She Persisted

The process has begun.

• GPA back on track.
• Graduate Candidacy approved.
• Portfolio architecture built and approved.
• Structural “theme” for entire portfolio selected and outlined.
• Most classwork and some evidence from Dorcas Library projects already loaded as evidence.

What’s next?

• Introduction & Conclusion essays for entire portfolio
• Essays for each of fifteen competencies
• Finalize selection and uploading of evidence supporting various competencies.
• Turn in several essays each week for approval.
• Finish entire portfolio by March 30.  

§ § § § § § § §

I am, quite frankly, relieved. I was not sure this day would come.

I knew this process would not be easy. I am an adult with ADHD, a person with PTSD from childhood traumas. I have anxiety disorders. I am super organized… until things overwhelm me. I have terrific focus, but have poor boundaries for staying on focus when people need my attention. My MLIS track started with a bang, as I completed two semesters with three courses each, and completed all classes with high marks.

I went off course in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017. My emotional response to current events surrounding the 2016 election process, and the erosion of rights for women and girls [and all marginalized persons] in our country pulled me in new directions. I was struggling for balance; struggling for breath some days. I derailed my academic life while standing on street corners raging and holding signs.

In February 2017, I pulled up my britches: entered counseling again to regain emotional stability through mindfulness; enrolled with the Accessible Education Center as a student with ADHD; worked closely with school leadership to find ways to get back into the game. Class by class, semester by semester, I pulled my grades back up to an acceptable level and completed all the requirements.

And here I am.

Are there still unavoidable distractions? Of course.

• I am a wife and share a wonderful life and many responsibilities with my husband of thirty years.
• I am a mother of three adult children with complicated lives of their own, and grandmother of two wonderful boys.
• I am a veteran’s wife, and mother to two veterans.
• I have just this week been declared the legal/financial/medical agent for my 97 year-old great uncle who is now in hospice and not expected to recover health.
• I am our family historian and genealogist.
• I am a gardener and herbalist, spending summer days outside in our wilderness garden.
• I am a political activist; although I have curbed my activities somewhat to allow me time to complete my studies.
• I work full time for part-time pay in a library that is growing and changing in a challenging region.

My energies and activities are drawn in many different directions, often on the same day. Social media lifts my spirits, connects me to distant family, connects me with women around the world, connects me with colleagues in ways that are critically important for my work, and connects me with other warriors for social justice. But, finding critical balance between life online and life in the world is important for my health.

I wanted to write this reflective blog at the beginning of the last phase of portfolio creation. I want this record to remind me that no matter what the challenges, no matter how many glass balls we juggle in our lives, if we persist toward our goals… we will find success.