A new journey awaits us, and it’s not going to be like the others.
A lion sleeps in the heart of every brave woman
Hi there! My name is Jaclyn, and I’m the momma of this little family. I find it really hard to write this blog only because I feel like I’ve introduced myself to you multiple times. Even though that may be the case, I want you to get to know a little more about me. First off, I am a twenty-something year old Filipina living overseas. I do your typical Filipina career, you guessed it! I am a Registered Nurse. The only kick I get out of my career to differentiate myself from my counterparts is I’m one of the (still many) Filipina Nurses in the U.S. Army. I’ve lived 18 years of my life outside of the United States because of my parents, and it’s shaped me into the person I am now.
I’ve been in the Army for almost three years, and I’ve been practicing nursing for almost 5 years (to include student capstones, volunteering, etc). I still haven’t found my niche in the nursing world yet, but I am mostly interested in learning about the neonatal/pediatric population. Working with children already scares people to the bones, but working with sick children? It’s like a someone’s worst nightmare. It takes a special kind of nurse to work with critically ill children, and I think that I’ve got what it takes. Only because I believe that children are much more resilient than adults are, and that may be because of their imaginations. The world hasn’t tainted their hearts with the kind of fear that destroys hope.
Values are what make up a person’s characteristics
I’ve always held four values near my heart: Guide, Love, Heal, Protect. My mom gifted me my very own Pandora bracelet that had charms symbolizing all of those values, and it’s probably the greatest thing in the world.
Guide
Guide for me has mostly been to guide my younger brother to make the right decisions in life. Every mistake that I’ve made, and I’ve made plenty, I just hope he doesn’t have to make them. I want him to learn from my mistakes, and not have to struggle the way that I did growing up. I try to guide my junior Soldiers to progress through their careers and be the best that they can be. I want them to understand that they’re a part of a team, and when it comes down to it, the only people they’ll have are those to the left and right of them. I guide my patients to make healthier decisions to improve their quality of life, and to try and get better. We don’t realize how often we guide people on a day to day basis, so make sure you’re giving advice you would take yourself.
Heal
As a nurse, I think this is pretty self-explanatory that I feel a deep need to help heal those in need. But this is holistic healing. Suffering from mental illness myself, I find that behavioral and mental health gets overlooked. I’ve come from a past where I’ve had two very close people had committed suicide because they showed no signs, and spoke to no one about it. I want to take away the stigma of mental illness so those who really need help, won’t be afraid to reach out for it. If you or someone you know needs help, please get them the proper help that they need, listen to them, or help them find someone they trust.
Love
My love consists of my love for my family, friends, and anyone that I help heal. I’ll hit them with that agape love, you know what I mean? Agape love is self-less love, and is thought to be the highest form of love. My love for my family and friends runs deep. My family has overcome turmoil and disaster time and time again. At one point, it seemed like there was no hope escaping the darkness. But our love for each other lit the way for us to rekindle our spirits. My love for my own little family now is something that’s unbreakable. We have already gone through so much in our few years together, but our love has truly overcome all.
Protect
When I was younger, my sole purpose in life was to protect the one brother I had left, Joey. After we had lost our older brother to heart break, Joey’s heart was something that I saw as completely fragile. Now that he’s all grown up, I think I can let him take care of himself. Now my focus is on protecting myself and my family. There have been many things that have come and tried to break the bonds between me and my little family, but they will not succeed. The love that I have for Sean, that’s something that can never be erased, and I will protect his heart as much as he protects mine. Just like how we want to protect those with fragile hearts in the world. We want you to know, you are never alone when you’re a part of our family. We will always do our best to make time to listen.
Hobbies that take up my time
Athens, clocking in at 5:25:25 for my first full marathon
Being a gym rat all day, every day
When I’m not working as a nurse, you can find me in the gym lifting weights. About a year ago, I would call myself a hardcore, dedicated runner. I trained for a bunch of races to include Athens Original Marathon, Disney Paris Half, and the Mont Saint Michel Half. I kept telling Sean that I didn’t like weight lifting, and honestly it’s because I was intimidated by everyone in the gym. When I started to get foot pain, I couldn’t run as far anymore, so I started to lift weights. Now, running the dreaded 2-mile test for the Army is difficult for me to even think of. But now that I’ve gotten surgery on my foot, I’m hoping after my recovery, I can get back to some cardio work. It’s not easy to be a couch potato for this long.
I’m working on becoming a health coach, so I’ve started my short journey with a girl I met in college, Victoria. I joined a Beachbody group, and I’m really hoping that this gives me the short amount of cardio that I need to get my ticker back into shape before I head back to the states. I want to become a health coach because I like the idea of holistic healing in nursing. When you get to us in the hospital, we cure whatever it is you are diagnosed with. I want to help keep you out of the hospital though. That’s why I think it’s important that people take their health seriously!
Capturing the moment through photography
Photography has always been something that I’ve been interested in. Ever since I got my first Panasonic point and shoot camera when I was younger. My husband has helped me upgrade to a Nikon DSLR camera, equipped with different lenses and flashes to make sure we get the right shot. I’m still learning, and he’s been the most helpful teacher. He encourages me to take photos because he tells me I have a “good eye” for things, and I’m hoping he’s right. All of the photos in our gallery are taken by us, and edited by myself, so you should check that out here! Follow me on Instagram (@stayaloha) if you want to stay more up-to-date on my photos.
Enough about me
I hope you stay tuned with us. We’ve got high hopes for Okami & Co to grow and make new family and friends from around the world!
Love, Jaclyn & Co.