About Me - Why I chose Traditional Chinese Medicine

If you asked me what Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was five years ago, I would have disregarded it as another form of quack medicine with a profound lack of science-based evidence that wasn't to be trusted. Like most people in their younger years, I was more concerned with doing what everyone else was doing. Western Medicine was the "IT", and in college, everyone who was pre-med made it their life's work just to get into medical school - MCAT's, studying, research projects, volunteering... all of this stuff just to build yourself on a piece of paper. During my college years, I turned away from my own passion of holistic health and wellness and found myself engrossed in this world of stress because I thought medical school was the end-all be-all. It wasn't until I decided to shift perspectives that I left that world and allowed a truer sense of self to emerge. Forcing yourself to fit in takes a lot of effort! It's harder to listen to your inner self, but its easier to be you once you accept who you are.

Now, I'm not saying the TCM is for everyone, nor am I saying its the right type of medicine. But through my own process of self-discovery, I found myself and a passion so deep that I feel compelled to share it.

TCM first became a reality when I decided to study abroad. I took a leap... against parental advice and many other people who told me that China was the LAST place that I'd want to visit. Smog, nasty people, busy cities, dirty streets... you could go on forever about the assumptions people make about places even though they've never been there. But, I knew I wanted to travel, and said, lets do it! Funny enough, I originally did it to get into medical school. I've always been the nature, outdoorsy, organic, granola type, so why not go for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Kunming, China? Studying Chinese medicine would look great on a resume right? I didn't know it at the time, but it would end up being my whole life's work. A small 6-week trip to a country that I'd never been to before inspired me so much that I would decide to choose it over Western Medicine.

Despite poor planning (I was only 20!) and stepping off the plane without any money or knowledge of the language, I placed my first footsteps onto Chinese soil. The first thing I noticed was that everyone rode their bikes or scooters to work. They seemed so much healthier (at least outwardly and to my 20-year-old eyes). But I didn't understand their health until I went to my first day of classes. There they explained that TCM liked to focus on the root of health, not just the symptoms. Symptoms are merely signs that indicate that some internal mechanism is out of balance and needs to be righted again. But they weren't keen on pills at all. They wanted to dig deep into health... the slow way. The nurturing way, the kind that takes time and love and focus on the whole person, not just one symptom. This fascinated me. I had always been frustrated with how Western Medicine never truly seemed helpful. How I ate well and exercised very consistently and never seemed to need a doctor. Why were Americans so unhealthy? Why did we always need doctors? Why are doctors so expensive? Why are our elderly suffering so much? Why are we tired all the time? Why didn't the doctor get to know the person prior to treating a patient's illness? Where was the detail and kindness that I was looking for in a healer? Literally, the questions go on and on. I didn't find answers until I went to China.

At 20, I still didn't understand myself enough to commit to a career path. So, TCM wasn't in my main mindset. I actually deviated from it for a long time. I joined the military and learned a lot about Combat Medicine, which I also found interesting. Emergency Medicine itself is it's own rabbit hole and I fell in love with that as well. But, it was like that relationship you had when you were younger, where you were so close to finding the one, but it wasn't quite right. Emergency medicine was very effective and existed out of the right frame of mind to help those in life or death situations.... but it wasn't for me. When I left military training and worked as an EMT, that really became clear to me. I worked on a medical transport line and spent hours taking grandma from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility. There, I really saw the disparities that our country faces as far as long-term health. So many of the people I encountered had diseases that could have been easily prevented a long time ago. Diseases that TCM would have facilitated their healing greatly, but, no one here in the U.S. really knows about TCM and suffer greatly because of it. I saw many other things, too, like a lack of community, lack of health education, lack of access to good food... that list goes on and I could make a whole other blog about it. As I grew more frustrated with my job, shift after shift, I just couldn't take it anymore. All the while I had been reading "The Web That Has No Weaver," and other TCM books and it actually occurred to me that I can practice TCM in the United States. I don't have to do a job just for money. I can do something that I love without having to suffer everyday just to pay the bills. I wanted to live my life purposely and fully, not just to exist and turn to dust without a trace of remembrance.

That leads me to where I am today. In a bucket of debt, yes, but living the life that I love. I am enrolled in a four-year dual master's and doctoral program focused on Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine at the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine here in Houston, TX. I even took a small hiatus from acupuncture school to obtain my Massage Therapy & Bodywork license so that I can begin giving treatments to clients. I have a long time before I can practice acupuncture, but I am grateful to be able to see clients via massage. I couldn't be happier to be on this journey of my life and set aside my old ways of pleasing those around me. From this point forward, I no longer have to live for others but live in a way that I can give my passion to others.

I'm so excited to share my journey with you!