Currently, I’m sitting in this coffee shop in Kirkwood called Tap Room, enjoying the vibe. This place is pretty awesome in that it serves not only coffee but beer and wine! But I digress.

Life can sometimes be like a pinball machine. You are just rolling down the maze and BAM, life bumps you in another direction but eventually you reach your goal.  Twice this week, people in my life have talked about life’s paths. Both individuals feel like everyone’s path is different and what may be “conventional” is not for everyone. I’m currently on one of those wandering paths. My journey from undergrad to now has been…interesting.

I graduated from Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson School of Business with a shiny new degree in Business Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. (I paid a lot for my degree so I’mma say it all mmmkay). Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I walked RIGHT into the recession of 2008.  Yay me! I started doing odd jobs like traveling companion for my mom’s mentor who was in her 80s. I was a nanny, which solidified my choice of not having children. *I promise I’m not a two headed dragon* I went from the nanny life into working in a warehouse for two years where I liken it to the hierarchy of a plantation. Looking back, I could have probably written an award winning paper on modern day slavery for someone’s sociology class. I eventually went on to have two consecutive jobs as administrative assistants which would teach me valuable lessons in multitasking, professionalism, customer service, communication, organization, business operations, etc.  But still, I felt stuck. None of my employment has ever been a typical full time position. I felt the need to make a career choice.  I mean, I would like to retire someday lol

Where am I going with this?

Oh yes, so if you’ve ever come close to a squirrel in the road and he doesn’t make a choice, he goes SPLAT. I’m aiming to be a smart squirrel. As of next week, I will be embarking on an associates degree in Health Information Management Technology at a technical school. My long term goal is to sit for certification and then start up my own billing company with the end game being me working from anywhere in the world with a secure internet connection. This degree will no doubt be an experience. I’ve had previous dealings 2 yr institutions while dabbling with the idea of an art degree but this is another beast. Just today, in the midst of financial aid issues, no fault of my own, I was eerily calm. I’m not gonna sweat it. To get through this experience I will need patience, prayer, organization, assertiveness and the lessons my momma taught me in handling people.

By the way, if you are still with me, bless you, this has become somewhat a stream of consciousness. Alllll of this to say, I would like to bring you all along on this journey. This will no doubt be beneficial for me but also for whomever may be reading this. I will leave you with this:

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

~ J. R. R. Tolkien from The Lord of the Rings

~Ruth