The end of one thing, the beginning of another.

    Today I quit school. But I begin anew right here, right now. This was a huge decision for me but, Im confident about it and Im also confident that this is crazy; sacrificing this great opportunity to further my education and career, ya but, that education would cost as much as a house. And I would much rather buy a house. So, what if I can find free training programs like apprenticeships and free job training in fields of interest to me? There are so many things I want to experience in this life, and life is too short. I dont want to wait until I have a degree to start my career! Who else is with me on that?! Look, I would say that I dont have the time, but the truth is that I technically do have the time; Im young! But the point is, I wont be young forever ( I will be in heart  though! ). So, YES, this IS a crazy choice... but a choice that is forcing me in to the moment. And a choice that opens so many doors of opportunity.
    If you must know, I was in an online degree program for a degree in Alternative Medicine, a growing field. My belief is that Alternative Medicine is the medicine of the future, as it was the medicine of the ancient past... Plant medicine is my absolute passion. But it is one of many passions that dwell within my soul. I have a passion for birth and motherhood; I am a mother of a beautiful son. Pregnancy and birth are utterly magical experiences. I will share our birth story another time.
    I also have a passion for outdoor labor/living. My father never had a son, he was blessed with two beautiful and intelligent daughters ( if I say so m'self ), so when it came to working outside, he called upon his daughters. My sister was more academically inclined than I, I just had no time for books. I liked to play with moss, peel it up from the earth and feel it in my hands and sometimes move it to a better location for whatever reason. Supposedly the Native Americans would use moss to diaper their babies. Unheard of in today's society but, moss has some great benefits. Completely natural being one of them and antibacterial and anti fungal as another.
    I also liked collecting rocks and picking the wild flowers that grew in the front yard ( the ones my parents called weeds, and some of those same "weeds" I've learned have some great medicinal properties!!! ). Now, as life would have it, I am a collector of crystals and a novice herbalist.
    I was a pro at catching frogs, lizards, and salamanders. Those tasks are just far more important than reading a silly old book ( in the mind of my five year old self ;) yet now, I am an avid reader. Yes, my sister turned me to the dark side LOL, nah, what did it was reading a damn good book and realizing how adventurous one has to be ( and dedicated ) to read a whole book! I'd once heard books described as, "world windows", in this adorable book called A Dragon in A Wagon. The beginning goes a little something like, "when you read a book, you experience what is written in them as if it is really happening". I find this to be true.
    So needless to say my dad didnt get much done outside. Haha, just kidding. Eventually I grew big enough to wield and ax and chop wood, stack wood, and bring it in to start a fire in the fire place. I grew and I grew and I grew. No body came crawling across the floor in the middle of the night while I slept to rock me and sing to me though. If you didn't get the reference, you need to read I Love You Forever. Another children's book. But I learned a little about gardening from my step mother as well, when I was a little less distracted by frogs and lizards of course ;) I also did a fair share of lawn mowing, and no, I didn't get to use a fancy shmancy riding lawn mower either. My father got one after all the kids moved out though. Haha...
   But there was something about being outside and working outside that I just... miss. I think it was the presence of nature that I felt, like every tree watched as guardians while I played. I wonder if the trees are jealous that we can walk. The ones in Lord of the Rings aren't... well anyways, there is a feel to nature that you can sense when you spend enough time with it. It's like, the more time you spend with a person, the more they show you who they are. Same goes for Mother Nature.
   I feel in the age of technology we have become disconnected from Nature. I sure have. At the age of 17 I moved out and have since moved further and further from Nature. My parent's home lives in the heart of the woods near a small rural town called House Springs, though I attended school in the Rockwood School district of Eureka Missouri. A town renowned for the Six Flags that floods tourists in. Its a small town, growing every year, but it thrives from the theme park as it's life blood.
    My husband, our son and I live just north of St. Louis now. City life certainly has it's perks, I will say. But my heart yearns for the day I come home to my family in a log cabin in the woods.
    Well I'm going to bed but, before I sign off here, I want to say that there is much more to life than you could possibly know. I'm not going to sit here and encourage you to drop out of school, but if your heart isn't in it, why continue doing it? There are plenty of things to fear; how will your parents/family respond, how will they look at you? Will you find what you are looking for? Well you know what, if you're going to follow your heart, it doesn't matter one bit how people look at you or perceive you. Dont sacrifice a dream for the impressions of others. Dont waste your time here.
    Good night.