Emalee Bauer is a wife, college student and expectant mother. She is currently attending Brigham Young University- Idaho. When she graduates, Emalee plans to work as a child therapist. 

What is your passion and mission in life?

When I was graduating 5th grade, my teacher put together an audio clip of each kid in the class saying what they wanted to be when they grew up.  In that clip, I said I wanted to be a therapist.  13 years later, I realized that 10-year-old me was right and really did know what she wanted to be.  My passion in life from a young age has been to be a nurturer and to care for young children.  Even now as an adult, if I had the choice between being stuck in a room with 5 other adults my age or 5 other children, I’d choose the children every time.  My mission in life goes along with my goal of becoming a child therapist.  I want to make as many children as I can feel loved and feel important.  I know there are so many children in the world who don’t know this simple truth, and I hope that through a career as a therapist, I can be at least one positive influence on every child I meet.

What is your biggest fear or hardship and how did you overcome it?

My biggest fear in life has been that I wouldn’t be able to have children of my own, and my biggest hardship in life came when I had two miscarriages in one year and felt like I was living my biggest fear.  The only way I’ve been able to overcome this fear and hardship is by putting my faith in God and relying on my family who I know love and support me.  After my first miscarriage, I tried to handle all of my emotions on my own and didn’t tell anybody about what I was going through.  After it happened a second time, I knew I couldn’t do it alone.  Having the support of my family and just being able to talk about my feelings has made all the difference

How has this adversity affected raising children?

Right now, I’m 29 weeks pregnant with our baby boy and I am so excited to be getting closer to living out my dream of being a mom.  However, having two miscarriages has given me a lot of anxiety about continuing to carry my baby.  Even though I am so close to the finish line, I wake up every day wondering if I’ll make it through the day with a healthy baby.  Every time I go to the bathroom, I wonder if I’m going to see blood like before.  Every ache and pain that comes with being pregnant makes me a little more nervous.  But, this experience has also made me so much more grateful to be bringing a baby into the world.  I’ve had a taste of what it might be like to not be able to have a baby and it has made me even more appreciative of this God-given blessing.