Originally from south Florida, I grew up in an athletic household where sports were the main focus + priority. I engaged in competitive soccer for most of my teenage years, but eventually found my love for volleyball. This led me to playing collegiate volleyball for Rutgers University, where I was nominated for the All-American team and was top 10 in the nation in aces.

I graduated college with a degree in Kinesiology (Exercise Science). Upon graduating in 2012, I felt motivated to start this blog. My ultimate goal is to simply encourage others to live by my mantra: “Make Good Use of Your Pulse.”

As an athlete, I’ve always had a burning desire to reach my maximum potential physically. This drove me to learn about the most beneficial things to put into my body and how that varies from person to person, depending on their needs, level of activity, genetics, etc.

Along the way, I discovered that there are many factors that contribute to your overall health. Your emotional state, thought patterns, quality of sleep, and even your personal care items (soap, lotion, etc) impact your wellness.

Once I became more aware of these various facets of health, there was no turning back. A lot of bad habits were immediately out the window because I could not knowingly keep doing that damage to my body (i.e. habitual negative thinking, drinking sodas, eating lots of empty calories with no nutritional value, consuming all kinds of preservatives in packaged foods, applying toxic products to my skin).

My Holistic Healing Journey

In some of my content, I go into my journey to become my healthiest self. This has transcended my pursuit of athletic performance and opened me up to many other components of wellness that needed more of my attention. In 2020, after working with Dr. Will Cole to learn more about my health state, I learned that mold exposure in our home had triggered Epstein Barr virus to become active in my body. This is a virus that most of us carry around; it normally lays dormant. Stress and environmental factors can activate it and cause the body to become burdened. For me, Epstein Barr manifested itself in fatigue, lots of inflammation, food intolerances & gut issues.

Fortunately, I’m on the road to healing. It’s important to know that you can heal. You may feel hopeless at times, I certainly did. Patience is a crucial aspect of it. But, take the small steps. They will add up & the lessons you will learn along the way will be meaningful. Keep following those internal signals you’re getting, stay open to new information and don’t ever give up on yourself.

All of these components of my story have been the spark that started my mission to help others learn what I have; that you have the power to completely transform your health through the decisions you make everyday.

A few more things to know about me are, I have been an athlete my entire life: (volleyball, soccer & cross country). Present day, I’m an avid crossfitter, yoga practicer, clean beauty junkie, body acceptance proponent & self peace advocate. I married my best bud & love, Luke, on 7.11.2020 in the Great Smoky Mountains with our close families there. We have a black lab mix that I rescued in 2013. Her name is Kona and she is super, deservingly spoiled. She’s an angel dog.

I’ve navigated the earth in this way: Jupiter, FL to Fort Worth, TX to Newark, NJ to Indianapolis, IN to Kansas City, MO, and now Lee’s Summit, MO.

DISCLAIMER: The information, ideas, and knowledge I’ve shared on this site are meant for learning purposes only and are purely the opinion of the author of this blog. Your use of information in this blog is at your own risk.

My product reviews are written only about brands that I believe are making commendable efforts to make products with good ingredients. That said, the tone of my reviews will always be positive and never slanderous, as my writing style is optimistic and honest, at the same time.

That said, all of the reviews I write favor the product. Some moderately favorable and some highly favorable. If the product was in no way favorable, I would not try it in the first place. Therefore, you will not read a review that shares my immense disappointment in a product.

I feel good about respecting each company I work with and not bashing them. To maintain honesty in my writing, I only work with brands that I believe are creating good things. To become familiar with my favorite products and those I use on a regular basis, refer to my Healthy Lifestyle Shop page.