Soulology

I didn’t finish college the first time around — but here I am, a decade later, as a 32-year-old Computer Science major 👩🏾‍💻 reclaiming my love for learning. Follow me on my journey as a non-traditional student! 🌻

[soul-ology]

Allow me to reintroduce myself! I'm Jessica,

but you can call me Jess! This page is mostly dedicated to my academic journey, though sometimes I also share:

creative writing

historical facts

wanderlust photography

art

So, rewinding a bit to my bio and the main inspiration behind this blog - around a decade ago, I flunked out of university. A series of extremely unfortunate events made it impossible to finish my studies, and I left after barely completing two years.

Life, however, had other plans. The next 9 years saw me fully immersed in the field of early childhood education, nurturing young minds. It was a rewarding career, but I always knew that I was settling. My desire for learning and personal growth eventually led me to embark on an exciting career switch.

A job contributing to research and data analysis initiatives in the public health sector is what jump started my return to university. The transition into the world of research and data opened my eyes to the immense potential of harnessing information to drive meaningful change.

Now I'm back in university, majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Sustainability and Conservation Leadership! I'm currently in my junior year after recently graduating magna cum laude with my Associate of Science in Computer Science. I've also been an undergraduate researcher for the past year and half.

My academic and research interests lie at the intersection of social and ecological sciences, as well as the public interest applications of technology. I'm especially interested in how data science can support ecological modeling and geospatial analysis. My ultimate academic goal? Completing a Masters of Science in Data Science with a specialization in data analytics.

At the heart of it all, I’m simply someone who loves to learn. I’m drawn to problems that challenge me to think both technically and ethically. I want to use data not just to generate insights, but to tell stories, stories that inform, empower, and reflect the complexity of the human and ecological systems we live within.

If you're up for it, follow me on this path as I chase my dreams. Wishing you all the best in your own educational, professional, and personal endeavors! 🌟

[lemontongues]

shoutout to slow growers, late bloomers, people whose plans got derailed by circumstances beyond their control or their own choices, people who never had a plan to begin with, people who have had to start over when theyre too old to feel like theyre supposed to be where they are, people who cant pretend theyre built for the environment theyre in, and everyone who's not living the life they thought they would. im proud of you for making it this far and i hope you keep going until youre happy ♡

[sweetdreamspootypie]

Do not quit alcohol cold turkey

Do not suddenly stop drinking alcohol as a new years resolution if you have been consistently using alcohol most days

Your body gets used to the presence of the alcohol as a sedative in your system

Suddenly removing the sedative you are chemically accustomed to is like suddenly removing the wall you are leaning on - you will topple over

You brain electricity gets overexcited

This causes seizures

This causes sudden onset dementia (Wernicke's encephalopathy)

This causes brain damage

If you use alcohol often (even in moderate amounts)

Or in large amounts

Or you have ever noticed you get shakey tremors and anxious when you stop drinking

Then your body is chemically dependant and you need to be very careful coming off alcohol otherwise you will cause brain damage

Slowly wean down the amount you drink over days or weeks

Talk to a doctor about your goals to quit and ask about support options

Medically supported withdrawal is a lot safer

If alcohol withdrawal goes badly there is a 15% chance it will kill you.

Do not go this alone

You deserve to be safe

[sweetdreamspootypie]

Please reblog this or other similar posts and talk about it with people around you

Support your friends to be safe

[felinesassosaurus]

Remember the Cold Turkey Rule:

Quitting drugs can make you feel like you're dying

Quitting alcohol can make you actually die

Do No Do This Alone

You Are Worth Helping

[lustingupon]

[aidashakur]

found the loml on tumblr. very suiting that my safe space gave me another safe space but in human form

[soul-ology]

Same! We have been together for 10 years and married for 3 ❤️

[achillesinhighheels]

[soul-ology]

Why didn’t anyone teach me this when I was younger…

[wetheurban]

You owe it to yourself to create a life that doesn’t hold you back. Choose growth and freedom over comfort and familiarity.

[throughkaleidscopeeyes]

The older I get, the stranger it feels having the same people follow you on every app. It starts to feel invasive. I don’t need to consume lives I’m not part of, and I don’t want mine watched that way either. It creates a false sense of closeness that feels like surveillance disguised as connection and familiarity.

[mystusyroom-deactivated20251101]

[twiggy-in-pink]

[drunkharry]

this book website gives you the first page of a random book without the title or author so that you can read it with no preconceptions!!! great for discovering new recs

[achillesinhighheels]

[cottageaesthetic]

[vexheart]

[soul-ology]

9 | 24 | 2025

I bought myself some sunflowers...

over the weekend to boost my spirits and I must admit, seeing them every day makes me smile.

Anyway, I have A LOT to talk about you guys. So, I had a meeting with my research advisor last week that honestly left me spinning, in the best way. I went in planning to talk to her about maybe staying at my current university for grad school. I figured, I know the professors, I know the environment, I already have research here, so it would be the comfortable, straightforward choice.

But as soon as I said that, she looked at me, shook her head, and told me, point blank: “You are too good for this place. You should not sell yourself short. You should not have to pay for a master’s degree.”

She went on to tell me that I have the kind of potential that could take me so much further. She believes that I could be looking at graduate school in Europe, doing fully funded research, earning a stipend, and setting myself up for a future where my work has real impact. She said she can see me thriving beyond my home school. And hearing someone I respect and admire say that, it hit me so deeply.

The truth is, this is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid: studying abroad, being immersed in research, contributing something meaningful to the world. But I’ve also always doubted myself. I’ve told myself I should just be grateful for what I have, that maybe I’m reaching too far. So to have her look me in the eye and say, “No, you’re capable of this. You should go after this,” feels unsettling for some reason.

Right now, my life already looks so different than I once thought it would. And now, I’m realizing that everything I have done and everything that I am setting myself up to do can actually add up to something big. Something that could reshape both my academic career and my personal life.

Of course, this isn’t just about me. I’m married, and my husband is on his own path in STEM. But the thing is, he’s so supportive. He always has been. He’s willing to move, willing to adapt. And that gives me hope that we can build this future together, not just me dragging him along, but both of us growing and expanding in our own ways.

I keep circling back to what my advisor said. I don’t have to pay for a master’s degree. I don’t have to stay small. I don’t have to settle for “comfortable.” I can step into something bigger, something that scares me because it feels like a dream, but that might actually be possible.

And I guess I’m writing this here because I want to remember this feeling. I want to mark this moment where I started to believe maybe I really can do these things.

[academic-vampire]

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔴𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔩𝔦𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔯𝔶

[heylsgowt]