It has been nearly two years since I underwent deep brain stimulation surgery.

I can now put my hair up in a ponytail and occasionally feel up to driving.

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I have been offered a visiting professorship at Florida Southern College; however, I can’t handle teaching four courses and driving to campus five days a week.

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I was resolved in the fact that I would most likely never be able to re-enter academia again.

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Understanding this most probable eventuality, I wrote my first novel and taught myself Photoshop while practicing handwriting.  Throughout the day, you can tell how I feel in my voice – often losing voice control and speaking in a whine; and in my handwriting – its legibility and style. When I can’t write in script, I can sometimes write in print, but other times, my handwriting is atrocious, and I must decipher and translate my writing.

For me, art has become a form of therapy and the gamification of education, a mission. I have many dreams and ambitions; however, while the mind is wanting, the body is disabled.

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I need to continue working on my health.