Meet Annie
Hi, I'm Annie Hallsten Narayan! The last five years have been a period of change, resilience, and self-discovery for me. I got married, became a mom x 2, left my 9-5, and have been ferociously living with intention to build my dream life.
I spent the first fifteen years of my career working in nonprofit management and education. I worked in event planning and development before becoming a teacher. I taught third and fourth grade, and then moved into school leadership. I loved being a school leader and was making a difference every single day. I was getting results, I loved my colleagues, I had built great relationships with students and families, and I was proud of the work I was doing. But I was exhausted. Exhausted with a capital E.
In 2019 I attended a leadership workshop in McAllen, Texas where I was asked to complete an Energy Audit by reflecting on my body, emotions, mind, and spirit. The results? I failed. Miserably.
I was healthy but wasn’t sleeping enough, eating well, exercising enough, or stopping to take breaks during the day.
I was irritable, I wasn’t spending time doing things that made me happy, and even when I was home with my family, I wasn’t really home.
I found it difficult to focus, I was constantly checking my work email, and I spent zero time journaling and reflecting.
Finally, and most alarming, there was a significant gap between what I said was most important to me in life (my husband, my kids, my family, my friends) and how I allocated my time and energy (work). I knew things had to change.
Several months later in December of 2019, I was at work and started to feel really off. My heart was racing, I was dizzy, and I felt like I was going to faint. I drove myself to the emergency room and told the receptionist I thought I was having a heart attack. After a few hours of running test after test, waiting, and more waiting, I learned that I was not having a heart attack; instead, I was having a panic attack. Again, I knew things had to change.
I went to my husband and asked him if I could spend our tax return money to start a new business. Always being my number one cheerleader, he said yes and now, here we are. I am The Experience Curator.
