Life Update: I’m Back!

Can you believe that it’s been since June of 2016 that I last blogged?! That was so long ago and a LOT has changed since then. I thought it’s about time I stop back by this place and post an update. And if you’re actually reading this and remembered I had a blog, thank you so much for reading! In this post I’ll address some general questions people may have.

Why did you stop blogging?

This past summer was one of the busiest and most chaotic of my life. After I posted that last post, life only got crazier. I was doing summer school full-time and was in two internships that led to a full-time schedule during the day, aside from the two afternoons that I had class. I made sure to make time in the morning to go to the 6 a.m. CrossFit class, so I at least kept that as my stress outlet. Whenever I returned home in the afternoon around 5, I would work on homework until about 10 p.m. at night and would eat supper sometime during then. I’ve never been someone who can stay up all night and work because around 9:30 my brain starts to shut off and stop thinking. My weekends were spent photographing and assisting at weddings and a couple of trips. Whatever other spare time I had was spent hanging out with some of my best friends from grad school. So that’s where my summer went.  I literally had no time or motivation to blog.

What happened after summer?

Once summer school ended in the middle of August I had a decision to make. My apartment lease was coming up and I only had one class left to take for my M.A. program. It’s a class that could be done distance/online too. I ended up moving back home to my parent’s house. It’s the decision that made the most sense. It’s expensive to live by yourself (rent, bills, etc)when you don’t have a full-time job. I also was not trying to stay in Lubbock and get locked down by a full-time job. It’s a great town, but not where I wanted to stay. Plus, the majority of my grad school friends were finishing up and moving too. Moving back home with my parents was the best and smartest decision to make.

So you moved home and are doing what?

This past fall I worked on my final project for my M.A. and I worked as a substitute teacher. Subbing has allowed me to have the flexibility in my schedule that I desire, but still make money. I was able to take the time off I needed to work on my final project. In December, I completed my M.A. program and graduated! Now I’m officially done with my Master’s. Thank God!

Another thing that happened is that my boyfriend moved from Missouri to Colorado. Before I moved home, I hadn’t seen him for 5 months. With my crazy summer schedule and the crazy cost of plane tickets, we decided to wait until he moved. Now he’s only a 6 hour drive away, so this fall and spring I’ve been able to visit him at least once, sometimes twice a month!

Now that you have your Master’s what are you planning to do?

Ahhh, the question I always dread most, but get asked all the time! Honestly, I’m not stressing about landing a full-time job at the moment. I’m able to work in two different school districts as a sub and still have a flexible schedule to work on my photography business. No, I can’t tell you exactly what kind of job I’d like to have, but I’ll try to briefly explain. Basically, I’d like to work in digital marketing/content marketing/social media marketing. I could throw a lot of terms at you, but unless you’re in that world you won’t really understand. Subbing has also made me consider getting back into teaching so that will be an option too. I’ll finish out the school year through May and then I’ll start looking for a job!

I have a lot more to say about living at home and how it’s truly been one of the best decisions I’ve made, but I’ll save that for another time. I’m not going to promise that I’ll be blogging here consistently, but I’d like to try! I do miss writing and miss having this space.

What have I missed out in your life?? Give me an update!