How I took a risk that resulted in happiness

Four years ago, I was fresh out of college with a degree in American Sign L*nguage Int*rpreting. I loved ASL, I loved the culture and everything, but the job of an int*rpreter was daunting to me. Yes, I could do it but the major question was, “Did I want to do it and did it make me happy?”

The answer was no. It did not make me happy to go to my practicum everyday. While, I was close to what I should be doing as a career, I wasn’t quite there. You see, every time I lifted my hands, I got chills. Every time I relayed information with my hands, I became elated. Clearly, I was still onto something but what?

I didn’t want to be an int*rpreter, I didn’t want to teach, but I still wanted to be in the schools. Right out of college, I thought I knew what I wanted to do. I would get a degree in early intervention working with d*af and hard of hearing students. But, about a month after accepting the offer, my gut told me this wasn’t right. There was no logic involved besides how I was feeling on the inside; my emotions.

Immediately, I called the school and told them I wasn’t coming. Still, I needed a change and packed up and moved to Washington, DC anyways with absolutely no direction except I had a house with three roommates whom I never met waiting for me.

I took the year off from school in order to do some soul searching. I found myself in another job working with d*eaf individuals doing event planning. I’m not an event planner at heart but I figured I could do it for a little bit. While I worked, I took some classes and continued soul searching.

Then, I came across school psych*logy. I was amazed at what a psych*logist does on a regular basis and how many lives a person in my career touches. In my gut, I knew it was perfect. The only thing in my way was prerequisites that I never thought I was capable of completing, especially statistics. Earlier in my college career, I would have doubted myself to a point of giving it all up. That year was different, that year, I took on statistics. A class that always got in the way of me and my dreams to become a psyc*ologist.

I enrolled, studied hard, and eventually passed with a B (I think). It was so scary but if I wanted to pursue my dreams, I’d have to take that class! And, you know what’s funny? I actually enjoyed it. Knowing statistics, or at least being familiar, is so important in my job and daily life. It helps me understand research that’s vital to helping my students.

After statistics, I applied to my program, and got accepted! It was one of the happiest days of my life.

I’m not going to go into the nitty gritty of my very difficult and emotionally demanding program (if you know me personally, you can vouch for that). There were countless times I wanted to give it all up and leave it behind. Instead, I marched onward absolutely determined to make a difference by becoming a psyc*ologist.

When I graduated this past May, the job was not looking good, but I was still hopeful. When the job posting of my dreams appeared on the internet, I was still hesitant. I didn’t know if I could do it. I was so fearful of rejection that it took me a couple weeks to apply.

The interview process was scary – I actually almost fainted during the first interview. I was that nervous! By the second interview, I knew I had it in the bag.

When I got the offer, I said, “REALLY? Is it unprofessional for me to scream?”

She laughed and said, “Yes, just do it away from the phone!”

And, now my friends, I am so happy. I am doing what I love.

Driving home the other day, I had all these thoughts racing through my head.

“I need to touch base with this teacher…”

“How in the world do I do this evaluation?”

“When will I find time for this…”

“Gah, I need to get organized!”

Those thoughts were like a waterfall rushing through my brain and I couldn’t control it. Then, I stopped… and I thought, “But, I still love it.” I can say that even after almost crying three times this week because I was unsure of my abilities.

I guess the reason I’m posting this is to show that it’s never too late to do something you are passionate about. If I wouldn’t have taken statistics, who knows where I would be? Taking that chance was the best decision I ever made!

“The regrets in life are the risks we didn’t take.” (I can’t remember who said that)

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill