The past five months have accumulated to what will forever be known as the hardest semester EVER.

Last December, because business was a little slow, I approached my then boss with a proposition to cut my hours back so I could invest them in furthering my education. He agreed, and I enrolled in 13 credit hours (four classes).

I still worked 32 hours per week so not only was I eligible for  benefits, I was finally able to take some classes that were not offered at night.

Everything went smooth in the beginning. That is, until I got offered and accepted a position at a company I have wanted to work for for years. I explained to my new employer my situation with school. Even though the position was not a 32 hrs per week position, they agreed to work with me.

I don’t think I left the office before 7 p.m. for the first two months I was there.

I put my social life on hold, stopped blogging as regularly as I like to and committed myself to not dropping any of my classes and not losing my new job. Every day I would tell myself, “It’s only until May. I can do anything for that long. It’s only until May.”

I gave up the expectation of keeping my straight A average two weeks into my balancing act – survival was the new standard.

I also gave up rights to a full nights sleep – five hours became the new eight.

It was hell.

But guess what?

I’m so happy I could cry because IT’S MAY! Halle-freakin-lujah! The semester is over and I survived!

Technically the semester ended last week but I haven’t let myself get overly excited because most of my grades have not been posted. I’ve been stressed as to what the final outcome of all my sleepless nights would amount to be.

Then I got an email from my journalism and reporting class professor:

Your blog reads well — keep w/it –
Course GRADE: A

As part of the final for this class, I had to turn in a portfolio of published works. Since I only had a few of my articles published by the student paper, I included a post from Blogfully Yours that I was particularly fond of. I even went so far as to chose Blogfully Yours as my signature work in an analysis of my portfolio. I honestly wasn’t sure how well that would go over. But, now I know. My professor thinks my blog “reads well” and because of my cumulative writing over the semester I got an A!

Do you have any idea how cool that is?

His simple words let me know that I am not a hack and that I should continue to write. This comes at a time where I teeter on the edge of giving up and often wonder if it’s all worth it. And THANK GOD he did, because I’m not ready to quit yet. I enjoy writing, so as long as the Internet remains a place where I can put my random thoughts, stories, fears and heart ache completely out there to be read, judged and often shit upon – I’m going to do so!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Summer Back to School, Circus life