It’s down to the wire. I’m on a deadline to finish my certificate. This is where doubt starts to worm its way in. Nasty, debilitating doubt. Can I pull this off? Do I have the talent to make this final line cohesive and interesting?

Five years ago, I quit my job to return to school, fully confident that I could complete the certificate course in two years. I lived and breathed school, freelancing on the side to cover bills. About a year in, I realized that it just wasn’t going to be possible continue to squeaking by on my freelance income and still feed my kids. I needed to go back to full-time work, which also meant it would take me longer to finish school. I made it work until March 2020 when the pandemic struck. I switched to remote work, and things got really tough trying to manage remote schooling for the kids and myself. There was no separation between work life and home life and I was always “on call”. Getting an hour to do anything uninterrupted was impossible.

Once I complete my certificate, it will have taken me five years, not exactly the two years I had planned on, but I can’t give up now. I’m so close.

Time to channel Tim Gunn and his famous words, I need to “make it work”. And so I will. Wish me luck.