A New Life: Discovering My New Life Path

Valerie J. Steimle

My life has changed drastically over the last nine months and I am happy to say that I am doing well.  I haven’t written any kind of blog post since September but I am working on discovering my new life path. 

I live on the opposite side of the country now in the Phoenix area, working a new job and I am with my last child living in an apartment.  Quite the change from the last 24 years where I lived in my own home on half an acre of green grass and trees in Alabama. 

Now I look out the window to the desert of Arizona with cactus and palm trees. It's really a good life and I'm happy to be closer to my first born with her family close by. My new ward opened their life to me and I can visit more of my children, my brother and his family and my 91 year old Dad on this side of the country. 

Major life changes causes one to ponder their life path and what accomplishments are most important.  I have been doing this for the past six months and have come to the conclusion that I should finish something I started a long time ago: my bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University. 

I graduated from Ricks College (Now Brigham Young University Idaho Campus) with an Associated Degree in 1979, intending to finish in Communicative Disorders and Special Education at Brigham Young University Provo campus, but I got the worst case of "senioritis" in my 4th year of classes, was engaged to be married and just didn't have the drive to accomplish what I set out to do.  My mother was livid and I don't blame her. I should have finished but hind sight is everything and now as I am helping my youngest get on his mission and I will have the time and the funds to finish what I started.  It's exciting to think about. What's more, I am switching gears from educating children to writing for a living.  

My goal is to finish my degree in English/Journalism online since I have enough "on campus" credit to do the work without having to travel back to Provo. I will then start searching for a writing job so I can write until I cannot use my hands to type any longer.  This will be what I do for the rest of my life and that is so very thrilling for me.  It's what I love to do.

I have been writing journal entries since I was 12 years old, the idea coming from a lesson I learned at church and I now have 10 volumes of journals plus other notebooks filled with my thoughts and dreams. Writing is so therapeutic; not typing in a computer but actual writing by hand. There is something to be said about hand writing in a journal that helps sooth the soul.

From the website, Self Growth it states that we can improve ourselves in confidence by just practicing our handwriting. This really makes a difference and I know from reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, writing in a journal by hand every day helps clear the mind of junk from the day before. It's really amazing. Julia Cameron calls it her "Morning Pages" and for several years I wrote at least 4 times a week in my morning pages journal which now are close to twenty notebooks.

My life goal is developing into something I am really excited about and this will help me become a better person in expressing myself to the world. I see more published books on the horizon as well and time to travel. Life is really great for me now with new perspectives and choices to make. Of course more grandchildren adding to the adorable ones I have already which makes me very happy. 

God is good.