Welp, I did it. I quit my job.
To get you all up to speed, for the last 5 years I have been an Investigator and Autopsy Assistant for the Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner’s Office. Yep, that’s right I am CSI in the flesh (no pun intended). I was offered a position there while I was interning my senior year of college. As weird as it seems, my dream job. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been into science. Animals for a short while but, mostly interested in people which is funny because if you knew me personally would say that I HATE people. I wanted to be a doctor for a while and then a surgeon. But, the thought of having someone's life in my hands was absolutely terrifying and lets be real people complain, A LOT. That lead me to think that being a forensic pathologist would be cool. You are still a doctor but your “patients,” don’t talk back or complain! Then, I realized how much education that took and well, I could barely stand going to class for my undergrad so that wasn’t going to work. It wasn’t until I started researching schools that I started considering forensics. And then I went to a university that didn’t even have a program. Katie, you are sooo smart! Lucky for me it had been leaked that the university was in the midst of creating one and would start my freshman year.
There are a few different things you can do with a Forensic Science degree. You could work in a lab and process evidence, be a phlebotomist, fingerprint analyst, tool mark analyst, hand writing analyst, forensic psychologist, forensic nursing, forensic photography, evidence technician, or just do field work. My advisor always told me that I had the personality for field work and I agreed. I couldn’t see myself sitting in a lab or going cross eyed looking at fingerprints under a magnifying glass for 8 hours and honestly, I found the dead to be interesting. It’s a grey area that not many people know much about. Fast forward to present day and well, I have seen some shit. I mean I could write a book on some of the things I have experienced in the last 5 years. I’ve consoled a grieving husband after losing his wife, even though he knew he lost her to Alzheimer's 3 years ago. I’ve done autopsies on kids who believed they're life wasn’t going to get any better so they decided to take it on their own terms. I’ve spent weeks trying to locate a next of kin for a deceased Veteran who has no living family or friends and ends up becoming the property of the county. Don’t even get me started on the super weird stuff like cross dressing and sex toys.
Sounds interesting right? It is interesting or WAS interesting. I've had a really hard time mentally with my job this past year. Our office experienced a lot of changes. And in the process, I lost the passion I once had for this profession. People use to say, “Wow, that’s so cool. How did you get into that? Do you like it?” And I could carry a conversation about it for at least a few minutes. Because if you don’t know, another thing about me, is that I'm terrible at small talk and just bad at conversation in general. Now, when someone asks me that I'm kind of like, “meh, it's alright.”
I posted a question box on my Instagram story last week while doing an, “About Me.” And someone asked why I wanted to be a nutrition coach. And honestly, I was flooded with reasons that came to mind. And then I asked myself the same question but about my current job. I COULDN’T THINK OF ANYTHING. It's cool. That’s all I could say. At that point I had already had today set in my plan. March 15th was the day I was going to do it. I've had TONS of doubts, negative thoughts, what ifs, and other b.s. But it was that question that confirmed that I am done with this chapter in my life. So, I let go of something that no longer serves me.
When I am on my death bed and hopefully still coherent enough to look back on my life. I want to be able to look back and say I made an impact. And I will be comforted by the fact that I changed lives for a living. I helped people reach their full potential. I helped someone overcome their negative relationship with food. I helped people live their life the way they want to live it while crushing goals in the process. I saved a family member from adding another diagnosis to their problem list or helped a mom have enough energy to keep up with her kids. There haven't been too many moments in my career as an investigator and autopsy assistant that I have felt proud of what I do. But, as a nutrition coach, I don’t even have to remember the moments because I can SEE them with my own two eyes when I see my clients or hear the sense of joy and relief in their voice. Helping someone accomplish a goal they never thought possible is seriously the most rewarding feeling.
So, without further a due, here's to changing lives for a living and going ALL IN on nutrition coaching!
All the best,
-K
Veggie Fritters
Recipe Makes: 6 Fritters
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: !0 minutes
Ingredients:
1. 85g Broccoli Slaw
2. 85g Matchstick cut carrots
3. 85g Matchstick cut zucchini
4. 1 Egg
5. 53g Kodiak Cake Buttermilk Mix
6. 1/8 Tsp Salt
7. 1/8 Tsp Pepper
8. 1 Tsp Cumin
9. 1 Tsp Chilli Powder
10. 1 Tsp Garlic Salt
11. 28g Parmesan Cheese
Instructions:
Combine broccoli slaw, carrots, and zucchini in a bowl. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. dump veggies in the water and cook for 4-5 minutes. Drain veggies and use a paper towel to remove the access liquid. Combine veggies with other ingredients. Roll into 6 balls and flatten. Fry in a pan for a few minutes each side until brown. I used a Bolthouse Farms avocado ranch dressing. If you haven't tried they're products they are awesome! All the dressings are yogurt based.
Macros for 1 fritter:
Total Calories: 80
Protein: 4.3g
Fat: 2.8g
Carbs: 8.5g