Empty Cups

When I graduated with a Master’s Degree in 2018, I did what any person would do after spending years and thousands of dollars chasing one goal: I had a party. 

At my party, I had party favor cups. Not that many people actually showed up to the graduation party, so I had a lot of cups left over. My sister, Sarah, took home some extra cups for her daughter, Madeline. 

Madeline, who was four at the time, knew that I had a party and asked her mom what it was all about. So, Sarah explained that Tante Katie (that’s me, Tante means aunt in German) had a party in a language that she thought a 4-year-old would understand. 

“You know how you’re in preschool right now?” Sarah said, “Well, Tante Katie went to preschool, just like you, and then she went on to kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade…” and she went down the list all the way to 12th grade. Sarah then explained, “Tante Katie kept going to school and got a bachelor's degree. After that, she went back to school again, to get a Master's degree. We’re celebrating that because it’s a big accomplishment to go to school for that long.”

After the long story, Madeline looked up from the cups in her hand and said, “Tante did all that just for these cups?”

The short answer left me with a wave of doubt: Yes. I did all that just for these cups.

The long answer is, of course, I did all that work for more than cups, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. 

I graduated with a Master of Science in Information Science, with a focus on mental health informatics. People will often ask me why I chose this field of study when my passion is mental health and my work is content marketing. 

To understand why I chose this path, you have to understand where I was when I made this decision.

Post Bachelor’s, Pre Master’s Struggles

I was broke. I graduated with a bachelor's Degree in Psychology and moved back home with plans to work in the mental health field in some capacity. I didn’t know what I wanted to do exactly, so I started at the bottom. 

I worked as a Behavior Analysis Trainee. 

During this experience, I discovered what the word “feces manipulation” meant firsthand and was regularly hit by grown men with severe disabilities. While it was my toughest job, it was not the only one that didn’t work. I also worked as a direct support staff for adults with developmental disabilities and a Psycho Social Rehabilitation for kids with behavioral disabilities. At the end of the day, I didn’t enjoy the work and I couldn’t make enough money to make a living. I decided it was time to go back to school. 

You know how they say, go big or go home. Well, I went big. I applied to Penn State for a prestigious Ph.D. Doctorate Program. And when I didn’t get in, I went home. There was no backup. That was my only choice and now I was stuck back at square one. No change had been made. 

I attempted to work a few different jobs but none of them worked. At this point, my family was growing increasingly less patient with my predicament. What was I to do?! I was stuck in a rut. 

I loved psychology, but it wasn’t making me any money. I had to think differently. I had to take a left turn from my planned-out life. I thought about what I was good at and that’s writing. So, I decided to start there. 

I got a job at an internet marketing firm, doing what I’m good at: writing. I also decided to go back to school, but for something a little different. That’s when I discovered Information Science. I love research. I like libraries. Why not? 

A Left Turn Into a New Path

I needed to do something. The only way to get out of my rut was to make a change. Even if I didn’t know what that change would bring me. I had to take action and I chose to swing for a Master’s Program in Information Science.

As I journeyed through my graduate program, my goals in life and in business changed. I began my own writing firm. I am not doing information organization, but I am still using my degree in ways I never expected. 

Which leads me back to the question: Was the degree a waste of time? Did I really do all that work for just a bunch of cups? To others, maybe so. For myself, I see something bigger.

Finding Success

Finding success is not a one-size-fits-all situation. There will be a lot of lessons along the way. Think about all that money you spent on a Philosophy Degree and you wound up working in real estate. Or all the time you spent building a business or working a traditional job that didn’t work out in the end. 

Success happens slowly. It is a struggle. Saving money for a home. Building a business from nothing. Going to school for 20 years. It’s hard to keep track of success when it happens so slowly. Sometimes, it feels like all I have to show for it are empty cups and big mistakes. 

Mistakes are not failures. They are proof that I took action, which is something I struggled to do when I first got out of college. They say that it takes 20 years to make an overnight success. While we all want that instant gratification, the best things in life don’t usually happen that way. 

Most people will overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can accomplish in 10. Instead of beating yourself up over the slow progress in one year, look back a little further and open your eyes to how far you’ve come.

When I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Information Science, to some it might look like I got nothing more than a few empty cups. I am not a librarian. I am thousands of dollars in debt. And my future is not information science. But to me, I got so much more than a degree. I got credibility. I got the confidence needed to build a business from nothing.  I got to see myself succeed at something that very few people have done. And that gave me the conviction to chase my dreams, even if they seem impractical to everyone else, because I know I can do hard things.   

What success can you draw from your empty cups? It could be more than you realize.