*Please note- this blog post was written during my time at Brain Fit Academy Inc. I have since continued this amazing work under my own company- Brain FUNdamentals LLC. I hope you enjoy!

You know when you finish something you've been working really hard on, and when you get to the end you have mixed feelings about it?

Yesterday, I finished my last required course in order to become a Licensed Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultant and with that, comes mixed feelings.

I feel proud of myself for completing the rigorous coursework that was involved. I feel relieved that I get my weekends back and am able to focus more on other areas of my life. I feel excited that I will now have a new licensure that can open up more doors for me. And- truth be told- I'm a little nervous about that too!

And, you know what else? I feel a little sad that it's over. I feel a little sad that I won't be learning from, and spending time with, amazing people from around the globe that also use Brain Gym.

Now, that's not to say that there won't be more learning to come. I can always continue to take Brain Gym classes- in fact, we need to take a certain number of classes to maintain our licensure. But, the rate and speed I was taking them certainly won't be matched again any time soon.

I think that one of the things I enjoyed the most about taking the Brain Gym classes was learning from the other participants. Now, I will tell you, that COVID-19 played a big part in that for me. Due to the pandemic, I was able to take the majority of my required classes online. And since they were online, and since Brain Gym is used all over the globe, I had the privilege of getting to know people from all over. In this last class alone, we had people from Canada, different parts of the U.S., New Zealand and Jordan!

Being able to meet people from all over the globe isn't something I was ever really able to do as a public school teacher. So often, we were on our own little islands in our classrooms. Sometimes, it was difficult to collaborate with the other teachers in our building, let alone anywhere else! Not that the administration didn't work towards the collaboration piece- they did, it was just difficult to make it happen.

Now however, I've started a network of like-minded people- from around the world! I learned from them- tidbits of how they use Brain Gym in their country. Knowledge about how different people present Brain Gym to others. Differing opinions on topics due to the fact that we all look at the world from a different perspective- a different view point (literally) because of our location on the planet. It's very cool, I think- to have this new network that I can call on, and it makes the world feel that much smaller. 

I did it.

I finished my coursework and once I get the "paper" I will be official- I'll be a Licensed Brain Gym Instructor/Consultant. The world is smaller through my eyes and I have mixed feeling about it all.

But in the end?

I'm extremely proud of myself and my accomplishment and I'm ready for the next doors to present themselves.

Bring it on world- let the "Brain Gym-ing" commence!!