#GraduatingWithHonors #VeterinaryAssistant #SurvivorStory #HealingJourney #TransformationJourney

I don’t even know how to fully put this into words, but I am officially on my last course before graduation.

Algebra.

That’s it.

That is the last thing standing between me and finally finishing my program.

And not only am I finishing, but I currently have a 3.5122 GPA, which means I am officially graduating with honors. I will be graduating with not only my veterinary assistant credentials, but also my high school diploma.

After everything I have survived, that sentence feels insane to even type.

Because this is not just a school update.

This is not just, “Yay, I passed a class.”

This is years of being sick, traumatized, dismissed, delayed, set back, overwhelmed, grieving, and still somehow finding a way to keep going. This is me proving to myself that my life did not end in survival mode. This is me finally finishing something that younger me deserved to finish a long time ago.

And honestly? I am so proud of myself.

I recently passed my final veterinary assistant exam with an A+, and now I am down to Algebra. For anyone who knows me, you know math has never exactly been my favorite thing in the world. So of course, the universe saved Algebra for last like some kind of final boss battle.

But I am doing it.

I am almost done.

And I am not just barely scraping by. I am graduating with honors.

That matters to me because there were so many times where my life did not look like it was heading toward this. There were times when I was so sick that just existing felt like a full-time job. There were times when trauma, grief, health issues, and stress made everything feel impossible. There were times when I felt like life kept hitting me with one thing after another and expecting me to just magically keep standing.

And the last few months have been a lot.

In February, I lost my horse Cody.

Cody was not just a horse to me. I had him since I was 17 years old. He was one of those animals that came into my life with a story that already broke my heart before I even fully knew him.

Before I got him, Cody was in a rescue-type situation. His stall was so small that he had to eat where he also urinated. He had been mistreated in ways no animal ever deserves. They would hit him in the head with a metal 10×4 pipe and run him into the wall to “make him stop.”

Typing that still makes me sick.

But when Cody showed up at my house after I purchased him, he had life and sparkle back in his eyes. It was like a part of him knew he was finally safe.

And that is something I will always hold onto.

Cody lived into his 30s, and as much as losing him hurt, I am happy I was able to give him a good life. I am happy he got to know love, safety, food, space, gentleness, and a home where he was not treated like he was disposable.

Then, a day later, my Great Dane Pauly died unexpectedly of unknown causes.

A day later.

I barely had time to process losing Cody before I lost Pauly too.

Pauly was my foster fail. He had survived a house fire as a puppy with his siblings. They all had burn injuries, and they were going to be put down because the breeder could not afford the vet bills. My Auntie Tina with Josh and his Critters stepped in and paid for their treatments and surgeries, and because of her, Pauly got the chance to live.

I was honored that my Auntie Tina let me keep him.

And I am so happy he had a good life with us.

That is the part I keep coming back to with both Cody and Pauly. The grief is heavy, but so is the love. And when I really think about it, both of them got to live lives they almost did not get to have.

Cody got to grow old.

Pauly got to survive.

They both got to be loved.

And I got to be part of that.

That does not make losing them easy, but it does make their lives meaningful. It reminds me why I care so deeply about animals in the first place. It reminds me why becoming a veterinary assistant matters so much to me. It reminds me that even when my heart breaks, I would still choose to love them all over again.

Because animals have always been part of my healing.

They have been there through the ugliest parts of my life. They have given me a reason to get up, a reason to keep going, and a reason to become stronger than I thought I could be.

So yes, losing Cody and Pauly back-to-back broke something in me.

But I am still here.

Still standing.

Still learning.

Still becoming the woman I fought so hard to become.

On top of all of that, I am also preparing for major dental surgery, which is officially scheduled for May 7th. I need to be put under anesthesia because I need a bone graft, and during my consultation, my CT scan showed a lump or growth on my jaw. So now that is also something being watched, and if they decide it needs a biopsy, then that will be the next step.

And I am not going to lie — that is scary.

Especially with my history.

Medical trauma is real. PTSD around doctors, hospitals, procedures, anesthesia, and not being listened to is real. When you have been through serious health issues before, even trying to stay calm before surgery feels like a job by itself.

But at the same time, I am trying to remind myself that this is part of taking care of me. This is not me falling apart. This is me handling something that needs to be handled. It is scary, but it is also one more step toward healing.

And somehow, while dealing with all of that, I am also finishing school, working on my business, rebuilding my website, creating content, planning for my future, and stepping into this next chapter of my life.

Because I am also engaged now.

Beau and I will be celebrating our engagement and my graduation together in June, and that honestly feels so symbolic. It feels like one chapter of survival is closing, and another chapter is opening — one where I actually get to celebrate myself instead of just recover from everything.

For so long, I felt like I was always trying to catch up to the version of myself I thought I was supposed to be.

Now I feel like I am finally becoming her.

Not perfectly. Not peacefully every single day. Not without crying, spiraling, stressing, or needing espresso to function.

But I am becoming her.

I am becoming the woman who finishes what she started.

The woman who turns pain into purpose.

The woman who can be soft and still strong.

The woman who can love animals, grieve animals, build a business, go back to school, survive medical trauma, create art, plan events, rescue kittens, write her truth, and still somehow keep pushing forward.

That is what A Metamorphosis Addiction has always been about.

It was never just a business name.

It was never just a website.

It was never just photography, events, art, design, or animal rescue.

It has always been about transformation.

Mine.

The messy kind. The painful kind. The kind where you don’t even realize you are changing until one day you look around and realize you are not the same person who used to beg life to just let you breathe.

I have had to rebuild myself more times than I can count.

And now I am rebuilding again, but this time it feels different.

This time, I am not just trying to survive.

I am trying to graduate.

I am trying to get healthy.

I am trying to grow my business.

I am trying to create a life with my fiancé.

I am trying to become the version of myself that my younger self needed to know was possible.

And I am so close.

One class away.

One surgery to get through.

One chapter ending.

A whole new one beginning.

So yes, I am proud of myself.

I am proud of the girl who kept going when she was exhausted.

I am proud of the woman who decided she was still worth investing in.

I am proud of the student graduating with honors.

I am proud of the future veterinary assistant.

I am proud of the girl who gave Cody and Pauly the love, safety, and life they deserved.

I am proud of the girl who thought she was behind in life, only to realize she was actually becoming something stronger than she ever imagined.

This diploma is not just a piece of paper.

These credentials are not just another achievement.

This is proof.

Proof that trauma did not win.

Proof that sickness did not steal my future.

Proof that grief did not stop me from loving.

Proof that being delayed does not mean being defeated.

Proof that I am still here.

And I am finally finishing what I started.