A Feeling Like No Other

It’s official, my MFA is in the bag.

I did it! I have achieved a Master’s degree in Writing. It’s a dream come true for me. Something I could only dream about over the years.

My dream started when I was about four or five years old. I was living a nightmare childhood. The kind that no child should ever have to endure, riddled with horrific trauma and perpetual child abuse. I started expressing my feelings in a diary. I wrote in code at first, using impossible metaphors that the adults around me couldn't understand.

My writing evolved over the years, and as an adult I eventually became brave enough to publish my memoir:

"The Sex-Offender's Daughter."

Available here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Offenders-Daughter-Story-Survival-Against-ebook/dp/B0BBSV97VF

Of course, once I published my memoir, I couldn't stop writing. It was like my writing had burst its creative banks, and I published five more books.

Yes, you read that right.

I have published six books and I have a new novel coming this spring.

I couldn't keep silent anymore. I needed to write for those who have no voice due to trauma.

Have you ever dreamed about wanting something that you felt was out of reach?

My Master’s degree felt like that to me — for decades. I wanted to be a better writer.

I longed for it for years. Then I started doubting that I could do it, and I eventually stopped dreaming with every rejection landing in my inbox.

I kept telling myself that I couldn’t afford heading back to college. (I’m still paying for my college tuition from my teaching degree).

Does this kind of excuse sound familiar? You stop dreaming because it feels unreachable, and those negative thoughts from childhood rears their ugly heads. 

Something happened when I was in this phase of thinking my dream of writing was unreachable. Someone asked me why…

Why do you stop dreaming because of money? Why have you stopped dreaming because you're an adult?

Everyone pays for college.

You only live once, why not live the life you want?

I applied for my Master’s that same day, but I never thought I’d get in since it was late. I was wrong and got accepted after three weeks. I don’t know how I pulled it off, but I did. It was like it was meant to be.

When you’re in high school, your whole life is ahead of you. Students have the choice of what they want to study, or do for the rest of their lives. 

How do you know what your future holds when you're a teenager?

How can you know what career you want without any life experience? How can you know, without even trying out a job for a single day?

It’s impossible to choose. Yet, some students do and go with their interests, and head to college.

After completing a degree, you start a career.

Years go by and life experiences change you. 

Some people choose to settle down in the suburbs, get married, have kids.

You become someone that people depend on at home and at work. You have responsibilities.

You get a new perspective on life, but it doesn't mean you become boring. It makes you start dreaming again. Dreaming of more.

What is more for you?

What would it feel like to get more?

Imagine yourself there. If you believe it, then you can achieve it.

Never lose sight of your true dreams.

I chose my own path to happiness when I was a teenager. I got away from my family and everything I knew, and I started again. But I still wanted more and put myself through night school working several jobs.

I believed in myself and I got accepted into teaching college. My life didn't end there. I'm still me and always hungry for more.

I spent my childhood living under strict rules about everything I said and did. When I started my life again, I decided that I would follow my heart.

Now I’m a mom, a teacher and I have two degrees.

None of it was easy, but it started with me — believing.

You can do it too. Start believing in yourself.

It’s never too late to start something new.

I'm in my forties, I work all week and I have two kids. I still went to college because I decided to follow my dream to write better.

I was on the MFA program with talented people, ranging from their seventies to fresh twenty-something graduates. They were all incredible people and everyone had a story to tell. We all shared the love of writing.

I found my crowd, and I loved being in this environment. 

What’s stopping you from getting more? What's stopping you from finding your crowd?

My name is Lizzy. I’m a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher, and an author.

If you like reading my posts, then please follow me.

For more about me: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

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