20+ years to get a college degree? On paper, that's what my collegiate journey looks like. In reality, I started at the University of Georgia straight out of high school and attended until "life got in the way" when my career took a step outside of being something I did while attending college. In 2018 after a 14 year absence from campus, I was determined to finish, doing so while working full-time to not take out student loan debt. Even more important than getting the diploma that hangs on my wall was the self-development journey I've been on since my first step on a college campus. By working freelance and in the gig economy, I had the flexibility to continue my non-traditional collegiate journey, while also learning even more about leadership, marketing, and how to run a business than I gleaned from my college years and beyond what I picked up along the way in my career. I read voraciously and listened to podcasts, audiobooks, and lectures to "scratch that itch" to develop myself further than ever before.