The one question I get asked the most is “How are you going to have time?” I can see where they’re coming from. I mean, I’m a single mother with a full time job, I spend three to four nights a week at the gym where my kids and I commit to martial arts, I write on the side and now I’m going to be on campus at least three days a week as a grad student. Oh! And let’s not forget my other side job as a research assistant for the psychology department. So yeah, I’m a busy woman! But the difference between me and everyone else is that I don’t let doubts stand in my way. If I want to do something, I just do it.
I remember someone saying “Don’t you wish you could just wake up and have your degree tomorrow?” This made me think. Of course things would be much easier if I could magically wake up and have skipped the grueling three years I’m about to endure but honestly, I wouldn’t wish for that at all. The journey to getting something we desire is the best part of it! The journey is what creates the appreciation, the confidence and the gratification of having conquered something huge. If it were as easy as wishing for something and waking up the next morning to having it, everyone would do it. But it’s not easy and it’s not that quickly done. It’s challenging and it’s earned through passion and believing in yourself and knowing that you’re worthy enough to have whatever you want and knowing that you are completely capable of getting yourself there no matter what.
It took me a long time to get to the point where I believe in myself enough to go back to grad school and I can tell you now that there is never any excuses. The only thing that is ever standing in your way is you. Yeah, you may be a single parent with little time on your hands but that consistent little voice that burns deep inside of you is speaking the truth when it tells you that you can do this! That little voice grew and grew inside of me and for the longest time it made me angry. I tried suppressing it and ignoring it but as little as it was, it was steady and persistent. That little voice was my true self reminding me of how amazing I am and that what I wanted wasn’t impossible.
We are capable of so much more than we realize but we get so caught up in society that we start looking outward to shape who we are. Stop listening to other people! Stop thinking about how tired you are! Stop thinking about the things you feel are obstacles in your life! There are infinite possibilities for you and if you want to go back to school, you can. Desire it and pursue it and soon enough all those things that seemed like obstacles will fade away.
So yes! I’m looking forward to the sleepless nights, the never ending studying and doing my homework together with my kids. I’m looking forward to not being able to go out with my friends whenever I want and the challenges that lie ahead. I’m looking forward to gaining knowledge that will give me what I need to help people who are hopelessly lost and ready to give up (my degree will lead to becoming a psychiatric nurse practitioner).
I’m looking forward to the day that I can look back and say Wow! I did it! Don’t sell yourself short. You have this one precious life and this one chance to make it incredible. You are so worth it!
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