Why I’ve Been Mostly Silent

I’m not sure how many of you know that I’ve been seriously busy with going to school to get my BA in Creative Writing and English with a concentration in Fiction.  I’m pleased to say that I actually graduated with honors on May 9th, 2015 from Southern New Hampshire’s University through their online program.  I started in April 2014 and will finish with my last two classes in July. It’s been a long year of missing some family things, doing homework late into the night all while working full-time and rearing two children by myself who are both in elementary school.  I plan to get start on my Master’s in July 2015.

Why is this a big deal to me you ask?

Well for one, I have a learning disability and I never thought I’d be able to finish and get my Bachelor’s degree let alone with a 3.9 GPA.  You see I was told at an early age by some that I’d never amount to anything.  That stuck for a long while until I decided in 2012 that I wasn’t going to be who those naysayers said I was.  I was going to see if I could get published or I’d stop saying I was a writer. I got published and after that I felt I could do anything I put my mind to.

Then in 2013, my life took another turn where I became a single mother to two amazing children.  I struggled for a bit, I was already busy with a full-time job, being a full-time board member for my local RWA chapter and raising my children.  Finally done with wallowing in self-pity (though most didn’t know that was what was happening as I was still writing, publishing and functioning) I decided to go to school.  I did my research to find a school that I could go to online so that I didn’t have to leave my children at night and because I don’t drive (but that’s another story).  I found Southern New Hampshire University and it was insta-love.

It was the best thing I’d ever done.  Going back to school though granted I was scared I knew in my heart this is what I needed to do for myself and my children.  I love writing and I want to teach Creative Writing to college students.  The only way to do that is to go to school.  Honestly, at first I thought I’d just be going for my BA.  I wasn’t even sure how well I would do.  Now I can truly say I’m addicted.  I love school, yes it is hard but it is also proof that even with my learning disabilities I can do this.

I will be the first to tell you that reading is the reason my academic life is going so well now.  My learning disability used to be in all areas of school.  But once I started reading that disappeared to only leave me with a learning disability in math.  I’m proud to say I got a B+ in my math two terms ago by working extra hard.  Me!  The girl who didn’t think she’d ever pass math.  I was pleased to be inducted into the National Society for Leadership and Success’s, Alpha Sigma Pi and into the International English Honor Society’s, Sigma Tau Delta.

I said all of this to say, to you my readers my author friends and even those visitors that happened upon this site by accident…keep going.  No matter what someone says to you.  You can do it, I can do it, we can do it. I may go silent again…but it is only because I’ll be in the Master’s program reaching for the stars.

What is the one thing you’d like to do in your life, but haven’t?