29 January - 3 March 2024
I meant to write last Sunday, but it was a hectic day, so here I am with SO much to report, and SO many pictures to share! Because a lot has happened over the last month. So be prepared! Okay, let's start off with some epic highlights. I had a marvelous birthday! My bosses at KM Signs took me out the day before my birthday for lunch at Costa Vida! On my birthday, I had a lot of people message me and I got a gift from work at CLEAR Counseling, which was unexpected and very sweet! Then my parents took me out for Korean BBQ, which was an experience I really wanted to have after watching so many kdramas! I got to try some foods that I've only seen on screen, and while I can't say I loved the food/found a new favorite food, I had an incredibly fun experience. It made me so so happy. And Val got me a "Blessed and Kdrama Obsessed" t-shirt which tickled me pink, haha. Very accurate ;). And the card she got me wished me a happy birthday in Korean!! Hmm, let's see. Then that weekend, Valerie threw a murder mystery dinner party for Porter, so I dressed up in my new snazzy outfit. I also updated my wardrobe a bit, so I have some suit coats (again... like a lot of women I see in kdramas... LOLs). I also got everything prepped and ready for Val's bridal shower. People seemed to really enjoy the games, so I was very happy about that. I attended a wedding of a couple in our ward and went to McKenna Breinholt's watch party for American Idol. I also made a video about that for my YouTube channel... I'm really trying to get those last few watch hours I need to get monetized. That's one huge goal I hope to meet this year, and I'm super close. My other huge goal for this year is to pass my licensure exam, which I take two weeks from now! I'm looking forward to getting that done and over with. I've put in almost 30 study hours so far and hope to get another 20 hours in, and then I'm going to take and PASS the darn thing, and that will be a huge accomplishment and weight off my shoulder! Hmm, let's see. I am continuing with my skincare routine, but for some reason I had a terrible breakout around my chin that lasted all month and gets worse, so I went to the doctor and will get bloodwork done to check my hormones, because a breakout there is a sign of potential hormone imbalance. I am very happy with my foundation I've been using, Missha, it really applies onto my skin well and gives me a nice glow. Even my mom loves it and has gotten compliments. My clientele has built up a lot this past month. I'm practically at capacity, which is great, because then after my exam, I will open up more spots of availability, and I'll have more time to play around with the idea of doing groups or something. And writing my stories, which I haven't really done in the last year, but it is a goal for this year, which has been put on hold until after I pass my exam. And since that is coming up so soon, I'm really excited because I feel like I will have more time to do other things I've put "on hold" for so long! I am also continuing to go to the gym with my mom every weekday, and we finally got a photo of our Korean workout squad! Okay, so only Hanna is Korean. The rest of us are not. But we count to ten in Korean as we do our leg exercises! And I got the best compliment ever from Hanna! She said that while counting, she kept thinking there was a native Korean next to her counting... that's how good my pronunciation has gotten! (At least with the numbers 1 through 10, lol). Val's wedding is coming up in 3 weeks, and we are excited for her to begin married life, and mom is a bit sad to be losing her daughter. Wedding prep is coming along great tho. I've learned a lot about my personality this past month and feel that I have grown as a person. I've been able to buckle down and study for hours each Tuesday and Thursday for my exam, and I've learned more about my personality type from some of the videos I watched, as well as I've become more mindful and relaxed. We start each study session with doing mindfulness, and I've found myself reaching for that skill often throughout my day to keep me grounded and focused and happy. I've also been able to make more sense of the theories now that I'm studying them all again with over a year of clinical practice under my belt. They make a lot more sense now that I have real people and situations I can see them applying to. I think my skills as a clinician are growing too with all the studying, training, and practice I put in. What's incredible is to look back at how much I was struggling a few months ago and finally be out on the other side of that. Yes, there are times I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing or question my abilities, but the fact of the matter is that I'm trying my best, AND that people are wanting to come see me. AND I've finally had some breakthroughs with clients that have been absolutely incredible. Like, after 5 months of working with this one client, she finally started applying things and had noticed a huge difference in her life, reaching most of the goals we had set. It has been incredible to see the changes in her, seeing her more expressive and grounded and aware and confident. I've had clients "graduate" or finish therapy. And I have a growing clientele with clients who keep coming back, when sometimes I don't even know why. So, those help me to recognize that I do have something of value that I am offering. Additionally, getting supervision and support from other clinicians has been really beneficial. Okay, well the next time you hear from me, I'll let you know how my exam went and how the wedding was!
Much love,
Emily Burnham
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