Shopi’m slowly making my way back to this space and it struck me: if you don’t know me IRL, you might not know where in the world i was for the last two years!
the short answer: i went back to school!
the long story is this: for a long, long time, i always had a dream to get my master’s degree. there was always a reason not to. work. the kids. schedules. i landed in a full-time role with a new company in 2021 where continuing education was hugely supported. i started researching. i started looking at programs, specifically in communications (my bread + butter). the summer of 2022, i took the leap. i applied to grad school.
my choice: butler university and their master’s in strategic communication program. i got in. and in august 2022, i started a majorly accelerated program, which essentially took over my life for the next 20 months.
it was ten classes (two per semester, one at a time for seven weeks each). it was school and work and the boys and the house for twenty months until graduation this past may. my boys stepped up. my husband was his usual rockstar self. (and, let’s be 100% honest here: i mentioned the “house” in that string of things i was focused on. i was not focused on the house. at all. i’m gonna guess i maybe only folded laundry during the week here or there where we had a break in between sessions. again, my rockstar husband did it all.)
it was ten classes (two per semester, one at a time for seven weeks each). it was school and work and the boys and the house for twenty months until graduation this past may. my boys stepped up. my husband was his usual rockstar self. (and, let’s be 100% honest here: i mentioned the “house” in that string of things i was focused on. i was not focused on the house. at all. i’m gonna guess i maybe only folded laundry during the week here or there where we had a break in between sessions. again, my rockstar husband did it all.)
why did i do it? why – at 43 years old – did i feel like it was time to go back to school? getting this degree was a goal, and let me tell you: it’s never, ever too late to go for your goals. i also think there was something super special about the boys seeing their mom do this great big, giant thing that was a goal. they saw the hard work. they saw me spending my weekends in front of my laptop, writing discussion boards and papers and projects. they saw me spending three hours in class once a week. and, that was just as special as getting to meet my goal.
whatever your goal is – maybe it’s running a 5k or a marathon or going for that degree – it’s never too late. i promise. find your people who will cheer you on and be there for you and go for what you want.
