I was fortunate enough to end the 2018 year with a pretty epic trip to Denver, Colorado with some pretty amazing ladies. I had an emotionally charged 2018, so ending the year with a soul reviving trip was just what the doctor ordered, had I seen a doctor at the time.
The trip to Denver was exactly what each of us needed it to be. For me, it was a breath of fresh air, both literally and figuratively. When planning the trip, we didn’t have any specific agenda we wanted to stick to. We wanted to go, just to submerse ourselves in the amazingness and stunning natural beauty of Colorado.
I have always struggled with “living to work” as opposed to “working to live” and I REFUSE to continue living my life like that. Which is why I was so eager to take the trip to Denver. It was a direct flight that was only 2.5 hours long. The thought, of being able to hop on a plane and in a few short hours I’m in a magical place, is amazing!
Since my Dad’s sudden passing in July 2018, I have had a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows. I struggled with fulfillment from my career in recreation for the last year and a half and had gotten to a point to where it was all I could do to get out of bed and get to work. The valley of my struggles was quite literally one of the scariest places for me in my life to date.
I knew I had to make a change, to save my life both mentally and physically. My health depended on it, my life depended on it. Easter weekend, I was driving on the Natchez Trace Parkway on a sunny Saturday afternoon, listening to an audiobook on Audible (A Road Back to You), when I felt God give me the Gibbs slap. You know the one, the famous Jethro Gibbs with the infamous slap to the back of the head!
Leading up to the infamous Gibbs slap from God, I had been searching and applying for new jobs almost anywhere! I applied for jobs in Colorado in the recreation industry, even though I felt that the recreation industry was a huge contributor to my mental health demise. I applied for jobs in Mississippi in other industries, but similar enough that I knew they would also render high stress environments. Stress is what I was trying to get away from, not find myself ways for added stress, or new stress!
Needless to say, God knows what He’s doing, when he didn’t allow for ANY of my job applications to render an interview, not a single one! That day, along the Natchez Trace Parkways, God slapped me at the precise reading of one particular word… COUNSELOR!
I titled this blog post “Good for the Soul” for a reason. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been seeing a professional counselor since senior year of high school! If you’re not like me, and you’ve never seen a professional counselor, well, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for. If it’s a sign you’re waiting for, well here it is, I’ll give you the sign… go see a professional counselor, this week!
Since high school, I’ve had an affinity for the counseling profession. I worked as a teacher’s assistant for the guidance counselor’s office my senior year of high school. I started seeing a professional counselor as a senior in high school as well, and continued to see the same professional counselor, off and on over the years, for the last 17 years! Needless to say, I have a pretty good relationship with my counselor. So what does my affinity for the profession have to do with the Gibbs slap that God gave me? Everything!
I decided to leave my career in recreation, move back home, and apply for grad school, to pursue a complete career change, to become…. you guessed it… a professional counselor! Notice that I left my career before every applying for school! Talk about a leap of faith! The journey to this decision wasn’t a couple weeks long, it was months in the making.
Here we are, at the end (almost) of 2019, and my journey began roughly at the beginning of 2019. I am a month away from starting grad school! I’ve been home for 6 months, regaining myself, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Preparing myself for the new journey, as a student again after more than 11 years since the last time I’ve been a student! The past year has been a roller coaster of highs and lows, like 2018, but the difference is the highs have been extremely high and the lows have been the lowest of the low!
Several months ago, I saw the above image in a Facebook Post and it resonated with my soul SO much! It’s very true for my, that 2017 changed me (I moved away for a job I thought I was meant for, but turns out I knew 2 months in, that I had made a mistake but I stuck it out for 2 years instead); 2018 broke me (with two very sudden deaths of people very dear to me, in a relatively short period of time); 2019 opened my eyes (to the fact that I have the power to change my circumstances and build a life I deserve instead of being a victim of my choices and circumstances); 2020 I’m coming back (as a better version of myself, pursuing a goal I didn’t realize I had, and building the life I deserve)!
I am nowhere near where I want to be, but I am FAR from where I was, and I’m exactly where I’m meant to be! My soul is at peace with the direction I am heading, my soul is singing songs of joy because of the joy in my heart that God has placed within me. I am very proud of the steps I have taken, and soon will take, to further my journey to a healthier version and the best version of myself! THAT, my friends, is exactly what is good for the soul, well, for mine at least. What is it that is good for your soul, today?
A drop of resilience. A path to wholeness. 