Let me tell you a story……
I share parts of my story, with the hope that you can give yourself permission to honor, acknowledge and heal your traumas without guilt or shame.
The Beginning.
My love for storytelling began in 3rd grade. As a shy and invisible child, I stood on the stage of PS103 auditorium in the Bronx: I recited the "caribou boo boo" phrase in the story that flung me into the spotlight and made me the storytelling champion. I have come to realize that we are all the storytellers and authors of our lives. If we want to win the championship of life, we may have to tell a new story and write a new chapter in our lives.
Let me share a little bit of how the little 3rd grader in me found out how easy it was to author her life story:
(My sister and I as little girls, I’m on the right in the red.)
The power within.
I was an immigrant born to a teenage mother. I suffered from Selective Mutism (an anxiety base disorder), grew up in an abusive home, and struggled academically in school. The story for my life at this point was that I was destined for failure. However, my story changed after I was inadvertently selected to be the storytelling representative for my 3rd class and started working with Mrs. Miller, my storytelling coach. For weeks, Mrs. Miller worked with me to help me tell the story differently. She told me that it wasn't enough to know the story... I had to "feel it." I had to use my breath, heart, and soul to give life to the story I wished to tell. She helped me realize that the words, characters, or theme of the story did not have to change. My perception of the story is what needed to change; this change had to come from "within" me.
That inner change led to me believing in myself, so much so that during my senior year of high school, I simultaneously completed my first year of college and I graduated at the age of 21 years old with my BS degree and all the coursework completed for my MS degree.
That day when I stood on the stage of PS103 auditorium in the Bronx, I won more than a trophy. What I "really" won was the knowledge that we ALL have the power to create or recreate our life story… no matter how it began.
My Rewrite meant
”Turning my pain into my life’s purpose.”
EDUCATION:
Bachelors of Science in Allied Health & Counseling, College of Mount Saint Vincent, 2000
Masters of Science in Allied Health & Counseling, College of Mount Saint Vincent, 2003
Bachelors of Science in Nursing, New York University, 2007
Masters of Science in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, New York University, 2016
EMDR Trained
PCIT Trained
NLP Trained
SPECIALITIES:
Highly Sensitive People (HSP)
ADHD
Anxiety
Trauma
Self-love
Self-care
EMDR