11/08/2026
December is going to mark a pretty inconceivable milestone for me.
After almost 12 years, I will finally be completing 3,000 clinical hours toward my LCSW. Once those hours are complete, I get to submit my application for the licensing exam.
When I think about this journey, I have to stop and remind myself where it started.
I don’t have a high school diploma or a GED. I tested into college, carrying a lot of frustration and anger toward an educational system that I felt had made it far too easy for people to fall through the cracks. I had no idea what I was capable of, let alone that I would make it this far. I carried the fact that I didn’t have my diploma or GED for a large part of my life, and it caused me to have lots of imposter syndrome. I never thought that I would be capable of accomplishing such a journey. I knew I had to start somewhere. I knew I wanted something different, and I was willing to find out what was possible.
My relationship with this work has always been personal. I have experienced houselessness twice, so when I began researching houselessness, housing insecurity, and basic needs, it wasn’t just an academic interest. It was because I wanted to make a change, not only for others, but in the systems that are holding people back. It is something I understood on a much more personal level. During college, I spent years researching, interviewing, collecting information, and advocating around these issues. The work became part of a much bigger commitment to the basic needs movement and to challenging the systems that leave people without access to the things they need to live with dignity.
I wasn’t just studying social systems. I was trying to understand them, question them, and contribute to making them better.
There is another dream that followed me for as long as I can remember. I always wanted to create a child and animal healing ranch. It was my personal ethos. Due to my experiences ad a teen. I knew I wanted to create a place where children and animals could find connection, safety, belonging, and opportunities to heal. Somewhere along this journey, that dream began taking shape in a very real way, and Soot Sprite Farm blossomed.
What started as a vision grew into a community, a home, and a place that welcomes people and animals through all kinds of seasons of life. It became a living expression of what has motivated me throughout my education and career. The belief that people need more than services. They need connection, community, dignity, and places where they can belong.
In the middle of it all, life happened.
I became a mother. Of a child I was told I could never bear. At 36 I was shocked with news that I would become a mother! I watched Ari grow through her own stages of life while navigating so many of my own. Deconstruction of who I thought I was to becoming a parent.
I experienced changing relationships, financial uncertainty, unexpected opportunities, moments of incredible excitement, and some pretty difficult emotional lows. I figured out college, even recently received a grant that allowed me to have my education paid for, earned my degrees, and kept moving forward.
There were seasons when I was learning about human development in a classroom while experiencing pretty significant personal growth and development of my own. There were times I hardly recognized the person I was becoming, and neither did the people around me!
Looking back, I realize that the person who started this journey almost 12 years ago is not the same person standing here today.
And maybe that’s one of the most beautiful parts of it.
I know that I didn’t get here on my own. Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to have several wonderful mentors who believed in me, helped me navigate unfamiliar systems, opened doors, offered guidance, challenged me, and reminded me of my potential at times when I couldn’t quite see it myself. To those people, I hope you know how much your support has meant to me. Your investment in me has made a lasting difference, and I will carry those lessons with me throughout my career. Thank you for being part of this journey.
The education, research, advocacy, clinical hours, and eventually the license are important, but this has never been just about collecting credentials. It’s been about understanding people, questioning systems, advocating for basic human needs, recognizing the importance of belonging, and learning how to show up for others while continuing to figure out how to show up for myself.
I’m excited for December, but I’m even more excited about what comes afterward. I have so many ideas, dreams, and possibilities I want to explore. I want to continue bringing together clinical practice, community, advocacy, and the kind of healing spaces I’ve dreamed about creating since I was young.
I started this journey without a high school diploma, a GED, or even the certainty that I belonged in college.
Almost 12 years later, I’m about to complete my 3,000 clinical hours and apply to take my LCSW exam.
Sometimes you really do have to look back to appreciate just how far you’ve come.
Here’s to everything that got me here, the experiences that shaped me, the people and communities I’ve had the privilege of working alongside, the mentors who helped me along the way, the dreams that have stayed with me, and all the things I haven’t even imagined yet.
I am very proud and grateful for the opportunity and support I have!
