Taking Risks

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all"- Helen Keller

I used to think I was pretty familiar with taking risks, and considered myself a risk taker. Wow, how brave am I? What I didn’t realize was how much of a risk taker I was not, until more recent years.

In 2016 I left an abusive relationship for good. The battle continues, but I made a choice to create a better life for my daughter and I, and to create a safe space she could thrive in. More on that to come in future writings. In 2019, I finally took a leap and took a leave due to my mental health being compromised after being sexually assaulted at work. The assault took place a year prior, but I was unaware of how much it was impacting me,

despite the nightmares, the constant sadness I was feeling, and the lack of motivation I had for life.

This was the beginning of my wellness journey. Despite the challenges of digging deep into my trauma and doing the work, I knew it was a journey worth pursuing.

I stepped into a world I knew nothing about- Drug Treatment Court. Little did I know that this would become a huge passion and area of interest for me. I took a risk in applying, because I knew little about the justice system. But thought to myself “I can learn”. I took an even bigger risk by taking this program to new heights, going against the “way things have always been done”, and chose to learn as much as I could, follow what the evidence told us, and built up an incredible program (while ruffling some feathers along the way).

I was approached by another company five years into my Drug Treatment Court career, to continue to do what I thought was incredible work, now within correctional institutions. Sure I had taught within our local institution for almost a decade, but what a wonderful opportunity this was to create an even bigger impact; or so I thought. It was misleading but that is not the point. The point here is that I took a risk. I left a job I loved to expand my horizons, challenge myself, and transform justice systems. Shortly into this new position, I was let go.

I wasn’t sure what this meant for me, and after asking myself “what now”, I jumped at the opportunity to make the most out of this situation. I aspired for many years to go into consultant work, but found every excuse as to why I could not do it, why I wasn’t smart enough, good enough, and knew that I had a lot of expectations placed upon me. As a single mom, I didn’t have any back up to pay my bills, and all of the responsibility fell upon my shoulders. I thought to myself “well now is the time to explore what this could truly look like”.

I signed up for a business course, applied for a few jobs that were of interest to me, and got to work. Days later, I got my first contract. A month in, I got a second one. I also got accepted into the business course so that I could learn all the things I need to, to be successful on this journey. A few days ago, I received an offer letter with a publishing company so that I can finally write my book on my experience with domestic violence and the criminal justice system.

None of this would have come to life if I hadn’t taken the risk.

Moral of the story- leave the relationship, write the book, take the trip. Take the risk. The life you have dreamed of may just be on the other side.