Hello everyone!
I have decided to tell everyone about my struggles with
school including high school and college. I’m not sure where to begin so I
guess I will start with this J
before I got pregnant I attended a well-known high school. I continued to go there
during my pregnancy and after I had my daughter. Being in a high school that
was full of well snooty people while you are pregnant isn’t exactly easy. I
went from good grades and well liked to ok grades and a few friends so after I
had my daughter I entered my junior year of high school I thought everything
would be good but after a while the rude remarks from students and teachers got
to me on top of having a daughter who was constantly sick and the doctors
couldn’t figure out why for a really long time. So I finally asked my mom if I
could go to school at home through ECOT I knew about this online school because
I had two cousins graduate from ecot. So after I talked my mom in to it and she
talked my dad in to it she signed me up to start ecot in the process of me
switching schools my public school decided to press charges saying I was being truant
and I wasn’t. So I had to spend 30 days on probation until I could show the
judge I was doing my work at home and getting good grades once I did that I was
free. I thought going to school at home online was going to be so much easier
when the truth was it was not going to be easier in the way I thought it would
be. I had to try and read and do all of my school work with my daughter with me
it wasn’t like going to classes and having to take her to her grandma’s house
since I was going to school at home I had to handle it all on my own.
Eventually I figured out a good routine and graduated from high school, leaving
my friends, school activities, and somewhat of a social life behind was not
easy but I got threw it because I knew I had to. I finally graduated high
school on time in May of 2008. I knew from there I wanted to go to college. I
had always dreamed of being a nurse or at least I dreamt of doing something in the
medical field. However when I expressed what I wanted to do to my family they
basically talked me out of doing it saying that I would never be able to go to
college for nursing. That I didn’t have what it took. After hearing that over
and over again I started to believe it so instead of doing what I wanted to do
I looked in to other options. I finally found corrections and criminal justice.
I saw there wasn’t much math included and there wasn’t a waiting list so I said
what the heck I can still kind of help people this way so I signed up at the
local community college with a major in corrections. I ended up really liking
corrections I was on dean’s list almost every quarter and when I did my
internships I received excellent evaluations. However achieving this was not
easy what so ever. Once I enrolled in college and started I had family members
that told me they were going to help me as far as watching my daughter. Some of
them followed through and some didn’t making sure I had a babysitter everyday
was a huge struggle and it was very stressful. I even at one point had to go to
my local job a family services department and apply for daycare assistance and I
did that for a little while. Other than worrying about babysitters I would have
to say for me the other stressful part of college was homework, I typically
would get as much done as I could while I was still at the school. However what
I didn’t get done I would have to do at home. So when I got home from school I would
do what I had to do around my house and cook dinner and play with the daughter
then get her bathed and in bed and then that’s when I when I would start on
homework. Which caused me to usually be
up very very late and then I would have to get up very early so I usually didn’t
get much sleep. Red bull became my best friend J
those two things were my biggest struggle during my first year of college the
second year I became pregnant with my second daughter and by this time I had a reliable babysitter and
my school schedule worked around my husband’s work schedule most of the time.
Even though babysitting was not an issue being pregnant at school once again
was hard. I was sick and so tired and I was already tired to begin with so I really
changed my diet and my schedule and that helped if it wasn’t for my husband I wouldn’t
have been able to do it. I was due to have my second daughter during fall
quarter so Instead of taking any time off I took courses online that quarter
still enough credit hours to keep me full time. After I had her I now had more
responsibility and less time. I eventually started again with the cram all of
my work in after the kids were in bed. I still did a lot of work at school but I
always had studying to do. After my second year was done I graduated finally
with an associate’s degree in corrections. I made dean’s list almost every
quarter and was an instructor favorite. I felt really good about myself by the
jobs in my field were almost nonexistent and in my heart I wasn’t truly happy because
it wasn’t what I always dreamed of doing. I enjoyed it yes but it wasn’t a passion.
So I plan to go back to school for what I really want to do which is nursing
and I can’t wait. I know now I can do it and I wish I had this confidence years
ago. So I know all of the struggles first hand. I wouldn’t have gotten through
college if it wasn’t for my husband flash cards and red bull J but I did it and you
can too!
I would love to hear from some of you that have dealt with
struggles while trying to go to school. We need all the support we can get when
we are trying to improve our lives by going to school.
Thanks
