There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.
Terry Pratchett
I Know This Much Is True…
I’m a diehard believer in the strength and power of the human spirit. Though some might say it’s a tall order, I want to help build a world full of people with integrity, compassion, and insight. That is what this work is about for me.
Here’s the straight talk: This work is about so much more than our childhoods and where we’ve been, much more than a diagnosis and symptoms. It’s about where we are going and what we want to find when we get there. It’s about becoming empowered, learning skills, identifying strengths, and becoming more resilient. It’s better than having a life coach; it is having a personal trainer who not only helps you identify your goals and stay motivated, but shows you what goes into the emotional muscle you are building so you can reach those goals and thrive. You don’t need a diagnosis to do this work, you need the desire to live your very best life.
DANIELLE KEMPER MSW, LCSW
Explorer/Public Land Lover/Desert Rat
Here’s the backstory about how I came to do this work:
Timeline
story 1
I’m the youngest child of two, born to a couple of librarians. My birth announcement is written like an entry in the card catalog. Seriously. Picture the book title, “It’s a Girl!” This is the first day of my very first year in school and the formal beginning of my love of learning.
Story 2
I am able to identify my superpower quickly as a kid: find gimpy wildlife and bring it home to heal.
Story 3
I travel to China for the summer, just after it opens up to Westerners. This is my first exposure to a world vastly different from my own. It is also the origin of my desire to work and live in other cultures and countries.
Story 4
I graduate from high school. While sitting in the principal’s office listening to him berate students, I think, Someday I will work with people so they never have to feel beaten down and unworthy.
Story 5
I move to Mexico and fall hard for the people, the languages, the cultures, the art, the music—Mexico is my first love.
Story 6
I graduate with my BA in International Affairs and Spanish at Northern Arizona University, ready to change the world.
Story 7
I join the Peace Corps intending to go into human rights law afterward but…
Story 7
I become friends with Paige, a master’s level social worker from NYC, while serving in the Peace Corps. She inspires me to look into a social work program.
Story 8
I graduate with my MSW at the University of Houston (posing here with another amazing MSW and a few kids from the inner-city school where I am a counselor). I’m proud to say Brené Brown and I both share this incredible alma mater.
Story 9
I take the masters class in resilience, hope, and the strength and power of the human spirit from these beautiful kids. They remind me that not only does the incredible will to survive reside in each of us but also the power and ability to change our stories. Because of my work with them, I switch my career from political social work and community organizing to the therapeutic work of helping people to know themselves and their strengths (so that they can go out and change the world for the better).
Story 10
And here I am, 25 years later, still dealing with wildlife.