The journey has begun. Yesterday, I took my last Japanese final, and have officially graduated from UCI. It has been a very rough road. I started in Fall of 2016 at Orange Coast College. I was working a fulltime job, dealing with life events, a pandemic, all kinds of things, all while going to school. I would have to take a semester off here and there, or only take a class or two sometimes. I got my Associate Degree in 2020. My major changed from Film to English due to the requirements for the degree changing, and classes I needed would not fit into my work schedule.
I had to keep going to school to make up the required classes for English so I could transfer, and once I was ready to transfer to University, I was talked into changing my major again by the Sr. Director at my job, to Data Science (something I did have a background in work-wise, but not educationally). Of course, I was not accepted, and I lost another year. When the next year came, I applied to what I actually had a background in, English and Creative Writing, and was accepted to the University of California, Irvine. Two grueling years later, I am finally done.
I definitely see the benefit of doing all this when you are young, and have few responsibilities, and (ideally) have your parents to take care of you, and guide you. However, I needed maturity and desire to make it through this, something I didn't have when I was 18 or 19. My parents saw work, and making money, as more important than school, so I went that route. Not having a degree definitely worked against me as the years went on.
In 2015, I met my wife. We were married in August of 2022. She was the one who encouraged me to go back to school, and that inspired her to go back also and get her Master's degree. We ended up graduating at the same time. There is no way I would have made it through this without her.
All these years, I have had all these creative ideas. When I was young, I loved writing, Role Playing, making up characters and scenarios, drawing, creating worlds. My grandmother, every time I would see her even up to the last year of her life, would always ask if I was still drawing. She really encouraged that creative part of me. Admittedly, I have not in a very long time. Work, School, and Home Life have been my priorities for so long I haven't had time to really tap into my creative side. At times, I've felt like I don't even remember how to do it anymore. Taking creative writing courses throughout my school journey has thankfully kept that spark alive.
NOW with all that background out of the way, I finally built my own website! I plan to continue to refine my writing abilities, and really focus on them specifically, while also diving deep into the creative crevasses of my brain. I created Deep Space Dojo as a sort of creative outlet, primarily for creating video content via YouTube, etc. And, I will be writing every day moving forward, some of which will be this blog, but also things I hope to get published. All of that will assemble here.
This really is the closing of a significant chapter of my life, and the beginning of a new one. The hardships aren't over, but I see clear skies ahead, and I am looking forward to the future.
- Jeffrey Hurley
Life Has Infinite Possibilities