When we reach that milestone in our life, we feel so many things: sadness, and at times grief, over what we think of as wasted youth. We wonder where all the time went. I felt I had not accomplished my lifelong dream of returning to school. I was busy raising a family which dearly love, and had a decent job, but I realized did not find pleasure in that. I was a diligent worker in a dead-end job going nowhere. All the foreseeable future held for me was that of a secretary performing a job I could do with my eyes closed.
My ‘Aha’ moment of change came when my oldest daughter found a job at a private college as their Business Office Manager; she continually prodded me to go back to school. I decided to take a leap of faith and return to school. Therefore, enrolled at the same college. Thereafter transferred to Columbia College in January 2009. There were times I was my own stumbling block. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t ask myself ‘ What have I gotten myself into? ” I look at how far I have come and realize for the first time in over twenty ears that I have come through this process a far better person than when I started out.
Not totally unscathed, however. I remember the first assignment I had in the discussion posting, which consisted of a journal entry. I spent all day writing a log for my first HUMS class. Left my computer on all night with my unsaved work sitting in the discussion posting. When I returned to finished it, received a message that said ‘timed out. ” I lost all my work. I broke down and cried. Was ready to quit school then and there. That was not he last of my blunders, but have learned more than enough to make up for those careless slip-ups.
I wasn’t certain online learning was for me, but having tried in seat and online, I feel online has helped me to become more motivated and figure things out on my own. Upon reaching middle age, I lost my mother, whose was sixty three. It caused me to reflect on all the things I wanted to do in life – things had postponed for one reason or the other. The excuses I used for not returning to school were not having the time, my children still needed me, and so my focus should be on them.
Then I realized I needed to do something for my satisfaction, and getting an education would set a positive example for them. I wanted them to know that they too could follow their dreams and one day have their ‘Aha’ moment. When I began my journey in 2007, did my best to work toward my goal. At times, I could not see the forest for the trees. Now, three years later, can say on July 17, 2010, at Prime F. Osborn Ill Convention Center in Jacksonville, FL. I graduated with a degree in Human Services. My first essay was part narrative and part persuasion.
In this essay, I have revised it to tell my personal story and experiences that lead me to the decision to return to school. I focused on what lead to my desire to want to further my education and I realized that in my previous narrative the small details which were known to me, my audience was not aware of. These I included in this essay. The advice I took on my re-write was that of Dry. Poole, She suggested that I “suggest beginning with a title and a thesis that show the purpose of the essay is to tell a story about discovering your purpose in life anew at midlife. ”
