As I get to know you, I will get to learn your unique story, but before that let me share with you a small look into mine. 

I grew up part of my life in California but around 10 I moved to Maine with my family where I graduated high school. My family was always very busy and loved to be active. My family consists of my younger brother Cody, younger sister Rachel, my mom, and my dad, and starting this summer, my fiancé Paul will join our family. 

My parents were always faithful in bringing us to church and walking faithfully where the Lord was guiding us. Through them, I accepted Jesus and began to walk and follow him. 

My family has always been very focused on healthy choices in the ways we nourish and care for our bodies. Through my mom, I developed a love for cooking. I was and am always in the kitchen with new ingredients and recipes. There is a joy that surrounds food and meals. This was something I experienced in my family, but I did not see the impact until my adult life. 

I grew up very active. I played basketball, soccer, and softball. I loved to be moving and enjoyed the beauty of sports. I enjoyed being outdoors, especially in the sunshine. 

My health journey started a lot earlier than I thought it did. When I was in middle school, I would struggle with side pains that doctors described as dehydration. These continued into high school and my mom, and I discovered they could be gallstones. As we did our research, I started to limit high-fat foods and take natural remedies. For a long time, this showed great improvement in my health. 

As I left for college in 2016, I did not know the impact the change of food would have on my body. I went to Gordon College right outside of Boston to play college basketball. Shortly into my college experience, I ended up in the hospital with really strong sharp pain again. This resulted in an emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder due to infection. This surgery was just the start of injury and sickness that I did not anticipate. From gall bladder removal to ACL tears, to back injuries, to foot injuries, and continued digestive dysfunction I began to start to navigate my health concerns. 

Toward the end of college, I felt like I was starting to feel better and get into a rhythm. This came from years of trial-and-error landing me in a diet that was low in fat, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Even with these restrictions, I would still have issues. 

In 2020, I graduated with a bachelor's in business administration and recreation, sport, and wellness with a coaching focus. Nutrition, food, and exercise have always been a huge focus in my life.  After graduation, I decided to pursue a master's in education while working in a special education classroom.  Big life changes began to happen, I graduated, became a full-time special education teacher, and made a big move from Maine to Georgia. After all of this change and a lot of prayer, I felt like I needed to find some help.

In a very unique way, the Lord led me to my own personal NTP. I met with Kari for the first time, and I found some hope that the holistic path I was on could be the best way for me to start healing myself. Over the next 6 months, I worked with Kari on restoring my gut health, reducing my stress, increasing mineral intake, and looking at the root cause of my symptoms. 

This was the path to me feeling better and finding healing. At the end of those 6 months, I wanted to keep getting support all while having it in the back of my mind that I would like to pursue the Nutritional Therapy Association program.  In February, the door opened for me to begin the course myself. 

Through my health, I have been able to learn immense amounts, but this course helped solidify that knowledge with evidence-based practices. It also grew my knowledge and understanding! 

My family, lifestyle, and interests in nutrition greatly shaped my view on how our bodies are designed to work and their abilities to heal. I have found my healing both physically and mentally through nutritional therapy. 

I hope after hearing my story you can find some hope that sustainable life change is possible. You do not have to tolerate feeling poorly most of the time. You can feel healthy. You can heal. You can make small changes that impact your health in the future.