The idea for Dancing Backwards in High Heels developed over time as I navigated life as a young professional woman and experienced every emotion possible at different points in that journey. I love that the world is really embracing the fact that women can have it all, but I’m not sure we’re always realistic about how difficult it really is to have (and juggle) it all. I always felt that the phrase “dancing backwards in high heels” perfectly described what it felt like to juggle the many roles I have – wife, mom, professional, friend, young woman. I was also feeling a growing need for a creative outlet, which isn’t really an aspect of my “regular” job as a healthcare executive. My hope for this blog is that it is a supportive and encouraging place for those of you working to juggle the many different aspects of your life, a place to share tips and experiences, and a place to show that not everything has to be perfect in order to “have it all,” and more importantly, to enjoy it all.
I grew up in a small town in central Florida and obtained my Bachelors degree in Psychology from Florida State (Go Noles!!). I then moved to Michigan to get my Masters degree at Western Michigan University in Organizational Psychology. I developed an interest very early on in the business side of healthcare, which I was very exposed to with my dad being a surgeon and my mom being a nurse. I saw how difficult it was for patients to navigate our healthcare system, which had nothing to do with the quality of the medical care they were receiving, and I became very passionate about helping to improve that in our country. After obtaining my Masters degree I started my career in healthcare operations improvement and have a wide range of experience from consulting to large health systems. One job even lead to a move to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, which turned out to be one of the greatest adventures of my life and where I met my wonderful husband, fell in love and got married. Jobs have brought us back to the States to start our family, but a piece of our hearts will always be in the islands.
My husband and I live in Charlotte, NC with our son and 2 fur babies (a boxer and a mini dachshund). I love sarcasm and really don’t like having to read between the lines, so you can always count on me to be direct and transparent! Being a working mom isn’t always easy and it isn’t always rainbows and butterflies. So I think it’s important to always keep it real and not create unrealistic expectations of what this life is all about. I will always do my best to share the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, the fun and the tough.
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xo,
Shannon
