What’s Next?

Today as I sit in the coffeeshop, it’s not to do homework, it’s not to grade, it’s just to relax. A year and a half ago I started my journey to get my master’s degree. This past Wednesday, I submitted my last assignment. So what do I do now? This morning I woke up with a sense of dread, after the stress I had been under, what would my life look like now? This was the first weekend I could actually enjoy without the stress of completing an assignment, turning in my discussion or making sure to get a response out to one of my classmates. I didn’t have to lug my laptop all over the place to find a moment to do my classwork.

I started this journey in the midst of the Covid lockdown, when most things were shut down. There’s this meme on social media, I don’t know what it says exactly, but it asks which did you do during Covid? get a dog, have a baby or buy a Instapot. I got a master’s (and an Instapot). Today (Saturday) was the first day that it finally registered, I have all this extra time on my hands, so what’s next? Maybe a Magic Key to Disneyland or a trip to New York? Yeah, those things are already in the works!

Now, I’ll have more time on my hands to do the things I love, like read a book (I finished three in the last week) or go to a movie. My husband and I could only make one set of plans on the weekend. He either got Friday or Saturday, because all other weekend days were reserved for homework. Now he gets me for the entire weekend, whether he likes it or not. There won’t be anymore picking and choosing for this girl.

I’m happy that I was able to complete my master’s, coincidentally 20 years after I earned my bachelors. It was a huge accomplishment for me.

As for right now, I have nothing planned yet. I have some new ideas for 2022, but nothing definite.