The funniest thing about the whole day was one part of the president's speech where he actually --get this-- thanked the parents for their sacrifices! I was laughing so hard that I peed all over the auditorium floor! In reality, my parents are proud of me because I accomplished this myself, without their help. And it wasn't easy. And yes, it took me eight years.
So, where am I headed to next? I would prefer to study at the prestigious Colorado College, but the cost of attending such a school has me clutching the sides of my chair in terror. Unfortunately, there are no full-ride scholarships given to those who have butchered their GPA's by making full-time employment their first priority ever since high school.
Needless to say, someone like me, who loves to learn and dreams of scholarly pursuits, really needs to have a Bachelor's Degree in order to get away from a demeaning future in the service industry. But how does a high school dropout do this in a timely manner at my age? While married? With a mortgage among other bills? In addition to starting a family??
There are many theories on this. I could give myself to the military... or demand that my husband take on a second job... I supposed I could start saying I'm black and demand a full-ride from UNCF... But let's face it -- none of these options are ME! Then, how shall I pay for this endeavor? How do others in my financial situation do it? I refuse to cram two more years of study into another eight.
It is now time for the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT (are you ready for this?): Education is my first priority. That means I am determined to become a "traditional student" in order to get a Bachelor's Degree in three years or less. Here is my plan:
1. I can attend The University of Colorado for 10% of the cost of attending Fancy Schmancy Colorado College. Which is good -- because I didn't want to go to CC anyway. Those people are snobs.
2. I have chosen to enroll in Spanish, a recession-proof major that will open doors in all fields of work.
3. I will go with the teaching option, and begin to force my love of learning onto the kiddies.
4. Here is the scariest part: I will quit working a job [gasp!!!] so I can focus on my education. Going into debt is always scary... but the whole idea of debt is to worry about it later, right?!
The goal here is to approach my education as I have been treating my job. I have a tremendous work-ethic. By never calling in sick or being tardy, by always doing what's expected of me with a smile on my face, I have charmed my employers for 13 years (that's half of my life, by the way). Yes folks, since I was 13 years old, I have been focusing 100% on making money to pay immediate bills. And for the next three years, things are gonna change! I am about to make the biggest lifestyle change of my 26 years out of respect for the future me, in order to earn that BA Degree and secure employment doing something I really love.
I enjoyed reading your description of graduation. I LOVE Spanish and anything related to Latin America. That will be a fun major I think, and definitely relevant. I like the new header on your blog, by the way.
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Congrats on finishing with PPCC! That is awesome that you are going to continue with school; it's not easy when you're married and have other concerns! Just a thought that may or may not be helpful: If you're not going to be working anymore, will the decrease in income qualify you for any grants?
ReplyDeleteYes, I will qualify for more student aid money when I stop working. But not until after Tax Day 2010, since aid this year is based on last year's income. Silly system!
ReplyDeleteI love the new look of your blog! I squirmed over the president's statement that the parents had sacrificed for their kids' graduation day. That statement left us out of his "norm" and it left you out, as well. And I'm sure there were lots and lots of other students there who actually accomplished that feat all on their own. Surely he realizes that not all parents have anything to sacrifice unless he suggests we give up the only thing we have--equity in a house or an invetment in land. When considering how little money this would generate, it would only put one of our children partially through school. Besides, we have our own futures to try to prepare for. We don't want to end up causing our children to sacrifice to take care of us in our old age.
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