Hey friends, So I have to be brutally honest with you...my healing is not going as expected after the ACL/meniscus surgery that I had on May 29th. I wound up in the hospital as some of you know and the surgery provoked a DVT, which has led to a myriad of other complications. This is not a message to say I'm giving up on this space. But I am having to be very honest with myself about my time boundaries and protecting them. So far, it has been a challenge to generate engagement/feedback from people and that makes it challenging to create/develop this community in a way that fits your needs. Save for a few engaged members, I often feel like I'm shouting into the void. I truly believe we all could benefit so much from the support and connection of this space, so I'm wanting to get curious about what might be stopping us and put on my detective hat to see if we can sleuth it out. But--just like coaching--it only works if ya'll meet me half-way. Because right now, my health can't afford for me to be giving my time and energy to the things people DON'T want/need. So, I would like you all to consider: 1. Would you like this community to continue and (if so) what would you personally need to encourage weekly/daily engagement? 2. What were your initial reasons for joining? What were you hoping to get out of the Queer Career Reinvention Lab free community? You can feel free to send these responses in a DM or we can start a conversation in the comments. After a decade of teaching in higher ed, I know one cannot improve unless they are willing to hear and learn from constructive criticism. This community is only a little over a month old, so ya'll are joining me in the building blocks stage and NOW is the time to practice speaking our needs and put your own building block into the foundation. I'm attaching one of the tips I recorded while I was in the hospital. Just remember, while overcoming powerlessness, it helps to use your limited energy wisely.

Hi everyone, I'm Lizzie! I am going back to school and redefining myself after a few interesting curve balls that life has thrown at me over the past 5-6 years. I've realized that life is too short to waste it in any capacity, let alone jobs that don't give me joy and fill my cup. I have been a teacher for the past decade utilizing my Bachelors in Special Education, and while I LOVE working with the children, I have had a lot of negative experiences working with the adults in the field. I'm going back to school for theatre to follow my passion of making my living as an artist. I have my own photography business (coming up on my 5 year anniversary!) and I am double majoring in Performance and Production and Design to supplement my years of experience as a thespian. My ideal career is having a thriving photography business to supplement my acting/directing career in a Metro area. I hope to act, direct children's theatre, and eventually teach theater/photography at a college. I am also on a huge healing journey as I have experienced a significant amount of trauma throughout my life, and I am a huge mental health advocate.

ALRIGHT YA'LL...IT'S TIME... I've been a part of my fair share of BS communities that you join and then they just fizzle out and die or become a bane to your email inbox. NOT HERE, FRIENDS! That's not why we joined. That's not what our body was telling us when we clicked that link. So, I'm super willing to incentivize engagement. Support, being seen, accountability--these were the reasons many of you said you wanted to be here. So, commit to giving yourself like 30 min/day. Post something, leave some comments/likes/come to the Q&As...whatever you do, become an active member of this community. The more active you are, the more you can get out of it. Now, if you're in high-level need for personalized support, we need to jump on a call and talk about getting into the cohort that starts June 1st: https://calendly.com/deliberatecreator/career-reinvention-conversation If that's not you, but you still want access to as many resources as you can get, I've attached a picture that helps to explain the point system and how to get to the next level and access more resources, including mini 1:1 sessions, work/guidebooks, and other resources. The "likes" are pretty standard--the more posts you make, the more engagements you can get. But just to keep it interesting, you can get more points/likes by making a post about your biggest take-aways from a Q&A session, sharing a screenshot of you sharing the link to our free community with at least 5 friends. And I'll probably think of other fun ways, because obviously, I want all of you to get up to the those higher levels as quickly as possible. Note: more interactive videos/links to be added to each level of the classroom as well! So let's get this party hoppin. Throughout the week next week I'll be posting a poll for feedback on the Q&A time, and other updates about added resources.

You made it! Whether you're just recognizing the burnout, sprinting for the door of your current job, or already out and needing to take those next steps... you're in the right place 🤗 Here's exactly what to do now that you're inside: Start by exploring the community 🥰 Step #1: Introduce Yourself Drop a quick post in the community. Keep it simple: → Where you're from → Your career journey so far → Your first question or feedback No pressure to write a novel. We just want to know who you are so we can support you. 🫶 Step #2: Start With the Foundations Head to the Classroom and dive into the Career Clarity Check--this is going to give you a lot of insight into when/where your career stopped fitting. Next, check out the Career Fit Mini Guide to see what direction would be most aligned for your next steps. Step #3: Book your FREE Queer Career Reinvention Lab Cohort call - https://calendly.com/deliberatecreator/career-reinvention-conversation Step 4: Show Up and Ask Questions - This community is full of people doing the work. - Share your wins. - Share your stuck moments. - We're here to help each other grow 🌱❤️❤️