I’ve wanted a linguistics degree since I was 15. I couldn’t find a program accessible to me at the BA level, so I decided I’d wait and get it as a MA. I got two BAs in English and Theater, two fields that study language in different forms.
It had taken me 10 years on and off to get my BAs- I was a single mom and did it. I planned to go straight into a linguistics MA program but was convinced by my then boyfriend, my mom and others that I should work for a while. I moved across the country, got married, and ended up in a hell-hole. To survive, I got another degree in Education (which I never wanted) and melted into a life that was- in no way- authentic to who I was or what I wanted to be. I was in a town that didn’t fit me, in a job I never wanted, married to someone who treated me terribly, was an unwelcome outsider in a closed community, had unhappy children, was a former athlete in a sedentary lifestyle, was in a body I never wanted and was even driving a vehicle my ex picked that I hated. But I was relatively financially “secure.” I had fallen asleep into that lifestyle and gave up.
I got a huge wake-up call about 3 years ago. I had a choice—become authentic to myself, or stay into that miserable existence. I chose to get the hell out. I applied to and was accepted into one of the top linguistics programs, got a divorce, quit my job, moved 5 states away. I am not financially secure, but I lost 40 pounds, love my life, my kids are incredibly resilient and have found their niches, have a new partner, a social life and am far more at peace.
I still struggle with PTSD, TBI/ADHD and some depression—but I am in the Linguistics program I wanted to be in for 27 years. This was deeply emancipating.