What's Next?
When I was in high school, I didn't get to attend my senior prom. I told myself that one day, I would find a reason to have my own. That was in 2005. Here we are 11 years later, and I've completed my Master's degree in Public Health. What better reason to have a prom than finishing grad school, right? It was so much fun celebrating with my people, and I'm so glad my first prom date was my hubby! Cheesy. Whatevs.
Now that I'm done with school, and I mean DONE WITH SCHOOL, what's next? That question has been posed to me over the last few months, and it somehow brought up feelings of ambivalence. Why wouldn't I be satisfied with such an achievement? Well, it took a lot of soul searching for me to find my truth. A LOT. We'll get to that later, I promise!
A few weeks before our commencement ceremony in May, we were asked to provide a personal quote that would convey our personal motivation. I stumbled across a quote by African American philosopher and civil rights leader Howard Thurman.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive”
This spoke so deeply to my core, because I knew the feelings that were troubling me had to do with my personal truth. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do. As a Health Educator, I am blessed with the opportunity to connect with communities and youth. I teach communities of color how to make changes that will improve the way they experience life. Yet, I spent so long with a tunnel vision view of my goals that I neglected my passions. I neglected the things that fulfilled me.
So, that is what's next! As I continue in my professional career, this season of my life is focused on what makes me come alive- creativity, style, LOVE, and adventure. I highlighted love, but I'll save that for another day, too!
I invite you to share my journey and experiences, and feel free to comment below!