My Story I have always wanted to return to school but never got around to it until recently. There are so many reasons why I returned to school but this essay would become a book and I would be typing for weeks. There were many reasons I decided to go back to school. One main reason is the fact that getting my degree is one of the major personal goals I set for myself and not accomplishing this goal would mean failure to me. The second reason I felt returning to school to be so essential was so my family may become more financially stable.
Why I am Attending College I decided to go back to college to get further education. I wanted to set a good example for my kids and show them that their education is very important. My life has been an up and down hill battle until I went back to school. I have been out of school for eleven years now, so just imagine how I feel sitting back in a classroom. When I told my mom that I had decided to go back to school she was very proud of me and told me that I can do it as long as I tried hard enough.
When I know the outcome, it gives me the inner desire to learn. I’ve known for years that a college education will give me a better life as for a career, money, and happiness. This is what motivates me to go back to college at the age of 61. My life is not over, it has just begun. Just like Chris, I have seen that finish line so many times, but there have been things in my life that have knocked me down and I learned from it just like Fred.
So, 3 years later here I am, attending Ashford University working on my BS degree in Social Science and enjoying it. I realized that college is very important and receiving my degree can help me get that great job I have always wanted. I know that college is right for me. I love being in college. I got negative and positive feedback from family and friends, saying that I was too old, I waited too long and that I had my nephew, but I had made up my mind that I was going to do this, for me and my nephew so that we can live comfortably one day.
Due to that I was placed in to “back to the basics” classes, everything I went to Independent studies to get away from. Workforce helped me get started for college and I was eligible for a program to help me get back in to the school life style. Soon I took things in my own hands again but this time I had goal. I still had some fears like “How am I going to pay for all of this”. Asking around for help cleared that up quickly.
It has helped me with the debt that I had prior to returning to school. This started off being the main reason why I decided to return to school but I saw the bigger picture and that was me getting a college degree and making a better life my children. So for me, it is all worth it in the end. While trying to pursue my degree, I know there will be many obstacles in the way such as unsupportive peers and being able to maintain good grades. Some of the strategies are to make sure I study all material as much as I can and turn all assignments in a timely manner.
These 2 pieces of the puzzle provide the ability for me to pay for school and be able to return fulltime. Personal sense of accomplishment and a new career field are the other reasons I have decided to complete my degree. I was tired of putting some college down when filling out job applications and responding to interview questions. I would like to state this degree is completed not halfway done. In addition I would be the first in my family to graduate college.
So I studied and studied and in one try I passed the GED test. After that I felt like I accomplished something very important to me and my parents. But off course after I got my GED I went back to just working and lost the persistence I had in going to school. So 4 years passed since I got my GED and thought that this can’t be all for me and there was something I was meant to do. That’s when I decided that I needed a future where I had a career so I went to ITT Technical Institute to check it out and now almost 2 years later I’m about to graduate.
Like everyone who decides to return to school I would like a better job, better pay and of course a college degree. I have always wanted to return to school but never got around to it until recently. There were many reasons I decided to go back to school. One main reason is the fact that
I wanted to obtain my degree to be somebody that my kids could look up to. I wanted to lead by example, we often don’t realize that showing our kids its possible and telling them makes a big difference. I want them to see that as a mom I was capable of doing it and balancing work, school and caring for them and obtaining a degree is possible. Wanting a career and not a job was always possible but the difference in the two was that I needed a college education. Obtain my degree would allow me to achieve my goals in life.