I am officially a college graduate! I took my last two undergraduate finals today and I am so happy, relieved, and proud. Yeah, I’m super proud of myself. :)
I went back to school 4 years ago at 27 years old. I had attempted to go a couple times before then, even going so far as to take my placement exams and sign up for classes, but I could never follow through and actually go. I was too afraid of being the old lady in class, of being whispered about, and especially of not remembering how to do simple math equations. After my 27th birthday, I made the decision to stop letting fear be a factor in fulfilling my dreams and living the life I wanted, so with a little encouragement from friends and family, I enrolled. And I went. I went every day and took copious notes and studied my little old lady heart out. Yes, I was sometimes the oldest person in class, I was whispered about many times, and I did forget how to do a few math equations. But I persevered and sometimes I wasn’t the oldest person in class, some of the whisperers became good friends, and I did so well in math, I even became a tutor. And that is how I met my fiancé. :)
I am a very fortunate person and have been lucky to do many exciting things and to fulfill so many of my dreams but graduating from college is easily among my proudest achievements in life. I hope that if any of you are in school or thinking about going to school, or have wanted to go to school for a long time but just keep finding reasons to put it off, you will listen to me when I tell you…go. Go for yourself. You CAN do it. I know you have to work…I had to work too. For the last 7 months I worked 35 hours a week and took 8 units in summer school and 12 units in fall. For the 3 years before that, I was hosting The Dish and could only take Monday/Wednesday classes. My fiancé took 12 units every semester and worked full time for 2 and ½ years. YOU CAN DO IT. Yes, it will be difficult, very difficult. You will lose a lot of social time (shout outs to all my friends I’ve barely seen in the last 4 years!) and you will wonder why you decided to do this whole school thing again. But you will gain so much more in the long run. Stick it out. Persevere. You’ll be so thankful you did. I know I am.
xoxo