My Big Life Changing Decision

   I'm a quitter. A big fat quitter. I have always been a "finish what you start" type, but not any more. I resigned from the PhD program. There was a lot of very existential reasoning behind this decision as well as some more practical concerns, but at the end of the day, it just wasn't fun anymore. It wasn't fulfilling. And I can't rationalize spending time doing something that isn't making me a more complete person if I don't have to be doing it.

  So what am I going to do instead? Well, I'm going to do what I have been doing as a hobby for over 2 years now. Birth work. Over the next year I will be certified as a child-birth educator and a lactation counselor. It's something I feel very passionate about, something that I am good at, and something I can see myself doing for a very long time. While we are in Tucson, I will probably just offer childbirth and breastfeeding classes independently and through hospitals and birth centers. However, my goal is to one day have my own space to offer childbirth, breastfeeding, prenatal yoga and post-partum yoga classes.

  This will also give me time to pursue some other interests that I have been putting off for years at the expense of school. While I have enjoyed my educational experience thus far and am very grateful for the opportunities I was given, I am looking forward to living more in the present and enjoying each day rather than constantly looking to some future date for contentment. Stay tuned for a follow up post about why I want to do birth related work.