Who I am, why I’m starting this blog and et cetera.
I’m publishing this blog in hopes of adding value to the world. Creativity has always been my thing—whether it was writing teen novels in middle school, making friendship bracelets, or diving into crafts like basket weaving, gimp, stained glass, embroidery, quilting, knitting, you name it. Even music had its place in my heart. I’ve been a singer for as long as I can remember, and my high school music theory class was a breeze. Then there’s cooking, personal style, DIY skin and hair care—I wasn’t just interested in these things, I had a knack for them.
But showing my work? That was another story. Being vulnerable with my creations never came easily to me. I tried honing certain skills, like making friendship bracelets every day and even attempting to sell them. I taught friends how to sing, sew, and knit. Yet, none of these pursuits turned into something profitable, and many attempts to improve my skills were fleeting.
It wasn’t until after I graduated that I found my true passion. I’ve always been spiritually inclined—my mom even claimed I was “psychic.” My best friend for many years has been The Universe, always there for me, making jokes, keeping me moving forward, especially during tough times.
After high school, my curiosity led me to yoga and meditation, which then propelled me into years of veganism and weightlifting. In 2019, something inside me said I needed to learn Reiki. I had never received Reiki before and didn’t know much about it, but I followed my intuition and completed the three levels of training at Sanctuary Healing Arts in Hadley, MA. This was transformative. Until then, I had almost no tools to protect my energy. I’d often find myself overwhelmed by emotions in certain spaces, especially around “energy vampires,” not realizing those feelings weren’t even mine. Reiki taught me how to move energy and, subconsciously, how to protect my own.
In 2020, I enrolled in a Yoga Teacher Training led by my first yoga teacher and a colleague of hers. The year-long program started in January and was incredible. But I felt like I didn’t belong, as I often do. Then in March, everything changed. Much of the program shifted online due to the pandemic. Despite completing nearly every assignment, including all my student teaching sessions, I still felt like I didn’t deserve it. So, after the full year, I didn’t complete the final assignment—an essay about “What Teaching Yoga Taught Me”—and never received my teaching certification. Nearly five years later, I still haven’t. The guilt and embarrassment have lessened, but they’re still there. However, it wasn’t all for nothing. Through yoga, I discovered Ayurveda, and everything clicked. Creativity, meditation, yoga, nutrition, natural healing—it all connected for me through Ayurveda. This is where I belonged, where my life was meant to take me.
I’ve always felt that the “normal” way of doing things wasn’t for me—go to college, work in a career for 30+ years, live a small life, and if you’re lucky, retire and enjoy the last 10-20 years on a budget. Yuck.
After high school, my mom encouraged me to go to the local community college to study art. I would have subscribed to the “normal” life back then, but my mom wouldn’t pay for the SATs, and I didn’t want to spend the money myself. So, even though I wanted to go to university and study something like accounting, I ended up in 13th grade at community college. The first class I had to take was “First Year Experience,” and one assignment changed my trajectory. We had to find someone doing the work we thought we wanted to do, so I interviewed my then-boyfriend’s mom, who was in accounting. Through that interview, I realized accounting wasn’t for me. I changed my major to…art! But I quickly learned I didn’t want to do that either. The rules and limitations on my creativity were exhausting. So, during the spring semester, when the school tried to recruit me as an ambassador (probably because I was one of their few POC students), I had a full-on meltdown and dropped out.
Meanwhile, I was building my career at the local grocery store. I started as a cashier with the intention of leaving after a year to go away to university (spoiler alert: I never left). I worked for the company for seven years and eventually became the Employee Relations Manager. HR was never something I planned to do; it just fell into my lap.
Here’s an unpopular opinion: I love customer service. And I’m good at it. My first job was at a coffee chain, and I had customers who’d ask for me by name to make their drinks. I genuinely enjoyed putting time and care into serving people, and that’s probably why I kept moving up at the grocery store. But once I became a manager, I woke up to the reality of the corporate world. These companies don’t really care about you. So, when I left to work in HR at another company, it was a shock to realize it wasn’t just the grocery store—this new place didn’t care about people either. I constantly hit dead ends trying to make changes that would benefit employees. Eventually, my days were spent listening to complaints about things I had no control over.
Now, I find myself uninterested and uninspired by my work, on the verge of another breakdown. If I don’t commit to the work I actually care about, I don’t know where I’ll end up, but I know it won’t be anywhere good or fulfilling.
Last summer, I completed a 200-hour training called “Foundations of Ayurveda,” and I plan to continue my education and training so I can eventually become an Ayurvedic Health Counselor.
This blog is my way of documenting this journey and hopefully sharing experiences, knowledge, and insights that will be valuable to others. If I can help even one person, I’ll consider that a success. So, put your feet up, read along, and I look forward to sharing this journey with you. xx
