This past year I decided that I want to do more things that scare me. I’m talking sweaty palms, twisty stomach, ya know? While I don’t think I’m ready for sky diving or bungee jumping yet, I’ve been working to put myself into intentionally uncomfortable situations to better learn who I am when my body goes into stress mode.

I know I’m capable of more and I know you are too. I hope that by getting comfortable being uncomfortable, I can inspire you to break out of any self-consciousness you may have. Maybe it doesn’t have to be something big and scary, sometimes just tackling something small can set you on the path to grander things. When what once scared you holds no power over you anymore, can you imagine the things you can accomplish?! You know what they say, everything you want is on the other side of your comfort zone.

I have a few smaller things I’ve been wanting to write about that I’ve done since my solo baseball game, and I’ve decided to put them all into one post. I hadn’t gotten the chance to post it before I found out the news I now want to share with you….

I’m going to grad school.

In order to adequately explain why this is so scary for me, a little background: I have a Bachelor of Science in Applied Sciences with an emphasis in management and marketing I received from Tarleton State University in Texas, after studying, oh… three or four other majors. I ended up graduating with plenty of extra credits! I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I found myself bouncing from class to class, university to university (I’ve been enrolled in 5 for undergrad).

After graduating in 2011 (a full SIX years after high school), I went into the working world. I’m the type of person that, if I’m interested in a subject, I have an annoying NEED to know absolutely everything there is to know about it (hence my Blogging Resources). I had always wanted to go back to school, but I never could quite figure out what for.

In 2017, I applied to Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism for Sports Journalism, hoping to turn my love of sports and writing into more of a career. I had worked for a sports magazine, a sports blog and a startup magazine during my time living in Denver and I had some INCREDIBLE references and experience. I didn’t get in and I was crushed. I figured that grad school wasn’t for me, so I put more time into this here blog to ease the yearning to write.

I toyed off and on with reapplying, but never saw a good reason (I can be a sore loser). Several months ago, Brian suggested that I go back to school. “Why don’t you try a marketing degree? It could help you with your business and always be a fall back if you get tired of blogging.”

Hmph. I thought. But he had planted the seed.

After plenty of research, I found an MBA emphasizing in Marketing offered from Grand Canyon University, a private university here in the Valley. I got accepted. Enrolled. And was set to start in the fall. And then I talked to my counselor about a three week trip to Europe Brian and I have planned in September.

Soooooo, I had to reapply for the 2018-2019 school year to be able to start this summer. I can take a leave of absence for our trip, and it just so happens to fall in-between my second and third classes. But in order for all this scheduling perfection to work, I have to start my first class…. tomorrow. Gulp.

I went from a normal fall start, to starting a week after I was accepted. Help.

I am terrified and excited. I am absolutely sure I can handle it and also have an intense fear of crashing and burning. I have some amazing support behind me–even my dad was so excited to hear about it that we talked on the phone for a good half hour. My dad is not a phone talker.

My stomach is in knots while typing this and I sort of want to throw up. But I’m taking this moment to breath, relax, step back from my spinning thoughts and look at this as a leap into an ocean of learning. It’s a stark contrast to the self-teaching I’ve been doing on the interwebs for these past 9 years. My marketing classes in undergrad definitely didn’t cover social media. Nearly a decade’s worth of technology has evolved in the short time since my first degree and I think the updated version will be much more beneficial.

I’ll still be here, my adored reader, slinging recipes, healthy living tips, blogging and social media resources, and whatever else my little heart desires. Catch up with me on Instagram for a day by day look at what I’m up to. Shoot me an email or drop a comment below if you’ve ever done something to intentionally scare yourself. I want to hear about it and the feelings it brought up!