As a married woman going back to school at the age of 29, I feel the effects of my mental health status every day. Between classes Monday-Friday, taking care of my two dogs, trying to maintain a social life and the fact that my husband had to move to another state to get a job while I live at home with my parents, I have a lot on my plate. It can be difficult to keep stable mental health but that’s why I have to make it a priority. And even then, sometimes I fail. I recognize my privilege, not everyone has a home they can move back into or a husband to help support them financially while they are in school. That being said, here are some things I do to try to stay on top of my mental health. I try my best to get monthly massages, this is my most “me time” activity and luckily, I have insurance for that. I like to keep good time management habits and take breaks from studying so that I have time to socialize, watch my favorite shows and even volunteer. It is hard to make time for these things that may seem less important but it is pertinent to make them happen. My dogs are recruited to cuddle as well, though I think they are happy to play this role. Eating well is important too and I try to plan ahead including meal prepping and freezing ready-made, protein-rich smoothies for breakfasts. I am also part of a volunteer choir that meets once a week to rehearse. Aside from the social aspect, singing itself is known to boost mental wellness. The most important thing I do as a women is know and understand my own monthly cycle. Knowing when I can give myself grace and when I should push myself is so helpful. In the end of the luteal phase, as a woman’s hormones drop quickly, she will likely be much more tired and hungry. Being aware that this is happening is the first step towards accepting it. Conversely, the follicular phase is when women have the most energy. This is when I am willing to push myself to do a little extra, knowing that I will be able to handle it. I feel that this topic is not very expressly taught but would help so many women if they knew about it. I try to express this to other women as I am able. It is incredibly hard to do all of these things, and I often miss the mark. Many times I have to just let these mistakes go and see how I can improve the next time. Especially living in an area where it gets cold, grey and dark this time of year, my mental health can diminish quickly. It is in these moments that I am glad that I implemented some mental health measures for myself back when the sun was still out.

The brief explanation of why I chose to go into physical therapy this last year is that my aunt suggested it, and it was the perfect fit. The detailed story begins when I took my first dance class at five. My teachers emphasized listening to our bodies if we were injured or felt off. I managed to complete my dance career injury-free, which is rare for many dancers. As I entered the professional dance world, I was introduced to athletic trainers. Initially, at 18, I didn’t fully grasp the significance of their role, but as I continued my career their contributions became crucial. They introduced me to a broad range of wellness techniques like exercises for various body parts, taping, and fascial manipulation. I didn't even know how much I had already learned from them. After retiring from performing, I spent several years teaching. My knowledge of the body gave me a unique perspective in teaching movement, though I wasn’t fully aware of my growing interest in the human body. As I neared the end of my teaching career, feeling burnt out and lacking creativity, my aunt suggested pursuing a Physical Therapist Assistant degree. And it all clicked. It just felt right. Reflecting on my journey, it’s clear that my connection to physical therapy was always present. During the 2023-2024 academic year, I took Anatomy and Physiology and I knew I was in the right place. My previous experiences, combined with my fascination with the human body, provided a depth of understanding beyond textbooks. This reaffirms my belief in the value of returning to school later, as experiences offer invaluable perspectives. My initial college experience right after high school was uninspired, leaving me unsure about my future. Yet, I always intended to return to school. Now, as I embark on this new path, I am excited about the possibilities ahead. My background in dance and experience with children will greatly benefit my career. I am particularly intrigued by recent research on women’s health, a field that has historically been underexplored. I'm interested in understanding how women’s bodies function throughout their cycles and life stages. I try hard to pay attention, whether to push myself or to recoup depending on my own monthly hormone cycle. These are things I have been trying to implement within my own life in the past few years and learning more about this within the realm of physical therapy seems absolutely captivating. From the outside, it may seem as though one little suggestion uprooted my whole life and set it onto a new trajectory. But truthfully, all of the tracks had already been set into place, I just hadn’t seen it yet. It is amazing when you can observe all of the pieces of a life coming together to make it all make sense. And so to answer the question, why am I pursuing physical therapy? My life has always been pointing in this direction, once I noticed I just needed to take the first steps.

There’s a short version and a long version of the story of why I chose to go into Physical Therapy this last year. The brief explanation is that my aunt suggested it, and it felt like the perfect fit. The detailed story, however, begins when I was five and took my first dance class. My teachers emphasized listening to our bodies and allowed us to observe and take notes if we were injured or felt off. I rarely faced injuries, thanks to taking proper rest, icing when necessary, and engaging in strength training and thorough warm-ups. I managed to complete my dance career injury-free, which is rare for many dancers. As I entered the professional dance world with Disney Cruise Line, I was introduced to athletic trainers. Initially, at 18, I didn’t fully grasp the significance of their role, but as I continued with Disney, particularly at Disneyland, their contributions became crucial. They introduced me to a broad range of wellness techniques beyond rest and ice—like exercises for various body parts, taping, and fascial manipulation. I didn't even know how much I had already learned from them. After retiring from professional dance, I spent several years teaching. My limited knowledge of the body gave me a unique perspective in teaching movement, though I wasn’t fully aware of my growing interest in the human body. As I neared the end of my teaching career, feeling burnt out and lacking creativity, my aunt suggested pursuing a Physical Therapist Assistant degree. And it all clicked. It just felt right. Reflecting on my journey, it’s clear that my connection to physical therapy was always present. During the 2023-2024 academic year, I took Anatomy and Physiology classes and I knew I was in the right place. My previous experiences, combined with my fascination with the human body, provided a depth of understanding beyond textbooks. This reaffirms my belief in the value of returning to school as an adult, as diverse experiences offer invaluable perspectives. My initial college experience right after high school was uninspired, leaving me unsure about my future. Yet, I always intended to return to school. Now, as I embark on this new path, I am excited about the possibilities ahead. My background in dance and experience with children, including teaching about body mechanics, may greatly benefit my new career. I am particularly intrigued by recent research on women’s health, a field that has historically been underexplored. I'm interested in understanding how women’s bodies function throughout their cycles and life stages and exploring this within physical therapy I find captivating. From the outside, it may seem as though one little suggestion uprooted my whole life and set it onto a new trajectory. But truthfully, all of the tracks had already been set into place, I just hadn’t seen it yet. All of my past experiences have brought me to where I am today and I simply needed to take the first steps.

There’s a short version and a long version of the story of why I chose to go into Physical Therapy this last year. The brief explanation is that my aunt suggested it, and it felt like the perfect fit. The detailed story, however, begins when I was five and took my first dance class. My teachers emphasized listening to our bodies and allowed us to observe and take notes if we were injured or felt off. I rarely faced injuries, thanks to taking proper rest, icing when necessary, and engaging in strength training and thorough warm-ups. I managed to complete my dance career injury-free, which is rare for many dancers. As I entered the professional dance world with Disney Cruise Line, I was introduced to athletic trainers. Initially, at 18, I didn’t fully grasp the significance of their role, but as I continued with Disney, particularly at Disneyland, their contributions became crucial. They introduced me to a broad range of wellness techniques beyond rest and ice—like exercises for various body parts, taping, and fascial manipulation. I didn't even know how much I had already learned from them. After retiring from professional dance, I spent several years teaching. My limited knowledge of the body gave me a unique perspective in teaching movement, though I wasn’t fully aware of my growing interest in the human body. As I neared the end of my teaching career, feeling burnt out and lacking creativity, my aunt suggested pursuing a Physical Therapist Assistant degree. And it all clicked. It just felt right. Reflecting on my journey, it’s clear that my connection to physical therapy was always present. During the 2023-2024 academic year, I took Anatomy and Physiology classes and I knew I was in the right place. My previous experiences, combined with my fascination with the human body, provided a depth of understanding beyond textbooks. This reaffirms my belief in the value of returning to school as an adult, as diverse experiences offer invaluable perspectives. My initial college experience right after high school was uninspired, leaving me unsure about my future. Yet, I always intended to return to school. Now, as I embark on this new path, I am excited about the possibilities ahead. My background in dance and experience with children, including teaching about body mechanics, may greatly benefit my new career. I am particularly intrigued by recent research on women’s health, a field that has historically been underexplored. I'm interested in understanding how women’s bodies function throughout their cycles and life stages. I try hard to pay attention to eating habits and exercise, whether to push myself or to recoup depending on my own monthly hormone cycle. These are things I have been trying to implement within my own life in the past few years and learning more about this within the realm of Physical Therapy seems absolutely captivating. From the outside, it may seem as though one little suggestion uprooted my whole life and set it onto a new trajectory. But truthfully, all of the tracks had already been set into place, I just hadn’t seen it yet. It is amazing when you can observe all of the pieces of a life coming together to make it all make sense, especially your own life. And so to answer the question, why am I pursuing physical therapy? Because my life requires it, it has always been pointing in this direction, once I noticed I just needed to take the first steps.

There’s a short version and a long version of the story of why I chose to go into Physical Therapy this last year. The brief explanation is that my aunt suggested it, and it felt like the perfect fit. The detailed story, however, begins when I was five and took my first dance class. My teachers emphasized listening to our bodies and allowed us to observe and take notes if we were injured or felt off. I rarely faced injuries, thanks to taking proper rest, icing when necessary, and engaging in strength training and thorough warm-ups. I managed to complete my dance career injury-free, which is rare for many dancers. As I entered the professional dance world with Disney Cruise Line, I was introduced to athletic trainers. Initially, at 18, I didn’t fully grasp the significance of their role, but as I continued with Disney, particularly at Disneyland, their contributions became crucial. They introduced me to a broad range of wellness techniques beyond rest and ice—like exercises for various body parts, taping, and fascial manipulation. I didn't even know then how much I had already learned from them. After retiring from professional dance, I spent several years teaching. My limited knowledge of the body gave me a unique perspective in teaching movement, though I wasn’t fully aware of my growing interest in the human body. As I neared the end of my teaching career, feeling burnt out and lacking creativity, my aunt suggested pursuing a Physical Therapist Assistant degree. And it all clicked. It just felt right. Reflecting on my journey, it’s clear that my connection to physical therapy was always present. During the 2023-2024 academic year, I took Anatomy and Physiology classes and I knew I was in the right place. My previous experiences, combined with my fascination with the human body, provided a depth of understanding beyond textbooks. This reaffirms my belief in the value of returning to school as an adult, as diverse experiences offer invaluable perspectives. My initial college experience right after high school was uninspired, leaving me unsure about my future. Yet, I always intended to return to school. Now, as I embark on this new path, I am excited about the possibilities ahead. My background in dance and experience with children, including teaching about body mechanics, may greatly benefit my new career. I am particularly intrigued by recent research on women’s health, a field that has historically been underexplored. Understanding how women’s bodies function throughout their cycles and life stages, and applying this knowledge in physical therapy, is especially captivating to me. From the outside, it may seem as though one little suggestion uprooted my whole life and set it onto a new trajectory. But truthfully, all of the tracks had already been set into place, I just hadn’t seen it yet. It is amazing when you can observe all of the pieces of a life coming together to make it all make sense, especially your own life. And so to answer the question, why am I pursuing physical therapy? Because my life requires it, it has always been pointing in this direction, once I noticed I just needed to take the first steps.

There’s a short version and a long version of the story of why I chose to go into Physical Therapy this last year. The brief explanation is that my aunt suggested it, and it felt like the perfect fit. The detailed story, however, begins when I was five and took my first dance class. My teachers emphasized listening to our bodies and allowed us to observe and take notes if we were injured or felt off. I rarely faced injuries, thanks to taking proper rest, icing when necessary, and engaging in strength training and thorough warm-ups. I managed to complete my dance career injury-free, which is rare for many dancers. As I entered the professional dance world with Disney Cruise Line, I was introduced to athletic trainers. Initially, at 18, I didn’t fully grasp the significance of their role, but as I continued with Disney, particularly at Disneyland, their contributions became crucial. They introduced me to a broad range of wellness techniques beyond rest and ice—like exercises for various body parts, taping, and fascial manipulation. I hadn't realized at the time how much I had already learned from them. After retiring from professional dance, I spent several years teaching. My limited knowledge of the body gave me a unique perspective in teaching movement, though I wasn’t fully aware of my growing interest in the human body. As I neared the end of my teaching career, feeling burnt out and lacking creativity, my aunt suggested pursuing a Physical Therapist Assistant degree. And it all clicked. It just felt right. Reflecting on my journey, it’s clear that my connection to physical therapy was always present. During the 2023-2024 academic year, I took Anatomy and Physiology classes and I knew I was in the right place. My previous experiences, combined with my fascination with the human body, provided a depth of understanding beyond textbooks. This reaffirms my belief in the value of returning to school as an adult, as diverse experiences offer invaluable perspectives. It is also so much more exciting pursuing knowledge as an adult. I am constantly inspired by everything I learn, a feeling I will not soon forget. This lets me know I will continue to educate myself my whole life. My initial college experience right after high school was uninspired, leaving me unsure about my future. Yet, I always intended to return to school. Now, as I embark on this new path, I am excited about the possibilities ahead. My background in dance and experience with children, including teaching about body mechanics, may greatly benefit my new career. As well, I am particularly intrigued by recent research on women’s health, a field that has historically been underexplored. Understanding how women’s bodies function throughout their cycles and life stages, and applying this knowledge in physical therapy, is especially captivating to me. From the outside, it may seem as though one little suggestion uprooted my whole life and set it onto a new trajectory. But truthfully, all of the tracks had already been set into place, I just hadn’t seen it yet. It is amazing when you can observe all of the pieces of a life coming together to make it all make sense, especially your own life. And so to answer the question, why am I pursuing physical therapy? Because my life requires it, it has always been pointing in this direction, once I noticed I just needed to take the first steps.

Currently I am reading the Douglas Adams novels and they are teaching me to say, “whatever!”. Wildly confusing and funny, they make you feel like you’re going a little bit crazy. They have their own sort of made up language and you often just have to read through the confusion. In the end though, they always make sense. This experience has opened my mind up and shown me not everything has to be in perfect order in my brain, it will come together in the end. I’m excited to see how this will effect my learning experience the next few years. I recently read Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop. I’m still parsing out what this book taught me, but it hit me hard. One thing I was amazed to see was the power of suggestion when it comes to emotions. A seemingly useless chapter made me bawl my eyes out and I couldn’t put the book down for the night. It was clear the next few chapters that the writer was merely priming the reader for the climax to come. The effect of this moving part of the story was so much more profound having first read the out of place chapter. It really is a turning point of the book, the moment things got real. I also learned from this book, the possible fluidity of love. It’s no surprise seeing as it takes place in Paris and other parts of France. I am also currently in the middle of Under the Whispering Door by TJ Kline. This one is teaching me to take a lighter look at death and it’s possibilities. I’m a little nervous how it will resolve but so far it has somehow been a light and profound read at the same time. As one might pick up, I like to read many books at the same time. This is something I have recently learned about myself. I can only really read and be interested in books if I read many at the same time. I need different books for different moods and to be able to put one down if it is not giving me what I need that day and to pick up another. Perhaps this is a reflection on what I will need for my next few years of education. Several different projects and subjects that I can switch between. I don’t know if this is the most healthy way to study but I think it is a decent start at a goal.

My first and my favorite concert experience are actually the same band. In fact, the band Walk the Moon makes up more than half of my concert-going experiences. I first saw them with the boy who introduced them to me in high school. Ah young love. He said I only liked the one song because it has my name in it, Anna Sun. Not true, they went on to be my all time favorite band. I had a blast and we got matching sweatshirts. My favorite concert experience was years later when I saw them with my now husband. He was working for Taco Bell Corporate at the time and they played at the company holiday party. I had had a few drinks, I got to stand right up by the stage and I distinctly remember thinking “this is going to be one of the best moments of my life”. The thought was quickly followed by, “and soon it will be over”. I had to laugh at myself for the very poetic thoughts I was having, but truly, that’s what music does to us. It was a beautiful thought about the fleetingness of life, and I was happy to welcome it in that moment. We found out later as well that my husband and I had been at the same Walk the Moon concert at the Greek Theater in LA years earlier. The concert was recorded and released and we now have an audio record of the first time we know for sure we were in the same place at the same time. Now the band has retired as the members want to move on with their lives. In a way they were the soundtrack to my late teens and twenties and now I am ready to move on too. Though I will always listen to and sing along with them. In many of their songs there's a sort of eerie, open sound to some of the instruments. It makes me feel a sort of wistfulness for the past but always fills me with happiness in the present. They allow me to look back on where I've been and honor my past while also being excited about the future. As for my concert photo, I had to cheat a little bit. I don't take many photos and struggled to find a photo of myself at a music concert. So instead I have a photo of me backstage at a dance concert when I used to teach dance.

The flutter of brown and tan came in so swiftly they scarcely had time to set down their glasses to even consider chasing after Joni, her innocent mews getting more faint by the second. Was it an eagle? No, they didn’t live in the area this time of year. Why Jess remembered this, no one could say. Some piece of information during a seminar on an Alaskan cruise that just stuck. A hawk then. The cat had been acting up since they got to the house but no one deserved this fate, Jess and Jean both agreed. Resigning back to the table they took the sparkling rosé, cheese and bread. After the week they had, they didn’t have the mental energy. Stevie agreed, having barely lifted her head at the whole ordeal, laid her slobbery jowls back on her pillow and closed her eyes. They would search after dinner. Buying a house came with risks, they knew that. But no one could have guessed the problems that occurred in the last week. It started off with every home-buyers nightmare, mold. Joni had scratched at the floor in their last apartment so it was no surprise when she did it here. But they wanted to start afresh, and now they owned the place! Jean ran up the stairs at the familiar sounds of the floor being torn apart, screaming, trying to scare the cat out of the habit. The site in the smaller of the bedrooms was atrocious. The floor board ever so slightly pulled from the wall and the wallpaper curling away to reveal the black. Instant dread. On closer inspection, the black was flecked with the most beautiful sparkles and was marvelously viscous. Jean fled to the computer for research. A quick look on the web found nothing helpful, the laptop was slammed shut and thrown aside. “It’s so beautiful!” Speaking uncharacteristically quick, Jess was running down the stairs, fingers sticky and black. “But we have to get back to work, I can’t stop my legs and arms from doing this jittery thing!” “Me too!” Jean reciprocated, “I have so much energy.” Without skipping a beat, they picked up their rollers and resumed painting the empty house. In the process, the wallpaper was removed from the small bedroom where perfectly clean walls were shown. Upon finishing the last of the bedrooms, Jess glimpsed the time. Could it be? Only two hours to paint the whole house? Maybe they hadn’t done the lower floor yet… But no, after a quick tour they could see they had done all four bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room and both bathrooms. And what’s more, they pointed out on each others shoes, the rubber soles were burnt through. They looked like a marathoners beloved running shoes ready for retirement. Suddenly, none of it mattered. A beautiful sound writhed its way through the vents. It was etherial, unearthly, but unmistakably, a voice. It calmed every nerve, relaxed every muscle. It made thoughts like the perfect, happy dreams of a child asleep in her mother’s arms. The words were unintelligible, at least to human ears but there was such clear meaning behind the wonderful song. Then a loud banging at the door ruined the scene. Jess rushed to the door and flung it open, sad that the moment had ended but inexplicably happy. “I’ve been knocking for 10 minutes!” A stalky man grumbled, “We're with Andy’s Movers, we’re here with your things.” “Oh I’m sorry, I thought we decided on Thursday. You’ll have to come back then, we just painted, it has to dry.” “Uhm… it IS Thursday.” “I… uh…” Jess’s hand had been against the foyer wall, the last area painted, and when flinched away, the skin was dry. A gesture with the other arm told the crew to enter with their heavy boxes. Jess and Jean whispered among themselves about how rested and perky they felt, like after a week of vacation, as they scrambled to confirm the date on someone’s phone. After settling the payment with the movers, the couple plopped down on the newly placed sofa and smiled at their boxes of belongings. They spent a day and a half placing the things with care and hanging their adored photos and decorations hardly even noticing or caring how the objects floated from their hands to just the right spot. Now it was Friday, Jess and Jean hurriedly finished their dinner, trying their best not to panic. Before they could even put away the leftovers, Stevie got up and moved with such an urgency not seen since puppyhood. She was headed toward the woods just beyond the property. After a few minutes of walking through the dense forest, there appeared a house as if from thin air. It was maybe four stories high and well above the trees. How had they not seen it from their house? Jess turned to look back at how far they had walked and swore the house disappeared from the periphery. But a quick turn of the head revealed the house twisting out of the ground below in a millisecond. They hurried their pace now, not knowing if the house would disappear once more. Before they reached the front porch, the door opened and five beings came flooding out. The head of the house was the forward-most of the family in a perfect pyramid formation. A double take and several disbelieving blinks showed that, yes in fact, he was not touching the floor. Nor was he touching a single surrounding but his wife’s webbed hand which he now let drop. “Ah welcome neighbors,” an unusual yet cheery voice boomed, though none of their lips moved, “we were wondering when you’d stop by. We helped with your move as best as we could!” He lifted his forearm for the brown and tan hawk to land. Joni came running from inside and jumped into Jean’s arms. The three daughters peered from behind their fathers enormous purple cloak, smiled and waved.

There’s a short and long version of the story of why I chose Physical Therapy this last year. The short version is that my aunt suggested it and it just sounded perfect. The long version starts when I was five years old and I took my first dance class. I had the luxury of teachers that constantly told us to listen to our bodies and gave us the option to observe class and take notes if we ever felt injured or out of sorts. And I never was injured; I took the opportunity to rest when I needed it, iced when I needed to ice, did strength training and thorough warmups and I made it all the way through my career without any injuries, something I think many dancers can’t say. When I got into the professional dance world, I didn’t really know what physical therapy was. I worked for Disney Cruise Line and we had an athletic trainer available to us. I was 18 and so had no idea what to do with that. But as I continued my career with Disney, moving on to Disneyland, the trainers became an absolutely integral part of my day to day work life. They opened my eyes to a whole realm of wellness. More than just resting and ice, we found exercises to effect all parts of the body, we wrapped and taped, we did fascial manipulation that fixed ailments instantly.After I finished dancing professionally, I continued to teach dance for many years. Using my limited knowledge of the body in teaching, I believe, gave me an interesting edge as a teacher, giving new perspectives on movements. I didn’t know then just how interested I was in the body. I was nearing the end of my teaching career when, like I said before, my aunt suggested a Physical Therapist Assistant degree. And it all clicked. It just felt right. As I reflect, I see my connection was there the entire time. I was able to take the pre-requisite Anatomy and Physiology classes in the 23-24 academic year and I knew I was in the right place. Simply fascinated by the bones, muscles, tendons and organs that make up the human body, I was able to use all of my past experience together to have a fuller knowledge than textbooks can provide. This is one of the reasons I am a strong advocate of going back to school as an adult. The more well-rounded perspectives you have are unbeatable. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me in this new path in life. Obviously my knowledge in dance may be the best use of my career. I also have experience working with children, even explaining body parts, movements and how things should feel. What really interests me, however, is a new found love for the female body. I have been fascinated with recent findings on women-specific medical studies, which have been very lacking until only the last few decades. I’m interested to study and pass on knowledge specifically for women to understand how their bodies work at different times in both their cycles and their lives. These are things I have been trying to implement within my own life in the past few years and learning more about this within the realm of Physical Therapy seems absolutely captivating. From the outside, it may seem as though one little suggestion uprooted my whole life and set it onto a new trajectory. But truthfully, all of the tracks had already been set into place, I just hadn’t seen it yet.