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3.02.2011

An Announcement...

I have something to tell all of you. It may or may not be a surprise.

Some of you may have known that I am going to school right now. I am taking a single class in the history department at a California State University, in preparation to enter their Master's program in history.

I've decided I am not going back to school. In fact, I've decided that history isn't my calling in life either.

I've had quite a few different prospective paths in life.

Art History.

Sociology.

Law.

Teaching.

History.

I guess everyone has to go through this at some point or other. Not everyone is as lucky as my husband is/was and knew what they wanted to do for the rest of their life at fifteen years old.

In this blogging adventure; in this quest to write a novel; in all of the stories in my head, I've discovered what I truly love. And that's why I have decided that writing is truly what I want to do.

As I said before, it may or may not be a surprise to you. But for me, it was a difficult decision. I always thought I would go back to school someday, even if I didn't know what I wanted to study.

But I'm taking an indefinite hiatus from any formal education at this point in my life. I'm going to focus on my writing. I'm going to focus on my blog and my book.

You can't even imagine {or, perhaps you can} how liberating this decision is. I am no longer restrained by an education. I don't have to wait for that degree to be mine before I can start a career, one that I may or may not be happy in.

I can start my career now. I can start my life now.

Which is exactly what I'm going to do.

{via  Skippy Designs}
Much love,

15 comments:

Allegro Mama said...

Good For you Joelle! Follow your heart and you won't be disappointed! Good look on this new "chapter" (yeah, pun intended) in your life :)

KT @ KT's Refinishing School said...

Congratulations on a big and exciting decision! Wishing you nothing but the best as you continue on your new career path :)

Megan said...

congrats lovely. good luck to you!

Adrian {Happy girl} said...

Congrats on your freeing decision to pursue your dreams, even if it takes you on a divergent path! May you find peace, happiness, and fulfillment in your new pursuits!

Unknown said...

Congratulations to you for making this decision! I can only imagine how great it feels!! Good luck to you!!

jillian :: cornflake dreams. said...

ya! im so proud of you for taking that step. congratulations and best of luck :) xoxo jcd

CarrieJo said...

so proud of you for being bold and confident and making the decision that you know is right! you will do so many great things (as you already have!)

Rebekah said...

I'm so glad that you're doing this!

Anonymous said...

I am so happy for you! That is really great. I wish I could do the same thing, honestly. I tried to do it once, but my parents freaked out and told me, in so many words, that my life would suck without an education. To be completely honest, it probably would, because then I'd have to move back home, work full time, and try to save up enough money to move out and be on my own, which would prolong my quest of freedom from them. So, in one sense, yes, they were right. But, ever since I started college, I've been unhappy with it. At this point in my college career, I have only one more year to go after this semester, I'm almost done, so now I'm just focused on getting it over with and getting my degree so I can go to grad school and get a real job.

In other news, I actually just read an article in Writer's Digest magazine about writers applying for grants in order to support themselves while they're writing or to pay for writing conferences to further their career. I left my magazine at work, but I can email you the grant websites later if you would like to learn more about them. Let me know!

Unknown said...

I do know from my own past experience how liberating the experience is, but also what a painful step it can be initially when first taking it upon yourself. Well done you for coming to terms with what you needed to do, and good luck with your writing!

Anonymous said...

This is just SO EXCITING, Joelle! And may I say bold? Wow. I wish I had the guts to do this. I'm truly impressed and inspired by you, friend, and I wish you the absolute best of luck. :)

beka said...

*sigh*
i think you're kind of awesome.
i can't wait to see what comes out of this new focus! focus, discipline, and someone's perspective....er, a lot of perspective/s. it does a lot.
:)

VaBookworm87 said...

Congrats! :D I wish I knew what I wanted to do with my life... Instead I continue to be slave to my education and efforts to get into grad school...

Unknown said...

I've found that it takes a lot of courage to say your dreams and goals out loud (no deniability if things don't go as planned), so go you!
Right now is a really exciting time to be a new writer with all of the new avenues available to publish your work. Did you hear about the 26 year old who sells around 100,000 copies of her books on kindle every month?

Alisha said...

Definitely a big decision. SO glad you've decided to do what you love. Passion drives us to find our place in life. Girl, you are going to hit it BIG one day. Just be patient! :)