KALKASKA -- My name is Misty Marshall. I am thirty-four years old and live in Kalkaska, Michigan. I am married to a fine British man named Dave, who has been my soul mate for the past seven years. I have four children; three handsome boys that my husband and I adopted from the foster care system, and one biological daughter. I've been a foster mother for over five years and have during that time had several children come into our home. I've also taken these past five years to pursue a degree at Baker College in Cadillac. On December 5th I will complete the Bachelor's in Human Services program with aspirations of entering the world of child welfare. I love to write, and have a passion for anything related to psychology. I would love to pursue a Master's Degree in Social Work in order to be a family therapist or child counselor, but would like to begin my career by working as a foster care specialist.
I have been morbidly obese since childhood and am not a stranger to the struggles of living life as a heavy person. My weight problem followed me into adulthood where I found myself lost in a world of loneliness and fast food. I continued on a journey to obesity and in 2004 underwent bariatric surgery. While it is a great tool, it did not help with my addiction to food. I consider this experience a lesson in life that will be discussed quite frequently in my blog writings. After experiencing a health scare I decided to take on a journey of self-discovery and have been working at conquering my food addiction through exercise. This is a process that has required completely facing the reality of living with a food addiction. Being honest with you is not always easy, but throughout this journey I have made it my goal to be as transparent as possible about the struggles that I have faced.
One of my favorite life mottos is "Success in life is TAKING a dream and MAKING it come true". What I like the most about this verse is the use of action words…Taking and Making require effort, hard work, and commitment. I believe that it is possible for me, a thirty-four year old woman from Kalkaska, Michigan to take a dream of being healthy, happy, and fulfilled and make it come true. My goal isn't to be supermodel skinny, but to be healthy. I want to live each day to its fullest, grasp every opportunity, and make a difference in the lives of many. I know that the sky is the limit!
