Live your Passion

so for the last couple of months, i've been running and taking a "break" from working healthcare.  i can't even believe the positive change it has made in my attitude and day to day living.  at first, i felt pretty guilty by not working and living off of my savings, but then i started to think, "am i really living life, if i am going to a job everyday, around a lot of people who don't really understand me?"  so i took the bold step and made some changes.  the changes have been huge.  but you can't pay the bills just by running 10-20 miles everyday, so a couple of weeks ago, i decided to make some more changes.

i talked to some contacts, and landed a job at the University Student Health Clinic as an NP.  it's one of the sites where i did my Nurse Practitioner training when i was in school and i really loved it for several reasons.  1) there is a really strong group of Nurse Practitioners who work there.  they are intelligent and not only are they great providers, but they are great teachers as well.  i will learn a lot from them.  2)  i will be supported as the independent and strong person that i am.  i was approached by one of the NPs on my first day, and he told me repeatedly how happy he was that i was working at the clinic.  i was told by another NP that she really liked how confident i was when i was talking with patients.  these comments warmed my heart.  3)  the student population of patients is intelligent and motivated to get well.  it's really quite amazing to have patients that have already researched their differential diagnoses and give you a starting point for what they think might be wrong and how they can get better.  sometimes it takes a little convincing to get them back on track and not "look for zebras", but it is all in all a wonderful patient population.

on a whim, i sent out an email to an old boss of mine (pre-nursing days, going back at least 10 or 12 years), after seeing that his store was hiring sales staff.  several other trail-running friends of mine work hours in their local running stores in other states, and i decided to borrow a page from their books and look into it myself.  i interviewed for the position this morning, and landed a job as a member of the Salt Lake Running Company's sales staff.  another heartwarming moment.  yes, it is a major cut in pay.  but honestly, to be surrounded by people who share my passion in life--running--and to be able to lend a fresh perspective on running to those around me (because much of the sales staff runs road races, do triathlons, and are elite athletes, and i in comparison run almost exclusively trails and am a middle-of-the-packer, just hoping to finish my 100-miler).  wow, what an amazing turn of events.  and no, i'm not doing it to get a discount on shoes, although that does sweeten the deal a bit.

so here i am, continuing to surf along in life, feeling better about myself and my situation and preparing for my next run.  i am supported by people who care about me and share my passions.  i have the freedom to live my passion and continue to be the strong, caring, passionate person that i am.  i am a lucky girl.