Me, Myself, and I

. Please introduce yourself! Upload a few pictures and write a couple of paragraphs that tell me about you, your household, your interests & any work or activities you are involved in. What are you passionate about & why—why do you choose to spend your time this way? (Include at least one picture of yourself as well as “life in action” shots that help me better understand who you are & what your life is like.)

 Hello. My name is Jennifer DiMarco, but everyone calls me Jen! Though my husband likes to call me Jenny, which I don’t like. I just got married in September of 2017, and we bought and moved into our first house last month. It is a great and amazing decision to move into a house, but I very sad about the location. For the past three years, my hubby and I lived theee blocks from the beach. Although I didn’t go everyday, I LOVED living so close to the beach. Being aKersey girl at heart for me, means loving the beach! I feel at home when I am laying on the sand in the hot sun and feeling the ocean breeze on my hair. I love it even more when the waves are calm and I can relax on my bogey board for 1-2 hours at a time in the ocean. Unfortunately, for at least the next few years, I will be living 45 minutes away from my second home, the beach.
 

 I am so happy to marry my husband Joe. He makes me feel AMAZING, despite the way I feel or look at the moment. He makes me feel complete and he is my second half. We got married on the beach, which was also AMAZING, and had the PERFECT ceremony and reception. we then had a great two week honeymoon in Italy. It was a nonstop adventure that I wouldn’t change a thing about...well maybe the blisters I had gotten! I am a licensed associate counselor (LAC), which is similar to provisional drivers license, which basically means I can be a therapist for others, under a supervisor. I graduated from my masters degree program in May 206 and got my license in August 2016. I started working my first clinical job January 2017, in which I am still working. I work at Catholic Charities counseling youth and adolescents. I LOVE my job, which I don’t even consider a job as I enjoy helping those who are unable to help themselves. Through going to the mental health therapy degree program, I not only learned how to do certain counseling techniques, I learned a lot about myself and how to be open to those different than me. Other than the beach, I also love traveling, spending time with family and friends, seeing movies, and watching tv. As for traveling, I have loved doing so since I was little. I have a goal of visiting all 50 states, and I have been to 27 so far! I have also been the the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and 7 European countries. The next state I want to visit is Arizona and next country is Spain.

 2. Post an image from Google Images (or any image source) that represents how your body is functioning at this point in your life. Blog about why you chose this image in particular, what it symbolizes and how you feel about it. If you could change anything about how your body is functioning, what would you change and why?
 

 I chose this image, which is of my leg. I have been suffering from a rare skin condition, called acquired perforating disorder, for the past 15 months. At first, I was diagnosed wth psoriasis, then prurigo nodularis. Basically my disease is a very very nasty, itchy, and painful condition. It is somehow related to my diabetes but the dermatologist don’t know much about it, as it is so rare. This has been my main focus for the past year, which really sucks! I would definitely like to get rid of this condition or at least get it under control so it is not so itchy.



3. Now, please describe your approach to caring for yourself/your health & wellness. Give it to me straight: How much/little thought & effort do you put into it, and why? Describe your priorities, goals, motivations. What (if anything) is working well about your approach & what (if anything) isn’t working very well? As appropriate, include specifics about what/how you eat, your activity level, medicines and/or therapies, etc.

 When it comes to caring for myself, I could definetly do better. I don’t eat the greatest, though since I moved, I have been eating more home cooked meals instead of fast food. On a positive note, I did join a gym theee weeks ago and have been going up to two times a week so far. As for wellness, I don’t only consider exercising and eating well as the only parts of wellness. As a therapist I am continuously focusing on mental wellness, which includes finding ways to be positive and cope with stressors in life. In addition to being a therapist, I have attended therapy as an adolescent, until my early 20s. It has helped me learn to control my anxiety. Along with therapy, I have also been on antidepressants to control my anxiety since a teenager.



 4. Post an image from Google Images (or any image source) that represents where you are right now on your personal health & wellness journey and how you feel about it. Be sure to explain why you chose this image in particular, what it symbolizes. How does your current stage of life impact your approach to health & wellness? How has your approach changed since you were younger and why?

I chose this image because having a healthy and wellness filled life is a constant journey. I am always working on feeling and looking better. As I am slowly approaching my 30s, I have learned a lot in my short life so far. I know that everyone takes different amounts of time to achieve their goals. Right now I don’t have any health goals, but I always am working on improving my health and wellness. When I was younger, I used to work hard at certain goals, such as losing weight. I would obsess about losing weight and goin to the gym. I’ve realized that it helped for a short time, but I was unable to maintain the healthy lifestyle. Currently, I am going to be healthy in moderation, and work slowly to stay healthy.



 5. Finally, thinking about your typical day, what are the top 5 (or so) brands that you choose to interact with? Write down &/or photograph the brands you surround yourself with during the day. (For example, where do you stop for coffee or breakfast? Where do you go grocery shopping? What brand of cereal do you eat? Etc.) The most important part is to tell me why you chose to use or interact with each brand. What does this brand/company understand or “get” about you, your life, your values

1 Google- google is my favorite search engine because it is simple to use and always help me finds my answers quickly. 2 Waze- since I moved and am not familiar with the area, I have no idea how to get around. Waze helps me find my way and gives me best and quickest routes to take. 3 Diet Coke- My go to drink is Diet Coke and I probably have at least 3 glazed of Diet Coke a day. It is my version of a coffee addiction, as I don’t drink coffees 4 Apple- I could not live without my iPhone. I have all my calendar events on there, contacts, and apps. I would be lost without it. 5 Novo Nordisk- It is a brand on insulin that I must take daily. If not, I would be in a diabetic coma.