Personal Narrative: My Return To College

As a returning student seeking a bachelor 's degree in my fifties, married for thirty-three years, I returned to college when our second born went to first grade, to become a registered nurse. As a typical nurse, I tend to put my needs second. Therefore, I am working toward completing my degree. As I read chapter one in Malcolm Gladwell 's book, the Outliers, I do not agree with Malcolm’s philosophy. While I was growing up; my childhood experiences were not about having choices to practice my talents, but the want and need to be part of a family business.

I was disappointed in myself that I would easily lack when it comes to getting my education. Just when I thought about really giving up a close friend informed me about Job Corps and exactly what it is they do with young adults who are trying to obtain their diploma or to just advance their education. Realizing that without a high school diploma I’m not able to get a job so I really wanted another chance. Once I got here I knew I had to really apply myself like never before and try my best to stick through the program. There are many great opportunities that can really help me with my future.

At the end of the week, I realized that there was nothing to worry about, and that this experience maybe one the best things that happened during these long four years of college. I was supposed to start my clinical rotation in the chemistry department of the laboratory at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital but, due to interference with the

As a fifteen year old, I never thought I would be thinking about college so early, what irony! I stood a little surprised when my teacher gave me a paper which said I earned the opportunity to go to college early. I actually did not know that was possible; I decided to learn a little bit more about the program, Puma College Connection Program. After learning a little more about the program I knew I needed to take advantage of the opportunity. I talked to my parents and they both agreed, so I feel encouraged and hopeful for my future.

The day my world started crumbling down was the day my father called me “childish”. "you 're not ready for college at the age of seventeen and you will either take a gap year or go to a community college not far from home" he said. I know, a community college doesn 't sound bad except i am leaving the part where i have to stay home for another two years because my father dint plan for two more extra kids to go to college. I have lived with my dad for three years and i want to leave already. I need this scholarship because I want to spread my wings and fly, i want to make mistakes and learn from them.

However during my junior year I met a guy, and I quickly fell in love. After his senior year, he quickly left to join the military, as I entered my senior year. While he was away, I wanted to do more for him. Send him packages, letters, and such. Thus came the idea of getting a job.

As an upcoming freshman in college I have realized many things looking back at my high school career, and home life outside of school. I use to wish for time to speed up so I could hurry and become my own person, a young adult and now I will truly miss it but I know my time was well spent because I used it wisely by partaking in opportunities to better myself, and spending my time wisely In and outside of school. I can truly say I tried all throughout school to find new ways to get involved with my school, community, and people around me.

Being halfway through my first semester of college it seems like graduation is so far away, but it is actually closer than anyone thinks. From the second you enter college everyone asks you what you want to do with your degree after you graduate. Trying to figure out what to do after college is always a difficult decision, whether it be to head out into the work force or continue on with our education. As of right now I am stuck on both ideas. I believe I would be happy going out into the workforce and starting my chemistry degree in a lab doing research, but I also think it would be fun to continue my education and go higher with my degree.

I had a goal in life, I had a drive, and I had a support system that wanted me to succeed. I stopped getting in trouble, and focused all my energy within my academics, and it really did pay off. I am now a part of Phi Theta Kappa, with a 3.91 GPA currently, and I honestly could not be happier. It is still a constant struggle every day, to deal with all of my problems without any form of medical help besides counseling, but it’s something I’ve learned to survive

Since last time I journaled, practicum has been advancing very well. I have obtained a total of 140 hours by the end of this week. I am feeling like I am slightly behind in my hours, only because I took reading week off last week. I was conflicted between taking a week off and going home to visit my family or staying in town and continuing practicum to get some more hours. I ended up deciding to take the week off because I was starting to feel very overwhelmed by the weight of the semester and decided to take the week off as a form of self-care for myself.

Without this class I wouldn’t have learned the correct way to email my profesors as well as how to deal with my issues physically and mentally. Overall, my first year in college was a success and I only plan to overcome any challenges life has in store for me. I can’t wait for next semester to meet new professors and classmates. College is amazing and I’m so glad I made the decision to attend and persue my dream career.

I have chosen Janet Bodnar’s article The College Debt Trap for this unit’s discussion assignment. This is the third quarter that I am taking college classes. After I completed the process of applying and enrolling for on-line classes it was now time to figure out how I was going to finance my education. I never knew what a FAFSA was or what it meant. It took weeks to understand the process of applying for financial aid and luckily I now understand how it works.

When I started Wheatmore in 2013 as a freshman I never pictured myself where I am today. Wheatmore is so much different than middle school there is more work, more people and more exhausting but fun all at the same time. Being a freshman I could not wait to turn six-teen to get my license and earn my own money. I remember being so excited when I got hired at Just Save. Now I work two jobs and go to school.

My proudest achievement would be getting into Cumberland International Early College and making it oy my senior year. The three years I have spent at Cumberland International have been very difficult because of many reasons such as being on the campus of Fayetteville State University, taking almost two years of high school in only two semesters, and being pushed to excel from the beginning in order to prepare to take full level college courses by our tenth grade year. Although I struggled during my time at CIECHS it was a truly amazing opportunity to be accepted as the third graduating class of its time. Being at a school that had only been running for two full years has both positive and negative aspects. We were changing the curriculum

At first, I was nervous about the extra workload and how this could effect my grades, but looking back, applying for the honors program was one of the smartest things I could have done. The program offers many opportunities, such as conferences and traveling, to learn more about my major and much more. The honors program asks that we create a thesis in our senior year. I believe that this will be very beneficial in that it will make us well rounded in our subjects of study. It will prove to our peers and future employers that we are educated in our fields and prepared to start working in the real world.