It was on this day, 8 years ago, when my life was almost taken away from me. What I’m about to share with you is not me looking for “sympathy” but rather, me bringing you into a deeper part of me & sharing how this one “traumatic experience” is what has made me who I am, given me the purpose behind what I do, and introduced me to parts of myself I never knew existed. *trigger warning* In the summer of 2014, I was going down a huge hill on a penny board in my neighborhood, lost control and wasn’t able to recover. My eyes glazed over, I fell into unconsciousness & was flown to the hospital, intubated twice with a neck brace and feeding tubes down my throat. The doctors determined I had a traumatic brain injury with a fractured skull, subdural hematoma, & hearing loss in one ear. I was in a coma state for a week & my chances of living were slim to none. After months of inpatient/outpatient rehab, the doctors let me go home. They warned my parents I’d be a “new person” with lost inhibitions and impulsivities. I had adjust to my “new norm” with permanent deafness in my right ear/cognitive fatigue, which had me sleeping through the days & only being able to do 1/2 days of school. Prior to this injury, I was an “elite” soccer player who dedicated my life to the sport & was nominated to tryout for the Junior US Womens National Team. But now it was time for me to “re-write the script” & pursue a new path. During recovery, I took time to learn about myself, fall in love with who I am, & find my higher purpose. I got really into health/fitness, fell in love with the idea of reinventing myself, & wanted to use my story to inspire others to live a healthy lifestyle & find the beauty in “starting over”. I thank God everyday for the way everything unfolded for me, allowing me to live my higher purpose and find a career path i can choose my own hours (since I don’t have the stamina to work a 9-5) and offer an outlet for creativity and self expression. I am so blessed for all of you have supported me on this journey and hope my story can inspire you to trust that everything happens for a reason. Although you may not know “why” right now, soon it will all make sense. 🤍