Going Back To School

     Like most people, I spent many years in school. I believe I started in Preschool and went through high school. I went to a number of school over the years. Dickenson Elementary,  Burr Oak Elementary, Eastern Elementary, Northeast Middle School, Godwin Middle and High School and then, 23 years after graduating high school, I became a student at the University of Phoenix.

     November 2012-April 2015 I worked on my Associates of Arts in Elementary Education (AAEE). I finished with a 3.22 gpa. June 2015-May 2017 I worked on and completed my Bachelor of Science in Business with Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship Certificate (BSB/SB and CERT/SBE). I completed these two degrees with a 3.07 and 3.06 gpa. There was no break between them, not sure why there are two different gpa scores listed.

     I got a very late start on college. Thinking back though, I wish I would have had the courage to do this after I graduated high school. Maybe not right after but within a year or so afterwards. I was afraid of many things back then and did not think I would do well, I was a 'D' student in high school and didn't want to fail at college too.

    I made the decision to start school, eventually, when I made the decision to get divorced. I wanted to wait until the divorce was final before I started, I didn't want him to get in the way of the financial aspect of going back to school. In 2012 I made a phone call and got started with the University of Phoenix.

     August 1, 2017, I will begin my next round of classes; Master of Science in Counseling/Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MSC/CCMH). I am looking forward to working on this degree, for many reasons. First and foremost I am often asked for advice and my input on relationships and life in general. I want to be able to give people help that they can learn from and remember. I also want to be able to help myself, have a better understanding of my own personal feelings about my life and how to help myself truly move on within my own life. I have been through a lot in my life, not all bad but not all good either. I have always managed to move forward, through problems, but most of the time I have pushed feelings down and ignored them. I know that in order to help others I have to work on myself too. Another reason for this degree is because I have always been empathetic and very sympathetic. I have always been able to understand how people and think, this will help me when assisting other people.

     My original plan with starting college classes was to become a teacher. Half way through my AAEE I decided that I wanted to reopen my home daycare and use my degree to eventually open a small school for the young children in my care. I made the decision to get my degree in business, to help with owning my own business. I know what needs to be done with the children, I wanted to have more information for the business end, to make money and not just break even. Working on my MSC/CCMH will give me the ability to work with children and adults. Having these three degrees will give me more options than just having one or two. I will be able to use all three of them for the daycare, I could use two of them for a counseling office or use two to three of them in a job outside of my home. My ultimate goal is to be able to work from home, within my own business but having the option for outside work is also a good thing for my future.

     Making the decision to go back to school was an easy decision, once I was divorced. Sticking with it has been an easy decision and making changes in what I want to do has been an easy decision. Other areas have my life have been full of hard decisions, many times I have cried myself to sleep because there was not enough food in the house, I was having trouble paying the bills, I was overtired from working two jobs. I have had problems with people I worked with and wanted to quit but could not because I had children that counted on me for everything. I have struggled with having a job that I did not hate going to every day because I have not been able to do what I wanted to do. I have had to work for other people in places where things were made difficult because there is a lack of basic common sense.

     Anyone looking to find a way to move on with their lives, make their life better for themselves and their families, make that step. Take the path that will lead you to where you want to be. If you want to work your way through the company you work for, make changes in how you view your job, take it seriously and ask what you need to do to advance within the company. If you are just out of high school and many years past, like I was, and have thought about going back to school, do it. If you want to go to school to help with advancing in your current job, do it.

     Believe in yourself and work towards what you want to become.

   
   

   

My Grandson

My grandson on his birth day. The whole day was long and fairly uneventful, as far as births go anyway. 

@ Two weeks old












He is the sweetest baby, when he isn't screaming about needing a diaper change or a bottle. He is now almost two months old. He is smiling more and more every day. He is holding his head up longer and longer every day but still has his "drunk baby" moments. He is pretty expressive with his eyebrows and I think he will be a hand talker. I've never seen a baby use their hand as much as this little guy does. He uses his legs a lot, I suspect that he'll go from crawling to running in a short amount of time. He already has a couple favorite toys, a rattle and some color plastic links. He wakes up happy then gets cranky and wants to nap on someone for a bit.

Him being here was not suppose to happen right now, he was not planned and there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the whole situation. Now that he is here though, everyone feels drastically different. He has caused many sleepless nights the cost of clothes is crazy, thankfully a lot of necessities were received at the baby shower. At this point we have had to put some money into diapers and clothes but for the most part he is set up for a bit before our out of pockets cost go up.

In the long run, we don't know what will happen with a lot of things but we are all glad he is here. He has helped us to all be more calm and relaxed, working to keep a less stressed house for everyones sake.

I was unsure about having a grandchild. I was unsure about being called grandma, but I couldn't think of anything better, so grandma it is. My daughter told me that he wouldn't like me very much because before birth he didn't move much when I was in the room. This little guy loves me as much as I love him. We talk and snuggle on the couch and he likes to spits up on my shoulder, when it isn't covered with a blanket. I am so glad he is here.