Hi, I’m Jessica and I’m a Professional Faller

So many times we find ourselves falling as our brains reel around seemingly uncontrollably, trying to make sense of it all. We’re so worried about sticking a landing, or simply just landing on our feet altogether, that we forget that our most valuable lessons happen during the fall.

I say this to you as a professional faller.

If you know me well, you may be surprised because despite this, I’m typically successful at anything I put my heart and mind into. In fact, I’ve been successful at a great many things during my lifetime. And while the answer to “why?” is multifaceted, the short answer is “because I was full of faith when I jumped.” 

You know the “jump” I’m talking about. That moment when you find yourself at a precipice and you know you’re either going to turn around and retreat into your comfort zone (even if it no longer serves you) or leap into the unknown with no guaranteed outcome. Yep, that last one has become my jam, and I’m here to tell you that even if the fear I experience during the fall never gets easier (it really doesn’t), those lessons allow me to grow in ways I never could have if I hadn’t decided to try.

So if you’re standing on the edge of a cliff (figuratively speaking, of course) wondering if something better is waiting for you out there, chances are, you already know the answer. The first step to taking action is deciding where you no longer want to be, even if the details of where you’re headed aren’t perfectly clear (they almost never are).

If you tuned in to hear my story, here it is…

I earned a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education at 23, and was a National Board Certified Teacher by about 26. I taught for 9 beautiful years that I will never regret…but at year 7 I decided it might be wise to look into alternative careers. I spent 2 years working full time AND going to school for Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) before I left the teaching profession altogether to finish SLP school. I was scared as hell, and it was far from easy, but to say that I’m glad I did it would be an understatement.

After about 7 or 8 years as an SLP, I finally landed my dream job as a medical SLP at a large public hospital in Miami, rehabilitating adult patients who had suffered mostly strokes and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs). It felt amazing to have finally earned the respect my intelligence deserved among doctors, nurses, and patients’ families. Because when you start your career off as a teacher, respect earned through heart and hard work is invaluable.

That dream job I just told you about…I resigned in May to become a stay at home mom (SAHM) to my then 2-year-old in the middle of a pandemic because my entire department was “volunteered” to go into the COVID positive units. Risking the life of my asthmatic miracle baby who had already been hospitalized more times in 2 years than I had been in 40 wasn’t worth it to my husband and I. So, we sold a car, reworked our finances, said goodbye to the best health insurance and work family I had ever known, and I co-founded a micro schooling pod with another teacher mom who shared similar views and  concerns about keeping our children in traditional preschool during COVID. Since then, I also started a Telepractice offering virtual SLP services to both children and adults.

In case you’re wondering, it took 2 months to finally resign, and there were LOTS of tears and difficult family conversations involved. The most difficult of my entire life, actually. Five months later to the day, I can tell you that I still don’t regret it.

The learning pod isn’t guaranteed to go through the entire school year because of different families’ decisions to place their children back in traditional school, which they’re 100% entitled to and were transparent about from the beginning. I say this so you realize there is no “perfect” scenario, EVER. I have no idea what “later” will look like, but I try my best not to stress about it. I’ve made it this far, and I’m not convinced that this is as far as I’m meant to travel.

So understand that when I say I’m a professional faller, I mean it. I may not jump without fear, but I do it with an incredible amount if faith…and in the process I always, always grow as a human. Flowers 🌸 in sunshine ☀️ are almost always guaranteed to survive, but there’s value in becoming the flower 🌺 that unpredictably grows in spite of the darkness around it.