The last time I sat down to write a blog was January 1, 2026.
And here we are, almost November.
Seriously, where did the time go?!
I feel like I have about 10 months' worth of stories to share, and honestly, I don't even know where to begin.
This year has been filled with growth, unexpected changes, some pretty challenging moments, and a whole lot of lessons.
Some things went according to plan. Others? Not even close.
But if there's one thing I've always believed, it's that every situation and every season of life carries some kind of message or learning opportunity. Sometimes we recognize it immediately. Other times, it takes a little longer to understand what life is trying to teach us.
And let me tell you, 2026 has been quite the teacher.
Entrepreneurship. Nobody Said It Would Be Easy.
Going into 2026, entrepreneurship was at the forefront of my mind.
After spending almost 11 years in corporate recruiting, I was now focused on building my own business full-time.
And like every entrepreneur will tell you, the first year is NOT easy. And if someone tells you otherwise, they're lying. LOL.
It's a completely different kind of grind and grit.
When you're working for someone else, there's usually an established system, structure, and support. When you're building something of your own, you're figuring out a lot of those things as you go.
And your mindset? That becomes EVERYTHING.
I'll admit, I thought certain aspects of entrepreneurship would be easier than what I've actually experienced.
One of the biggest surprises has been dealing with some incredibly challenging clients. I'm talking about situations that even my senior broker, who has years more experience than I do, has never encountered.
Lucky me, right?!
But those experiences have taught me patience, resilience, and how to navigate situations that don't always have an easy solution.
Because here's the thing about growth: it's not always comfortable. Sometimes it comes through the very experiences that test you the most.
Despite the challenges, my business continued growing, and by July, I had even earned a promotion to Marketing Director.
Things were moving forward.
And then life happened.
When Life Has Other Plans
I was heading home from my brokerage convention when I learned that my dad had suffered a stroke.
And then he suffered another.
Just like that, everything shifted.
I drove to Seattle and ended up spending the summer helping care for him.
My business, my personal goals, my routines, and everything I had been working toward suddenly had to take a back seat.
Was that part of my 2026 plan?
Absolutely not.
But sometimes life doesn't ask whether you're ready for a change. It just happens, and you figure out how to navigate it.
Watching my dad go through his health challenges was an eye-opening experience, especially because of the work I do as an independent financial insurance broker.
I spend so much of my professional life helping individuals and families prepare for the unexpected, protect what matters to them, and think about situations they hope they'll never have to face.
And suddenly, I was experiencing firsthand what happens when a family is faced with a serious health crisis.
It gave me an even deeper appreciation for the importance of planning ahead.
Because when something happens to someone you love, the emotional weight is already difficult enough. The last thing anyone needs is to be overwhelmed by financial uncertainty and difficult decisions that could have been addressed earlier.
It reminded me why I do what I do.
But beyond the professional lessons, this experience taught me something much more personal.
Loving Someone Doesn't Mean the Relationship Is Easy
I'm going to share something that many people may not know about me.
My dad and I have a very difficult relationship.
I think some people assume we have this wonderful father-daughter relationship because I spent so much time in Seattle helping him recover.
But the truth is a little more complicated.
My relationship with my dad has been challenging for much of my life.
He tends to view relationships as transactional, and I've often felt that his willingness to engage with me depends on whether there's something in it for him.
And that's been difficult to navigate.
I love my dad because he's my father. But if I'm being completely transparent, I don't particularly like who he is as a person.
And I've learned that those two feelings can coexist.
Over the years, I've invested a lot of time in therapy, mindset coaching, and understanding my own thoughts and emotional responses, especially when it comes to my relationship with him.
And boy, was all that work put to the test this summer.
For perspective, I typically spend about two hours with my dad every six months.
TWO HOURS.
Now imagine going from that to spending approximately 40 hours a week with him.
LOL. Lord, help me.
It was tough. There were moments that challenged my patience, my boundaries, and everything I had been working on within myself.
But I did it.
And I'm proud of myself for that.
Not because I suddenly have a perfect relationship with my dad. We don't.
Not because all the difficult history between us magically disappeared. It hasn't.
But because I was able to show up for him as his daughter without allowing our complicated relationship to dictate every thought, emotion, or reaction I had.
I helped him because he's my father, and I believe it was my responsibility to be there for him.
And somewhere in that experience, I realized just how much I've grown.
Sometimes personal growth isn't about changing the people around you.
Sometimes it's about recognizing that you have more control over how you respond to them than you once believed.
And that, my friends, was a HUGE lesson for me.
Learning to Let People Misunderstand Me
Another major mindset shift I've experienced this year?
I've learned to be okay with being misunderstood.
And this one is BIG for me.
I used to hate when people misunderstood my intentions, my decisions, or who I was as a person.
I felt this need to explain myself, clarify things, or make sure people understood where I was coming from.
But I've come to realize something.
Not everyone is interested in understanding you.
Some people would rather make assumptions than have a conversation.
And you know what?
That's okay.
I've learned to let people believe whatever they want to believe.
The people who genuinely love me, respect me, and care about our relationship will ask questions. They'll have conversations with me. They'll want to understand.
And those who don't?
Well, they can believe whatever story they've created.
I'm no longer interested in exhausting myself trying to change everyone's perception of me.
A lot of this growth has come from consistently practicing cognitive behavioral techniques and becoming more intentional about how I process my thoughts.
It's something I've worked on daily, and I genuinely believe it's helped me become a better person in so many areas of my life.
I'm not saying I've mastered it.
Trust me, I'm still human. LOL.
But there's something incredibly freeing about realizing that you don't have to respond to everything, explain everything, or carry the weight of everyone else's opinions.
And I wish I had learned that lesson sooner.
And Somehow, I'm Back in Healthcare Recruiting!
Now, here's another unexpected plot twist.
I'm back in healthcare recruiting!
I honestly don't know how the stars aligned the way they did, but here we are.
After spending nearly 11 years recruiting travel healthcare professionals, I stepped away from corporate recruiting to pursue entrepreneurship.
And now I'm returning to an industry I know and love, but in a completely different specialty.
I'll be working in locum tenens recruiting, focusing on anesthesiologists and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).
For those unfamiliar with locum tenens, it generally refers to physicians and certain other healthcare providers working temporary assignments to help healthcare facilities meet their staffing needs.
It's a whole new world for me.
New market. New personalities. New challenges. New things to learn.
Am I nervous?
Absolutely.
Am I excited?
EVEN MORE.
What excites me most is the opportunity to take everything I've learned throughout my recruiting career and apply that experience to serving a new group of healthcare professionals.
I know I have a lot to learn, and I'm looking forward to it.
And here's the best part.
I'm not leaving entrepreneurship behind.
My business continues to grow, and I've even hired a team to help me manage and expand it.
If you had told me at the beginning of the year that I'd be balancing my own business while returning to healthcare recruiting, I probably would have laughed.
But life has a funny way of bringing opportunities into your world when you least expect them.
And I'm here for it.
Different Seasons. Different Lessons.
As I sit here reflecting on the last 10 months, I realize this year hasn't been about finding myself.
I wasn't lost.
It's been about growth, changing perspectives, adapting to unexpected circumstances, and putting into practice the lessons I've spent years learning.
Entrepreneurship has challenged my resilience.
My dad's health challenges have reminded me of the importance of family responsibilities, preparation, and boundaries.
Difficult relationships have taught me that I can love someone without needing the relationship to look a certain way.
And learning to let people misunderstand me has given me a sense of peace I didn't always have.
I don't believe every difficult experience happens for a reason that we're meant to understand immediately. And I certainly don't believe we have to enjoy every challenge life throws our way.
But I do believe there's something we can learn from every season, even the difficult ones.
Sometimes the lesson is about patience. Sometimes it's about boundaries. Sometimes it's about knowing when to push forward and when to shift your priorities.
And sometimes, it's simply recognizing how differently you handle a situation today compared with how you might have handled it years ago.
That's growth.
So as we head into the final quarter of 2026 and prepare to welcome 2027, I'm genuinely excited about what's ahead.
My business is growing. I'm stepping into a new chapter of my recruiting career. I'm continuing to work on myself, and I'm looking forward to all the opportunities and experiences that are still to come.
I'm speaking it into existence: It's going to be a GREAT fourth quarter and an even better 2027!
Will everything go according to plan?
Probably not. LOL.
But if this year has taught me anything, it's that sometimes the unexpected chapters end up teaching us the most.
And I'm looking forward to seeing what the next chapter brings.
Until next time. Hopefully, it won't take me another 10 months to write another blog. LOL.
