Why I went back to school...

Now that I am about to graduate with my Associate's Degree I am thinking about the next phase of my education. I also have been looking back at how far I have come, what my inspiration was for going back to school.

 

INSPIRATION

 

There were three things that inspired me to go back to school in 2006.

 

First, my sister in law, Cecelia, graduated in 2006 with her associate’s degree. I remember watching her graduate and feeling very proud. She made it! I also felt I should be going to school, I should be graduating. That graduation inspired me. She is an inspiration herself because she was able to succeed in school while being a wife and mother of 2 kids plus a few other problems she overcame that I won’t go into detail about.

 

Second, well I am not sure this is an inspiration; maybe, in a negative sense. I hated my job at the time. I was working at an ambulance service doing office work and billing. I thought it would be my dream job but it was not. I found out I hate sitting around an office, doing paperwork. YUCK! I guess there were some aspects of the job I liked but it was not enough. I had to do something different.

 

Third, and this is pretty silly. I was sitting around playing “The Sims 2”. You can have your sim people go to college. So I was playing the game, had a sim in college and I thought, “WTF? Why the hell am I sitting here wasting my time pretending to be in college? I should actually go!” So I went. You can inspiration from the strangest places and circumstances.

 

MORE DECISIONS TO MAKE

 

I had started college a few years ago, so I already had some credits. That made it a little easier to start again. I quit going to school back then because I had to work while going to school and I couldn’t do it. I was not strong enough; my health was not good enough. I actually had to drop a whole semester (winter semester – darn cold) because of my CFS and fibromyalgia. I am so thankful that this time around I am strong enough. I also have more direction than the last time. Last time I wasn’t quite sure which degree to pursue (I had all kinds of thoughts/ideas running around in my head; mostly about how I can make some good money). I was scared that I would not have the energy to go into psychology. Although, when I went back in 2006 I still wasn’t sure, I soon decided that I would pursue a degree in counseling (whether it is through psychology or social work). I said to hell with it! I am going for it. Now that I am about to complete the first phase of my education, I need to decide which school I want to go to and exactly which bachelor degree I want. I have always wanted to go to U of M Flint but now I am having second thoughts. I can go to Rochester College right at my community college campus. It would be cheaper and I would still have classes with Dr. McCain, my favorite prof. She says the Rochester program for Counseling Psychology is a good one. I certainly think it would be easier for me to stay on the Mott campus but I can’t give up the U of M dream. I have much to research and ponder.