Sometimes In Life, You Must Roll With The Punches

Good morning, lovelies! Well, it may not be morning for you, but it surely is for me. Currently, I’m settled at a faux leather seat at the airport, minutes before seven. Although I’ve only had one cup of coffee, I feel like no caffeine at all is flowing through my system. I’m writing this during a brief waiting period; my mom and brother should be here any moment to join me.

Together, we’re flying to Colorado to visit family. This trip is sort of impromptu. At least, for me. I wasn’t able to come at first, but when I was let go from my job two weeks ago, the door opened wide. This time last week, I was in Tennessee for a writer’s retreat. I feel like a headless chicken, running left and right and all over the place. Yet I am grateful for this opportunity. To spend time with family. To hike in the mountains. To temporarily step back from the twists and turns of life and take a breath, again. Tennessee with friends was just what my soul needed. In contrast, I’m eager to see what Colorado will teach me.

Interestingly, a lunar eclipse is happening while we’re there. This occurs when the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, appearing red. Spiritually, this is supposed to be a period of transformation, a driving force for change. The shattering of unwanted subconscious beliefs and unresolved pain. My mom keeps reminding me of this spectacular celestial event. During it, we plan to journal, pray, and admire the dazzling beauty of our little world. 

I feel like I glossed over the fact that I was let go. It did, in fact, happen again. (Again?) Some of you may recall a blog I wrote some time back, How to Stay Hopeful When Things Don’t Go As Planned. In 2023, I was unexpectedly laid off and, despite never imagining it could happen to me twice, it did. 

But this time was different. Maybe because I had been through it before. Perhaps because I started my master’s just two days earlier. (Crazy timing, right?) Maybe it was because I knew in my heart and soul that I needed a change, but I was subconsciously waiting for said change to happen to me. I was too timid to take a leap on my own. It felt as though God reached into my life and physically shoved me onto a new career path.

This fall, I returned to school for my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Texas A&M Kingsville. As my close friends and family know, I have wanted to be a therapist for quite some time. But the mere idea of applying to school twisted my gut quite unpleasantly. I’d start an application, though never finish. I’d peruse potential schools, but feel startled and transition tasks. Something simpler.

Earlier this year, something changed within me. Truthfully, I think it’s because I turned 25 and I realized, to my shock and dismay, that life certainly does move fast. If I wanted to be a licensed therapist before 30, I’d have to start now. 

I don’t mean for this post to be a blabbering update on the chaos that has ensued in my life. I watched Julie & Julia (2009) last night with my husband for the first time and felt startlingly vulnerable. Like the spotlight was pointed directly at me as I dug my spoon into my raspberry chip ice cream. An aspiring writer who never got her book out there? (Hey there, Otherside.) She is turning 30 and feels lost and confused in her life. She might have ADHD? She starts cooking in an attempt to find meaning and purpose? It couldn’t have been more on the nose. My husband kept side-eyeing me with a grin. I couldn’t deny it; it was a message from God! I’m only being slightly humorous. The movie awoke something within me. I needed, wanted, to get my life together. To do something for myself. 

This year, I’ve had to learn to roll with the punches. Ride the wives. Swim through the current. Drive through the dense fog with only my dim, flittering headlights to guide me. Sometimes, we don’t have a choice. We cannot control the external events around us; we can only control how we choose to approach the situation. Sink or swim, as they say. 

It hasn’t been easy. I clawed myself out of bed, shutting out the noise, saying a hopeful prayer, and getting to work. But I’ve been through this before, and I can get through this again. That’s what I told myself in those early days. 

Moments after I was let go, I stood in the middle of the room with a palm clasped over my mouth. It came at a complete, sudden shock, and my brain, my nervous system, struggled to comprehend what had happened. I felt the tears building up from deep below. I sensed the panic. So I grabbed my swimsuit, I drove to the gym, and I swam more than a mile. Back and forth, to and fro, again and again. And while I swam, I thought to myself, “I am strong. I am powerful. I am worthy.” When I returned home, tired physically but mentally renewed, I applied for jobs. I completed my discussion board. I read my textbook chapters. I rolled with the punches. I accepted my reality. And I refused to let it get me down.

When we go through difficult times, it makes us stronger. That’s not to say situations are any less devastating. But we learn to trust ourselves. We tell ourselves that we can handle it. Because we’ve handled it before. We persevered. We made it out alive. So when I got laid off a second time by the age of 25 (totally unfair, I’m aware), I locked in and climbed myself out of the mess. 

Of course, I mourned. I cried. The situation sucked! But what else was I going to do? I had learned the hard way, last time, that life doesn’t wait for you. And I had learned that when you choose to surrender and trust, new pathways present themselves. Closed doors aren’t always a bad thing. And I understand this now, because I had endured change like this before.

I don’t know exactly what’s in store for me, but I have a path. I have direction. I know I’m going somewhere. I know that one day, a handful of years from now, I’ll be a therapist. And all the while, I’ll keep writing. Growing. Learning. Changing. Bring it on!

I decided, while watching Julie & Julia (2009), that I was going to follow Julie’s footsteps. I’d write a blog post once a week on Fridays for an entire year. Small, large. Maybe I learned something new. Maybe I didn’t. Either way, I am going to show up. For myself, for my readers. For the people who feel alone in this world. For those who are navigating a treacherous terrain and need to know that they’re not the only ones who are struggling to find their footing. 

I’m going to end this here. Now, I’m on the plane, darting through the air en route to my next adventure. I feel drawn to zone out to my downloaded music and daydream out the window, so I will do just that and ignore the fact that I really need to be studying for my upcoming quiz. Until next time, my dear friends!

ZERO AI was used in the creation of this blog post. Stay creative, folks!