1. I will forever be a Carolina Girl. I grew up in South Carolina, and though I do think the Southwest has me for good, the deep south will always hold a special place in my heart. I love fireflies, honeysuckle, monograms, argyle, seersucker…And words like “dadgumit” will forever be in my vocabulary. Go Gamecocks.

2. I was actually born on campus at the University of Florida. At Shands Hospital where my parents were in residency (both pediatricians)

3. I skipped learning to walk. Legit. According to my parents, I didn’t want anything to do with walking until I could run. I feel like this speaks volumes about my nature in general. My mom lovingly refers to me as the energizer bunny, and I think that suprises no one that knows me.

4. My family was never big on expressing emotions and definitely never talked through them. In fact, I was called a drama queen regularly and thought I was too emotional until I moved out and went to college. Once I started really getting to know other people, I realized just how many walls I had up and how I definitely was not a drama queen. And that I had zero clue how to express my emotions. This definitely messed up several friendships/relationships over the next several years as it was a long (as honestly is an ongoing) process to learn how to accept, process, and express emotions. I regularly go to counseling to continue to work on this, plus just the regular stuff that life throws at you.

5. I am a type 7 on the Enneagram, which is the Enthusiast. Apparently, I’m the only one who couldn’t see this initially and insisted I’m a Type 5. But I have never seen myself as someone who gets excited. For example, I’m often expressionless when opening gifts on Christmas morning…it’s not until hours later that it really hits me. But as people have pointed it out, it makes more sense - I get crazy hype about spending quality time with people, a good brunch, any outdoor sport, CrossFit, my career, dancing…so I guess I really am an enthuiast. It was just a bling spot for a long time.

6. I. Freaking. Love. Polka dots. They’re just so happy. Seriously. Can you really look at something with that pattern and not smile? I can’t.

7. Roses do nothing for me. Honestly, I think this goes back to my deep desire to not fit the norm ever. I much prefer something that requires some thought and is more individualized. So unless it’s bacon roses, I’d rather get dahlias or wildflowers or something just unique.

8. Gift giving is my love language. Ok, that and dairy free ice cream. But really, if you havent read the 5 Love Languages book, I highly recommend it. In it, it explains SO much. One thing it explains is that gift giving isn’t always materialistic. In can often be the gift of presence. And that it’s much more about the thought behind the gift versus the price tag.

9. I hate yellow squash. I don’t know exactly what it is…I have no issue with other forms of squash, and I love zucchini. But yellow squash is yuck.

10. I battled bulemia for 2 years after college due to major fears of “being fat” (that’s a long back story of thought viruses). I even convinced myself that I was “okay” and it “didn’t count” because I never binge ate and would just occasionally purge. In hindsight, I was very lost and confused during this time

11. The outdoors is my sanctuary. Whether it be summiting a mountain, solo camping, diving into a glacial lake, or trail running, getting “lost” in the wilderness is when I feel the most relaxed and free.

12. I love the feeling of the sun baking my skin. Hence why I love Phoenix summers. Yes, I know I’m weird.

13. I have one younger brother, Brad, and he is one of my favorite humans ever. I definitely gave him hell growing up (what siblings don’t?), but we ended up becoming close and I am beyond proud of the man he’s become. We also can communicate in “squirrel voice” (think the squirrel’s in the movie the Emporer’s New Groove)

14. I’m allergic (well, highly sensitive) to 3 things: dairy, mushrooms, and codeines. The first I did to myself by cutting out dairy for several months, and I developed the allergy. The other 2 I found out the hard way.

15. My first knee surgery was in 5th grade (and when I found out I don’t tolerate codeines): a OCD lesion repair. No, not that OCD…osteochondritis dissecans. It’s an issue with a piece of bone in a joint dying + cartilage damage. I’ve had it several times in both knees over the years, but thankfully only twice requiring surgery (had to have an OATS graft in college). (My other knee surgery was an ACL graft.)

16. The first time I was ever interested in my current career as a PT was in 5th grade -after that surgery, I had to go through some intensive PT after not being able to use my right leg for 6 weeks. And then the following year I couldn’t put weight throgh my left leg for 6 weeks. However, a bit of pride and parental pressure got in the way until 2009, 3 months before college graduation, when I found out that it became a doctoral degree. (the next year I had to do a 5th year of school to take all my pre-reqs, work full time to pay for it, and do hundreds of volunteer hours for applications)

17. My college degree is a B.S. in Mathematics. Per my college bestie: “You’re scary good at math and the only reason I passed physics”. And I was on the math team growing up. I was actually looking at grad school for nuclear engineering or computer programming before I did a full pivot to physical therapy school

18. My first vehicle when I got my license at 15 (seriously, who thought that was a good idea?!) was a 1999 GMC Sierra fully loaded with an extended cab. Cue Fast and Furious -esque scenes. And lots of yellow books from a-hole friends with “booster seat” written across the front.

19. I admittedly drive like a bat out of hell. Don’t get my wrong, I’m a safe driver. I’m just on the offense.

20. I am fiercely loyal and protective of the friends and family in my inner circle. I will forever be the person that will support them and drop everything when needed and be there in whatever space they need. But don’t read this wrong: I will never be simply a “yes man” to them either, and they know it. My friends and family know I will be completely honest and open with them. Bottom line: Relationships are far more important to me than making money. (I will say that as I’ve gotten older, this is why my inner circle has shrunk. You have to be picky with who gets this level of emotional loyalty from you or you’ll get drained and likely taken advantage of)

21. The most important thing I have ever done in my life, hands down, is be my father’s caregiver and help my mom out during that time. I didn’t even think twice about leaving my job to do that. I knew I’d figure something out, but that was more important. And honestly, it doesn’t matter what I pull off in my life/career, I don’t see anything topping that (though I will forever strive to help as many people as possible). I don’t think I even still fully understand the gravity of that decision/action. But I just knew as soon as I heard he was sick that I couldn’t sit by and do nothing.

22. The hardest thing I have ever done in my life, hands down, is be my father’s caregiver. Though processing grief and loss after his death is definitely up there. But props to any caregivers out there. I always knew that was a hard job, but you honestly have NO idea until you’re in it yourself.

23. I’ve lived in 3 countries: USA, Northern Ireland (Belfast), and Australia (Sydney)…granted, NI was for study abroad and Sydney was for a clinical rotation, but I figure if I paid bills and rent, it counts.

24. I played the flute and piccolo growing up (All State Band and all that. Yes, I went to band camp. Yes, I have heard all of the jokes). While I loved it, I have zero desire to be the next Jethro Tull, so now I’ve picked up acoustic guitar (I’ve wanted to learn for years, but after Dad died and I got his guitar, I dove headfirst into learning)

25. Art is a hobby of mine. I’ve always loved drawing since I was a kid, and picked up painting as an adult. I’ve had a few friends commision abstract paintings from me and often do either drawings or paintings as gifts

26. Dance is life. To the point where sometimes I wonder if I was a performer in a past life. I grew up dancing Carolina Shag and some ballroom, then took jazz, modern, hip hop, and ballroom in college for fun. But what I really enjoy is going out to bars and picking things up. In Columbia, SC there are a lot of latin bars where I learned salsa, bachata, and merengue. And then when I moved to AZ, I picked up country swing.

27. I did cheerleading one year. I had played soccer from the age of 6, but realized with my knee surgeries, my collegiate and pro dreams were out the window, so I wanted to try something different my senior year. And the basketball cheer squad was the closest thing we had to a dance or step team.

28. I love to sing. Most of the time, that’s limited to by myself in my car, but it’s a full on performance. My go-to karaoke song is Fallin’ by Alecia Keys and has been since junior year of college. In fact, my senior year, we took a tour of the Apollo theater and I got to sing that on stage (to an audience of my classmates, but still)

29. I was held up at gunpoint when I was 18 and working at a movie theater. It still feels surreal to this day, but it did affect the hearing in my left ear (he shot at me while running away and missed, but it was a small room…I still often have ringing in that ear. Other than that, it really didn’t seem to affect me. Though I did realize that I go into this auto-pilot take care of sh*t mode in those kinds of situations.

30. I was drugged and raped at 19. It was someone that I had many mutual “friends” with (I say that in quotations because that was back when I wanted to be friends with everyone and was not picky about who I kept around), and when I tried to start opening up about it, none of them believed me, so I stopped. This did affect me for a very long time, and kinda still does... Not mentally or emotionally anymore (thanks to lots of counseling), but I can’t always help the physical response (our body has triggers same as we do emotionally), though it is significantly better after counseling and reading the book Come As You Are.

31. I have travelled to 20 countries, and at least 6 of them have been solo. I’ve also been to 33 states so far, with countless solo trips. I’ve become insanely good at traveling on a budget and have an incredibly long travel bucket-list.

32. I’ve been skydiving twice and LOVE it! If I wasn’t medically exempt from being able to do it solo, this would probably be a major hobby (I’ve had two syncope episodes where I’ve been unconscious for at least 10 seconds with no known cause. Rather safe that sorry)

33. I’m a huge anatomy/exercise nerd, which probably comes to a shock to nobody. Physical Therapy is like the perfect mix of my love of mathmatics (the body is basically a system of vectors, levers and pulleys) and being a lifelong athlete. I am much stronger and healthier now at 33 than I have ever been. And I feel a huge desire to help others realize that this is possible for them at any age.

34. Ok some bonus ones… For most of my life, my persona = 10 feet tall and bulletproof. At ALL times. I wore that like a badege of pride. I also legit thought I couldn’t be accepted by other females as the strong independent person I am, so I just thought it would be easier to hide my feminine side. In the past few years though, I’ve learned that I can still be the strong and independent woman I am without all the armour. I can simultaneously show my softer side, be vulnerable, be goofy, and /or dress up - and that does not make me weak. In fact, what it does is make me way more approachable, but still a force to be wreckened with when need be.

35. In the last few years, I’ve developed a strong love of teaching and public speaking (still scares the crap out of me, but it also excites me big time). Two things I previously thought I hated. Had I not been open to new uncomfortable experiences, I never would have realized either of these.

Whew, there it is.…Honestly, this was the hardest blog to write to date. I love teaching others and I love learning about others. But to expose myself to this level and to dig deep and think about myself in this manner was tough and unnatural for me. But anything outside of your comfort zone helps you grow right? And this has served as a reminder of all I’ve overcome and all I can accomplish when I put my mind to it.

Please let me know in the comments or DM/email if any of this resonated with you.

Next week’s blog will actually talk a little bit about a combination of a couple of these…I’m going to talk about a shoulder injury I had at a time when I had the physical strength to sustain the fall I took, but I did not have the mental/emotional health, and therefore strength didn’t matter as much…