welcome to my blog!

hey friends :) I'm so glad that you're here! this is my first blog post on my new website!!

I honestly have no idea who is going to read this, but I assume most of you are my friends or family or people who follow me on Instagram. thanks for checking this site out :) I've blogged off and on over the years, but it's been a while since I've had my own site where I can have a home for all my different creative ventures.

if you're new to following me online – hi! I'm Emily :) I'm a 27 year-old newlywed who is finishing up grad school to be a women's health nurse practitioner (I graduate in May!!). I live in Durham, North Carolina with my husband and spend my free time outside of school and clinical doing creative things like making YouTube videos, writing, and a lot of dreaming.

one of my biggest dreams is starting my own faith-based women's health practice. this has been laid on my heart for a longgggg time (over 10 years!), and later this summer I'm going to be launching my business / practice called The Well Women's Health. you might've seen me dropping hints about it on my personal Instagram, and you'll hear a lot more about it as we get closer to launch. the best way to stay in the know about the Well is to follow me on Instagram and to sign up for my email list!

speaking of Instagram, I love sharing on there! I try to keep a nice balance of sharing the highlight moments like exciting life updates and trip photo dumps while also sharing about things I'm learning or working on. I'll be honest, Instagram has become less appealing to me over the years as it's morphed into a pseudo TikTok, but I do love keeping up with my friends and sharing little snippets of daily life with you all on stories.

my main social media outlet besides Instagram is YouTube. I started my channel in 2021, and I've been posting vlogs and sit-down videos there off and on ever since. I LOVE YouTube. it's by far my favorite platform because it feels the most intentional and authentic. yes, there's editing and selection that goes into what you share, but to me there's something so laid back about it. I love filming a casual vlog where I can have long chats about random topics and get to know viewers in the comments. I feel like YouTube is much more "real" than something like Instagram. anyone feel the same? just my two cents and nudge to go follow my channel ;)

I'm also a Christian and have been most of my life. my journey with Jesus has been a rollercoaster of growing up in the church, struggling with perfectionism and legalism, then trying to have one foot in the world and another following God, and eventually coming to know Christ as the kindest, safest, most grace-filled person there ever was. I share more about my testimony and my struggle with eating disorders and sexual temptation on my YouTube channel.

showing up online as a Christian in 2024 is a beautiful challenge ... on an inherently self-centered platform, how do you share in a way that points to Jesus and not yourself? for me, it's taken continual prayer, reflection, time to pause and listen to the Holy Spirit's guidance. tuning out distraction and making space to hear that still, small voice makes all the difference. and then obeying the Lord's instruction – whether that's to share something that scares you (what will people think?) or to take a month off to pray and fast. for me, it hasn't been cut and dry, and a lot of times the nudge I've felt is to relax and take off the pressure to do it all perfectly; you're allowed to share for the fun of it, and that freedom and abundance displays His love as well.

through all of my online spaces, my sincere hope is that you see and feel and know the love of Christ reaching out to you. any photo dump or weekly vlog or blog post is published to show you that 1) life is imperfect but beautiful and worth living to the full, 2) you are not alone in what you're going through, and 3) having Jesus in your life is the best decision you can make on this earth.

okay, enough of the serious stuff ;) here are some random fun facts about me:

• I love Disney. I know there's a lot of controversy around the company becoming more progressive but putting those differences aside, I really think the stories and values they uphold inspire wonder, creativity, sacrifice, friendship, and love for family. some of my earliest memories are going to Disney with my dad and being so happy I could explode! in May I get to share that joy with my husband for the first time :) there will definitely be photo dumps, vlogs, and blog posts from that trip!!

• I love being active. my relationship with exercise has been a tumultuous one, but I feel like over the past few years I've found a healthy balance of doing my favorite things – running, strength training, and yoga / stretching. I also love hiking and dancing!

• I love to clean + organize. seriously, I am happiest when the space around me is clean and tidy. I really feel like my exterior world is a reflection of my interior one, and establishing order in the outside world helps me feel regulated and calm internally. I also just love creating cozy spaces that make my home the space I get excited to spend time in, not a place I want a vacation from.

• I love to travel. my husband and I recently talked about the difference between travel and vacation. our honeymoon was a vacation – we stayed at a fancy all-inclusive, adults-only resort in Antigua (Eastern Caribbean) and never left the property. it was just what we needed after a hectic engagement season and wedding weekend, but we do prefer actual travel where we get to explore a new area and soak up the local culture, food, and sights. we have a bunch of cool trips planned for this year (so grateful!), and I can't wait to share about them!

I'd love to hear from you! drop a comment below and tell me where you're reading from, a fun fact about you, and anything that we have in common :)

talk to you in my next post!

much love,