Before she became a therapist five years ago, Kelsey Ullrich was working in graphic design. It was a dark time in her life. She was dealing with anxiety and depression, as well as an abusive relationship. It was only when she went through the right life experiences that she realized something needed to change.
“I went to my first yoga class, and that’s where that big shift really happened,” said Ullrich. “I just got to the point where I was like, I need to do something different. I need to change somehow. Things are not working.”
From there, Ullrich learned how to better manage the anxiety and stress in her life. Her abusive relationship ended, and Ullrich realized she was capable of much more than she had thought. “I had this kind of awakening,” she explained. “I realized there was more out there that I wanted to do.”
After a journey of healing and finding herself through yoga, Ullrich finally started living her life on her own terms — but she desired more. She wanted to help others on their own journey to self-fulfillment.
Fast forward a few years. After earning her masters, doing a clinical internship, and working in child-parent therapy, Ullrich realized that she did not want to do traditional agency work as a therapist. Instead, she wanted to utilize her passion for art therapy, yoga, and travel to start her own business, and make the same impact on other people’s lives.
So Ullrich founded Inner Circle Healing Retreats, where small groups of women embark on holistic retreats in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, they experience a journey of personal healing through psychology, art therapy, meditation, yoga, and other practices. Ullrich’s story is one so many women share. More and more, they are breaking away from what is expected of them and turning their passions into a career to help not only themselves, but also the world around them.
To share their pursuit of self-fulfillment and cultivate communities of support and encouragement, many of these women have turned to social media. Social media has connected the world more than ever before, allowing women to share their passions with each other. Someone like Ullrich — who not only has a profession that she enjoys, but also has an idea to utilize her gifts to make an impact on the people she encounters — can amass a devoted following to spread their work far and wide.
People who want to help others today have even more means to do so, because of the far-reaching platforms social media can provide. The internet is not only a place to share ideas, but also a conduit for people to live their dreams in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be considered typical. Case in point: Kim Kardashian’s announcement that she is studying to become a lawyer. The reality star, who has taken a specific interest in prison reform, posted on Instagram that in 2018, she registered with the California State Bar to begin her legal career.
“I’ve seen people saying it’s my privilege or my money that got me here, but that’s not the case,” Kardashian said in her Instagram post. “One person actually said I should ‘stay in my lane.’ I want people to understand that there is nothing that should limit your pursuit of your dreams.”
An array of supportive comments followed the post. There were also naysayers, however, who doubted that the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star works hard enough, insisted that she made this announcement just for the attention, or stated that her accomplishments didn’t mean anything in light of her privilege and position.
These reactions beg the question: why should someone who has established themselves in one career path stick to only that field, especially when their gifts, ambitions, and influence may allow them to do more for the world? After all, many people have gone on to do something different from their current profession, often taking their ideas and leveraging their platforms — such as starting a charity or creating a service to help someone improve their personal and professional lives.
For example, actress Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame has starred in films for years, but channeled her passion for social justice and feminism into serving as a UN Women Goodwill Advisor in 2014, and on the first G7 Advisory Committee for Equality Between Women and Men in 2019. Watson used her platform and influence to push for gender equality and strengthen women’s and girls’ rights. As part of U.N. Women, she also spearheaded the HeForShe campaign, a movement to get men and people of all genders to take a stand for gender equality around the world.
“As one of the youngest members in the group, I hope to bring the perspective of different generations to the table, as well as ensuring that the voices of the many activists, campaigners, women’s organisations [sic], and movements that I’ve spent the years working with and listening to, reverberate through the Council’s work,” Watson said in an Instagram post in March.
While Kardashian and Watson are very famous examples of the undertakings women can accomplish with the assistance of social media, Ullrich offers an example of what all women can do as they start to pursue their goals. Unlike these celebrities, however, she accumulated her following as she created and built her business.
Ullrich’s background in graphic design gave her a leg up to understand how websites and social media can propel a business forward. With hard work and dedication — online and off — Ullrich’s business became more successful than she ever dreamed.
“It’s grown a lot,” she said of Inner Circle Healing Retreats. “It grew way more than I imagined it would. In my first year I did twenty retreats, which I was not expecting...and I absolutely loved it.”
Finding yourself, your passion, and a way to create positive change have all been a part of the stories of many successful women. Theirs are journeys to the realization that they are capable of accomplishing incredible things. Whether you’re famous and building on your platform, or starting one from scratch like Ullrich, taking a step into something new could be the beginning of empowering yourself and others.
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