Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Merritt
Hi Amy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up a Southern Baptist preacher’s kid. We moved around the Midwest (OK, AZ) and settled for a while in Springfield, MO (yes, the same Springfield Gypsy Rose is from). When I was 13 we moved again, this time closer to the southeast to a small town called Buford, GA (45min N of Atlanta). On the cusp of high school graduation, I met my husband on Lake Lanier, where his parents had a waterfront home. It was there, on a red jet ski, that I fell in love with the man who has now been my husband for over 13 years. Our relationship started young and it started on the water, boating. Eventually, we decided to take a leap of faith, moving our family, which included our 5 year old daughter, Carson, to Denver, CO. We wanted the opportunity to ski and snowboard more; and plus, we were positioning ourselves, geologically, in a region we wanted to explore a lot more comprehensively. We wanted to explore AZ, NM, UT, and WY. For 6 years, including the time during the Covid-19 pandemic, we lived in CO and explored the surrounding states. We skied, snowboarded, 4-wheeled, dirt-biked, and hiked across the Rocky Mountains, Grand Tetons, and La Sal Mountains, We took two sailing trips to the British Virgin Islands where we snorkeled, explored, and learned more about sailing from patient friends.
In 2020 I was laid of my job as a full time personal trainer because my entire book of clients were geriatric, high-risk population. My specialty, after all, had become helping older people gain more functional strength and mobility while reducing their chronic pain. I was crushed by this because I had worked so hard to build my book of business the year before. In a matter of days I was back to square one with no clients and no job. I was at home teaching my daughter (at least, trying to) when I decided to begin my prerequisites for nursing school. Fast forward to now, I went to nursing school, graduated, and got my license. We moved to Charleston over the summer (June, 2024) so that we can get back into boating and ocean exploring. We love to fish and to watch the dolphins. We love it here, on James Island. I started working as a full time behavioral health nurse in August.
Painting and art in general has served several purposes in my life at different points. When I was 21 years old, living in Milledgeville, GA attending Georgia College & State University, getting a BA in English literature, I would have sworn up and down that I was a writer and that this artform, writing, is locked into my identity as being primary. Then, when I graduated and got a job as “Managing Editor” of a small arts and entertainment magazine, I began my relationship with advertisers. I quickly became intolerant of using my words to convince anyone of anything and decided I needed a new hobby. And a new career, to that end. I began painting with watercolors because I had seen my mother do it, and I wanted a new artistic hobby that I could take a little less seriously. It was a practice in imperfection and creating “just to create.” Before I painted I would set the intention that the piece would be going straight into the trash when it dries, so just have fun. That’s why painting ended up being an important coping mechanism for me during Covid-19 lockdown and nursing school, where each days is riddled with crushing expectations and unknowns. I even began making my own watercolor paints out of mica pigments because the act of mixing/mulling the paints and waiting patiently as they dried felt therapeutic.
May, 2024, my pieces were displayed for sale at a local coffee shop near Denver, and many of them sold. Interestingly enough, since graduating nursing school in May, I have been writing a ton; and not painting a lot (just a little), I have been writing and writing and writing. Just like the old days. It’s been fun.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The struggles of the covid pandemic and nursing school were plentiful. My time in CO felt like the highs were very high, and the lows were very low. Seasoned nurses out there are burned out. I’ve seen it time and time again in so many environments I’ve been in. Pray for healthcare workers. Nurses carry a burden for society that is heavy, no matter the environment.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Psych nurse, mental health nurse, behavioral health nurse
To me, my job feels super nuanced and unique. It feels like I make a direct impact everyday by connecting with people personally. I work in a inpatient setting; so people are hospitalized for many different reasons. I could be to detox drug and/or alchohol, it could be because they are in biplar mania, it could be because they are having a psychotic episode, it could be because they walked outside naked again, etc. they list goes on. Many people there are suicidal so I discuss that a lot at work. My just is to keep them safe while they are unstable. I carry out the orders of the Dr. whether it be giving medications or facilitating assessments/tests. I lead group therapy sessions on topics like “boundary setting,” “self-esteem,” and “healthy communication.” I’m most proud of myself because I’m a new nurse at a new job and I show up each day with enough resilience to be corrected throughout the day on a rolling basis. It takes forever to learn this job 100% and I stay patient and curious.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is my relationship with my husband and daughter. We are a close-knit trifecta and I want it to stay that way as we enter carson’s teen years. I want to continue traveling and exploring the region we live in now.
I really want to learn how to be a nurse that finds balance in my career and home life. I don’t want to burn out! This, to me, means not picking up overtime shifts even if they’re dangling money in front of my face. It means, taking my lunch breaks when I clock out and actually eating a lunch. It means drinking water and sleeping 8 hours a night.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merrittmama/
