My story.

How did I get into the natural health space anyways? There are a few layers to the story.

Growing up, I was often sick. If there was an illness going around I’d likely be one to “catch” it and miss a few days of school. Often my illness would proceed into sinus, ear, and eye infection which resulted in a trip to urgent care, only to be prescribed a round of antibiotics. I would estimate I took 2-4 rounds of antibiotics each year throughout childhood and my early adult life. I was not a picky eater and enjoyed most of all foods, but candies and hyper-processed foods were still staples in my diet. I’ve also always had anxiety to some level in which has caused a great fluctuations in moods. However, I always enjoyed spending time outside in the sun and running around barefoot which seemed to help keep illness at bay in the summer and my anxiety lowered. Most of childhood I was an athlete, I very much enjoyed the competitiveness to it and moving my body.

After I graduated high school with no sport to rely on for physical activity, I began to feel more anxiety come back into my body as routines changed getting into college, starting a new job, and all of the life changes involved. For awhile I was the typical partier who stayed up late, ate junk, and barely had a routine. The 2020 pandemic ultimately pushed me to begin a solid workout routine and become more mindful about my diet. Eventually, I was writing workout plans for my friends and I to do during the summer. We discussed healthy diets and enjoyed trying new things together. This moment was a huge catalyst in which I never turned back.

In my early 20’s I began having concerning skin reactions that would turn my entire face red and swollen, almost closing my eyes. This resulted in rounds of steroids from urgent care which took care of the problem temporarily. This continued for a couple of years on and off. I was afraid something was going terribly wrong in my body. This pushed me to research health more since the doctors did not have the answers except a temporary pill.

After moving to the city to further my education, my diet and exercise routines were solid, but I was working on a computer 10-12+ hours every day. My mental health was at an all time low. I would cry often because of how unaligned I felt while studying finance and working from home. But I felt like there was no way out. At the same time my skin hit an all time low with cystic acne covering my cheeks regardless of the “healthy” diet I’d been trying to adopt.

There became a point I felt I tried everything to help my skin (my biggest insecurity). I found a local esthetician and scheduled a facial. This was a huge turning point as well. All of the knowledge I’d accumulated on health so far and my esthetician recommends cutting out a few foods, adding a couple supplements, and using natural skincare. Long story short, I ended up seeing a functional medicine doctor who recommended I stopped eating all wheat and gluten products and work on my gut health. After all, I spent my entire childhood wrecking it from countless rounds of antibiotics and steroids.

With a combination of a skilled esthetician, changing my diet, and taking high-end supplements, my skin health completely changed and so did my mental and physical health. It took great discipline to make these changes and have a daily routine to support myself. It totally paid off. I was finally confident in my bare skin, my digestion was no longer sluggish, my body felt strong, and I wasn’t always sad or mad about something for the first time in a long time. This changed my life.

Then began the search in finding schools nearby that taught natural health in a traditional way… I wasn’t looking for a medical degree or a woo-woo healer certificate. I finally settled on a Primal Health Coach certificate which was totally online and tried to start a virtual coaching business. I also began a deep dive on researching light and health - my new obsession that never quite stopped even to this day. My days became filled with books, online articles, podcasts, and a lot of notes. A short-lived online business was developed along with a social media account that I posted highly controversial things just to get likes and comments. While I saw “success” posting online and felt like I learned valuable information, it still didn’t feel like me. It was closer to what I thought I wanted to do, but not quite.

I no longer felt like I could study finance or work in a corporate job without being absolutely miserable. I saw everyone around me numbing themselves to get through the day with painkillers, coffee, alcohol cigarettes, gossip, or swallowing their pride. I saw a future that I did not want but would closely follow if I didn’t make a change. At the same time, online coaching without hands-on education did not fit my goals. So I completely uprooted from the concrete jungle and moved back home to the woods… unsure of what I would do. I just knew it felt good to be back in nature with no corporate pressure on my back to be something I’m not.

Within a few months I discovered the Naturopathic Institute of Therapies & Education (NITE) in Mount Pleasant… where I initially went to college for my Associate’s in Business! I had no idea this school even existed although I’d likely driven past it my entire life without knowing. This place turned out to be better than I could ever imagine. This catapulted me into the traditional wisdom I’d been looking for for so long. Not only did I learn how to help others, but also myself.

Here we are today: A few years into Naturopathic training at the best decentralized school in America, a couple of scholarships for public speaking, opening my own business, teaching public classes, improving my own and my family’s health, networking and researching more than ever.

While I’m still working on myself and continuing to evolve in my education and knowledge, for the first time I feel like I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do. I do not see my past as a failure in trying to figure out what I wanted to do, these were all lessons and character development necessary for my life assignment.

I’m thankful for the support from my family, my partner, my friends, and community to allow me to come into my own and continue down this path of health and wisdom.

While I’m still young, I want everyone to know it’s never too late to start over and do what you love. When you align to your highest path, life gets even better than you would’ve thought. There are still struggles and doubts, but you get to wake up each day knowing you chose contentment over anything else.