So, these past twelve months have not been the greatest. A lot has happened since last August, so I thought I’d give an update on what has transpired.
A little over a year ago, an Aunt, who had been fighting cancer, was told to make her final life preparations.
Because her sister and niece (my wife) were in the US, and the Aunt was in Italy, arranging for her care and dealing with end of life issues became a logistical (and emotional, and financial) nightmare.
Additionally, my wife and I found we could not both work full-time while also dealing with these family issues. One of us would have to leave our job.
It was not an easy decision, but we made the rational one.
I loved my job. I loved the people I worked with. I loved my students. However, one year ago I left my tenure-track university teaching/research position at Virginia Commonwealth University.
When I announced I was leaving, everyone I knew–colleagues, family, friends–told me not to leave. I heard lots of “You’re crazy,” and “One does not just give up a tenure-track faculty position.”
But I had to. I know where my responsibilities are. It was a choice between family and job, and I chose family.
It has not been easy these past twelve months, both in helping the family survive and in dealing with the loss of my job. In June the Aunt lost her battle with cancer, and we are putting our lives back together.
Cancer cuts a broad swath wherever it strikes.
From this experience I learned of an inner strength. Looking on the positive side for the moment, here’s what I’ve accomplished over the past year as I’ve tried to regroup and rebuild:
- I’ve pursued by dream of writing by being admitted to a top MFA program in creative writing–the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. Over the years I’ve graduated with degrees from multiple programs in multiple universities–none have compared to my experiences with Stonecoast. What a wonderful program and exceptional people.
- I’ve kept at my writing and have just finished the first draft of my MFA creative writing thesis. Writing will be my third career.
- I worked at a top literary agency in New York. Learned great insights into publishing and worked with some very gifted people.
- I gave to my mom, on her 82nd birthday, a book of 82 family recipes I designed and published. She cried.
- I restarted my love of martial arts by training in the kickboxing art of Muay Thai.
- We are eating healthy and have concentrated on strength and conditioning routines.
Maybe these things do not seem too remarkable, but for a nerdy engineer, suddenly transitioning over the course of twelve months to creative writing and getting kicked in the head in Muay Thai are not trivial endeavors, trust me.
Given my trials at dealing with adversity, overcoming challenges, and realizing lifelong dreams, I’d like to keep the momentum going. I realized that other people are undergoing trials of their own, have lifelong dreams and aspirations they want to achieve, or are stuck in a rut and don’t know how to escape.
I’d like to help.
As a way to make a positive contribution, as a way to counteract the negative influences of society, as a way to fight back against the numbing grip of the mediocre and mundane, I’m launching a new project, called Becoming Heroic.
Becoming Heroic is a community for those who want more out of life, for those who want to rise above the mediocre.
This site is my attempt to provide resources, inspiration, and examples for those of us who want to wrest more out of our lives.
Join with me. Aspire to the heroic. Turn your life into an epic story. Be the most that you can be.
I’ve received encouraging words and support from many of you over the past year–thank you. I hope to pay this forward by building Becoming Heroic into an inspirational, motivational, and transformational resource that anyone who wants to improve their life can use.
Connect, reach out, and stay in touch. Let’s make these next twelve months truly heroic.