Life has moved me in many different directions in the past couple of years. 2 years ago today I was packing up my suitcase for a 2-week quarantine with my family. That two weeks turned into two years, a job change, mental health diagnoses, heartbreak, and a complete upturn of my five-year plan. If we have learned one thing in these two years it is that our lives will never be predictable. Not for a single moment.
Life’s unpredictability has led me here; writing an announcement that I wasn’t sure was in my immediate future. I am not one to plan things accordingly. I don’t believe in timelines or that life has to happen a certain way in order for it to be fulfilling. I see many paths that I can walk and an infinite number of ways my life can play out. I live my life in uncertainty and I take the path as it comes clear; which has led me here.
After losing pretty much everything, I had to figure out how to build my life back to where it was before 2020. I had a lot I needed to figure out (and I still do). One of these things had to do with my education. I had to think long and hard about what path I wanted to take when it came to going back to school. Did I want to just do my certifications? Did I want to move? Online classes, full-time, part-time, pay-out of pocket? How was I going to work full-time and complete school for a second time?
I had already done the whole work full-time and go to school full-time thing, and it broke me. It really did. I still have nightmares about it sometimes. However, I always knew that I would eventually go back to complete my master’s degree at some point. The original plan was to work for 5-7 years and get my certifications, then go back for a Master’s in Human Resources Management. The pandemic definitely shot those plans dead in the water. Although I was lucky enough to land on my feet when it came to getting a new job, I basically had to start my life from square one. I had to revise my plan and account for things “just in case” – like a global pandemic.
With all of that being said, I had decided to take this opportunity to expedite my timetable for my education. Starting this summer, I will begin my graduate studies in Psychology. I am so excited to be going into this next phase of my life and how this will develop me in the upcoming year.
So, what does this mean, exactly?
Well, it pretty much means I will not be having a social life any time soon. I am expecting a lot sleepless nights in my near future. To be honest, I don’t sleep to begin with so I might as well do something more productive than tossing in my bed contemplating my own existence. But the downside of this new chapter is that my already long to do list is only going to get even longer. I am going to need to dust off my old time management skills from 2017 and make sure I am productive yet still mentally stable…. Barely mentally stable
I keep needing to remind myself that it’s not like I haven’t done this before. I’m a natural-born multitasker. The number one advantage of having ADHD is that I have the ability to shift my focus to different tasks at any given point. I don’t have much going for me but at least I can use that to my advantage.
For the most part I am so excited to be going down this new path in my life. It wasn’t something I expected but it has become something I felt like was meant to happen. The way I see things, it is better to have goals and things you want in life, but you shouldn’t be required to have a timeline for when you need to have those thing. In my case, some things are moving quicker than I originally thought and other things are a bit slower. However, I am content with how things are developing.
For the most part I hope to write and work on my creative projects whenever I can, but I don’t see how I can be consistent with it during these next 12 months. I look forward to documenting my experiences and sharing them all with you!
Danielle Spera Weekly 
Leave a Reply