About Me

In 2020, if you had asked me where I would be in five years, I would have calmly and confidently told you I would still be teaching. At that point I’d already had my Masters degree in Teaching and was working with my favorite population – middle school special education. Each day in the classroom was an adventure and I loved knowing I was making a difference in the lives of my students and their families. I truly valued my work and took heart in knowing I had job security. Then for me, like many others, COVID changed everything. At first, we quarantined and I learned on the job how to teach online. It wasn’t until we returned to the classroom that things went wrong.  In January 2022 I caught what was considered a mild case. Primary symptoms were  body aches, brain fog, and fatigue. But those symptoms lasted for weeks. Then months. Doctors said they believed the symptoms would subside, but could offer no help. They never really did. After months of illness following that mild COVID infection, it became clear to me that returning to the career is was previously devoted to was not an option. I no longer had the physical capability or mental capacity to do all the things I needed to do as a special education teacher. I grieved that loss deeply, but began work on adjusting to my new normal.

I moved back to Troy, my hometown, to be closer to the support of my family. I did all the therapies to try to regain some of my faculties. In my therapeutic process, I found that painting – a hobby I had previously enjoyed when I’d had the time – was something that was unaffected by the brain fog that plagued other aspects of my life. And since I was mostly stuck at home, my primary companion became my first subject – and helped begin the new adventure of artist and business owner.