I started working professionally as a Massage Therapist and Chiropractic Assistant right out of High School and I loved the work.  My doctor was also a certified massage therapist and taught me the professionalism to be an ethical medical massage practitioner.  I was not a certified massage therapist back then but I worked under the Chiropractor's licensed for 4 years before seeking other ways to help people.  I continued to do bodywork as an amateur ever since. My next career was in Emergency Services and I became a Mobile Intensive Care Paramedic in the busy metropolis of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Yes, I saw a lot.  It did changed me.  I found myself quite jaded after those 22 years in public service, having seen the very worse in people and so much trauma.  The work also broke me physically, resulting in having a chest muscle re-attached to my arm and two levels fused in my back.  I asked myself, "Was it worth it?"  Of course it was and I wouldn't give back those experiences for anything.  ...but I still hurt and I was still jaded. To stay busy, I took on various jobs while collecting on my retirement but it wasn't until I got certified as a Massage Therapist that I found myself back to being that that bright-eyed kid who put hands on people's muscles and watch them leave the clinic happy.  I certainly missed the "happy!"   Now, I get to serve those who need massage using advanced neuromuscular bodywork therapy and really provide some needed Solace.