At 16 years old, my father died. It was the first traumatic death I had experienced in my life. Through the course of that time, I became depressed and isolated myself. I could not fathom a life without my father. A year later I started counseling. Little did I know that this counseling relationship would impact my life and my future career. In counseling I processed through my grief and learned how to be kind to myself. My therapist was the kindest and most supportive person, which was essential to my grief process. I needed someone who was going to be gentle with me while helping me reflect on the loss of my father.

This counseling relationship made me decide to go into the counseling field. One day in my career class in my junior year of high school, we were taking a career assessment. The result for me was to be a bereavement counselor, and at that moment I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to help people process their pain just like I had in counseling.

From then on, counseling has been my dream job. Grief is not an easy process, and it doesn’t always look the same. One day you may be crying hysterically over a scent that reminds you of that person and the next day you may be completely fine. Grief is not a linear process. There is no exact formula for how someone should process through their grief.

I believe that everyone has their own story to tell. I want to hear what circumstances brought you to be who you are today. Especially with grief, I want to hear your grief journey. You deserve a space to share your story without judgement. Counseling gave me a voice to be myself and become the person I am today. I learned my circumstances don’t have to define me, but they still are a part of my journey. In counseling, I discovered someone who not only was willing to listen to the experiences I had been through but was also able to give me a space to be completely myself.

I want to be the person with whom you feel comfortable sharing your story: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I want you to know that you are not alone. While your story may not look the same as mine, I know what it’s like to feel alone and doubtful of their existence. You shouldn’t have to struggle alone. I’m here to walk you through your journey and help you see how capable of a person you are to make it through life. Don’t give up on yourself and I won’t give up on you.