Lara Curtis
Meet Lo - Veterinary Neurologist & Podcaster
Her Story:
Residency was THE hardest season of my life. The culture of residency is all about “earning your stripes” or “I suffered through it so you should too”, with zero regulation & likely little support for your mental growth and health. On the precipice of walking away, I had a choice - quit or make a change. So make a change I did! By finding my voice through personal development and community, once I finished residency I felt it was my calling to help women like me find their voices. I am proud that I didn’t just “suffer through” residency or “buck up and get over it”, that I dug deep and now that season is not just part of me, but it helped shape my PURPOSE.
"What's something you are actively going through?"
I just quit my job! After 18 months of being treated like a cog in the machine rather than a human with something to offer - I got creative and found my DREAM job! Quitting is hard, but working at a job that treats you like trash is harder.
"What about your story challenges the status quo?"
We’re taught that winners don’t quit. And so we stay STUCK because we think it’s on US to make a bad thing work. But the truth is? Winners never quit on THEMSELVES. I also use my story of numerous setbacks and a non-linear path to challenge perfectionism and the mindset that failure is the opposite of success, when really failure is a prerequisite for success!
I spent two decades studying to become a veterinary neurologist. TWO DECADES. And then it happened, my dream came true, but I still felt like I wasn’t stepping into my purpose. There’s so much pressure we put on ourselves to stick with the thing we’ve done for so long because we’ve always done it or always wanted to do it. Starting over or starting something different feels like we’re “wasting” our efforts. So we stay stuck. We don't do the things that we’re trained to do, but not necessarily CALLED to do. Don’t get me wrong, I still love veterinary neurology, but what I’ve learned in the process of launching a personal development podcast, is that I’m not any ONE thing. I’m a veterinarian, I’m a podcaster, I’m wild at heart but also a homebody. I, like us all, am a collection of paradoxes and I’ve learned that instead of trying to “understand” it or “define it”, that there’s joy in just stepping into it! That denying part of me because it doesn’t “fit” is a sure fire way to lose myself. But I had to learn these things the hard way, crying on the floor wondering what was wrong with me or why I wasn’t more grateful or more fulfilled. I ached to understand.
THIS was my purpose. This pain and struggle has allowed me to pave the way of normalizing for my fellow professionals that we’re not ONE thing. That before our career, we are people FIRST. Through my podcast I am creating a community of women who are learning to allow themselves to want for more, to be a person first, to care for ourselves, to grow and THRIVE rather than just surviving!
"Tell us your '&'!"
Scientist & dreamer, strong & soft, mentor & lifelong learner, recovering perfectionist & wild at heart
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Inspired by Lo's story? Connect with her or follow her journey here!
- Instagram: @_lo.curtis
- https://locurtis.com/
- Lo's Podcast!
Amazing!! Love everything about this story!
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