When Life Aligns: A Reflection on Divine Timing
As someone deeply rooted in faith, I've spent a lifetime learning to trust that there are very few true coincidences in life, Yet, even at the wise old age of fifty-something, life can still surprise me and thankfully, it's almost always a pleasant surprise.
This past Monday marked the beginning of my Post Doctoral Fellowship journey at Howard University. And while I had worked with Dr. A before, I had no idea about the details of the project I would be working on. So, when she told me that I'd be working specifically on a Data/ Environmental Justice project, I felt a familiar combination of thrill and that obvious "of course" feeling that comes with the recognition that things tend to line up exactly as they should.
Why wasn't I surprised? Because at this stage of my life, I've learned that there are very few coincidences in life. The fact that I'm currently pursuing my Master's in Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins, studying Environmental Health Disparities with a focus on Environmental Justice, felt like yet another reminder that life has a way of aligning exactly as it should, once we step out of our own way.
In what often feels like dire career times for so many people these days, there's something profound about those moments when you can see the things connecting where you've been to where you're going, when what seemed like separate paths reveals itself to be part of your well-intended life’s journey all along!
Now please allow me keep it 100 with you about the reality of this academic journey, it's an absolute understatement to say that doing engineering / science calculations of this type is really kicking my arse. I'm talking about struggling to remember how to use the exponent key. So yeah, it’s REALLY that basic and my “embarrassment” is pretty non existent! But I'm so thankful my daughter is an Engineer, because otherwise I would have been lost on Google and YouTube trying to figure out how to use this thing that once felt like second nature, THIRTY YEARS AGO. With all that said, I've figured out what I'm doing, but not in enough time to turn my second homework assignment in on schedule this past week. I did the absolute best I could, and thankfully I wasn't the only one struggling. Even my Mechanical Engineer project partner had some issues, so we were all given a couple extra days to get everything submitted.
The other incredibly ironic realization of my life is that I originally came to Hopkins thinking I would leverage my Chemistry and Computational Toxicology background to study Environmental Toxicology. But a personal project I started in June focused on air quality began pivoting my thoughts in another direction. When my course team project also turned out to be about air quality, that was the second non ironic, piece of the puzzle clicking into place.
But the third and most profound alignment? I mentioned it at the beginnin of this post, I simiply did NOT see this coming! I did know I would work in Data Analytics / Health Disparities for my Post Doc, but had NO IDEA that would be blended with Environmental Justice. Talk about a trifecta of purpose! So that awesome GIS course I started last month? It now has DUAL use and I’m tentatively planning to teach it next summer! And lastly, the fact that I’m in the Earth, Environment, and Equity department at Howard too? That’s just life’s “cake” with extra icing!
I'm just so grateful to be in this space in my life especially after surviving a traumatic and toxic workplace last year. And what might seem daunting to some ( i.e. developing new career skills at an age when many folks are thinking about retirement) feels to me like the perfect opportunity to stretch these God-given academic talents I was blessed with. For me, there's something SUPER powerful about recognizing when all the pieces of your journey start forming a clear picture, when you can see that every step (and every obstacle), every pivot, every seemingly random event, was actually leading me exactly where I needed to be.
Blessed and highly favored? In SPADES, BOO!!!