Old Lady Goes Back To School

When I tell teenagers my age, they think I'm a senior citizen. For one thing, I don't look "my age." Most people would say that I'm between 19-25. So when I tell a 15, 16, or 17 year old that I'm 28, their eyes widen and they can't believe it! I understand. When I was a teenager I too thought that anyone over 25 was ancient. 

Just recently however, I was conversing with my Vietnamese nail tech. She told me about her brother who had died of cancer, and she kept on saying that he was "so young." She said he was only 61 years old...

That puzzled me. In America, 28 is perceived as old. In Vietnam, 61 is considered young. That is a bizarre contrast of beliefs. I'm guessing that many factors play in these numbers of norm, such as lifestyle, media influence, and life expectancy rates of different people in differing locations. Whatever the case, at 28 I'm a young adult. I pray that I can see life at and past 61.

Over the next 33 years, I hope to accomplish all of my present and future goals. For the next two years, I'll be pursuing one of my education goals; I'll be working towards a Bachelor's degree at Baldwin Wallace University. My major is Public Relations, with a minor in Marketing. I scheduled my classes at the orientation yesterday, and I'll be a full-time student taking 5 classes totaling 15 credit hours.

Since I already have my Associate's degree, I'll be in the A2BW Program and can earn my Bachelor's degree in two years. I honestly never pictured myself at Baldwin Wallace (BW). I thought I'd end up at Cleveland State, Bowling Green or even back at John Carroll. The campus is beautiful, and it's settled in the small suburb of Berea about 40 minutes South of Cleveland. As you can imagine, I'll be commuting daily, but I lived in Streetsboro once before, and I commuted to Cleveland twice a day. The drive is the least of my worries.

My biggest worry is ensuring that I can pay for each semester. The tuition is about $15,000 per semester. Thankfully, I have tons of financial aid, but my aid doesn't cover my books since I'm a commuter. I was also worried about child care. My son has to be in daycare or in the care of a trusted loved one while I'm in class. Another thing I worried about was working and going to school. Will I be able to make enough money to survive? Will my job work around my school schedule? Will everything work out smoothly?

Answer: Absolutely yes.

I must stop worrying and trust that everything is already in divine order.

Yes, I probably should've finished my Bachelor's degree right out of high school, before I had bills and a child. But I chose a different path. Will this journey be rough at times? Certainly. Will there be days where I feel defeated, confused and hopeless? Most definitely. However, I know the possibilities that come with having a Bachelor's degree. I refuse to live on minimum wage, receiving government benefits for the rest of my life. As long as the Lord gives me strength, health, and sanity, there is NOTHING that will stop me from obtaining this degree.

If I don't have a car by August 24th, guess what? I'll catch the 3 buses and rapid to Berea for class. Rain, snow, sleet, hail or high water will not stop me from succeeding. If I have to take out every loan available, apply for 100 scholarships every semester, and/or work a few more hours per week then so be it. It's only a 2 year sacrifice. It's an investment in my future. It's an opportunity to create stability, gain skills for the benefit of myself and others, and to shine. The #1 Habit of Success is investing in oneself. Even if it does cost an arm and a leg.

College is expensive, period. As I was sitting in the financial aid segment of orientation, the numbers and loan requirements/interest rates made my head ache. Thank God for financial aid, but I don't want my son to ever have to worry about how his tuition is going to be paid. Yes, my son will probably get a full scholarship to any college he attends due to his outstanding academic and athletic skills. But I still want to have enough money to cover his tuition just in case. He's 3 now, and I've already opened an account for him in which I will deposit money into every month. By the time he's 18, he'll have plenty of money for college. If he's on a scholarship, he'll have plenty of money for a new car, a new place, or a trip abroad. He'll know that his old momma prepared for his future.

In my future, I see lots of teenagers. I know I'm going to be the old lady on campus, surrounded by teens getting their first taste of freedom. I saw so many baby faces on campus, that I wanted to start changing diapers! But, you know what they say, better late than never. I may be older than most of the enrolled students, but like I said, NOTHING will stop me from obtaining this degree. No fear, no shame, no ego. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to soak my dentures, soak my feet, and crochet some booties for the grandkids. HA!