ROBO Cop, Ron Jeremy, and I all have their master’s degrees. Would you believe Robot Cop’s second career is teaching art renaissance? Or that prior to his porn career Ron Jeremy pursued masters in special education?
I completed the final paper of the final class of the final everything this past Friday. It was exhausting. I had mentally checked out. Thanks to some help from my friend Jen Moore I was able to turn in something of decent quality. I’m not going to lie to you all. My first submission of my final paper for my finance class could have been confused with the ramblings of an otter. It read with the coherency of dictations of the squawks of a sea animal. This was not my best work. Fortunately I submitted it a few weeks in advance to get the negative feedback early enough for me to correct and rewrite the paper. I was so ready to be done I think at some point I just filled the requisite number of pages. Special thanks to Jen for not only getting me back on track but for being so nice about it. That first paper was the worst quality I have ever done. The final submission was something I could actually be proud of, Jen really came to my rescue.
Let me say this; I’m happy I did it, and happy it is now over. I had originally planned to complete my degree program in December of 2010. Due to that previous spring being overloaded with work, school, and Ironman training I determined to postpone 2 classes to the 2011 academic year. What I hadn’t counted on was the difficulty in motivating yourself to complete two courses once your thesis and all the other hoops have been jumped through…. The good news it is all over, I’m now just waiting on grades etc.
My masters is very similar to an executive masters of business, all the same courses, although it is focused on nonprofits. Looking back on all the 8 hour Saturday, and Sunday classes in addition to the evening classes…. All the projects, group work and papers, I must admit I feel it was all worth it. There were certainly times where I questioned my degree, my program and the potential professional pay off. Now that it is all done I see the improvement in my professional organization and improved breadth of knowledge I am very thankful that I started and finished my degree. My degree has paid off all ready even me just in improved skillset.
Now armed against the world with my advanced degree in Executive nonprofit Leadership I plan on becoming a track star….. (Yes, there is absolutely no connection between the two.) That’s right, with my degree out of the way I am now planning to take any and all extra energy and invest it in the pursuit of the Paralympic games in 2012. Qualifying for the 2012 Olympics is a serious long shot. The only race open to the blind women is the 1500 m. I am a marathoner; the 1500 m is a completely different sport. In endurance you spend years teaching yourself to hold back a little so you’re able to finish, sprinting is all out. To put it in respective the woman who was 3rd last year completed the 1500 m in 4:47…. I do this distance in roughly 5:50…… so the next goal at hand is to reduce my time by a minute in the next 6 months. (Yikes…!) I found a few running groups in my area that I hope to workout with multiple times a week. I’ll start doing more frequent power work outs and maintaining on the swim and the bike. My adrenal fatigue is getting better every day. I trust I’ll be back in good shape in no time. Hopefully ready to compete in track and field this coming spring in the best shape of my life.
For now I am celebrating and refocusing. The overall goal for 2012 is to ensure that all my goals work together. The past few years they have all worked against each other. Everyone always said the stress would get to me. I didn’t believe it until my body gave out and I seemingly had nothing left to give to anything. I’ve learned my lesson. I now just have to balance that life lesson with the tangible fact that I am getting older every day, as such my opportunities to be a competitive athlete are right now. The opportunities I have to go to Paralympics in my life time are 2012 in track and field and then in 2016 for triathlon. In 2020 I will have passed my prime. Farfetched though hose goals may seem they are worth pursuing if only for the sake of minimizing regrets. The real challenge in the next year will be improving as an athlete while not over doing it as I’ve done in the past few years with too many commitments.
I am thrilled to have my masters. I feel I learned so much, all the beautiful summer weekend days lost were all worthwhile. I trust in my lifetime I’ll put that education to good use. For now I am going to quietly celebrate the accomplishment and move on to the next opportunity. I can only imagine how thrilled robot cop, and Ron probably were as well.
My Gratitude:
In finishing my masters I was really wanting for that Moment where you throw your grad cap in the air, or something… some moment in time where you felt that sense of relief that that endless stress handing over your head 24×7 is now completely over. Given the way I had to postpone class due to over committing I haven’t had that moment. I keep feeling like I am being so irresponsible putting my schoolwork off only to remember that I don’t have any school work. The sense of relief is coming in fits and spirts rather than the instantaneous relief I had anticipated.
In hindsight I feel the greatest outcome of having completed my masters while starting Ironman training and completing two Ironman’s plus three marathons and all the athleticism has been to appearance of my family and all my supports. I have always felt like it was just me against the world. I had felt that even those who wanted to be supportive didn’t understand my motivations or my ambitions. Over the past two years my community has reached out over and over. I no longer feel like one person against a big scary world. Special thanks to my Aunt Janet for being so loving and supportive. Janet has given me a home for the holidays and is always a source of strength and kindness that I sincerely needed so badly. My beautiful baby sister Caitlin who gives me nothing but endless reasons to beam with pride, there is no more kind, generous, or thoughtful person than my Baby Sister. Glen John of course who is one of the best friend’s I have ever had and my safety net in all thins. To all my cousin, Aunts, and Uncles who have been so supportive in all my events in the past 2 years. I have been so touched by the ongoing support. Of course to my class mates and cohortians who probably took the worst of my frustrations and exhaustion, you all have been nothing but wonderfully supportive.
My family and friends made the pursuit of the ambitious past few years possible. I am so thankful for all of you.
Surprise celebs with masters: For an interesting read you can find surprise celebs that have their master’s degree here: http://www.masterinpublicadministration.com/11-surprising-celebrities-with-masters-degrees.html?prevver=search#,
What is Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome?
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome comes from a failure of the adrenal glands to efficiently produce hormones. The adrenal glands secrete cortisol, a hormone fundamental to optimal health. An excess of cortisol in the body can lead to severe problems, including Cushing’s syndrome. However, when released in normal levels by the adrenal gland, cortisol is essential to helping our bodies cope with stress and to fight infection – without cortisol the body cannot sustain life! Balance is crucial. Cortisol affects every tissue, organ, and gland in the body. When the adrenal glands are fatigued, they do not supply the body with enough cortisol. The body does what it can to get by, but it is not without consequences. As such, Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome generally precedes other chronic conditions.
Blind Ambition Speaking 