In January of 2022, I lost my Uncle very unexpectedly. It triggered a variety of changes in my life; mentally and physically. I knew I needed to get out of the place I was in, and my husband and I found ourselves uprooting from PA to Texas.

After moving, I found myself with more time than I ever had. We had no friends to surround ourselves with, and just a small amount of family in the area. I had been debating going back to school for months at that point, knowing that now was the best time. I almost gave up the search, as most of the schools wanted either too much money or didn’t have a journalism program as a master’s degree.

I originally wanted to go to Full Sail for my undergrad, but my mom wouldn’t allow me to travel so far from home as an 18 year old. Online classes weren’t a thing till years later. So, in my search, I looked into Full Sail, and realized they had exactly what I was looking for.

I was walking into a Walmart in December of 2022 when I called Full Sail to get more information about enrolling. I applied, and was accepted, just a few weeks later.

Then, on January 11th of 2023, I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. I remember my mom asking me if starting my degree at the end of February was a good idea since I practically had to re-learn how to eat and speak. I knew if I didn’t start in the original timeframe, I would never have the drive to do it again.

Now, one year later, I’m happy to say that I’m a graduate of Full Sail University with a master’s in New Media Journalism.

Despite the Bell’s, learning about other health issues that changed the way I live, working 40 hours a week, and losing both my grandmother and a great friend, I managed to get through the program with a 4.0 and was valedictorian of my class.

It was stressful. I put myself in the hospital multiple times from the stress. I lost sleep, worrying about where my next story was going to come from, or analyzing in my head whether or not a video was put together correctly, or whether or not I was actually going to get the Capstone project done in the time-frame that I misjudged.

But I don’t regret a second of it. I proved to myself that I still have what it takes to make it in this business. I proved to myself that I could still learn new things at 42. I proved to myself that I could do it all without the help of ADHD medication, which is the only reason I finally got through my undergrad.

And most of all, I proved to myself that I’m worth it.

Thank you to all of my professors at Full Sail. I’m so thankful for all of your knowledge and for helping me remember not to overthink it (even though I did anyway, but sometimes it did help).

Where do we go from here? I’ll soon be registering this domain and move into freelance reporting till I land a job in either the sports or esports industries. I might take another class to improve my interviewing skills. But mostly, we keep on pushing forward, covering events and putting gamers into the spotlight. There may be more national news upcoming, but I hope to keep highlighting local and regional events, esports in education, and continuing the narrative of equality in esports in gaming.

Up next: the HCS in Arlington this weekend, then the CECC Collegiate tournament in May, then DreamHack in June.

Thank you to everyone who has stuck around, subscribed, and cheered me on. Here’s to a successful 2024!