Lauren Baker, the 11 letters that serve as my identity. However, I find my true sense of self in my passion for service. From the core of my bones to the bottom of my soul, I want to help others find balance in their life starting with how they fuel their body. Since my freshman year of high school, I have had an insatiable appetite for anything to do with nutritional science. Nothing gives me more joy than thinking of helping others find peace with their minds when it comes to food insecurity, bad relationships with food, or even ability to perform in athletics. When the body is properly nourished, it has the ability to reach its full genetic potential, physically and mentally. So, my plans for my future lie in the field of dietetics, which area specifically is what I will be determining this year through my Gap Year experiences!
Over this next year, I will be earning my NASM certification, completing an internship, and volunteering with Second Harvest. The first goal, which will be studying and taking my NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) test, will allow me to see the athletic side of dietetics, that is how to work with individuals who have physique and performance goals in mind when creating a dietary plan. Next, I will see the version of dietetics which deals with healing diseases and illnesses by tweaking the diet of a patient. The diseases I will witness being treated here will be physical or mental, i.e. heart disease or eating disorders (something I am very interested in trying to explore). Finally, I will gain insight into the facet of dietetics which deals with food insecurity so that I can see if working for a nonprofit or charity organization would be the best fit for me. This year is about stepping out of my comfort zone in order to find my niche, basically where I fit into this huge jigsaw of health.
After this year, I am hoping to go into college with a clear decision of what specialty I want to focus on. This will allow me to tweak the classes I take and decide if I want to pursue a master’s degree or not. On top of that, I am hoping to experience mental growth as far as time management, responsibility, and independence since I have moved out of my parents house for this experience. I am feeling very optimistic and can’t wait to deepen my sense of identity over the following year.
The photo I am uploading for this blog is me at graduation. This seems fitting because it was the beginning of this wonderful opportunity.
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You have a wonderful gap year ahead of you, the prudence and conviction seeping out of this blog post says it all! Dietetics sounds like such an expansive field to traverse. With all those factors of athletics and occupation affecting the establishment of measured “balance”, it truly must take a contemplative, intense mind to grapple it. So it’s relieving for us to hear that someone as service-bound as you is heading into such a job. Whatever niche you find will be just perfect because you’re responsibly dedicating a year to find it. To most excellently apply yourself at the highest degree possible, to service as best you can. We look forward to watching you progress, so until the next post!
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