DENA SHULRUFF

What’s the name we know you by? Dena Shulruff
What is your relationship status? Long term partnership
If in a relationship, please share your partner's name, how long you've been together, and how you met! Vernon, 8 years, we met through a mutual friend at a Folsom pub while playing Trivia.
Do you have children or pets? Tell us about them! Love kids and pets, but we don’t have our own.
Where are you living? Where else have you lived? Fair Oaks currently. San Francisco, Oakland, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Burlingame, Sacramento, Florence Italy.
What do you do for a living? Self employed Massage Therapist & Life Coach in Folsom, Ca, Organic skincare formulator.
What other jobs have you had? What was/is your favorite? Sooo many jobs. I just wanted to try everything! Favorites are probably Jewelry sales, design projects, manager, curve model for print and runway.
What are you most proud of doing since graduating from high school? Graduation from college. My BS degree is Recreation Therapy. I have two associates in science as well. I could have had a third in Theater but I was so tired of college by then I didn’t care to continue to complete it. Becoming self employed full time, and all the people I’ve helped feel better & improve their quality of life along the way.
What do you want to do but haven’t done yet? Study Jewelry design and travel to more countries, become fluent in Spanish and Italian. Start a non-profit recreational program/retreat for women who’re recovering from trauma.
What are your hobbies? How do you like to spend your free time? I enjoy traveling around California, especially beach towns, singing, writing, designing, meeting new people, wine tasting and cooking, photography, following my endless curiosities.
What are you currently watching/streaming on Netflix, Prime, HBO or Hulu, etc? And/or what are you currently reading? Book: Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. TV: What We Do In The Shadows, Schitt’s Creek, Handmaid’s Tale, The Old Man
In what ways have you changed or stayed the same since high school? (for example: likes & dislikes, world views, etc. ) I speak my mind and listen more deeply. I am comfortable now with being different than others and leaning into that. Finding out I’ve got ADHD & HSP (highly sensitive personality) in my mid 20s was helpful to see why I seem to think about things differently than others and the challenges I’ve had both socially and academically. Staying curious now really helps to limit snap judgements or anxiety I may have had when I was young. I’m more grounded now than ever. I love quality over quantity. I love finding clarity like when I know exactly what I want, and dislike unrequired chaos such as recreational violence or a dropping a container of expensive ingredients and spilling it all over the floor.
Is there anything you miss or anything about which you reminisce about high school? Something I miss from school, not necessarily high school, is the energy from classmates and the variety of personalities around at the same time:
Do you have any favorite high school teachers or classes or after-school activities that have made a positive difference in your life? Ladies Golf Team for sure. I stopped playing regularly when I became a CMT at 19 and have been wanting to get back on it. I didn’t take full advantage of that skill and I think about how amazing it was to play consistently with other students. I loved “hands-on art history” and Yearbook class, Communication Design, and the afternoons I spent with Faith Reyes before driving to Fashion Merchandise R.O.P. Senior year.
Anything else you'd like to share with us? The pandemic has been a truly rough time and I’m so glad to still be here.
Are you on LinkedIn or social media and want to share your accounts? Have a business website or email address you want to share? Post links or @ names here. You can find me everywhere by googling my name. Here’s my biz website: www.TheBodyApothecary.com