My name is Stephanie Holliman. Everyone calls me Stevi. I sometimes even forget that my real name is Stephanie. I am 25 years old and my major is psychology. I was born and raised in Oklahoma and I could not imagine living anywhere else. I am married with two children. My son’s name is Bentley and he is 5 years old. My daughter’s name is Bransyn and she just turned 1 year old. Mostly everything in my life revolves around my kids.
I am going to be graduating at the end of this year with my bachelors in psychology. I already have an Associates in Applied Sciences in EMS that I got a couple years ago. I am a nationally registered and state certified paramedic but I am no longer working as a paramedic because I decided that I wanted to do something different with my life. That is why I am working towards my psychology degree. I started college when I was 17 years old. I feel like I have been in school for forever but I know that it will be worth it in the end.
My life is not that interesting anymore. I used to play soccer. I still love playing but I am not able to do it as much. Between kids, school, and work there just isn’t much time for anything else. I am okay with that though because things are going pretty good. I am quite content with spending most of my time with my family.
The free time that I get is spent with my children, my nieces and nephews. There is a total of 9 children between my sisters and I. There are numerous days where I watch all of them by myself. We have fun though. We love to play outside and go to the park. I spend a lot of time coloring and playing with play-doh. I love it. It reminds me to enjoy the little things in life.
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| My daughter Bransyn. Personal photo that I took in December 2014 |
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| My son Bentley and me right after playing in the dirt. Personal photo taken in November 2014. |
Nice to meet you, Stevi! I'm also a psychology major who plans to graduate this semester and I've seen a few other psych majors in this class as well. I admire your strength and determination in going back to school. I believe if you aren't happy with what you are doing in life then you should do something else, but that's easier said than done sometimes (especially with two kiddos, who are adorable, by the way!). College is hard enough when you are a traditional student, but I can't imagine how much harder it is when you have a family to take care of as well as school work. You go, girl!
ReplyDeleteHi! I can totally relate to your comment about how you don't have much time to for anything else but your family, school and college. My life is the exact same way. I am also married, like you, with children. I actually have 6 kids though. I loved seeing the beautiful pictures of your kids. They are adorable! We also have the same degree choice in common. I'm a Psychology major too and I should be graduating this May. As were you, I was also born & raised in Oklahoma. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else too. The only times I've ever been out of this state was to visit family or go on a vacation.
ReplyDeleteHey, Stephanie! It’s great to be in class with you. I can’t imagine what it must be like to raise kids, work, and working on a bachelor’s degree – keep up the great work! Your kids are super cute. Also, I think it’s great that you are following your dreams and getting another degree even though it’s currently harder than just working. Your perseverance will definitely pay off and you’re almost done!
ReplyDeleteWow Stevie! I disagree with your life not being interesting. Having 9 kids in your life has to be interesting! Could not even begin to imagine how fun and busy you are spending time with 9 kids. It is cool that you can stay positive about all that schooling. I only have three years under my belt and I am losing my mind already! Congrats on graduating this semester!
ReplyDeleteArgh, I wish we could change your name to Stevi there in Desire2Learn! That is one of the most frustrating things about D2L: even people who never use their first name at all, using their middle name instead, are doomed to be known by their official first name there in D2L. Anyway, your children look adorable: I hope you will find some good stories in this class that you want to share with them! Plus, children's imaginations are LIMITLESS: if you are ever stuck for a storytelling idea, I am sure you could just ask Bentley and he will have all kinds of ideas for you to try! And it sounds like the nieces and nephews could add to the brainstorm of ideas: we should all have child consultants available for this class! Not to mention that they give you an excuse to play with Play-Doh! ENJOY!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am a psychology major. I thought about taking on different major for a while but decided that there are countless career options I can do with that degree. Also, your little girl and boy are very adorable! I used to play soccer but it was a long time ago. I think I played when I was about five.
ReplyDeleteHey Stevi!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter and son are adorable! I am amazed at your ability to juggle school and your kids. I certainly know that I could not do what you do. I have a hard enough time juggling time between school and my social life. I am sure your kids are really proud of you. It takes a lot courage and commitment to go back to school.
I really like your nickname, Stevi, It is kind of different. How did you get it? Did you parents or friends used to call you that and it just stuck?
My mother actually wanted to name me Stevi but my father liked the name Stephanie. So they compromised and my legal name is Stephanie but everyone has called me Stevi my entire life.
DeleteHi Stevi!
ReplyDeleteIt sure sounds like you've got a busy life. My parents made my first name Jorgen (family name) but they've called me Cooper my entire life (my middle name) so I can relate to occasionally forgetting your own name. I have several friends majoring in psychology; it was always interesting to me. I'm curious what you want to do with your psychology degree? My sister attends the University of Minnesota and she's working towards a somewhat obscure degree involving crisis management for teens considering committing suicide that involves a lot of psychology and I know she enjoys them quite a bit!
Hello Stevi, I loved the pictures of your children. Thanks for allowing others to see you personal life. I think that is hard to do, especially when blogging with others. Congratulations on finishing you degree. That is a great accomplishment. It is great that you decided it was time for a career change. Sometimes people feel stuck in their careers and that only leads to becoming complacent. I would suggest changing the color of your writing. It was a little difficult to see the font.
ReplyDeleteHi Stevi,
ReplyDeleteI can relate on being born and raised in Oklahoma! That sounds like quite the career change to go from EMS to psychology. Congrats on being able to do it! I know a lot of people that just get complacent with their job even if they want to do something else. I am very envious that you get to play with Play-Doh on a regular basis.
Hey Stevi! First of all, congrats on (almost) reaching the light at the end of the tunnel! Psychology is such a fun subject to study; I loved taking it a few years ago, and if I would have had time, I probably would have minored in it. Also, your children seem adorable! I can only imagine the fun you guys get to have, especially whenever you have your hands full with your nieces and nephews as well! Best of luck to you this semester, and I am looking forward to reading your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi Stevi! I feel like I've been in school forever too. At least we are both graduating soon though. It sure does seem like you have a busy schedule at all times. Congratulations on deciding you needed to change what you wanted to do in life. I feel like some people have the same thoughts but never actually go through with the change due to fear of change itself. Hope the semester is going well!
ReplyDeleteI really like the optimism you talk about school with. That it will all be worth it in the end and that all the hard work will pay off! It certainly will, there are times when I know I feel like its all pointless but you’re right it will pay off. I also love the pictures you used. You have a beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteHi Stevi, congrats on finishing school up this year! You are almost done. You seem to be pretty busy, but I think it is awesome you are continuing to follow you dreams and getting to study a field you are interested in. It is really cool that you are a registered paramedic! Good luck on the remainder of the semester!!
ReplyDeleteHey Stevi- I admire that you are going to college while having two children. I can barely get myself through school and work minus the munchkins. I am a senior as well. The closer it gets to the end of the semester the more “senior-itas” I began to experience. It has been difficult to stay motivate. I hope you are not having that problem. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. Your children are adorable. Congratulations on almost graduating! College is difficult as is, but juggling kids as well sounds so rough. That's really amazing. Also, I think it's awesome that you realized you wanted something different from life, and went back to school. That can be an extremely difficult decision. I'm sure it will pay off :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the rest of the semester!
Stevi, I totally understand about being a mother, a wife, working, and going to school. You don’t have time for ANYTHING, and when you do have a little extra time, you just want to do nothing. At least, that’s what I do when I get free time :) I have a girl and boy too, but my girl is 14 and my son is 6. Your two are ADORABLE! They will be grown before you know it, so enjoy them!
ReplyDeleteHI Stevi! It's so cool that you're going back to school to change your life! Some of my friends have gotten their Associates in EMS and they absolutely love it. Oh my goodness! Your children are adorable!! My sister has two toddlers and they're a handful. Her life basically revolves around them too. Congrats on graduating soon! I hope this semester is going well!
ReplyDeleteHi Stevi, it is very nice to meet you. Both of your children are very adorable. It is nice that they offer online classes like this so you can spend more time with your children whenever possible. Congratulations on graduating this year. I will be graduating as well and I am looking forward to it. Good luck to you in the rest of your semester and any endeavors you face in life.
ReplyDeleteHey Stevi, thanks for the great intro! You must be super busy, but you seem to be handling things well. I hope you are enjoying your last few weeks of school, I know I'm trying to. Good luck in your future and keep up the hard work!
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me when I come across a blog I haven’t commented on the introduction yet, especially this far into the semester. You seem to be really busy and your major seems really fun too. I’m a psychology minor and I really enjoyed all the classes I took and I hope you enjoyed all of yours too. Good luck with all your adventures to come!
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