My name is Holly. I am a naturopath. This part should already be fairly clear. So, I thought I'd divulge a little about my personal expedition into the holistic health sector. It's probably not what you're thinking either. Firstly, I didn't grow up like this. I come from a very conservative family and natural medicine was never a real part of my life until I left home and started engaging in the wider world. This is my journey of sorts...
I come from a family of incredibly talented, albeit gloriously traditional cooks. We grew up on great food and the kitchen for us was a haven of deliciousness and exactly where my passion for food and cooking began. I was lucky enough to grow-up with two "head chefs", my mother and grandmother who also cohabited with our family. This was where I learned that there simply is just not enough room in any kitchen for two head chefs.
These two women taught me confidence in the kitchen. My grandmother taught me the traditional basics and my mother taught me flare. Recipes are rarely thrown around, mostly because the Nana usually forgets the main ingredient if she is following a recipe. Our family always says that when the Nana passes we will have to keep her hands because her recipes go a little something like this "a pinch of this and a handful of that". This is much the same as the way I cook, however, now that I'm asked for recipes consistently I have had to attempt to collect my thoughts and most importantly measurements when trying to pass on my own recipes. (Apologies in advance if my original recipes don't turn out for you... it's not you, it is definitely me).
I further fuelled my zest for food working as a waitress in some exceptional establishments over the past 15 years with each place having a team of knowledgable people who shared more and more about ingredients, quality and source.
When I finished school I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was a little lost soul of sorts. I knew I wanted to travel and so, I travelled. A lot. I travelled through Indonesia and headed for the United Kingdom when I had just turned 18. I came home 2 years later with a stomach bug. Symptoms would go dormant for months and come back with a vengeance.
I found resolution through a naturopath using herbal medicine after I had searched for answers through conservative medicine for many, many months with lots of testing done to no avail. This was very much the start of my natural health journey.
I traveled more. I came back to Australia. Started a degree. Decided I wanted to be a flight attendant. Decided I didn't want to be a flight attendant. I traveled again and lived in Italy, Spain and Greece. I came back to Australia after another 2 years abroad and started saving to go away again.
I was working in Port Fairy when I found out about an open day at the Southern School of Natural Therapies. The open day was in Melbourne in 3 days time. I went to the open day on the Wednesday and started university on the following Monday. I moved my life to Geelong to commute for university. If you're thinking about natural therapies, GO TO AN OPEN DAY. It was inspirational enough for me to pack myself up and shift in the space of 5 days. I can also tell you that I have never regretted that decision.
5 years after I signed up on that Wednesday I graduated. I am a naturopath. It wasn't easy. I worked hard. I studied endless hours. I found out that I'm a procrasti-baker (for those playing along at home this is the art of cooking and baking anything and everything to avoid something - in my case assignments, exam prep etc).
For the most part I fell in love. I fell in love with natural medicine. I fell in love with the endless options to broaden your knowledge and to broaden your options when it comes to your health. I fell in love with food all over again and in a completely different way - as food as medicine. I fell in love with helping people. I learnt how to enhance my own health and I quite like helping other people do the same (mostly the latter, as I am usually the last person I help).
This is how I got here. A Mr. Squiggle style of pathway, but I'm here now. And I love it.
Congrats Holly. Just loved catching up on the path u have followed. U go girl - wishing u only success, happiness & and of course good health. 💕 Angela Paulin