
MY STORY
from a dream to reality...

Hello. My story began when I was in middle school. We all have a story that drives us to make a life change - and/or drives us into our career field. Mine did both, and a passion arose. At the beginning of 5th grade, I developed a stomach condition that made my year absolutely miserable. I would be curled up on the couch before school crying in pain EVERY-SINGLE-DAY. The first time it happened was after eating Jacks frozen pizza for breakfast (I know right...). The school thought maybe I had period cramps and didn't realize it. Umm..? No. The doctors could only come up with "you're just constipated." Then, finally, after my 4th Dr. visit, because it hadn't gotten better, they settled on lactose intolerant and gave me some chewable lactose pills and said I couldn't ever eat dairy again without them. That was a sad reality for a 5th grader whose favorite food was tin-roof ice cream and lasagna. I went a whole year without letting my family buy ice cream because it was pure torture. Anyways... The doctors had two things right; I was highly constipated and didn't handle lactose. BUT, the real problem with this picture was that they never educated me on why or how to get better, nor did they look for the root of the problem. I also struggled with many other things. I had asthma, eczema, anemia, overweight, inflammation in my ankles, bad joints, and the list goes on... I was a prodigy of chemically modified "not foods" and western society dysfunction. You guys... I WAS IN 5th GRADE!! Praise the Lord that I began to educate myself and make changes on my own because I cannot even begin to imagine what kind of mess I would be today had I continued my childhood habits. Bless my parents, they did the best they knew how to do. We were not a family with money or many resources. I love my parents dearly.
I started developing a strong interest in natural remedies and herbal medicine and looked into the schooling in early high school but I also had a passion for hair and the beauty industry since before I could remember. So it only made sense to me to follow that pathway first. It seemed the most obtainable too. As I became an adult and in the dating world, my digestive problems became more and more disruptive and embarrassing. I would be miserable after going out to eat on dates or visiting family out of town. I finally had enough and made my big life change with diet. My passion grew and grew and the urge to learn more about natural medicine became a must-do for me. Now rewind a bit, in high school I thought up this dream of having an all-natural spa with my own herbal products. I lost sight of that dream among many others, but as my awareness of the chemical hazards of the salon industry grew, I knew I had to make a change. The beauty industry is in the top 3 industries for cancer. Wow. So as I complete school I felt this pull. I love doing hair and nails and connecting with clients that way, but I also love Holistic Health. I knew I had to quit the beauty industry because it was completely counteractive to my holistic lifestyle. But then, do I really? If I was having this struggle, so must many others....and ... Rooted Wellness Beauty Collective LLC was born.