Building a healing model that suits the seeker
Collection of School Essays Lets’s Go WALDEN!
I look forward to graduating 8-16-26 with a Bachelor of Science with a major in Psychology
Essay 1
When it comes to community, it is important to be able to transcend always being in physical locations, especially since having babies, and its important to also balance both so there are specific places I like to frequent like my friends small business farms and community store co-ops as the community I live in reflects the right to farm and is rich is recreational activities like hiking, white water rafting. The trust we build as consumers and producers, regardless of our different backgrounds and stories, helps us enhance the community economically and creates more opportunities for growth and enrichment. For example, we live in a rural community, and due to a lack of funding to keep the elementary school open, it was forced to close. To offset the loss, the community came together to redevelop the school into a center for cooking, hosting events, and housing the town's municipal staff.
I feel most welcome in communities that provide opportunities. During COVID-19, we all felt the effects of transitioning online, so since then, in 2021, I have worked to build interpersonal connections online. Creating a space for women to heal outside of social media required reinventing how we use social media in healthier ways and educating others about taking breaks from hours of scrolling and from feeling overwhelmed. The poem from this week's resources song to myself helps describe the feeling of being within my online group of women, "I am satisfied—I see, dance, laugh, "sing;" (1892)
College experience, especially here at Walden, has brought a new sense of community in education. I felt supported by peers and, most importantly, our teachers. The best part was building a strong community through discussions and, most recently, a peer assignment in which we combined schedules and experience to work through a difficult task. I have always viewed myself as empathetic and kind. So it was refreshing to share my values with others. The experience with college has most definitely felt welcoming. When it comes to my overall college experience, I feel it has definitely influenced my progress and identity, helping me become more disciplined and better able to work well with others while expanding my knowledge of psychology and other classes that will support my overall goal of helping others transcend trauma. As noted by Dr. King, by knowing our blueprint through our deepest and sometimes most painful experiences, we can be reshaped toward dignity and become a source of grace, love, and empathy to help others navigate life's complexities. So you never doubt your merit or truth in transcending trauma and advocating for thriving, not just surviving.
Whitman, W. (1892). Song of myself. Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
King, M. L., Jr. (1967, October 26). What is life's blueprint? The Seattle Times. https://projects.seattletimes.com/mlk/words-blueprint.html
Essay 2
When I thought about my life, I honestly never imagined I would survive any of the things I have been through. To be groomed by two men and abused for years and neglected by my parents, there was not much hope for individuals like myself, and to be honest, I almost allowed myself to be consumed by my pain. I spent years running and trying to push it away and forget all the bad parts. To say that I survived would be a literal disservice to myself. I like to say I transcended, and now I can thrive. Being able to transmute my pain into purpose has been what keeps me on the leading edge of thought. This week's discussion gave me some time to think and reflect on how far I have come with not only my life but most importantly my career and the community in which I represent and care so deeply for, because I know the weight they all carry and will most likely continue to carry the rest of their lives. I did not build or create a community to profit. I built a community around the identity I had before the abuse and merged that with the person I am today, who is kind, builds trust, and empathy. With most industries thriving on profit and quick money funnels, my goal was to build a community based on building trust, and sometimes the industry I am in, which is life coaching. The industry can be competitive, so I knew I needed to expand my identity to support the gap with specifically women who have been abused and those who have suffered from inner child trauma.
As a life coach and on my path to becoming one, I connected with other coaches and trauma professionals along my educational and professional pathway. It has always been important to me to be informed and supportive of others in the industry who may not focus on the trauma part that I do. For example, when I was training to become a life coach, I knew that I still struggled with manifesting, mindset, and self-sabotage, so I actually found mindset and manifestational coaches to help me and felt completely supported and aligned deeper to my path, and was finally able to truly break out of self-abandonment, which kept resulting in me self-sabotaging. The most rewarding thing about being more self-aware of things we may or may not be aware we struggle with is that we can highlight and support others who are educated and aligned with those qualities and identity. When I became more comfortable with my purpose, worked through the sabotage, and started rebranding myself, I had the opportunity to serve as a guest facilitator at a group healing retreat aligned with my niche. I was the guest Reiki healer and guided them on a meditation journey. As a result, I also got to perform Reiki and a shamanic healing journey with one of the attendees, which was my first time, and it gave me even more confidence to fully step into my identity now as a trauma-informed life coach and healer.
When it comes to the impact that I have made and continue to make in the wellness industry as it relates to trauma healing, it has been one of the most rewarding things I have done besides giving birth to my children and becoming a mother. Learning how to shift from victim to thriving resulted in my having to address my deeper core issues with trauma bonding and wanting to please people. The negative aspects of my identity became the driving force behind my decision to make better choices about how I wanted to show up as a life coach and healer, and they have also deeply impacted my writing. When I published my memoir and self-help book, I was still struggling immensely, and writing my way through healing ended up being the most therapeutic thing I did besides allowing others to listen to my memoir for free. I chose to heal out loud mainly because I was tired of suffering in silence and feeling ashamed for being abused. Even through online targeting, self-sabotage, and toxic family dynamics, I have been able to maintain my integrity. I remained kind and empathetic towards others who intentionally or unintentionally tried to hurt me. I became the version of myself I so desperately needed as a child, and that will always remain at the forefront of my personal, professional, and educational journey.
Essay 3
When it came to my education, to be honest, there was no sense of direction or purpose set in stone, or any clear intention about who I wanted to be. I dropped out of school when I was sixteen after years of being a juvenile delinquent. Someone who truly defied what it meant to respect authority, let alone education, as I found the strength within me after years of death and loss, as well as my own personal battles with overcoming years of abuse, neglect, and abandonment as a child. I found my educational career to take lots of turns; however, with each decision, the true path began to reveal itself more clearly as I began to deal with my trauma. This led me to look into psychology, life coaching, and a wide variety of holistic healing practices, such as Reiki, Shamanism, Hypnotherapy, and Metaphysical practices like sound therapy, herbal remedies, and crystals. I found that blending traditional and non-traditional education is perfect for not only my growing career but also my personal life, as I juggle being a mom and partner. The educational path I have been on with Walden University up to this point has felt like a wonderful journey, one I have trusted in the process. I left Walden for a few years to focus on growing my family. In the meantime, I completed accredited courses. I returned not only to have those certifications recognized and applied, but also to ultimately reduce my overall cost and time to finish my bachelor's degree.
Being a runaway seemed to steer my educational pursuits. As my suitcases began to wear thin, as well as my options, I will never forget having a conversation with my grandfather over a bowl of Ice cream. The matriarch of our family had successfully restored homes for years and ran a cabinetry business, which my uncle still runs today, even after his death. He said, "elise what are you doing with your life?" I forgot to mention he had recently been diagnosed with dementia, and I was currently living with him at 23 after failing miserably as a fisherman's bait assistant. I replied, "I do not know." The truth was, I really did not; I was a dropout, no diploma, and really lost. As we had a deeper conversation about my dreams and aspirations, I will never forget what he said: "You have got to go with your heart." My personal story is not a happy one; most of my memories are drenched in fear, abuse, and images that one's worst nightmares could not contain. However, my will to live and break the stigma so deeply attached to trauma and abuse survivors. Reading and researching remind me why I took the long way around in my educational career. After that conversation, I made the brave decision to honor his legacy and create and embark on my own. Did I really always want to be known as a "Damaged Girl"?
After looking into a local college, I started studying for my GED, which I did not receive until I was 23. After I passed the GED, I began looking into how I could help individuals, as I had gained some experience caring for my grandfather and other family and friends who became ill. I earned my Certified Nursing Assistant certificate and worked in nursing homes and private care facilities until 2015. During that time, I found an online college, ICDC, where I earned an associate's degree in health care management. At the time, I was working as a CNA and interning as a medical records assistant to learn which area I wanted to work in, the clinical side or the clerical side. I eventually became overwhelmed within the health industry and had my first son in 2016. After my son, I started my own business helping others and began taking accredited training to enhance my skills. After a spiritual awakening in 2018, I began looking more deeply into psychology, philosophy, and spirituality. In 2020, during the pandemic, I began attending Walden University, completed many courses, was nominated to the National Society of Leadership and Success, and went on to earn an executive leadership training, which was one of the highlights of my time at Walden. I even served on our local NSLS chapter's social media board here at Walden. I took some time off after 2022 to focus on my family, and because of the uncertainty in the world, I thought it was best.
I got pregnant with my second son in 2024 and decided that after he survived the NICU, I could do hard things. I reapplied and was accepted, and to my surprise, they applied 29 credits to my degree for continuing to learn while withdrawn from Walden. The last class I had before the Capstone was a crisis class, and this was probably my low point here at Walden. Not because I did not like the class or performed academically badly, I actually got an A. It was the peer assignment that triggered me. I almost did not complete the assignment due to the sensitivity of the role-playing I had personally experienced. So I was able to use my awareness to know that there are still experiences that I need to be prepared for, especially ones that can be triggering or emotional, that I may resonate with because of past trauma.
In conclusion, based on my overall experience in my educational career, I feel that even amid the ups and downs, including personal and educational setbacks, I still found a way to stay optimistic. One of the values I possess that aligns deeply with Walden's mission of change is being an advocate for change. I have overcome alot of adversity and challenges because of trauma, abuse, and abandonment from childhood. However, once I was able to leverage my experiences through education, additional learning, and my own personal and professional development, I was able to successfully and consistently apply what I have learned and lived to continue being the change I want to see in the world. After I finish my bachelor's degree, I look forward to taking
a break between the master's and, eventually, the PhD program. I am in the process of applying to the wellness coaching program at the National Institute of Sports Medicine, so I can become a board-certified coach and continue to help others and, eventually, impact our youth by showing them that their trauma can become triumph. Through education, especially with a college like Walden, you can be supported through the whole process to enact and demonstrate that change.
You were never meant to heal alone. If you're ready to release the weight of your past, reconnect with your inner wisdom, and be surrounded by women who truly understand the journey, you've found your place. Our Sisterhood is a private, supportive community where healing, spiritual growth, and meaningful connection come together through workshops, meditations, live gatherings, and compassionate encouragement one step, one breath, one sister at a time.
