Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Townsend.
Elise, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m 26 years old, a mommy to two cute French bulldogs, Milo and Lucy, I’m engaged to the man of my dreams, and pursuing my passion for helping young women conquer their lives (and maybe even the world)!! Now don’t get me wrong, I have had my fair share of struggles along the way but can confidently say that I am now kicking ass (most of the time) at this rollercoaster we call life – but it took me a long time and a LOT of work to get to this place, which is why I wanted to start my blog, Be Bloomed.
My passion for helping people really kicked into overdrive when I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, Lyme disease, back in 2015. From there, I decided to get a Master’s degree in Counseling, which ultimately led me to this point in my life. I am currently a Licensed Professional Counselor – Intern at a private practice near SMU called Mend Counseling. My clientele of choice is young women because I truly believe that your 20’s-30’s is SUCH a transitional time with lots of changes… the quarter-life crisis is real yall!!!
My goal for starting Be Bloomed Wellness was to use my life experiences and counseling background to hopefully impact young women’s lives in some positive and relatable way. On Be Bloomed, I discuss real talk topics about health, wellness, and my lifestyle, including clean beauty products, fashion, and travel! Be bloomed is a safe place where we “sisters” can talk about everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Joining the Be Bloomed fam means my readers are joining me on a journey of self-reflection, self-awareness, self-growth, and my favorite, SELF-LOVE!!! It’s all about blooming into your full potential and using our hardships of life as resilience to keep on going and growing!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’d say the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to get through in my entire life was being diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease. It’s included months of being bedridden, a year of immune support, a year of hardcore antibiotics, hospitalizations, stem cell treatments, and surgeries!! When you’re in the thick of it, it seems like your life is falling apart and like every dream you ever had for yourself is unobtainable. BUT I’m living proof that despite the hard days, you can do anything if you truly believe in yourself and love yourself. If I can make it through getting my Master’s while fighting off a serious disease, anyone can! I think that despite my age, I’ve been through a lot of hardships but it has made me who I am today and I wouldn’t change any of that for the world.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Be Bloomed Wellness – what should we know?
Be Bloomed is a blog that is directed towards young women. It shares my personal story and some clinical experience in a relatable way that allows readers to benefit from some counseling knowledge without being in front of a therapist. When I first started doing some research to find something similar online, I couldn’t find anything. I wanted Be Bloomed to be a community of strong young women who want to grow as individuals and learn how to have healthy coping skills and relationships. It’s a way to self-reflect and gain self-awareness all while loving yourself unconditionally. I am proud of myself for sharing my own story in such a raw and vulnerable way. With the idealizing of social media these days, I break those barriers and am a real life example that it’s okay to be vulnerable and show that side of you. Maybe if I can, other people will be encouraged to also. I think what sets the Be Bloomed community apart from other online blogs is that I intertwine my own personal experience with my clinical knowledge and share self-development information! My whole goal is to reach young women and help them realize that they are deserving of love and that the most important type of love is SELF LOVE!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I don’t make money from my blog so I don’t define success in that way. I consider Be Bloomed successful because it positively impacts young women (or young men) and if I can make a difference in ONE person’s life by sharing my story and my counseling knowledge, then it’s all worth it. I think the one quality that is most important to my success is my ability to be transparent with my readers and share my feelings and experiences in a very raw, vulnerable, and authentic way. I like to talk about the hard stuff and the stuff that no one likes to share on social media. I like to be an example that you can show that side of you and still have a support system that loves you for your flaws and be a resilient, beautiful, and self-loving woman!!! AMEN!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bebloomed.co
- Email: elise@bebloomed.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bebloomedwellness/
Image Credit:
Photos by Paige Greener Photography
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