Sunday, November 18, 2012

Five Years

There are some moments when you just know that you have to take the leap, do the thing set before you, launch out on faith, and capture the wind.

That realization hit me this past Friday afternoon, sitting in a conference room in the O'Hare Hyatt Regency, watching one after another of newly minted PhD's walk down the aisle for their capping ceremony.  I started to cry, for it was my soul that woke up and my spirit leaped in recognition...this was my destiny.

Five years.

It takes five years to finish the business PhD in any of the five major disciplines.

Five years.

That time will go by in a blink.  I have been in St. Louis for five years.  My youngest daughter is about to be nine, she is alive and healthy, something we were wondering about five years ago when her illness was at its height. Before that, it had been five years since I was working in product marketing at Hallmark Cards, Inc. and left expecting my last child! Five years before that, I was taking another leap to move to Iowa to attend graduate school, three sons in tow.  Five years before that, I was expecting my youngest son.

I can count back in five year increments over the last thirty years and recognize these major moments in my life.  Five years have already gone by, five years ago when I was considering the doctorate, while I was teaching as an adjunct professor at Avila University.

Life is a journey and this next one will stretch me and challenge me and empower me.

When I was sitting in the room full of the most brilliant minds in business, I had to pinch myself, I was closer and closer to a destiny that has been waiting for this day.  '

The women I met impacted my decision to go forward.  We discussed our thoughts and explored the possibilities of being full time scholars.  I am one of the ones who wants to own our own intellectual property, to think, explore, discover.

I remain so thankful to all the professors who shared their experiences and offered suggestions as we navigated throughout the day, through the college fair, and through the various breakout sessions.

Five years.

That is it.

Time marches on anyway.  I am 48 years old anyway.  I will be 50 when I enter the program in 2014 anyway.  I will be 54 or 55 when I finish anyway.  I will have more gray hair.  I will be wiser.  I will know more about my interest area.  I will have published in journals.  I will have presented papers.  I will walk across that stage for my capping ceremony.

Five years.  This time, it will be for my dream.

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