Four Words That Made Me Who I Am Today

I’m sure many massage therapists say that they became licensed because they always wanted to help people. That’s true for me as well. I couldn’t handle the sight of blood, or people in excruciating pain, or even physically helping someone walk again after an accident or a surgery.

Big props to those heroes who do that every day!

My absolute dream was to become an anchorwoman doing the news all over the world and interviewing the most fascinating individuals. I could see it all! There’s me, lead anchor on CNN, or there’s me interviewing professional athletes on Sports Center. It was my goal, it was who I wanted to be!

Then 9/11 happened.

On the morning of 9/11, I was headed to one of my communications classes at a local college to finish up my core requirements before I went on to a larger school.

I remember being in that class and everyone staring at the TV in utter horror, watching the events of that day unfold.

I saw reporters running for their lives and thought to myself, I can’t do this.

Unfortunately, it took an attack on our country to know that it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t see my dream anymore, it may be selfish, but I couldn’t imagine risking my life for the top story.

So there I was, just beginning my second year of college and completely confused.

What the heck was I going to do?

My boyfriend, now my husband, was studying Exercise Science and was applying for the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at a local university. I started to think about applying after this semester was over. It was a difficult program to get into, and that summer he had to dissect a human body to learn the minute details of anatomy. NO thank you!

Once again, I was stuck.

I was visiting my grandmother one day, and noticed her sitting at her kitchen table with her head down clenching her neck. I went over and started to massage her upper traps and neck, nothing fancy, just a regular massage for about 10 minutes.

Afterwards, she stood up and said, “You have magic fingers.”

That was it!

Those four simple words SPARKED my new venture! That’s what I was going to do! So, I looked up massage schools nearby, was accepted, learned anatomy without having to dissect anything. *Pictures in my textbook gave me enough visuals to understand...PHEW! I graduated in 2004, took my New York State boards in 2005, and received my license shortly after.

I was excited and nervous, but I knew it was something I could do and I would be great at!

So here I am, going into my 10th year running my own business, focusing on making people feel better! There's nothing better than hearing back from a new client about how much better they feel the next day, or how sleeping improved that night after their session. It's truly a blessing to be able to do what I do for others, and I can always thank my Nana for that.