Stories are incredibly powerful – their ability to teach, inspire, and create understanding is why we are so in love with storytelling. Most stories have a defining moment and so we’ve asked some of the most talented, insightful folks across a broad range of industries and markets to tell us about a defining moment in their story.

Philip Layog

Hi! I’m Philip, and I am a registered nurse who worked bedside for 10 years. I worked in Med/Surg, Cardiovascular ICU, and in outpatient PACU. Just like most nurses, I was burnt out from working in the hospital and unhappy with the irregular working hours while feeling underappreciated and underpaid. Plus, I have two toddlers, and bedside nursing was keeping me physically and mentally drained every time I got home from work. Read more>>

Erin Kehrier

Looking back, there have been so many signs and moments that nudged me toward becoming a therapist. One turning point came after my freshman year of college when I was studying interior design. I was interested in the creative aspects of design, but I was feeling uncertain about my future on that path. As I contemplated this, I started to realize that what fascinated me most was how spaces can shape how people feel, and how they show up, engage, connect, and exist within it. Read more>>

Bright Bwalya

I remember the moment that completely changed my perspective on life. I had just come out of a seizure, disoriented and vulnerable, and I saw people gathered around me, praying fervently. They were trying to “cast out the demon” they believed was causing my seizures. It struck me then—these people genuinely wanted to help, but they didn’t know how.

That moment left a deep impression on me. I realized that while I couldn’t control having epilepsy, I could do something about the lack of understanding and support that surrounded it. Instead of waiting for a solution, I decided to become a creator of solutions. Read more>>

Kelsey Eaton & Chali Temple

We started attending a lot of wellness events in Sacramento and the surrounding areas that tapped into self-care, reflection, and the promotion of sisterhood. These were spaces for women specifically to come together to feel supported and seen, as well as connect with their spirituality.

While a lot of these events were helpful, we could not help but feel like there were elements in them that were missing, things that we were craving or craving more of. One of them was diversity. We felt like the majority of these events were aimed towards a specific target audience of women, as well as the prices of them. The events and gatherings we did enjoy were quite far away and not practical for us to attend on a regular basis. Read more>>

Melissa Kilbride

I think of the moment as a period of time. I was working at a pediatric inpatient psychiatric hospital right out of graduate school and it was barely a question of whether or not the children there had been sexually abused but a matter of by who and how often. It really opened my eyes to how prevalent childhood sexual abuse was and the trauma that was sure to impact these kids throughout their lives. Around this same time I was providing counseling to middle schoolers and during one session, a 13 year old student told me that she wanted to stay a virgin until marriage for religious reasons. As we continued to work together, it became apparent that she was already having sexual intercourse. When we eventually spoke about it, it was clear that she did not know what losing her virginity meant. Read more>>

Bryan Vignery

My life story begins in an environment where hard work and connection were valued, shaping my perspective on life. However, my journey took a significant turn due to the beliefs and experiences I encountered early on.

December 1991
One of my life’s pivotal moments was failing out of college in December 1991. At the time, it felt like a disaster, but in retrospect, it was a catalyst for change.

My college years were marked by a focus on social life over academics. I was desperate for connection, leading to excessive partying without ever turning to drugs. Despite maintaining a facade that fooled many, my life was spiraling out of control. I was a hard worker at my job in Aggieville, but academics were my Achilles’ heel.  Read more>>

Ashley Martin

My defining moment was when I thought I lost it all but soon realized I had everything I needed and more. It was 2020, I was pregnant and got injured at work. My FMLA ran out and I wasn’t able to return. I was terminated with no income. Once I delivered my baby I got post preeclampsia and was remitted back into the hospital. All I could do was keep living. I was a single mom but had my family there for support throughout. I got back from the hospital and started thinking to myself what can I do from home to make money. I begun looking for at home jobs being a clinician and it all became clearer. With all the experience and knowledge I have let me use what I already have to market myself. It worked!!! Read more>>

Joshua Carter

In my early high school education, I could have been defined as a terrible student. I didn’t make good grades, and my home life was not very supportive. I feel that, in life, there are several defining moments that can take a person by surprise. My first defining moment was marrying my wife. She and her family taught me that I was the only thing standing in my way and that I had the ability to accomplish anything that I put my head into. This defining moment spearheaded a professional athletic career as a cyclist and also set in motion the most important thing in my life, my family. My wife and I married young and when we started our family, it was like kids raising kids. We took the flow of life as it came, with the ups and downs, and welcomed the opportunities to grow as they came. Read more>>

Mila Shmurak

Yes, there was a defining moment in my journey that changed the trajectory of both my personal life and professional path with Bare Pits. For years, I struggled with emotional symptoms that I couldn’t quite understand. I’d been in a constant state of fight or flight, dealing with ongoing emotional issues that took over my nervous system. Despite being a yogi for over 20 years, I found that no amount of meditation, breathwork, or asanas could release the deep emotional tension I was holding inside. Read more>>

Shannon Ortiz

A defining moment that changed the trajectory of my career doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how my entire life got flipped upside down. It was more like a split second. A moment in time, that changed the rest of time. I am a mental health clinician. Someone who helped those who were struggling to find light in the darkness and hope in what appeared to be a hopeless time of their lives. The night of August 2nd, I found myself in that same darkness. My husband, Craig, took his life on what seems and probably is like the longest night of my life. The darkness of that night remained for days, weeks, months, and years after that defining moment. Read more>>