I applied to a corporate massage company and started working my first job as a Massage Therapist in December of 2018. Within the first week of working as a Massage Therapist, I concluded that I needed to do this on my own to be successful in this field. Ever since that first week, I was able to find a room in Wilkes and perform my own practices. Although, I was still working for the corporation at the time because I was building my clientele. For 3 years, I was commuting to Wilkes and Winston Salem. Two of those 3 years, I was working 7 days a week, non-stop. After building my clientele, I was able to open Moonlight Therapeutic Massage in November of 2021. Within 3 months after opening Moonlight Therapeutic, I was awarded by Wilkes Journal- Patriot for “Best Massage Therapist” in Wilkes County. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The whole process was a struggle within itself. It was a struggle personally for me because I felt like I was behind and constantly playing catch-up. It was a struggle because I was not only a full-time student but a mother of 3 small children (at the time), a wife, and responsibilities to meet outside of school. My husband was the only provider at the time, and we had to make do with what we had. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Moonlight Therapeutic offers a varierity of services from deep tissue, Swedish, prenatal massage, sports, hot stones, aromatherapy, cupping, Reiki, reflexology, and lymphatic drainage. My role as a massage therapist is to provide comfort and rest to those who are hurting, whether that means emotionally or physically. My main focus is to provide an escape for women who have busy lives such as mine, and I want to provide them a safe place where they can just relax and forget about the hardships of the world. What sets me apart from others is that I work for the wellness of my clients, and I strive to provide a service that enables them to be the best they can be in some physical aspect of their lives. My mission is to help others heal and bring their bodies back to homeostasis, which is the normal state of the body. 

What does success mean to you?
To me, success means when I bring that wellness and peace to my clients. Success is when I see my clients walking out the door happier than when they came in. It is rewarding to see that my hands can provide what I felt at my first massage. All the hard work that has led me here has opened doors that I never thought could, and the results of my hard work reaches my satisfactory beyond words. Being able to still provide that service and bring that peace to others is rewarding in itself. 

Contact Info:

• Website: Moonlighttherapeuticmassage.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/moonlight_therapeutic_massage
• Facebook: Facebook.com/moonlighttherapeuticmassage