Fashion School Diaries
Thursday, May 16, 2024
I am in school for fashion design. It is scary to write, and I am not entirely sure what to say about this. I've kept it quite private. I have been a speech-language pathologist for over twenty years. To be honest, it has never felt right. I can only describe it has always wearing a sock that is on the wrong way. Where the heel is at the top of your foot, and it feels too short on the bottom of your foot. You can walk around, and when you don't think about it you kind of forget that it is on the wrong way. You can ignore the feeling. It isn't the most comfortable, but you can handle it. I've always felt so anxious at my job with the socialization, the unpredictable clients and co-workers, and the work drama that is innate in a hospital or school setting. It feels like a tightness that is there all day and never really goes away.
I have always enjoyed needle and thread, and been fascinated by fashion. When I was in high school it was a dark secret I held that I wanted to be a fashion designer. I didn't feel very fashionable, and also I convinced myself that you needed to be good at drawing and art to go into fashion design. I was told by someone that 'you don't have the patience to sew', and even though I deeply wanted to, this comment haunted me for decades.
The years went by and I've tried to 'fit' myself into my SLP career in a variety of ways. I've worked in every setting available with a variety of age groups. I've gone back to school twice for two related masters degrees to help manage my time as a speech-language pathologist. I also worked several jobs full-time from 2006-2013 when I was also in graduate school. I finished one graduate degree and then the following semester started a third one at a different university.
In addition to all of the schooling, I have tried working two careers simultaneously: 24 hours per week as a speech-language pathologist and 24 hours a week as a librarian. I maintained this for around seven years. Eventually, I was just tired from maintaining this schedule. My brain was split in two different directions and found it so challenging to do my best at both of the professions when I was trying to focus on both. I left my librarian position when I was asked to come on full-time at my speech-language pathology job. It has been eight years since that time where I have been working full-time as a speech-language pathologist. The past four years or so I've started to expand my sewing skills and also began taking classes at the Boston School of Fashion Design. This has been so exciting and fun. Additionally, I began returning to school online to pursue a bachelor's degree in Fashion Merchandising and Design. I would like to begin posting more regularly about this process and sharing my transition into this new field. It has been scary and exciting at the same time! I think I may update about the process here as a way to remember this time.