Moving along with life...

Wow... things are really moving along!

I went through a brief hiatus from writing due to being overwhelmingly busy with life. Between a very heavy workload (technically two workloads), classes, and marathon training, I had no time to write, and I love writing!!

But things, they are a-changing! Wednesday, May 18, 2011, was my last day that the American Heart Association. It was a very, very difficult decision to make, but I'm so happy that I left. I was working entirely too hard in a position that didn't fulfill me any longer. Don't get me wrong, the AHA is still an incredible organization. They do amazing, wonderful things that are improving public health, and their work is so important. But I wasn't learning anymore, and I was too overworked to be creative and try new things. I had to follow their specific protocol, and if I didn't, I was reprimanded as though I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't have a mentor anymore, and I had had two fantastic mentors. And I stopped loving every single day of it.

So I left. And I know that someone will take on that position and love it, and learn from it just as much as I did.

My next chapter is going to both challenge me and the knowledge base I've built in my "past career," but allow me to continue to pursue my dream to become a Nurse Practitioner. I will be working part time at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. My role will focus on their Cancer Walk, and I will be working to increase fundraising and decrease expenses for the event. The event has huge potential, and my role is to restructure it to make it as efficient as possible. I'm really excited. I think it will be an awesome challenge and experience. And the best part, they understand that my life's goal is not to rise within the fundraising world, but to give them my best, then continue my education in nursing. Awesome!