Years ago when I worked at Harmons, I remember taking my resume to the HR lady at the time and asking her to look over it. I had been desperately trying to advance and for some reason just couldn't. The next day she brought my resume to me and it was so marked up. But the interesting thing was she told me to take out everything on my resume about my time in Ukraine. "It's not valid or necessary. It will never help you go further. Focus on other things."

It was not the first time that I felt the 5 years I had spent overseas had been a giant waste of my life. I didn't go to college right out of high school or get a job. Instead I had set off across the globe and while I Had been so proud of that, in my current position at the time it felt more like a step back, as if I was "behind" in life. I held on to that resume and took everything off that she told me too, and I still couldn't advance. I ended up leaving Harmons because of this. And when I left I returned all my information about my time in Ukraine to my resume because it was important to me.

A month later I landed myself an interview at the University Hospital. I had never worked in any kind of medical setting, let alone a huge organization like a hospital. I was vaguely familiar with some medical terms given that I had a nurse for a mother, grandmother, and stepmother. One of the interview questions was, "How will you cope with coming into a brand new setting and learning a new type of 'language'?" And in that moment I had an answer because I had all ready lived it.

When I went to Ukraine, I had bought a one way ticket. I had never been to the country before and only had basic language skills when I arrived. I remember staring out the window of the place I first stayed and told myself I had one week to breakdown, cry, and feel overwhelmed but then this was my life now and I needed to learn to live it. That experience, that story of my resilience and desire to overcome is what landed me my job at the University Hospital. A job that I excelled in for over 5 years.

I applied and interviewed for a position recently that I was asked to give examples of how I would interact in specific situations. I didn't have to imagine how I would act because I have once again lived through situations like that during my time in Ukraine. I was able to give concrete answers and add that I might do things differently now that I have age and more experience with me at this point in my life. I was offered the position almost on the spot.

There was a time where I allowed that marked up resume to be the definition of what I should be, how I should present myself, what I should say is important. A lot of people in my life have told me that my time in Ukraine was fun and all, but it was good I was back doing "real" things with my life. Nothing about my life has been wasted. Nothing about my time in Ukraine has held me back, in fact it really gave me a good foundation for so much that has transpired and how I have grown since being back in the States. My last few positions, that have been very good positions, I don't think I ever would've been considered had I not lived through and done what I did in Ukraine.

It has reminded me that if I look at my life and see things as wasted, unnecessary, or what not, I will never be able to turn those experiences into something more. It is up to me to decide to take what I have, lived through, and done and keep tending to it, helping it grow and flourish in my life. I hope you can take my story as a reminder to take back the parts of your story that people say are insignificant or worthless or wasted. Because I can promise, they are not. They are your story and deserve to be highlighted as much as any other part.

Please enjoy these stunning photos of Miss K. I loved this afternoon in the studio. If you want photos like this or to tell your story through boudoir - let's talk!