My pursuit of a healthy lifestyle landed me my first career. After my father passed away during my first semester of college, I developed a newfound devotion to health and well-being. During this time, I changed my college major to Dietetics and became a Registered dietitian in 2018. The process of making greater commitments to better health didn't happen all at once, though, and it certainly didn't always feel quite so straightforward. Dealing with the death of a parent was difficult to navigate, especially as a young woman. On the path to better health, I took a pit stop at disordered eating. I was trying to control things in my life by the way that I looked, believing that this would change the way I viewed things externally. Not too far in, I realized that my body wasn't meant for constant dieting and that it wasn't a sustainable practice. Then, the process of restoring natural hunger and satiety cues could begin. Once I realized that food and proper nutrition were the best fuel my body could have, my perspective began to shift, and the pace toward a healthier lifestyle accelerated. I began to work out regularly and make modest adjustments to my diet. I learned how to make sustainable changes that allowed me to eat foods that I enjoyed while keeping the bigger picture in mind. I was able to focus on consuming foods that provided the most nutritional benefit. I've been an active member of a community gym for almost 8 years. My husband and I enjoy meal prepping together and coming up with healthier alternatives to common cuisine. We've both learned how to create healthful, culturally diverse meals. We are always eager to share our recipes, our ideas, and our food with friends and other people we come into contact with. We continue to push each other towards continual health and hope that we are able to be a positive influence on both of our families. Our journey does not end there, however. We are currently planning to move out to a piece of property where we can learn to garden and grow fresh produce. We've both come a long way, but we're excited to embark on an adventure in this new season so that we can continue to learn and grow in all things health and well-being. We continue to make this a central theme in our lives and make sure to be available to anyone willing to listen and learn.

I'll admit that the first book that comes to mind is the Bible. I've also come to know that God reaches people through all sorts of books and one of the most impactful in my life was "The Shack". I understand that millions of people have varying beliefs, from theistic to agnostic, or something entirely different. However, for the sake of this essay, I'll assume some belief in a "higher being". Although not typically read this way, the Christian Bible is a love story from start to finish, of a God that loves and gives, and returns for His Bride in a way that only a Divine Bridegroom can. Particularly in America, it seems as though the Bible is read through a different lens, and at a distance, the same way God is held in a box somewhere that feels impersonal. Myself included, sometimes it is hard to read the Bible and truly grasp the nature of God and the emotion He carries. Early in my college career I met now long-time friends that gave me a couple of books to read, "The Shack" included. The book details a painful, hopeless story about a man and his experiences, until he meets a God that is so personal and so involved that he can help but to be changed. And that's the key. After Jesus, the Bible was never meant to be a set of rules (arguably not before, either) that were to be walked in to achieve heaven. Unlike every other religion, Christianity is not works based and no amount of personal merit achieves relationship with God or entrance to heaven. "The Shack" does an extraordinary job of showing people what it means to be loved and seen in a way that can be easily understood. Fundamentally, people want to know they are accepted unconditionally, and that they don't have to be something other than themselves to be accepted. God does certainly change us, and our desires, but never prior to being accepted or unconditionally loved when we recognize who He is and how He feels about us.

I had no idea how important healthy eating habits were until my father passed away my first semester of college. The whole concept of eating well and exercising was foreign to me, and the rest of my family. We ate out all the time, and had a very poor understanding of healthy habits. When my dad passed, I became much more aware of physical health and the things that affected it most, especially nutrition. I realized that healthy eating and exercise were a part of physical well-being and preventative medicine. This spearheaded my first career in Dietetics. And although I no longer practice as a Dietitian, I am not any less convinced of the power of food and eating well. After recognizing the necessity of proper nutrition, I learned how to allow my body to feel hungry and full. I realized that eating does not always serve the purpose of pleasure, but that good nutrition is essential fuel to all of the things that we do. In high school, I struggled with nausea and feeling dizzy on a very consistent basis. Looking back, I now know that it was from sugary sodas and too much caffeine. Learning how to moderate caffeine and replace calorie-dense drinks with water has been a game-changer. It's also allowed me to continue a very active lifestyle. Even now, I can tell in my workouts when my diet is off. I've learned when I need carbohydrates, what type that my body handles well, and when I haven't had enough protein. When I haven't eaten appropriately it feels like I am a car without gas, and workouts are very difficult. I also know that when I'm anxious or coping poorly, it's time to get rid of the caffeine and focus on eating whole foods with more vegetables. Over the years, I've been able to become more aware of how my body feels and when things don't feel the way they should. Due to my first career as a Dietitian, I've also been able to share my experience and knowledge with many, many people, and particularly, my family. I've seen many people close to me make changes to their diets and experience the benefits, even if it's only the mental relief of not having to worry about food all the time. I know that proper nutrition affects every walk of life and every activity we participate in. I've seen firsthand the difference eating healthfully can make. Taking the approach of food as fuel has been revolutionary in my own experience and it's something I've successfully passed onto others and hope to continue doing so for years to come.

I never thought I would go back to school, but I am a 28-year-old in my first year of an accounting degree. I also never thought I would get married, and here I am a year into marriage with my best friend. I'm learning that in life it is best to expect the unexpected, in a good way. Until I met my husband, I never wanted children. Now, I want four and this has brought on the desire to pursue a new career path. Accounting will be my second career and I plan to sit for my CPA exam once I've finished school (again) in 2024. Family is my strongest motivator for my return to school and this career path. I previously worked in inpatient healthcare and quickly realized that my job would not allow me the time and attention I want to be able to provide to my husband and future children. I graduated high school in 2012 and finished my first bachelor's degree in Dietetics in 2017. I've always placed fairly high in class rankings and have worked diligently for the grades that I have earned. Following my college graduation, I immediately started my internship to pursue a career as a Registered Dietitian. Following my internship, I took my RD exam on October 1, 2018, and practiced for almost four years before I left the field in July of this year. Although my academic and professional careers have been consistent, they haven't always been easy. Growing up, my family was very broken by divorce. I struggled my way through my late teens and my early twenties. The impact that my childhood had on me was sometimes extremely challenging. I've struggled with anxiety and depression, and with negative thoughts about my future. To top it off, my dad passed away during my first semester in college. Around the age of 22, I encountered Jesus and my life was genuinely changed. And although every struggle did not immediately change, my perspective on life did. I've carried that perspective as life seasons have evolved. I can look back on the things that impacted me as a child and ultimately as an adult. Going forward, I know the decisions that I make will impact my family and I desire to provide the best environment for my family to fulfill their potential. I am confident that this career change will benefit my family in the long run and I am confident that I will be able to complete the task in front of me. I'm looking forward to a hopeful future and all the goodness that will come along with it.

After a 6 year long divorce and 2 years of battling cancer, my dad passed away my first semester of college. The passing of my father initially sparked a career in nutrition, but the more seasons of life I enter, the more I can realize the vast impact that my dad had on me. I was undoubtedly the favorite and my dad and I had always been close. Unfortunately, with the divorce between he and my mom, tension arose that hadn't been there before. And with terminal cancer, the relationship never had time to resolve. The last few years were rough, physically on him, and emotionally for the rest of us. He was financially ruined and it left nothing for myself and my two siblings as we entered college. Skip forward a few years and I've met my husband. Little did I know, unresolved issues between me and my dad put chasms in my relationship with my soon-to-be spouse. By the grace of God, I can confidently say that I have forgiven my dad for his shortcomings, for his failures, and for all the things that felt hurtful coming out of years of emotional turmoil. But because of my upbringing, I know I want differently for my children. I miss my dad and I know I love him, but I hope to raise children that operate out of wholeness and provided for. After my husband and I married, we decided that we would want to have children. We're planning for children down the road and would be open to adoption. My new career path is most certainly about loving my family and providing for them in a way that generations after us are whole people able to love out of wholeness and not trying to put band-aids on brokenness. My way of giving back to the community is by giving to my children what far too many children miss out on. And while we desire to provide for our children, we also live our lives in a way where we are able to give to others. We aim to raise children that are also able to give and to love. My husband I have continued to work on a budget that allows us to maintain spending habits regardless of increases to income. While we do give regularly to various organizations, we do always want to be able to give generously. We want to be financially free to give to others and not just for personal gain. We both want to see children (whether ours or not) be able to grow up in a way that fosters growth and prosperity in every area of life. If we are able to pour into several people along the way and they can pour into several people along their way, the consequences are multiplied far beyond what we could even imagine. The death of my father has given me purpose in pursuing a career that is going to allow me to provide for my family in ways that I otherwise could not. And if for some reason not my own biological family, I desire as much to see other children raised in a home where they are without lack and where they know they are truly loved.

"For better or for worse, until death do us part". These are words commonly spoken in wedding vows. Unfortunately, however, the divorce rate in our country still exceeds 40%, trending down mostly because fewer people are choosing to be married. My parents divorced when I was twelve and a similar story rang true for almost every couple in our family. Despite the statistics, in my ignorance and given the chance, I probably would have married far too young. God knew the better way, and I met my husband when I was 26. Looking back, I always carried a very incorrect view of marriage, partly due to poor examples and partly due to self-centeredness. By God's grace, I married a man that loves God and loves me. And although I have dreamt about being married for quite some time, I could not have anticipated the work that it would require. I am learning how to truly give of myself without compromising who I am. Generations past had it right in some ways and had it very wrong in other ways. As a woman, my identity does not get absorbed into my husband's and my life doesn't disappear just because we've married. My lifelong duty is not simply house chores and childrearing. In fact, I'm believing my marriage to push me to places in my life I never would have been had I stayed single. I'm learning that the most growth in my marriage is highly dependent on personal growth and even more dependent on my willingness and decidedness to selflessly love my husband. I can recognize the change in my own life by being able to give and to love without becoming bitter or resentful, or feeling like I am owed something in return. The character that this is developing in me is something that I never learned being single, but now carries over to other areas of my life. I know that hoping the best for my husband doesn't take away from the best I can have. Instead, it adds to it. Similarly, believing the best for someone else's marriage doesn't mean that mine will be less if they prosper. Maybe it should be embarrassing to admit that it took this long for my perspective on loving others to change, but it took getting married to see the selfishness in the mirror. It's surely a process, but I'm learning that I don't have to be insecure about who I am or how I should act. I can be the same person that's learning to desire destiny in someone else's life and not just my own. I can trust God that I will be provided for and I can trust my husband to love me and it gives me more and more confidence to go fight for the best in other people's lives.

If I had a quarter for every time I've said as an adult, "I wish they taught that in school", I probably wouldn't be applying for scholarships. It's a rough transition from childhood to young adulthood when no one has taught you the basic in-and-outs of finance. The picture only gets more complicated the older you get with loans from a possible spouse, mortgages, children, pets, aging parents, etc. With the whirlwind of financial demands, the best, most life-changing financial advice I have received is to live within your means while (reasonably) maintaining spending even when income increases. I have been on the receiving end of raises over the course of my first career, but have diligently worked to keep spending within a budget and not increasing the budget just because of a higher cash inflow. I know I accomplished something when I became debt-free prior to getting married (at 27). And although my husband brought in some graduate school debt, we are learning, together, the same principle applies. We have learned to control our spending by depositing our paychecks to a savings account and then paying ourselves from the savings account to cover our bills in the checking account. Money accumulates in the savings account where we don't see it and therefore, use considerably less of it. We're able to see a more promising financial future, not just for us, but for our children, and their children. While this principle has suited me well, and now my husband, being financially wise has changed lives beyond the two of us. By saving more, we're also able to give when someone else is in need. We don't feel strapped for cash and unable to give when the opportunity arises. We've created space in our budget to do more than just serve ourselves. We hope that as we continue to learn as a couple, that we will financially be able to do more in the future for our children than our parents were able to do for us. We hope to collectively be debt-free in our future and set a trend of financial wisdom and financial generosity for many generations to follow. I have been fortunate enough to receive financial advice during my young adulthood years and I hope that it has a ripple effect for other people I come in contact with, even if not a child of my own. I've learned over the years to be transparent about real struggles in life and to share advice I've been given so that others have the opportunity to succeed, too. Financial advice doesn't have to be complicated to be effective. I am sincerely grateful that someone took the time to advise living within my means and showed me the practical steps to walking that out. I know it will be advice that I will pass on wherever I can.