My name is Amanda Kirk, I am 21 years old and a proud single mother of a precious one-year-old boy named Logan. I am a former student of Randolph Community College, Black Belt instructor at Kirk’s Karate Academy in Franklinville, NC, and waitress at both Sherry’s Restaurant in Ramseur, NC and Harbor Inn Seafood in Burlington, NC.
After graduating high school I attended Randolph Community College as a business management student; focusing on marketing and communications. After discovering that I was pregnant, I felt compelled to postpone my college education temporarily in lieu of working to help support both myself and my child.
I’ve been fortunate to have experienced the healing benefits of massage at an early age. I became involved in traditional Japanese and Korean martial arts at the young age of three. I earned my first Black Belt in traditional art of Korean MooDukKwan TaeKwonDo; my second in Japanese KamiBushiShinKai Karate-Do. I also trained in Pekiti Tirsia Kali (Philipino stick fighting), as well as the ancient art of Chinese Tai Chi Chuan.
After intensive training classes and promotional testings that could last up to eight hours and were quite brutal on the body, our Sensei (instructor) often recommended massage therapy to help promote muscle relaxation, healing and an overall sense of well-being.
Massage therapy has always intrigued me, and certainly more so after watching how it benefited my mother after her horrific car accident. I was scared and angry that my mother was hurt. She broke her back and underwent 13+ hours of continuous surgery. Her recovery took almost a year; however, thanks to her strong-willed nature, the condition of her body due to years of martial arts training, she has made a complete recovery.
Her strong desire to embrace natural, homeopathic remedies like massage for pain, versus harmful pain medications that lead to addiction and dependency, is my core driver and the primary reason to learn and grow in this exciting field.
Watching my mother persevere under such extreme conditions changed me dramatically and has had a profound and lasting impact on my life.
My mom’s life changing accident helped me see and appreciate the massage therapy profession that I am passionately pursuing. I’ve seen firsthand how the power of human touch and the exchange of energy from the massage practitioner to its patient provides numerous healing properties; such as relief from muscle pain, stress, and fatigue.
It’s can improve sleep, correct posture and boost the body’s immune system. Massage helps increase the body’s circulation, flush toxins, and can contribute to lowering blood pressure.
I have always been fascinated with the art of massage and how it can be administered using ones hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, or feet. What excites me now is how massage can be part of a homeopathic regime that can actually help people avoid harmful pain medications that lead to addiction and dependency. This is my core driver and the primary reason for my desire to learn and grow in this exciting field.
I sincerely hope you will consider my request for this scholarship. I can assure you that my passion is real and I absolutely can’t wait to pursue this career field and be able to serve others as a massage therapist in the future.
Hello, my name is Deasy, 40 years old, women. I live in Indonesia. I got blind because of retinitis pigmentosa when I was 27 years old. actually, I don’t know whether I want to be a massage therapist or not, I just think that if I became a massage therapist then I can earn money and live independently as a blind person. Could u tell me how can I learn to be a professional massseur? Since here in Indonesia, I didn’t find any qualified or certified massage school for blind people. Looking forward to hearing from u soon. Thanks.
Deasy – our website has all the info you need. go through the articles one by one – search through our archives. you will learn exactly how to become a therapist as well as recommendations of schools you can attend