My favorite recipe for student success in massage therapy (from my own experience) has a few essential ingredients.

The main and most critical ingredient is your instructors. Not just any mundane, lifeless instructors, but the kind with passion, pride and brilliant intelligence, so much so that it is contagious. The kind of instructors who create enthusiasm about the human body while teaching their students the precious skills of creating health and positive energy within that body.

The next ingredient is camaraderie: connecting with your fellow students and finding common ground together; supporting and assisting one another in learning by sharing thoughts and knowledge; giving each other honest feedback while practicing with each other.

Another important ingredient for success is a sense of humor. It is essential for you as a student to relieve the stress of learning and retaining something new. Humor opens up the brain to learning. Remembering a hilarious mistake reminds us of how human we all are.

The final ingredient for success as a massage-therapy student is the student clinic. The student clinic brings together all the skills you've learned and lets you put them into action. From intake forms to performing bodywork on all different body types to discussing wellness and maintenance plans with your clients, this is priceless experience for your education.

My experience with the student clinic has been a tremendous confidence booster, and has brought my vision of being a successful massage therapist to reality. I am very excited and look forward to a successful and rewarding career.

Adrienne Gill is a student at Spa Tech Institute in Ipswich, Massachusetts.