So You Want to Go to School? Now What?

During the last five months, I have gone through just about all the steps in order to start school this fall. Having just missed the spring semester when I quit my job, I focused my efforts on making a plan for the fall, which is now fast approaching. I’ve been working freelance jobs and selling baked goods on the side to make some extra cash. My mother has been a huge help and I couldn’t have even started this process without her. I’ve thought, several times, about giving up and looking for another job.

I got my first job at 13 and have been buying things for myself ever since. Moving out at 17, fresh out of high school, has taught me, among other things, to be a strong and independent woman. Living with and relying on my mother at the age of 24 is not where I expected to be, nor is it easy to deal with. However, this is where I am and I am grateful to have the chance to change my life for the better.

When I graduated high school I was going to take one year off, start college, become a journalist and live the life I’d dreamt about. It didn’t happen. Rent, car payments, phone bills, food, road trips, the party girl in me and eventually a child and a grown up life: it all costs money. I worked several different jobs and never started school, despite the several times I promised myself and my family I would.

After making the decision and enlisting my mother’s help, I couldn’t back out now. This is the only way I can even think about having a real career and making a good life for my son. I applied for financial aid right away and racked my brain for months to pick a degree. Everything I have ever wanted to be, with only one exception, works with an associate degree in arts, so that is what I will work towards. Deciding what I ultimately want to be when I “grow up” was always the hardest part for me. I change my mind too often and have never wanted to be stuck with only one choice. Now that I am an adult, I need to narrow my many fantasies and the one thing I know I am good at and will be happy doing is writing; whether I become an author, journalist, editor, etc.

So here I am, financial aid applied for, degree selected, placement exams taken, classes selected, academic advisor seen, pre-school arranged, school supplies bought. Two steps away from completing the new student process. I am a nervous wreck.