Finally bringing my blog hiatus to a close. 2011 was a year of big change for my family. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor's in Comparative Literature (Hooray!), I enrolled at Georgia Massage School in June. I was very nervous because of the risk I was taking by changing career paths so quickly, and also that I would rack up a tad more debt by returning to school. Those four years I spent working so hard for a diploma had to have meant something... but even though I was ready to attain what I thought was my dream job, my heart told me that I was meant to do something completely different. There is no doubt that words contain great influence and power, but at the time I did not fully understand how to harness it for the means I wished to use them. Literature still lives in my heart, but the time for me to fully grow in that skill has not yet arrived.
In a previous blog post, I mention my dilemma of finding a job which wouldn't weigh down my conscience. At the time I was delivering pizzas for Papa John's, and the longer I was employed the angrier I grew that the majority of American jobs lack concern for the environment. How could I convince people to change their wasteful and harmful lifestyles if I didn't follow my own rules? Despite my use of almost all natural cleaning and body care products, the amount of gas I used in order to make a living completely undid all of my hard work. My heart used guilt to communicate a desire it had to make a difference, and this polluted atmosphere of gas stations and idling was not the place I needed to be.
Studying in the Organic Agriculture program and witnessing several unnecessary deaths in our family made me realize that feeling that has been in my heart to help others was not just a silly whim. My high school peers always thought I would be a therapist or psychologist of some sort. Still, I never fathomed that I could make a successful career out of anything within the spectrum of natural healthcare. It seemed distant, expensive, and to be honest, a little sketchy. When I finally started listening to my heart, I realized that it knew who I was better than I knew myself. Since that first month of class, I embraced a part of myself that I kept hidden because I was afraid it wouldn't pay the bills. Out of all my experiences in 2011, I learned that you really have to submerge yourself in something if you want to understand it inside and out. Do your research and plan things carefully, and most of all ask your heart if it's the right thing to do. Curiosity doesn't always kill the cat- more often than not it's your heart's way of telling you something you need to hear.
