Where I've Been...

Hello my lovely readers!

Somehow, it’s already September! I wanted to write about what’s been going on in my life lately (for those who might not keep up with me outside of social media).

I moved back to Texas at the beginning of May. I enjoyed the year I spent in Washington, but it was time to shift my focus away from my career as a health educator and look towards other goals.

First, I have always maintained my independence as a woman, and continuously worked towards my own goals. However, the year I spent in Washington left me with mixed emotions. I thoroughly enjoyed my job and was given opportunities for personal and professional growth through my company. But, I was recently engaged, and we were working through a long-distance relationship. The pandemic shut down and working from home reinforced how lonely I really was and lead me to make the decision that it was time to put my personal goals first, for once. So, without a definitive job lined up (although I had a lead I was working on), I put in my two weeks and packed up my entire life.

With COVID-19 starting to ramp up in May, I saw my opportunity to finally break into the field of Epidemiology. When I first began my Master of Public Health program in 2017, I knew right away that I wanted to study epidemiology. However, it was hard to break into the field when I was living in Nebraska, as none of the health departments were accepting interns. But, with the world needing epidemiologists more than ever, I was fortunate to find an opportunity to break into the field. At the beginning of June, I started my contract epidemiologist position! It’s been such an incredible learning opportunity and I’ve been enjoying every minute of it.

All that being said, I have not dedicated as much time to my other endeavors as I would like. I’m back working in an office from 8-5 Monday through Friday which also means the commute there and back. Add in my advisor requirements, work out time, reading time, and family time. It doesn’t leave much room for everything else. But don’t worry, I have time set aside on my three-day weekend to queue up some more amazing recipe posts! I created this blog to have an outlet to share information and my personal experience with my health, and that includes my mental health. With everything finally coming into balance, I can dedicate more time again.