Life Off-Label

The last time I regularly posted here, I was a pharmacy student just trying to survive the next exam. At the time, this blog was a way to process the stress of school and find some semblance of balance.

If you’ve been away for a while (like I have), a lot has happened.

I didn’t just finish pharmacy school. I kept going. added a PhD to my PharmD, moved from “student” to “pharmacist” to “researcher,” and traded my study guides for data sets. On a personal level, I got married and became a mother. By all accounts, I’ve “arrived” at the professional goals I was dreaming about back in those early pharmacy school posts. Oh, but then another thing happened. I also got diagnosed with ADHD later in life. And as any ADHD brain knows, “arriving” doesn’t mean the wandering stops.

I’ve realized that while my identity is deeply rooted in being a pharmacist and a scientist, I still need a sandbox. I need a place where I don’t have to be “Dr.” or “mom” for a second. A place to explore the hyper-fixations, the creative side-quests, and the data-driven curiosities that don’t always fit into a HEOR study or a bedtime story.

I’m calling this my “off-label” life. In the medical world, off-label use is about taking something established and finding a new, unexpected purpose for it. That’s what I’m doing here. I’m taking the analytical, curious, and admittedly scatter-brained parts of my personality and giving them a home again.

I’m not sure exactly what this blog will look like this time around. It might be a deep dive into a new hobby, a reflection on neurodiversity in the workplace, or just a snapshot of life as a double-doctorate parent. Whatever it is, I’m glad to be back. It’s been a long time, but I think the best parts of the story are just starting.