I'm excited to get started! Today, Pooky Knightsmith Hesmondhalgh, Ph.D., a specialist in student mental health and emotional well-being from the U.K., is sharing her record worthy practice with all of us. I met Pooky through the WordPress blogging community. Pooky has personal experience with the issues she teaches and writes about, and she shares her insight from a first-person perspective.

I have interviewed many people for my #FuelPersistence series about how they persevere through many types of obstacles.  After Tamarisk reached out and shared her story with me, I had to ask her to be part of this series.  She is a brave indidivual who perseveres despite the challenges she is presented with in life.  Tamarisk has really inspired me, and I thank her for talking about difficult subjects.  It was really fitting to hear from an individual who is at high-risk of developing cancer, as many people in my life have been affected by cancer. As Tamarisk describes herself: "I’m a Connections Catalyst. Awesome title, right? Yeah, I made it up because ‘life coach’ doesn’t remotely sum up who I am, what I believe, or how I show up in the world. My purpose is to help you get more of what you want by showing you how to create the foundation from which to get it. We’re talking: greater confidence, clarity, and commitments around your emotional and spiritual well-being."

Thanks, Tamarisk, for sharing with us the lessons you have learned throughout your life! Read Tamarisk's interview below and feel free to leave comments afterwards :)

You miss 100% of the shots you never take, right? Well, when one of my sisters presented me with this offer to join her on vacation, I had to go. I’m so glad I did.I recently returned from a trip of a lifetime with my sister to Britain and Ireland. We loved it so much.  My sister and I spent three weeks touring these beautiful countries on a coach with a tour group. It really was a special time, and I’m blessed that I got the opportunity to do this trip, especially with my sister.

My sister and I haven’t seen each other much in the last several years due to living in different cities for school.  Since we both had recently graduated, we thought we would take an adventure before we start the next steps in our lives.

I learned so much on our trip! Here are the top ten lessons I was taught while on vacation:

I'M BACK! Sorry if I didn't respond to your comments and emails. I will soon :)  I have been away for the last three weeks on an adventure to Britain and Ireland.  It really was the trip of a lifetime. Instead of updating my blog every night, I decided to disconnect and write down what I was learning in my journal.  I travelled extensively with a wonderful group of people and gained so much insight.   I'm really excited to share my stories and pictures ( I took over 2000) with you all.  I will be back to posting regularly soon.  I just need sometime to recover from the journey and to get my thoughts down.