You Are Enough | Being Candid About the Stigmas Surrounding Mental Health

I am reading this book called “The Achievement Trap” by Brandilyn Tebo, and it has opened my eyes as to why so many students and professionals are seemingly obsessed with achievements, accolades, and success. Sure, every human feels good about doing great things, winning an award, or achieving something big; but at a certain point, it sometimes gets to an unhealthy level. I noticed we live in a culture now where young people (20s-30s) or K-12 students are surrounding their whole lives around competing with who has the longest resume, who has the highest SAT/ACT scores, and who has the most achievements and awards. Accolades, Congressional medals, volunteering, professional involvement, work, studies, AP exams, IB exams, clubs, research projects, internships, sports, and can’t forget the social life – these are all important, but how do you make time for everything? The short answer – you really can’t. Something is going to give one way or another at some point. It is overwhelming to balance all of this to say the least, but for some reason we all have to do it, otherwise we risk not excelling in our professional and academic lives. I am not even through 10% of this book and I already have learned so much from it. I hope to write a book like this one day, because I have a lot of opinions on this topic…

There seems to exist a culture today where everyone is high-energy, on go-mode, and just cannot afford to stop or rest. This is not the culture that is going to foster good mental health. In fact, by exhibiting this behavior, I’ve come to realize it actually inhibits progress, often making us so overworked that we have to go back and re-do a task, assignment, or fix an error. Not to mention the feelings of “not being good enough” or struggling with neglecting physical health, relationships, or most importantly, your own mental health setting in.

Sometimes, things happen when you just don’t expect them to.

In March of this year, I was supposed to attend the Women in Aviation 2025 conference in Denver. I was so excited for the event, as it is a testament to females involved with the aerospace/aviation sector, and I usually attend every year for networking opportunities and to meet other national members. Unexpectedly, life hit me hard in March, tanking my mental health.

But this was a testament to my strength. Believing in myself enough to know what is best for me and what was right.

I had to make the very difficult decision to cancel my trip at the last minute. I felt terrible. I realized just then – I can’t do everything.

I really made myself believe that I could do everything. It had come to a tipping point, and I just had to throw my hands up. I took the next few days to myself. To reset and make some time for myself. Ironically, at first, I had to cancel with one of my best friends that I haven’t seen in years because I was going to be out of town for a conference. But it just so happens that I was able to attend her birthday dinner in Orlando because I was no longer going to be out of town. I was so happy to see her after so many years, and I got to ask her to be my bridesmaid in person too, gifting her a bracelet and card. The better part – it was at Disney, so I got to go to my favorite happy place for a day.

We had some great food, celebrated my friend’s birthday, and I got a new pair of Minnie Ears.

I started focusing on the top things one at a time: mental health, school, work, and wedding planning of course!

I picked out my perfect princess wedding dress shortly after my trip to Disney. I have had all of the love and support throughout this whole wedding planning process. Having a good support group is absolutely vital.

In June, I attended the annual FABA conference in Tampa, FL! This was an incredible opportunity to network, meet the other board of directors at the Florida Aviation Business Association (FABA), and gain the opportunity to speak on a panel! Can’t wait for next year’s conference and to share all that FABA has accomplished by then.

I serve as a NASA Lucy Ambassador, where I volunteer to inform the public of NASA’s mission to the Trojan Asteroids. In June, I also presented at my very first venue – The Deltona Regional Library. This library has its own nature trail and so many environmental exhibits. It was the coolest thing ever! I loved spending the day here and my audience had a great time at my presentation. I can’t wait for my next talk, so stay tuned for that location!

June was just jam-packed for me – guess what else?! I’m a podcaster now!

Okay but seriously, I received the opportunity to talk on the “Let’s Talk Girl Scouts Podcast” and spoke to 2 Citrus Council Girl Scouts. During the episode, we talked about what it means to be a female in STEM, what my most memorable moments are, and how to overcome adversity. This storytelling event really drove home for me what life is all about. I appreciate the ladies of Citrus Council for this opportunity and be on the lookout for this episode of this podcast on Spotify and LinkedIn (and even some future episodes down the road that we have planned)!

I like to be well-rounded, very involved, and I am constantly growing and learning. So far, I have taken a summer course, MA 510, attended a conference, worked on my thesis, presented at my first venue for the NASA Lucy Ambassador Volunteer role, recorded a podcast with the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council, celebrated my 4-year work anniversary at Olive Garden, and have been planning my summer wedding. Ironically, this post is somewhat of an oxymoron. I am blogging about all of the crazy busy things I have been doing, but yet I also took time for myself, and in some cases, chose my mental health over school/work/volunteering for once. I think this dynamic is important to recognize just how challenging it can be to take a step back.

In closing – My Advice to Anyone Who Needs to Hear They Are Enough: don’t compare yourself to others. You are in your own lane, on your own timeline, and directing your own story.

Ciao for now.

Simply Living Life

Hey there! Took some time away from blogging due to finals week, spending Winter break with family, and taking care of some health stuff. That being said, as a new semester begins, always remember to prioritize your mental and physical health! It may not seem efficient now but will help you operate better, faster, and more efficiently in the long run. This can include scheduling times to do things with friends but also scheduling time to relax, read a book, or, my favorite, take some leisurely textbook notes in a little coffee shop.

Speaking of fun things, I have done a few things recently around the area that I wanted to share! There are so many places around Florida that are GREAT for a day trip or even just an evening activity. Here are some places that I have gone the past week or so:

The Ponte Vedra Concert Hall is only about 1.5 hours by car from campus! They have some really cool concerts there for relatively cheap prices. My boyfriend and I recently attended a Bowling for Soup concert there with Lit as an opener, and the tickets were only $35 each! The venue is super small as well, so any seat or standing space you get provides a really good view of the stage. I have also seen some classical music concerts there and a concert by Jake Shimabukuro (the ukulele legend, highly recommend). That area also has many good restaurants within a 10-minute radius to turn it into a fun evening.
My friend from LA visited for a few days, so of course I had to take her to Kennedy Space Center! It is only about an hour drive from campus, and you can get VERY discounted tickets through the ICI Center on campus. Plus, if you go during a weekday, there are little to no wait times for any rides and interactive experiences. This is a space nerd’s Disneyland; at least, I know it is for me. And of course you have to dress in all your finest NASA merch…..and subsequently get mistaken for an employee a few times hahaha
Before this, I had never tried an escape room, but now I think it is one of my favorite things to do. It is like a big interactive puzzle! I forgot exactly where this one was but went recently for a friend’s birthday. Great plan for a birthday or special occasion. They can get pricy, but when split among a few friends it usually is not too bad.
St. Augustine is my home, so I am a bit biased. However, it is only about an hour away from campus and FULL of fun things to do. I should really write another post on available St. Augustine activities. I have spent my whole life there and am still discovering new things to do. My friends and I walked around the Nights of Lights before they were shut off. During Winter, the entire downtown area is lit up with decorations and light for the holidays; it is breathtaking (and internationally known)! This is a picture of us at a little place downtown. Half of it is a duck-themed soap/spa sort of store. The other half is a bar! They specialized in old-fashioned sodas and drinks with ducks in them that you can take home! The entire place is duck-themed and so adorable. Great for photo ops.

Summer Shenanigans

It was an eventful Summer!

Summer is the time for internships, travelling, and living life!
This Summer, I returned to SpaceX for a third time. I was working as a Starship Vehicle Engineering intern based out of Hawthorne, California (near LA) and travelling back and forth a good amount to Starbase, Texas (Southernmost tip of Texas). My job involves a lot of overall-vehicle work for the Ship portion of Starship; more details on what I have been doing can be found on my LinkedIn.

There are some cool pictures at the end of this post.
But first, I feel like something that often gets overlooked is having a work-life balance as an intern at any company. Internships are great opportunities to learn different subjects, gain hands-on experience, network, and maybe even secure a fulltime position if you are really passionate about the company. However, keep in mind that this is also YOUR time to get a feel for if you like the company in different aspects. Are you passionate about the thing you are working on? Could you see yourself working on your team every day? If you work at this pace/hours/frequency, how do you emotionally, mentally, and physically feel? Does this work/position fulfill you? Do you need more or less time to touch grass? Thus, I highly recommend treating your internship like a trial run for how your life would be like in a full time position. Do you want to travel frequently? Do you want to be adamant about going home at 5pm on Fridays? What are some personal boundaries that you need to draw for your happiness? Do you love that 8am-8pm grind? Do you like the area that you would be living in? There are no wrong answers! Only discoveries about what would make you happiest in life and a fulltime career.

Now to cue the photoreal 🙂

SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, California
View of Downtown LA from Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory at Sunrise (Photo 1)
Griffith Observatory at Sunrise (Photo 2)
The Starship Shrine