my story
hey, lovely!
I am a fierce woman with a strong desire to obtain more out of this beautiful life I am living!
I am an everyday-kinda-girl who chose to start living a more fulfilling life than I had ever dreamed… I knew that settling for just “getting by” was not serving me well, so I began to dig deep inside to find the fantastic woman I knew I already was but who wasn’t shining the way I knew I could. That is why I began this part of my journey that you are exploring with me!
My humble beginnings…
I was born and raised in the middle of the cornfields of Central Illinois, where I was blessed to have grown up around my four amazing siblings and four loving parents. I went to parochial schools from first through twelfth grade, where I met some of the most remarkable people—a handful of whom I still call my best friends today! I was a cheerleader, a swimmer, and a diver, and I loved to always be surrounded by my family and friends.
When I graduated from high school, I knew that I wanted to explore more of the world outside of my hometown. I always felt as though salt water was flowing through my veins, and it was time for this girl to get to the beach where I knew I belonged! This was the beginning of my chapter that led me to Florida, which I still refer to as my “chosen home.”
A Florida girl in a nutshell…
Anyone who has ever lived in Key West will tell you that one question that is sure to be asked when you have a conversation about your background is, “So, what brought you to Key West?” Well, here’s my story!
When I was fourteen years old, my mom and stepfather took me to the one-of-a-kind southernmost point of the continental United States for the first time. From the moment we arrived, I knew that the place was special, and everything inside of me wanted to know more, do more, and see more!
So… they brought me back with my best friend, Emily, when we were eighteen for our senior year spring break. We were still not old enough to thoroughly enjoy all that the island life had to offer, but we were old enough to enjoy more than a fourteen-year-old!
This brought me back to my visit when I was 21—finally! I was old enough! Look out, Key West!
I was there for one week, only to realize that this needed to be longer. Soooo…. No sooner had I returned home was it that I called my mom, who was still in Key West. I didn’t get two words out before she asked me, “When are you moving to Key West?” And the rest is history!
I found myself in a place I will forever call “my second home.” I created friendships and memories I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It is beyond special to me for a multitude of reasons. There, I became a Registered Nurse, and it also happens to be where I met my husband…
First comes love, then comes marriage, and then…..
life happens.Life always has unexpected curveballs. You can't always know the outcome, no matter how much you attempt to prepare yourself for those curveballs. My world seemed to be rocked all at once! I found myself having my heartstrings pulled in every direction I could think of, so knotted up that I wasn't sure I'd ever know what feeling relaxed and calm would ever feel like again…
My father, a man I always looked at as unbreakable, strong, and someone who could fix anything with his hands or his infectious smile, was slowly losing his battle with Parkinson's. The first man I fell in love with, the man I always tried to make proud, was gone. But how could this be??? No matter how much I prepared myself, no matter how much I tried to compartmentalize it into medical terms and allow my religious background to influence me, reality happened. The grief was real.
we only get one life to live!
…and I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!
I knew that despite all the hurdles thrown my way, only I could change whether I faced them head-on or not.
I knew that I still had so many blessings in my life and so much for which to be grateful and that it was time to put on my spikes and learn to jump over those danged things!
I am done settling for less than happiness and living in the moment. I wanted, no, I needed to do something I had never done before…
BELIEVE IN MYSELF!
I recognized that I have so much more to do with my life, so much love to give, and so many people I want to help. I couldn’t do that by doing the same things I had been doing.
So, I want to share with you things that I am passionate about, things that drive me, and I hope that they inspire you, too, to live a more fulfilling, healthy, and abundant life!
In the wise words of Dr. Wayne W. Dyer…
“Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change.”
Try it! I dare yah! ♥