16 March 2013

My Exciting New Journey

I am so, so, so excited.  On Monday I begin a yearlong schooling program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to earn my certificate to become a health coach!  This is going to be the perfect career for me.

The program is entirely online, which at first I wasn't geeked about because I like human interaction but actually, this way I can still work part or full-time (if I find a job this year) AND it allows me to choose my schedule.  The program is very comprehensive--its founder, Joshua Rosenthal, has a PhD in Education and Nutrition--and includes not only nutritional training but business training.  The latter is invaluable.  IIN will provide me a website, business cards and other literature as well as necessary paperwork for when I start seeing clients.

This last part brings me to another respectable aspect of this program.  I can start seeing clients halfway through my training!  Similar to an internship, this will give me real world experience, not to mention boost my confidence and know-how in the field.

I've decided to keep a journal as I embark upon this journey so that I have a place to document my thoughts, passions, intentions, inspirations, knowledge learned and anything else!  In my zealous state, I rushed out to the store yesterday to buy a journal.  I've already filled up, like, five pages...ha!


I've also decided that I'm going to make a relatively modest-sized recipe book of my favorite salad creations and illustrate the book using cut paper.  I have the initial goal of doing one illustration per weekend and I hope I can stick to it!  It took me nearly all of today.  It was a ton of work.  Enjoyable but kind of exhausting.  It took me back to my senior thesis project, which consumed ALL of me.  I don't want that again, which is why I think one illustration per week is a manageable, but still challenging, goal.

Here's what I worked on today:


Thoughts??

7 comments:

  1. My thoughts are that you are absolutely amazing! I'm so proud and happy for you that you are starting this new, exciting journey! I'm sure that the program will be an amazing experience for you and I know that you will be so successful in your career as a coach! You've already been doing so many amazing things and this will just help you grow that much more.

    So let's talk about this recipe book ;) I absolutely think it's a great idea and I hope you'll let me know where I can buy a copy when it's done! Your cut paper illustrations are AMAZING. I am seriously in awe and so jealous of your talent. You are seriously really talented and I'm excited that you are taking on this project because I think it is new and exciting and I seriously can't wait to see more of your illustrations! I definitely know what you mean about getting burnt out... I wrote my Master's thesis in like 4-6 weeks and I was completely fried after it!! Take your time and have fun with it!

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    1. Sarah, YOU are amazing too!!!! Thank you so much for your kind words though! I almost cried! You are so sweet and it means so much to me to have your excitement and support! I am so glad that we've become friends and connected!

      As for the book, YIPPEE! Glad you like it :) I'm really looking forward to working on it. It will give me something to look forward to every week and be a nice reprieve from what I have going on in the week. Your advice is spot-on. As for your thesis, oy. That sounds intense and I'm sure, like mine, it's something you NEVER want to do again.

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  2. Wow, congratulations! What an exciting adventure. Your salad illustration is awesome. Looking forward to hearing more about your program and book!

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    1. Thank you, Nikki! Nice to hear from you :)

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  3. That's so exciting! Congratulations, what an exciting journey!

    I love the paper-cut illustrations! Two of my tattoos are based on work by the artist Nikki McClure. I'm assuming, as a fellow paper-cutter, that you're aware of her, but if you're not, Google her, her work is amazing!

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    1. Thanks Raechel! I will keep my blog readers updated on my schooling and progress!

      Thank you too for the compliment! I would love to see what your tattoos look like! Do you have photos of them on your blog? I actually was not familiar with Nikki's work until I Googled her. You're right--she's amazing! I have so many artists who inspire me: Romare Bearden, Jane Hammond, Hannah Höch, Henri Matisse, Kara Walker...I could keep going!

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