About Me

Hello. My name is Emma, and I am a 29 year old teacher living in Vermont with my dog Indie. I grew up in western Massachusetts, and I am very close with my parents and brother. This summer, I'll be getting my Yoga Teacher Training here in Vermont, and hope to spread hope and healing through this practice. I have Stage 3 endometriosis and ovarian cysts. I want to write this blog in the hopes that it will make someone out there feel less alone in their journey with endometriosis and/or chronic pain. I will start with an "I Am" poem, because it's helpful sometimes for us to define all of the things we are outside of our disease. 

This was me the morning of my surgery in 2014. Hard to believe it was 5 years ago now that they removed a grapefruit-sized endometrioma from my left ovary, along with extensive endometrial tissue in my uterus. The journey continues today.

I am Emma.

I wonder if I'll ever be free of pain.

I hear the wind blowing through the trees above my house.

I see the computer screen in front of me, and the outline of Mount Tom in the fading dusk.

I want to live a life that is my own.

I am Emma.

I pretend that I'm happy and okay.

I feel overwhelmed.

I touch the computer keys under my fingers.

I worry about everything.

I cry often.

I am not my disease.

I understand that others are suffering more than I am.

I say I'm alright.

I dream about teaching yoga in Costa Rica.

I try every single day.

I hope I can help someone.

I am Emma.

In doing this exercise, I am able to see that right now, I am not defined solely by my disease. It feels that way at times, but we all have hopes, dreams, thoughts, and feelings that surpass our pain and suffering. It seems impossible at times, I know. I feel that way as I write this introduction. However, I feel that when we reach out for support-whether to a friend, lover, co-worker, or Blogger entry, we feel less alone, and in feeling less alone in our journey, perhaps we are able to heal more wholly. I will add more as time goes on, but for now, it's a start.