I have been doing a lot of reflection right now, not only because it the end of a calendar year and the start of a new year but also because in January 2006 I finally got my first license to practice chiropractic.  I opened my doors to our first location of Triad Sports & Family Chiropractic in Creve Coeur just a couple of months later. The rest is history. Some parts are foggy. Some I want to forget. All very meaningful. I recently wrote to myself from the perspective of what I wish I knew and had to confidence to understand in my 20's. I hope it offers some inspiration and understanding for my readers. 

When I think back to why I chose chiropractic, I realize how much instinct carried me forward before experience could explain it.

The reasons you felt pulled toward this profession were right, even if you didn’t have language for them yet. The scope of practice. The autonomy. The hands-on artistry. The vitalistic philosophy. The belief that caring for the whole person matters. Trust that. It will anchor you through every evolution of your career.

You will become a student of movement, sport, and human performance far beyond what you can imagine now. You’ll learn athletes and their disciplines ten times deeper than you ever expected, not just how bodies break down, but how they adapt, express, and thrive under stress. Curiosity will become one of your greatest clinical tools.

What it means to “look like a doctor” will change. Piercings, tattoos, sneakers, athleisure, how you wear your hair, all of it will evolve. Early on, conforming may open doors to rooms you otherwise wouldn’t enter. That doesn’t mean conformity defines you. When the time is right (for YOUR reasons) don’t be afraid to change. Authenticity earns trust when it’s paired with competence.

Influence is not something to take lightly. Along the way, you will care for patients, interns, and employees who go on to become physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, athletic trainers, occupational therapists, nurses, educators — people who will shape the health of the next generation. How you show up matters more than you’ll ever fully see.

There will be moments when leaving your practice feels tempting — exhaustion, opportunity, doubt, restlessness. Don’t rush. The right next step will be obvious when it’s time. Growth doesn’t always mean departure; sometimes it means deepening.

Never stop learning. Some of what you were taught will become outdated. Some will be refined. Some will be completely reimagined. A flexible, curious mind is one of the defining traits of a master clinician.

Your belief that healthcare can be transformed through education, access, and inspiration will still be true decades later. Keep building around those pillars. They will allow you to reach more people — and make a deeper impact — than you ever imagined early on.

You will be remembered by people who knew you only briefly as a student, sometimes YEARS before they ever walk through your doors as patients. Someone is always watching,  not in judgment, but in quiet observation of your consistency and integrity.

And some of the patients who shape you the most will eventually pass. In those moments, grief and gratitude will sit side by side. But there will also be profound joy in continuing to care for their children and sometimes their grandchildren (literally). That continuity is one of the greatest honors of this work.

Twenty years in, I can say this with certainty: the work changes you, if you let it. And if you stay curious, grounded, and human, it will continue to be worth it.