I have lived many lives in my 40 years. I have been divorced and seen my fair share of heartbreaks. I have experienced life as a heterosexual military wife who brought 3 beautiful children into the world. I have also watched a great portion of that dream and what I thought I had planned crumble.
I have broken and rebuilt many times.
Each one of these life tasks that was put before me amounted to more knowledge about myself and humanity at large. I wouldn’t change a second of it. “We cannot ask our Client’s to travel further than we have ourselves” -Rollo May- (A favorite quote from Graduate School)
I have gone from high school drop out who flitted from job to job (I believe I have had somewhere in the ballpark of 30 different jobs) and lived on her own, to someone who has persevered through 9+ years of higher education and now hold’s a Master’s Degree. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and own my own Practice in Fairfield, Connecticut.
I am a people person. I can be almost anywhere and more than likely will end up striking up a conversation that results in some meaningful interaction. People seek me out. By the grace of whomever I was given a powerfully influential energy and the unyielding drive to make sure I put it to good use. Conversely as a self-identified Highly Sensitive Person (Please see the work of Dr. Elaine Aron on this) I can become overwhelmed and exhausted easily and often seek peaceful environments. I seem to vibrate at my most meaningful frequency in 1-1 interactions.
I am a PTSD and Trauma Survivor. A product of a neglectful and chaos filled beginning. A person who lives with Crohn’s Disease and intimately understands the struggle of living with the ambiguity of Chronic Illness. In addition to this, and perhaps as a result of I struggle with anxiety. Having a writer’s imagination mixed with PTSD has accidentally lent itself to my mind naturally finding the most horrific possible outcome to any scenario. Finding my way through this and developing a healthier way of being is a process I greatly enjoy the privilege of now being able to help others with.
I was raised in a strict Seventh-Day Adventist home. This has left a profound mark on my life. It has greatly shaped and influenced who I am today and as with most things there are parts I want to keep and really appreciate about that, and parts I would give anything to not have experienced.
Due to my religious upbringing I didn’t realize until later in life that I was created to be with women and not men. My coming out process and story has also greatly influenced my personal story. The extra complexities of adding another layer of minority to myself are ever revealing themselves still to this day.
Also due to my religious upbringing I tend to shy away from organized religion, although I do often crave the campfire singalongs and sense of community that provided moments of silver lining to my childhood. If it did not also come with the horrible bullying and the basic denial and struggle of my entire identity and expression. The value system that rings most true for me at this stage in my life would be Buddhism. I am a huge fan of Pema Chodron, and I am sure you will see her quoted throughout.
I am a hopeful romantic and my world centers around the art of relationship. It’s been a lot better since I realized this is ok and not a pathology, a neediness, or something that needs fixing.
I am an existentialist. A modern philosopher. A writer. A person who values introspection and dialoguing above anything that is shallow. A seeker of truth and a wisdom that embraces invididual gifts in a world that wants everything to fit into neat little boxes.
Welcome to my inner world…