Failing forward: I'm going back to school!

All the times I’ve failed, quit, or hit a rough patch in my life have pushed me forward to something better.

I’m writing this blog today because I need to hear it from myself. Yesterday, I was having a kinda rough day. Trying to digest everything that is going on in the world on top of what is going on in MY life felt overwhelming. I felt stuck, having to re-sign my lease in Boston when I was dreaming of moving to California this summer. So I thought back to the other times in my life where I felt stuck. And this blog came pouring out of me. I'm right on time. And this setback is a huge blessing.

Obstacles are detours in the right direction. I believe this with all my heart. Here’s why:

When I first got to college, I didn’t get into the sorority I wanted. All my new friends were in it. This led me to join a badass running group called November Project and sign up for my first half-marathon.

Two days before my first half-marathon, I got the flu. Determined to still make it over the finish line, I showed up at the race with a 99* fever and a bad cough. I made it to mile 6 then collapsed and had to be picked up by an ambulance. But one year later I signed up for the same race and finished!

That comeback moment gave me the motivation to sign up for my first marathon. During a training run, I fell and my knee popped and I had to go on crutches for 3 months. I couldn’t run the marathon. But! My friends at November Project convinced me to go to yoga for the first time to help with recovery.

One year and A LOT of yoga later, I signed up for a yoga teacher training course! Not long after that, I was teaching yoga full-time. It was my dream life. Obstacles are detours in the right direction.

Teaching yoga is tough work. At this point in my life I was not taking care of my diabetes and I quickly burnt-out from teaching 12 classes per week and going to school full-time. So I decided to cut back to 1 class per week and get a job working at lululemon for more stability. I felt like a failure because all I wanted to do was teach yoga.

One night I went out with my new friends from lululemon for a bar crawl and I met my future husband. Funny how that works. 8 months later I moved across the Atlantic Ocean with him to Ireland. Obstacles are detours in the right direction.

In Ireland I had terrible luck finding a job. I was on a limited visa so not many places would accept me. I decided to enroll in a culinary nutrition program to keep myself busy. I ended up scoring a job doing marketing for a food and nutrition blogger solely because she loved that I was taking the culinary nutrition course. It was the coolest job (I got to help design and publish a cookbook!)

We left Ireland and went back to Boston. I went back to working at lululemon and continued to climb up the ladder there. When I finally got the position of Assistant Manager of Boston’s largest store, I realized that I really wasn’t where I wanted to be. I had outgrown myself. I felt lost and confused. And I needed a job with a higher salary in order to get my husband a greencard, so I left and went to a corporate job. Something I swore I would never do.

But being in that corporate job was such a blessing. When I was at lululemon, I was constantly running around recruiting ambassadors and networking with the community that I never had time for myself. For the first time in a long time, I finally had time (and money) to invest in myself and my health. I signed up for a group program with a diabetic health coach.

Three months later, I finally had my goal a1c. I had more energy than I could ever imagine. I wasn’t getting monthly UTIs. I had motivation to chase after my dreams again. I started my diabetes Instagram account and found the most amazing community. Obstacles are detours in the right direction.

I was so inspired to set new goals. My year was totally planned out. I was going to have my wedding, ask to go remote with my corporate job, move to California, take a health coaching certification through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN), and then start some kind of career with food.

Then coronavirus hit. Our wedding was postponed. My company went permanently remote (yay!), but my husband did not want to quit his job and move to California in this economical climate, for good reason. We reluctantly resigned our lease yesterday to stay in Boston.

But I was also kinda really happy that we did. Because I have been chasing a new dream over the past few months since everything shifted. And it’s really exciting and scary. I have decided to go back to school to become a Registered Dietitian! Go big or go home!

This is something I’ve always dreamed of doing, but I’ve never had the time in my life or the money to commit. With my job going remote (read: no more long commute) and staying in Boston (read: I’m bored and won’t be exploring a new city) and the fact that cornavirus has shut down everything (read: I have a lot of free time), I finally have space to research and apply and do the damn thing!!

Might I fall on my ass? Yes. Huge chance of that. I hesitated even writing about this publically because what if I don't get in! But if there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that obstacles are detours in the right direction. And this feels sooo right.

So career change here I come!