ABOUT ME

Jonelle Reynolds, Ph.D.

This blog is a labor of love. I thought about sharing my experiences, creating community, and helping women to thrive in their lives. I had so much to say but was afraid no one would read my words. But here we are. I took a leap of faith and tapped into my courage.

As I approach my 40s, I feel braver than ever. I have watched God answer my prayers and saw life goals come to fruition. Don’t get me wrong, some of these took a decade or more to come to pass. I felt discouraged and like I was on the hamster wheel of life. I watched my peers get promoted at work, start families, and travel the world. Me? I was single, on a journey to get my doctorate and living on a stipend with disaster roommate stories in my 30s!

A few years ago I had an existential crisis. I wanted to quit my doctoral program and start a family. Keep in mind, I was single with no male prospects at the time. I had invested years of life in school with the expectation of becoming a professor. A desire for something more, perhaps outside of my original dreams had shaken me to the core. I stayed on autopilot for a few months, with no real memories of the time. I apparently would word vomit all I was experiencing whenever asked, “how are you?”. Thankfully, even the strangers took it in stride.

When I finally emerged from my fog, I made up my mind to pursue happiness. I sought the counsel of professionals and mentors about a career shift and I ignored the voices of those who acted like it was a sin to leave academia. I accepted job experiences to expand my skillsets and started dreaming up a new vision for my life. Two years, post existential crisis, I have a job that I would have never dreamed of pursuing but is exactly what I needed. I get to use my marriage and family therapy training, my research and teaching skills, and I interact with people at all levels of the university.

There is hope!

So come join me on this courageous walk into our destinies!