Why I became a Physical Therapist:
It was that time in my life where at 16 years old I was expected to figure out my career path in life. My parents suggested looking at a website of possible jobs and careers. It was literally a list of hundreds of jobs. As I went down the daunting list, I had the option to click yes, no or maybe.
Accountant: No
Lawyer: No
Plumber: No
Physical therapist: Maybe
Special needs teacher: Maybe
Out of all the careers on that list, I ended up with two ‘maybes’. My criteria during my search was simple. I didn’t want to sit behind a desk or cubicle and I wanted to be able to connect with people. Up to this point when friends or family asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I told them that I wanted to wake up and ENJOY going to work every day or at least most days. We all have those days.
But why those two professions? On the one hand, I had volunteered to work with children with special needs for most of my middle school and high school years. I loved the way I could support them while giving them a sense of community and belonging. On the other hand I participated in various high school sports and came to love being active. So the verdict was in. I decided that I would become a physical therapist and eventually open a clinic centered around pediatrics.
I figured the difficult part was over, I had chosen a career. Which felt like no small feat for a 16 year old. I didn’t anticipate what would unfold next. During my junior year of high school, I was assigned to write a college admission statement in AP English. I wrote my essay to Ithaca College for their 6 year accelerated doctorate of Physical Therapy program. I got my essay back with barely any red ink, except my teacher had one major critique. He suggested that physical therapy was a career that my mother had picked out for me and not what I was destined for. My heart dropped. How could he know that about me? So I turned to questioning myself. Maybe I didn’t have what it took to be a PT? Luckily my parents were there to reassure me that I could move forward with my decision regardless of what this teacher thought that I could or couldn’t achieve. So young Emily pushed on and moved forward, full speed, thank goodness!
As fate would have it, I ended up being accepted into the Ithaca College Doctorate of Physical Therapy program in the beautiful town of Ithaca, NY. I was privileged to be able to spend 6 years in this town full of more than a hundred waterfalls to run to, my favorite farmers market in the world, vegan goodness and a place to meet some of my still close friends! I received my undergraduate degree in clinical health studies and immediately continued into my doctorate of physical therapy. Graduate school kicked my ass a bit, forced me to slow down and learn more about myself and to dig down deep to finish my degree. I traveled the country, completing internships in Michigan and New Jersey and then I set off to explore the wild west in Casper and Cheyenne, Wyoming.
My last clinical was in pediatrics and it was an experience that I will always cherish. I loved treating children which instead felt like playing every day. Was this it? I was finally working in a clinic that fit my previous image of working with children. But life throws you curveballs. Even though I am not a pediatric PT, the experience in working with kids during that last clinical translated to working with children with pelvic floor issues such as urinary incontinence, urinary retention and constipation.
For years I have been telling friends, family members and patients that this was a lucky guess, that I ‘guessed right’. The more I come to learn about myself and my intuition though, the more I understand that I was already, at a young age, being led by my intuition to where I am now, a pelvic floor physical therapist who is passionate about helping women heal and regain freedom within their own bodies. I am thankful for my journey and continue to learn about myself, my field and femininity. I am proud that I trusted my gut as a young 16-year-old and didn’t back away from a career path that I was told wasn’t right for me. Believe it or not, I'm even grateful for that teacher who motivated me to push past his doubts and realize what I truly wanted.
-Emily Wilson, PT, DPT
