The universe will always provide. IT is continuously providing even when we are too exhausted and
in a negative frame of mind to recognize
it. Often the manifestation of our hopes and dreams is best in hindsight so
moving into a more mindful space can provide further clarity and guidance.
Looking back on my time at Palmer West I can specifically call out several
“thot-flash” moments that shaped my soul and carved out the path I am traveling
down.
The first moment of clarity came to me before starting Palmer West.
I visited Palmer Davenport and found out several weeks after the visit they no
longer allow visually impaired students on that campus. Frustrated, I broke
down for about ten minutes feeling defeated and that my dreams had been completely
shattered. A couple of days later I found out that I could in fact attend their
West campus in San Jose, California. Quickly, my attitude shifted… of course
California is better than Iowa, so when the time presented I moved to the West coast.
I had never wanted to live in California. I always thought I would live in Colorado
or even back in Montana where I received my undergrad education. When the
plane’s doors opened at SFO and I let my first California air I knew I was here
to stay! I turned to my father and said, “I love California, this is where I am
meant to be.”I felt in that instant certain comfort and sense of contentment in
my decision to become a DC.
The next important moment occurred at the end of my first quarter of
chiropractic school. I was making some amazing lifelong friends and starting to
find a groove somewhere in between 30+ credits and living out my mid 20s as a
fun loving hippieish girl! I was so happy to have several close girl friends
(ABA) to laugh and run around the bay area with! I was having fun and already thinking about
what I would do after graduation. In first quarter I contacted UC Berkeley and
inquired about their MPH program thinking that it would be a great fit for me.
The crazy over achiever in me, wanted to
have a plan in place for after
graduation to continue my education since I believe the best part of life is
learning. This intense focus on grades and titles almost caused me to miss a
chance meeting with one of the most important people in my life. I had been invited to a beer
tasting party however I wanted to find out my grades and hang out with my
quarter to celebrate the completion of our first quarter of chiropractic
school. My girl friends encouraged me to go to my beer tasting and that I would
meet up with them later. IT was there the universe introduced me to this random
guy and although I thought he seemed pretty awesome at the time, my first
quarter self could have never imagined that this was the person I would be
starting a practice with several years later.
Time at Palmer is a weird phenomenon.
The weeks fly by but the days seem like a weeklong. It is a constant marathon
of sitting over eight hours per day, taking notes, studying, being with the
same people every second and cramming for 12 finals every 12 weeks. Burned out
from all of my extracurricular activities including two national positions and running several
clubs I walked into my apartment one day and it was as if a bolt of lightning
hit me. THOT-FLASH! I had created this warm, comforting home. Full of texture
from the hemp rugs on the floor to the ruffled pillows on my bed. I always have
music playing and candles burning. My apartment was truly a place for all of
the senses to be embraced. I realized that this is it… this is my mission. I am
meant to free nervous system interference to allow others to experience their
lives in the most optimal way. For me this means truly being mindful and
appreciating every sense not just being stuck in a visual realm. This set the ground
work for many of my articles and public speeches and once I point it out to
people that they should literally STOP and smell the roses, it seems to click
for them. By freeing their imprisoned impulses I am freeing their minds…I am
liberating their full potential! I love
adjusting subluxations and allowing that person to stop adapting to the
world around them and instead living in harmony within their universe. It is
beautiful and I am the most privileged girl in the world to be able to do this each
day!
Building upon my lightning bolt thought around sixth quarter I had aftershocks
that have proven to be the stepping stones along my journey. One of the bridges
that took me to a new level of thought exploration has been editing for the
chiropractic page of All Things Healing. I kept reading the page and emailing
with the supervising editor. I went back and forth on whether I could handle
another responsibility at the time. I had patients in clinic, a couple clubs which I was still president of and figuring
out my future practice. I could not get At out of my head. Here was a huge
opportunity to get the chiropractic message out to the world, so I jumped don
it and never looked back. It is not
about me being editor and getting published, it is so much bigger than me. That
is why I brought my good friend on as co-editor to double the amount of
messages going out to the world. The chiropractic section was about to be shut down due to lack of interest. It was
consistently in the bottom 2 , out of 40
sections, for page views. In one quarter we took it to #7! Knowing that
thousands of people around the world were reading the chiropractic message brought tears to my eyes. ATH is truly
my greatest triumph during chiropractic school. I plan on being editor for
years to come and continue to spread a positive chiropractic message with ATH
as a major tool to do so. ATH goes hand in hand with giving talks at conferences.
I love public speaking, it is almost a sick inner drive to push myself further
and spread the message. Telling the story is my calling and I do not care if it
is one person or an auditorium they need to know, they deserve to know, and I
WILL tell them!
Chiropractic school brought many tears, sleepless nights, raging sympathetics
yet the greatest reqrd. Graduation last
week was surreal. I was completely shaking walking into the auditorium. I
thought my knees were going to give out and that I was going to make a complete
fool out of myself. Winning the Virgil Strang award brought some blood flow back to my
extremities and reciting the oath was
magical. My emotions are all over the place however I have not had any
time to allow them to surface. As soon as my family left town I started packing
my life into boxes. Packing away
memories some into containers others kept close in my heart. Next week, when I
am alone, I will process everything from the last several weeks and years. This chapter has ended and a more important
chapter is just getting started. Each
memory, meeting and idea provided by the universe is now guiding me to Santa
Barbara. IT will be the epi-center for everything Genuine Chiropractic. I am so
nervous, scared, excited and pretty much every emotion in between. Learning from the past, I am moving
forward and hoping to better recognize
clues from the universe and be in tune more with my own innate intelligence.
Thank you Palmer and San Jose for allowing me to become a Doctor of
Chiropractic. A title in which I hold very near and dear to my heart. I feel
the weight of the responsibility before me and trust that the universe will
guide me and provide me with the best opportunities. IT is time to go out and change
the world!
