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I was afraid to go back to college after not taking it seriously straight out of high school. I had always been a fast learner and did well in school, but after I graduated high school; I went into living young, wild and free. Which, unfortunately, was not a good mix with college.

That was my first fear, was realizing this was not my time and dropping out. I ended up having a baby girl shortly after and she became my motivation. It was scary going back raising a child on my own, working full time, and going to school full-time with students that were about 8 years younger than me. However, no one treated me any different. I was able to make friends and succeed in getting my first Bachelor's of Science in Biopsychology with a minor in Ethics.

After a few years, I had enjoyed college so much that I went back to get a Bachelors's of Arts in Philosophy!

I have been thinking about what I wanted to share since the question was posted. I didn't know if I wanted to share something professionally related, or personally related.

But in the end, the personal side is what defined my professional side of things.

It was scary for a long time, until it wasn't.

Personal Side: I was a young mother in the middle of a messy divorce, when I found out that I was also pregnant with my daughter. I was absolutely terrified as to how I was going to make it as a single Mom with a five-year-old and a newborn. I knew that I wanted to be the best Mom that I could be for them.  I knew there were going to be a lot of hard times both financially and personally for a long time.  I was up for the task. I was going to be the best Mom that I could be and that was no longer scary to me. Over time, the financial side of things starting getting harder. The job that I had wasn't going to get me anywhere or provide the financial stability that we needed for our future.

It was time for me to make a change.   

Professional Side: Now came the next big scary thing, I went back to school. I was juggling taking care of my children, my job and now going to class. There were times that I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I pushed forward.  When I graduated, I no longer felt as scared as I did before. I figured if I made it this far, anything was possible.

I was hired at a small company, that overtime became a big company and moved my way up the latter. This opened a ton of doors for me in my career and gave me a lot of opportunities. I made a big scary leap 6 years ago and changed companies. Not only did a change companies, but I also completely changed the industry that I worked in. I went from food industry to the medical industry. In the end, it was the best decision that I made. 

Lots of things in life can be scary until they aren’t.  

Moving from Detroit to Austin without a job or knowing anyone in the city! It was terrifying but the best move I have ever made!! 💚

Changing my career path from Education to IT Healthcare. Moving from something I was so familiar with to a career field I did not go to school for was a big jump/ super scary but SOOO happy I did it for myself.

At 26, I moved from Chicago where I was the girl about town who knew the people to know and had a great career to Denver where I knew absolutely no one but my boyfriend and no job. The boyfriend didn't last but it was the best decision of my life. The move forced me into an environment where not many people looked like me at the time (the mid-1990s) and the lifestyle was very much outdoors-focused. I'd never owned a fleece or a pair of hiking boots my entire life. By the time I moved again 8 years later, I had new skills (both personal and job-related) and lifelong friends. I left a different, more accomplished, better person.

I was always scared of heights. So to try and deal with that, I tried jumping out of planes. The first time was the most scared I've ever been. However, once the Parachute opened up and I was in control of the "fall", it was one of the best experiences I ever had and I wasn't impacted at all by the height. I was hooked and love that experience.

The irony of it all is that it didn't help with the fear of heights. I did learn though that my fear is based on having a reference point to how high something is in my vision. ex. If on the edge of a cliff, the edge is what is triggering the fear, NOT the height.

Moving into a new department and introducing Smartsheet to a team of experienced project managers who were hesitant to try yet another PM tool. Happy to say, it has been a success with minor bumps and bruises!