It had long been my dream to become a technical writer and write textbooks for medicine and law.

My college left much to be desired in the way of career planning. It was my understanding that the only way I’d be able to break into this lofty career was to follow in my father’s footsteps of going to medical school and becoming a medical professor. So, I enrolled at Boise State University, where I spent the next five years studying Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Education.

While studying, I worked as a dormitory resident assistant, fitness instructor, and personal trainer—all while continuing to tutor math and music. These roles helped me develop the technical knowledge necessary for health and wellness copywriting and provided experience in project planning, mass communications, and service marketing.

When my health failed, tutoring turned from a side hustle into a family business.

The summer I turned 21, I nearly drowned in a river accident. Subsequent pneumonia precipitated a sudden change in my health that would alter my life forever. I started sleeping 16 hours per day and collapsing like a rag doll whenever I became excited, upset, or startled. It would take several years and a medical bankruptcy to figure out what was wrong with me.

I had never stopped tutoring as a side hustle. So, when it became clear that I would not be able to manage the demands of medical school, I decided to take a break from school altogether. My inbound marketing strategies were so effective that I not only filled my schedule but had to hire my husband and nine other employees to help me serve all the students who sought my services--all through organic traffic to my website.

We closed my tutoring company in 2020.

Though we could have kept the business going during the pandemic if we’d wanted to, the shutdown and birth of our first child made me reevaluate my goals and priorities. I loved tutoring, but it had always been a means to an end more than the fulfillment of my career goals.

I recognized that, while I was a stellar tutor, my most lucrative skill was obtaining clients for my business. Meanwhile, managing employees is exhausting. Was there a way I could combine this entrepreneurial talent and love of writing into a career that would serve me while I served others?

Today, I write full-time and love every minute of it.

In early 2022, I discovered “Write Your Way to Freedom,” a copywriting course designed by seven-figure copywriter Sarah Turner. This course provided me with the tools that ten years of college failed to deliver. Today, I create content that leverages my client acquisition skills and passion for writing. I get to do the technical writing that I always wanted to do—without the quarter million dollars in medical school debt.