So I did something big this last week. I started a YouTube channel!

I wasn’t going to make a whole post about it, but I wanted to let you know a bit about what’s been going on in my life, since there’s a real reason I decided to start the channel now.

Warning: I’m going to get a bit personal here.

I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching recently. See, I was a college blogger all year last year, and college has been my life since I was 16 years old. I’m looking to do 7 more years of school to get my Ph.D. I really really love learning.

But something about the university environment didn’t work with me very well, if I’m honest. I suffered with anxiety pretty heavily throughout my final two years, but had been experiencing depression and anxiety on and off since I was 16 and started school.

I have learned, through a lot of introspection and trial and error, was that lots of my issues were due to the uncertainty of it all. I was working so that I could get a 90 average to get into a program that very few people actually get accepted into, even people who have my grades. There was a lot of uncertainty, and I felt like I was in a hamster wheel–get good grades so that I can do… what? There’s no certainty. I didn’t feel like I was going anywhere, and I wasn’t actually doing anything.

I have felt for the last few years like I’m a hamster in a wheel.

I went into psychology so that I could actually make a difference. So that I could help kids have happier families, help them thrive and go from “high-risk” groups to “low-risk.” But my undergrad degree, honestly, really frustrated me. I didn’t feel myself getting there. I was studying all these courses that I would never use because I just needed the credits. On top of it all, I lost focus as to why I was actually in school doing what I was doing.

So where am I at now?

I haven’t given up on grad school! I’m actually still dedicated to pursuing higher education. But what I have learned is that life is so much bigger than school. If I continue to do my Ph.D., it’s going to be because it is what I truly want to do. Not something that I feel like I should do because I can.

Until then, I’m going to be applying for grad school, but I’m also going to be working on making a difference now instead of waiting until I can make a difference. Because if we never start taking action, it’s so easy to get stuck in a rut.

This summer has been one of the happiest of my life. Even happier than the summer I got married. And a lot of that is that (a) I don’t have to deal with wedding planning (can I get an “amen?”) but also (b) I have a renewed sense of purpose. I am so excited about growing this blog and to be able to provide you with better quality content than I’ve ever given before. I’m so excited to help you reach your goals through this blog, and to see how we both grow on this journey together :)

This is a big deal for me, guys!

I’ve been blogging for a long time (since I was 10 years old) but I’m starting to actually do this as my job, now, which means that I’m able to produce more content that isn’t sponsored content. My dream is to be able to blog as a full-time job, creating tons of e-books and e-courses for you to help you succeed in life, whether that’s through succeeding in your relationships, thriving spiritually, or growing personally.

The only way I can do that is by going outside of the blogging world, for my purposes. To be honest, I want to reach a larger audience than I can through blogging, and I want to be able to actually connect to people on a more personal level. I find that videos help with that. So even though the majority of my content will still be here, on the blog, you’ll also be seeing me a lot more on YouTube.

So, here’s my first video! Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any :)

Thank you for your encouragement and support over the last year and a half. It has been wonderful, and I’m so excited to be able to give you even more of my time and create more content on multiple platforms.