get a college degree

At 18, I thought I knew everything and didn’t go to college. Only a short time later, I realized I was wrong. Getting back to a place where I COULD go to college was a long road. I finally got fed up with not pursuing this goal, and at 30 I enrolled in college. A full time job, a bad marriage, divorce and no money…..somehow I navigated it all and got my bachelors degree. It has made all the difference in my life, in my career, in my quality of life, and most of all, in my sense of self. I always had an excuse on why I couldn’t start college, but when it became so important that I could not live another day without it, I found a way. I had to make tough choices along the way, and put many things in a secondary position, but I knew I had to do it. I have never regretted any of the sacrifices. The achievement has been worth every sacrifice.

so i have transferred to another school this year, and for the past nine weeks have been on a break as we move into a new house. i am really looking forward to the next session starting up on the 14th. i ordered my books the other night, so they should be arriving in a week. i am also going to load up my schedule and i shifted my minor concentration from Business to Math, especially as i have been getting more involved in an independent study of chaos mathematics and science lately, i feel that this is a smart move for me in my quest for greater knowledge.

I’ve finished two full time semesters and one part-time. I’ve got that exact same amount left (assuming I don’t screw anything big up).
So I’m half way to my AA degree!!

Lots of hard work, but that piece of paper is worth it!

I was a good student…top 10% of my high school class – took all the advanced placement & honors classes in preparation for attendance at a University (& I’m sure I could have taken my pick at the time, as my SAT scores were amongst the top 10% for the whole country!) But then, I wasn’t emotionally prepared to leave my friends, my home, and (in particular, although I never would have admitted it at the time) my Mom.

So I dropped out of Jr. college after about 3 semesters and went to work full time. Of course, working is an education on it’s own merits, (learning new skills, dealing with office politics, learning to negotiate, etc.), and either way, I was gaining life experience.

What my limited insight failed to demonstrate at the time was that the education I had rebuked as worthless could truly have put me on the path to a higher paying job in a field I love.

It’s a sad fact that my advisor in high school was too old to realize when I told her I wanted a career in writing, she could have suggested a multitude of viable career choices centered on that skill. But instead, she suggested that I change direction altogether, because, as she put it, “You need to have something to fall back on that isn’t in such a risky field.” UGH!!! Talk about bursting my bubble!!!

I think now that the only thing she knew about writing was that the people who could do it wrote books, and it was only the luckiest and most talented of these who found any measure of success in their chosen field, (in finding publishers, agents, and an actual readership, etc.). If only she had considered proofreading, editing, ghostwriting, research, script writing, journalism, etc. – the list goes on and on. But, as she had ALSO been my own mother’s advisor 25 years earlier, I believe she still had the “woman belongs in the home, barefoot and pregnant” -mentality. Why didn’t I just ignore her stupid advice and continue to march to the beat of my own drummer, as I always had before her fateful speech? I don’t have a clue, and if wishes were horses, beggars would ride…so I’ll just have to get over it already and chalk it up to my youthful ignorance.

My obstinate desire to remain ignorant of the facts of life in regards to education and income (until I had reached a riper age more suitable to mature thinking…30?) has cost me more in terms of self-esteem and -respect than simply plugging away at school until I was done (like I should have done) has cost me in income and social standing!

Never fear, though, because I’m not dead yet; I don’t intend to reach the grave in an uneducated state. There’s still time. If some 80-something year old fart can still garner his high school diploma, 60+ years after the rest of his peers have theirs, then I’m sure I can succeed at this goal of mine; to get a college degree!

Now I just have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up!!! ;)

I’ve got 3 more terms (that tranlates into 6 more courses) and I’ll have my Associate’s Degree in Business Management. I will probably continue on to get my Bachelor’s Degree but I want to take a short break since it will be around the holidays and I’m coordinating a multifamily trip to Disney World (see my goal of Disney World for Christmas). Lots of people are telling me not to take the break but I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate on classes the way I’d need to…even with the flexibility of being online and the fact that we’d be on winter break for at least that week.

I hate current test formats.

I’m in my second semester at ACC (Arapahoe Community College) – so far, so good!

I never thought about it, but i’m a dropout. I never finished my degree in college. Yes I 3 years of college under my belt but I never really thought of myself as a dropout, and its been bugging me. So now i’m going to have to finish my degree.

Question is should I finish my Computer Science Degree or go for Project Management. I need to really sit down and figure it out. Math can be a factor as well :)

I got all 4.0 for my first quarter back. Plus I joined a club called DEC am secretary of the club and competed in a state financial analysis pilot winning first. This quarter is almost over yeah almost 2 down.