"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that." I found this quote as I sifted through a box of cards on Catalina Island in California. I purchased the card and pinned it to my wall in my bathroom to see it every day. I am a passionate and bold person with very big dreams and the motivation to achieve them. However, my financial situation isn't what I need for these dreams to really take place. I believe that if we didn't take risks, amazing things would never happen. I believe that when we feel called to a dream, we are to chase after it regardless the circumstances, even financial, that hold us back. This belief doesn't feel like the most common, which can make me feel alone in my passion. Finding this quote helped me feel understood and validated. A head full of knowledge and a heart full of passion can take anyone further than a pocket full of money.

I have always been a bold, outgoing, bright person. After my college graduation, I wanted to do something that felt like me. I didn't want to hop right into a job or more school like everyone else was. I wanted to pave my own path and do something new. I wanted to see new sights, hear new stories and meet new people. I packed up my belongings from my home in Arkansas and drove 21 hours to Park City, Utah. I found a job as a waitress and explored Utah. I am forever grateful I made a bold choice.

My father is a doctor and raised our family on a healthy diet and life style. As I studied Psychology in college, I learned more about healthy food and it's impact on our brain and mental health. A problem I see in America is a lack of education on natural, clean eating. Many children are raised in households who do not have access to or awareness of healthy eating and natural foods. Many children grow up eating canned, processed meals and then grow up to feed their children canned, processed meals. I am passionate about healthy eating and I continue my education by reading, following healthy eating bloggers, following health coaches, and learning from my dad as he serves our community as a doctor and health coach. I respect my father more than anyone I know. I hope to carry on his legacy in his passion of health through my passion for mental health. I want to tie in food to this passion. My dream is to start an organization for children and families to learn about mental health, emotional health, and physical health. I am passionate and positive that these healthy habits begin on day one in life. I am currently a behavioral therapist for elementary children. Through my schooling that I've had, and my continued education I am about to embark on, I will be better equipped to serve children therapeutically. One resoundingly common concern I have with all of my clients is their access to healthy, clean, natural food. The majority of my clients eat fast food and packaged food or no food at all before school. I try to teach all my clients about natural food and the benefits it has on our bodies and our brains. Most of my clients look genuinely confused when I explain this to them. I believe this is wrong and I want to fix this problem. Clean and natural food should be better understood in our public school systems as it majorly affects the development; physical, mental and emotional, of our children. To have a healthy country in the future starts with the children today. I am thankful to know there are programs supporting clean food and encouraging continued education on the benefits of it. I hope to integrate this into my future organization and educate children and families and public schools on the magnificent importance of clean, natural foods.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a very passionate person. My goal, professionally, personally, and academically is to bring together the worlds of Psychology and Christianity. I am passionate about emotional health and I am positive it begins from day one of life. I am passionate about being licensed to interact with children and learning their language to help them blossom into a healthy adult. I am passionate about understanding trauma and teaching what I learn. I believe there is a wide gap of information in regard to emotional health, trauma, and giving others the help they need to name emotions and experiences. I want to bridge that gap. My dream is to one day run my own organization for children and families to learn together how to process emotions, hardships, abuse, neglect, depression, and trauma in the healthiest way possible. I can see a cycle of avoiding these depths of our hearts and souls. I want to stop the cycle. To do this, I want to attain my license as a counselor and play therapist and begin paving this path. Three years ago, I wouldn’t believe what I am saying right now. About three years ago, I hit a wall. I was sitting across a table from the woman who mentored me and she said, “you’re not an emotionally healthy person.” These were stinging words that I knew, deep down, were only true. This began a series of learning about my past, my family, my upbringing, my own traumas, and what I really believed about it all. It took years, but so much change occurred within my heart. I believe the best way that a person grows or changes is through circumstances that make us see ourselves in a new light. An exposing light that reveals who we are and who we are not. For me, this light exposed bitterness, anger, and a lack of emotional vocabulary that I had to build from the ground up. I believe this process also requires transparency, accountability and community to rally around us to spur on genuine change. With this experience, I began to understand anxiety and depression on a raw level. It influenced my belief in God in a positive way, that He is our relief in sorrow. It deepened my relationships as I desired to be understood and to understand those around me. It refined and sharpened my career aspirations as I am passionate about helping children through the process of understanding themselves before they hit adulthood and have years of life to process or work through. This experience of my own emotional unhealthiness made me very passionate about the importance of emotional health and mental health starting at day one of life. I cannot stress enough the value and importance of vulnerability and honesty about where we truly are in our day to day life and it all begins in childhood. Parents and teachers need to be better equipped to serve children as they develop and grow into adulthood to be healthy: physically, emotionally and mentally.