Q01

Describe a significant experience that has happened in the past year. How did it affect you? Are you grateful? Relieved? Resentful? Inspired?

I graduated from a nurse practitioner in women's health. I'm a mixture of grateful, relieved, inspired, excited, and scared. Women's health has been at the center of my goals since I started nursing in 2013 and it's kind of crazy and exciting and terrifying to finally reach those goals and realize my career dreams.

My resolution last year was to forgive myself, truly and utterly, because in the eyes of G-d I was forgiven. My resolutions this year are twofold: 1) to be more clear with my decisions and thought processes (I tend to get shut up when I need to say emotional things) & 2) to work to go back to the days when I always answered how "how are you" with "fantastic" or "wonderful". In short, I want to be more joyful. In the last year, I've found my confidence in my self through teaching - confidence that I know what I am doing and am capable of learning.

I completed my conversion to Judaism! After nearly a year and a half of study and preparation, I went before a (very friendly!) beit din to proclaim my commitment to my new faith, and then I immersed in the mikveh (ritual bath) to make it official. My parents and three dear friends were present as witnesses, along with my beloved rabbis.

Starting over. New country, city, job, friends... it was an emotional rollercoaster, but I have grown so much, and I still learning a lot about myself and life. I'm trying to do my best and be my best no matter the situation.

I went to Oregon to see the total solar eclipse with my children and grandchildren. It may be the only time in my life that I ever get to have this experience again. It was magical. But the life changing aspect of this trip was sleeping in a tent overnight. In my life, I have never done that and I realized how wonderful it was.