Turning Points

There have been several turning points in my own life; each one changed my course of action and the course of my life and, whether for the best or worst, they have guided me to where I am today, into the person I have become.

I have a lot going on in my life right now. I start a new job on December 2nd, using my degree, as a case manager at a crisis non-profit agency in Baltimore Maryland. This also means I am leaving my job at the hospital I've been working at for almost 4 years. The job that was my first place of stability, but also the job where I was sick.

I finish my bachelor degree in two weeks. TWO WEEKS. Completing my bachelors degree means closing a chapter of my life where the journey took ten years, many states, and several false starts. On the cusp of this journey ending I have interviewed for a masters degree program with, hopefully, the school I will be going to for the next few years.

With everything ending/starting at once I have to acknowledge a few things; the first is that I'm not taking my eating disorder identity with me, whether my coworkers knew I had an eating disorder or not, my time at Harbor Hospital was marked by hospital stays and reduced hours at work. The second is that I am in a place in my own recovery journey where I am healthy enough to start helping other people in their own mental health process. My degree is finished which is good on the journey standpoint but it also means I have a few moments to just stand still and I need to resist the urge to fill those moments with other things. Hopefully I will be in Grad school this time next year...

All of these things are good, great, things and I know there have been several turning points in the making for them to occur. One of the big ones I'm noticing right now is that a year ago, if all the same things were happening at once, I would not be handling it well. The stress would've made the transitions miserable. But, I have changed, I'm looking forward to the next chapters.