Kid, you'll move mountains

I like where I am. I feel like I'm diving head first into a world that's welcoming me. And for the first time, I'm welcoming it. I haven't felt this way since I fell in love with my husband. I'm falling in love with the field of counseling. I've never been in a place in my life where I had the opportunity to pursue this path before. I keep finding myself wondering why everyone doesn't do this. I know the answer to that, but I find it so immensely satisfying that I can't imagine doing anything else.

Getting to this point hasn't been easy. But now that I look back on where I've been, I can see how I could have been happy pursuing counseling before. The stars have aligned. Opportunity has met my willpower.

On top of everything clicking for me, I've been really proud of my recent accomplishments. These are little things, for certain, but I would definitely not be warming a seat in my classes if I hadn't persevered through the application process. At every turn have been obstacles. From misplaced transcripts (I attended four undergraduate institutions) to asking one of my recommendation writers to hand-write a second letter on my behalf when the first hadn't been received, I have pushed through. I could have given up many times, as there have been multiple hiccups, but I'm so glad I did this for myself.

I could have graduated from college at 21, pursued my masters and graduated at 23. I could be licensed by now and possibly starting a PhD program. Instead, I've been living my life, taking wrong turns and U-turns. I've fallen in love with a man who gave me his name, who shares my goofy sense of humor, who doesn't let a day go by without making sure I laugh. We've transformed a Jack Russell Terrorist into a well-behaved, if slightly emotionally needy, sweet dog. And we've made a way for Nick to pursue his dreams of becoming a physician. We may not have many degrees, letters behind our names, a house deed, money in savings, jobs, or offspring to show for it, but we're accomplished at 25 and 26. We're working hard to make our dreams a reality, and although we haven't arrived at our respective goals, we have worked hard to get where we are now. As they say, the hardest part is getting accepted.

I didn't have a sniff of what I wanted to do at 21. I didn't have the courage to commit myself to a career path, and I certainly didn't have the emotional maturity to pursue a field like mental health counseling. I'm happy to be on the verge of 26, doing what I am right now.