Wanna get to know me? Although that’s hard to do through simple words, here goes:

My name is Kendyl Stewart. That’s with a “dyl” and an “ste” (gotta specify; I’m particularly used to it at coffee shops and CVS). I also go by Ken, Kenny, or KennyD, but I’ll pretty much respond to anything if I know you’re talking to me— I wouldn’t want to offend; I am a 2 after all, and 9’s happen to run in my family.
Fun fact: I call myself a 2 (enneagram, btw), but truthfully, I have a solid tie between a 2 and a 7. Should have known, since 7’s also run in the fam. Yet I didn’t even know this until recently, when my sister re-opened my results.... tbh, I always thought I was tied with a 6 if anything! 6 is my third highest lol. I recommend you Google these to know more... scary how accurate they are (for me, at least)!

I am a believer, a helper, a pleaser, a doer and achiever. I am an extroverted introvert and a serious empath (okay this one’s actually not always a good thing. I mean, I really, really feel everyone’s everything. Talk about ouch). I am in grad school studying occupational therapy. No, I do not help people find jobs. No, this is not the same as physical therapy. It is an intricate combination of creativity, science, and psychology, with an emphasis on supporting people to function daily and do what they love. I consider physical/anatomical abilities, environmental adaptations, assistive devices, mental wellness, you name it. I think life’s too short to not do what you love.

And I do love a whole lot. I love the special details of the people in my life and I love putting energy into the things that calm my wild and make me smile. So, I tend to go through a lot of hobbies. My main jams are art and all things healthy/active lifestyle. Other randoms include plants, anything with animals, essential oils, cooking/baking (I suck at both but love it), and most recently: skincare, because my skin has taken a turn for the worst since around September-October(?), and I feel like a self-established dermatologist after all the research I’ve done over the last few months! As you can imagine, this has been especially terrible for me because I like to be in complete control of my health. Turns out, there actually might be a diagnosis around the corner, but that’s not something I’ll go into lol.

***EDIT: this is now something I’ll go kiddie-pool deep into, because there indeed was a diagnosis. I have an autoimmune condition that involves my bod attacking my thyroid gland. Fun!!!! … but since then, (aka since taking my health into my own hands) ya girl’s skin is pretty much completely back to normal. This was a S U C K Y time of my life for many reasons. However— I learned a lot about dermatology, nutrition, and the craziness of the human bod. And I’m that type of nerd who can shamelessly never get enough of learning about the human body lol. It also led me to using Reddit for the first time!! And let me tell you pal, that site is unbelievably useful for any and everything. Most importantly: I learned a lot about myself and what’s important to me. Maybe that sounds dramatic, but there were several symptoms I experienced up to this point— most of which are much deeper than what was visible on the surface. Perhaps I’ll dive deeper into the blessed mess one day, but for now I’ll just leave it at that. But I’d love to talk with you more about this if that’s something you’re ever interested in!***

There 100% are other interests that I didn’t mention, but my point is that I can become hyper-focused with hobbies and passions that ignite any flame of life within me, no matter how temporary it ends up being. I love to give everything my all. I am an artistic perfectionist with anxiety— what a cruel, cruel combo for a person to embody. You wouldn’t understand the struggle unless those exact words ricocheted a beautiful, empty echo deep to your core.

I like to do m y t h i n g. I like to be good at the things I like. I like to spend my solo free time learning more about these things (sounds nerdy, but I could spend all day studying every bit of info out there about one particular thing). Sometimes, my “me time” looks like creating art whenever I’m inspired. Or it looks like pounding the earth with my feet on a thoughtful, unintentional run. It could be grabbing a weight at the gym and feeling in tune with my body as it grows stronger. It might mean doing something spontaneous and carefree with no explanation to offer. And, sometimes, it’s simply being accompanied by none other than myself and finding peace in the lack of effort to maintain interaction or productivity. Regardless, I typically always pray that whatever path I’m on may serve to inspire a spark of motivation within other people so that they can feel something extraordinary and find meaning of their own in what they love. Does that nonsense make sense? I’m sure you can come up with some lovely interpretation in your head.

These are characteristics of myself that I have come to dissect and understand, characteristics that are now shared with you. Although writing this short snippet came from a place of spontaneous vulnerability where I suddenly was like, “I think I’ll write a true ‘About Me’ section... yeah, good idea,” this all comes no where near to being truly exposed or summarizing myself as a person.
However, my hope is that you better understand where my heart lies when I begin to create.