Maybe some of you have noticed something different about this website, and I am happy to announce that I am now a Registered Dietitian! I took my exam on April 24th and successfully passed. It was an exciting day, but also a bittersweet end to my academic career. All I could think of was the fateful question that I've been asked since I was about 4-years old:
What do you want to be when you grow up?
My answers have changed too many times over my lifetime and have ranged from a doctor, nurse, mommy, musician, paleontologist, marine biologist, nurse anesthetist, among a slew of other possibilities. To think that I can finally answer that question and have actually become a profession feels wonderful!
Now that the schooling is done, I have actually come up with a mission statement. No, not for a new organization, but for myself and for whatever clinical or community nutrition position I end up in:
I want to teach others how to love themselves and the body they are in through making healthful food choices. I want to teach them to find inner peace, and how to use their surroundings, their environment, and their thoughts as starting blocks for healthy lifestyle changes. I want to empower others, and I want them to use that power to teach others the same.
This is what I want to do with my life, and that, my friends, is what I have decided to be when I grow up.
Also, if you haven't done it already, I suggest crafting your own personal mission statement for life and your career, or future career if you are still in school. It's a great way to focus your thoughts on what you want to accomplish in this world.
