This has been the most difficult two weeks of school. I've taken two tests, written a paper on a difficult subject, attended a musical performance that I will also be writing a paper on, and basically stress eaten my way through all of it. School is coming to an end, and just like any other college student at the end of the semester, I'm up because I just finished writing a paper that was due two days ago. Don't panic, it's just the rough draft. I still have another week to make any changes I need to the paper.
I have cried, eaten, consumed more caffeine that should be humanly allowed and tried to sleep more than I was awake. All in the name of succeeding in college. All of this would feel normal if I were 19 and living in a dorm, but I'm not. I'm a married 41 year old mom responsible for 2 1/2 kids. (yeah, the half one only lives here on the weekends for now)
In some ways, I wish I had a little bit longer in school. It has become a part of me. I am making friends, learning new things and feeling amazing. However, school IS ending for the semester. Time for more major tests, final grades and final goodbyes. On May 14, I will return my rented books to the bookstore and walk away for the summer. My only wish is that I were financially able to take the summer off to spend with my family. I will be going back to work full time as soon as they find the hours for me.
Which leads me to another dilemma. The owners have cut back on our hours, so there is no way for me to return to my job full time, which is necessary to cover living expenses for the summer until I get financial aid again in the fall. It's looking a little scary, but life has worked itself out one day at a time for me for the past 41 years, so good or bad, I'm going in head on.
As you can see from the title of this post, it is 3 in the morning. I need to wake the boys up for school in 4 hours, then a few hours after that, I have class myself. I have been up writing a 1200 word paper on my views about restraints in special needs classrooms. A very touchy subject. One very difficult to research and to stomach. I hope I did it justice.
With that, I'm off for a bit of sleep. Good night!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Monkey Wrenches, New Paths and An English Grade
After seeing my faculty advisor, talking to a few other students and a lot of soul searching, I think I've come up with a plan for the rest of my academic career. There was a monkey wrench thrown into the works a few weeks ago, so let me explain the predicament first.
The respiratory therapy program only accepts students every two years. The next time they will accept is in the spring, however, I will not have the correct/enough prerequisite classes in time to be accepted. The next cycle would not start until 2016. That would mean, I would have to take all of my prerequisites this fall and next spring, then wait two years for the next cycle. That isn't in my game plan. I really do want to work as an RT, but those reasons don't confine me to one career option. I want to work in a hospital setting, I don't want to be a nurse and I don't want to do something like medical coding or insurance. I want to work with patients and I want to make a difference in people's lives.
When Tommy was going through his hospital experiences, I knew what I wanted to do with my life, but after he died, I gave up on that dream because I couldn't see myself around patients. I couldn't bear the thought of setting foot into a hospital. After lots of therapy and just flat out suffering and working through the grief, I'm prepared to go for what I love.
Bearing in mind, I still need to talk to the guidance office, I have decided to change my major. I'm going to do the "two and two" program at my current school, then transfer to a 4 year university, probably WKU since they have a local campus that offers what I need. With the two and two, I can get my Associates in Applied Science, then move on to get my Bachelor's in Health Science with a minor in Social Services. With this, I can be a Patient Care Advocate and speak for those who can't. I only wanted to go for RT because, yes, I loved the idea of that kind of career, but also because I thought I could complete everything and be in a job within 3 years. That is not going to happen, so instead of giving up on one dream, I'm tailoring it to fit my life and maybe even go on to do bigger and better things with my life.
I want to make a difference. I want to be able to help a parent that might not know how to navigate the system. I had to get my bearings the hard way and it wasn't an easy feat. As a parent to a medically fragile child, I have experience with that side of the system. As a PCA, I will have the ability to open doors for people that I never knew existed. That fires me up as much as going for my RT, if not more.
On a side note, I got back my English paper... I got an "A".
The respiratory therapy program only accepts students every two years. The next time they will accept is in the spring, however, I will not have the correct/enough prerequisite classes in time to be accepted. The next cycle would not start until 2016. That would mean, I would have to take all of my prerequisites this fall and next spring, then wait two years for the next cycle. That isn't in my game plan. I really do want to work as an RT, but those reasons don't confine me to one career option. I want to work in a hospital setting, I don't want to be a nurse and I don't want to do something like medical coding or insurance. I want to work with patients and I want to make a difference in people's lives.
When Tommy was going through his hospital experiences, I knew what I wanted to do with my life, but after he died, I gave up on that dream because I couldn't see myself around patients. I couldn't bear the thought of setting foot into a hospital. After lots of therapy and just flat out suffering and working through the grief, I'm prepared to go for what I love.
Bearing in mind, I still need to talk to the guidance office, I have decided to change my major. I'm going to do the "two and two" program at my current school, then transfer to a 4 year university, probably WKU since they have a local campus that offers what I need. With the two and two, I can get my Associates in Applied Science, then move on to get my Bachelor's in Health Science with a minor in Social Services. With this, I can be a Patient Care Advocate and speak for those who can't. I only wanted to go for RT because, yes, I loved the idea of that kind of career, but also because I thought I could complete everything and be in a job within 3 years. That is not going to happen, so instead of giving up on one dream, I'm tailoring it to fit my life and maybe even go on to do bigger and better things with my life.
I want to make a difference. I want to be able to help a parent that might not know how to navigate the system. I had to get my bearings the hard way and it wasn't an easy feat. As a parent to a medically fragile child, I have experience with that side of the system. As a PCA, I will have the ability to open doors for people that I never knew existed. That fires me up as much as going for my RT, if not more.
On a side note, I got back my English paper... I got an "A".
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