How coincidentally it happened that as I sat down to type this "about me" blog, the song "Who Am I" by NEEDTOBREATHE came on Spotify *gasp*! Any other NEEDTOBREATHE fans out there?
Anywho.. Hi! My name is Emmy (which most people know me by) but I'd like to really get to know you, so you should know my full name is Madeline Emma Runyan. "Emmy" comes from my first 2 initials "M.E."R. I actually share those initials with my Great Grandpa, Grandpa, Dad, Brother, and my Aunt (well, before she got married).
Anyways, I grew up on a hog farm in a small-ish town in mid-Ohio which I love dearly and always will. In high school I played all the sports, but by junior year had zeroed in on soccer, swimming, and track and field, all of which I loved for very different reasons. My social life growing up pretty much was a mix of practices, games (or meets), participating in student sections, driving around listening to music, prank wars, 4H events, and late night trips to Walmart, and I wouldn't have it any other way. During my senior year of high school I knew I was going to go to college but did not really know where. Eventually I was able to narrowed it down after deciding I wanted to major in nutrition. I ended up picking the University of Cincinnati, then transferring back home to a community college, then back to UC, and finally landed at Bluffton University where I graduated with a bachelor's in food and nutrition. (More on my school jumping in a future blog). After college I was accepted into the Dietetic Internship program at the University of Michigan's Hospital, also known as Michigan Medicine. After completing the internship, I studied for a few months to take the exam to become a Registered Dietitian. I failed the first time, but nonetheless, I persevered and passed the second time around.
A lot of work for a few letters behind my name amiright? Yep. But my story of becoming a RD is so much more than what I've described so far. It's ugliness and beauty all in one. It's pain and it's healing. It's loneliness from shame and true companionship from vulnerability. It is an absolute complete change of perspective and purpose. It's a testament of God's power to take brokenness and turn it into something absolutely beautiful. This journey is the reason why I am absolutely sticking my neck out there to share my story of hope and healing. And I cannot wait to share more with you.
Things you can expect from me:
Empowerment to create a healthy relationship with food
Encouragement to live your life as your most true self
A health at every size nutrition approach
No judgement
Goofiness, because it's the spice of life
Bomb recipes
Things I am passionate about:
Teaching girls, young and old, to love their bodies
Joyful movement over physical activity that is dreaded
Food as more than fuel
Promoting local businesses and agriculture
Things I would love to do:
Speak to school age girls about healthy relationships with food and exercise
Create a bible study for girls about who their worth comes from and tying in nutrition and body image
Help women who have been hurt by diet culture
Write nutrition promotion articles for agriculture
Obtain my group fitness instructor certification to teach group fitness that promotes community, joyful movement, and overall health
Teach others how to grow their own gardens
Host some sort of a social media livestream cooking class with my grandma (who was a home economics teacher!)
So much more to come guys.. stay tuned
-Emmy💛
