Last night Bobby brought it to my attention that I haven’t talked a whole lot about my new job on here. I included a few details in a Favorite Finds post a few weeks ago, but other than that, my mentions of it have been sparse. Funny, because all I’ve been thinking about lately is my new 9-5.
Well guess what? Next Monday, I start a job that I’ve been dreaming about for three years! I’ll be a staff therapist for a small private practice that specializes in treating eating disorders.
I didn’t know what an eating disorder was as a kid. Weight was never a topic of conversation in my family, and my mom purposefully kept “fashion” magazines out of our house. She didn’t want me to develop a negative body image, for which I will always be grateful. I danced ballet into my teen years and watched friend after friend go to “dance camp” for the summers. In reality, as I would find out later, they were in rehab for an eating disorder. While I never developed eating issues of my own (thank God), I became passionate as to why someone develops a compulsion about food and what the health consequences can be. In my late teens into early twenties, I read so many memoirs and fiction novels about women with eating disorders. I couldn’t learn enough. I enrolled in graduate school two years ago with the sole goal of working as an eating disorders therapist. At the risk of sounding too trite, I feel like it’s the reason I was put on earth.
There is literally nothing else I would rather be doing with my life.
Even though I (will be) making a living by listening to others, I have a hard time opening up about myself. Yes, I write a blog that’s about my life, but my primary goal is to inspire others to live a balanced life. I guess my fear in talking too much about my career would take the focus off the “healthy living” genre that is this blog. I thought that emphasizing how happy I am that I’ve found my dream job and how proud I feel would be too “me, me, me!” I figured that expressing my anxieties about starting anew and not being a good enough therapist would seem too negative Nancy. I worried that you come here for overall health inspiration, not details about my working life.
But what am I so afraid of? This is my blog; my corner of the world where I can write about whatever the heck I please. This new chapter in my life is what makes me me. My life is not consumed by health and fitness. I am so much more than that. I vow to be more open with you moving forward, my friends.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! ❤
xo,
Lizzie
The Magic Tree 