As of today, I will have exactly two weeks left in school. At the end of the two weeks, on December 12th, I will complete my CLEP Prep and have my Statistics Final and that will complete my undergraduate career. I’m 43 years old and I’ve been going to school part time and working full time since 2006. I can’t freaking wait.
This semester has been good and bad. I was able to get classes that met starting at 7:00 pm, which is good for work because I didn’t need to leave early or come in late, like I’ve had to in previous semesters. The workload at the beginning of the semester was very good, but I am definitely feeling the pinch here at the end of the semester, in no small part because of the 17-page take-home stats test I need to hand in tonight. Ugh.
I do homework every weekend, mostly on Sundays. Some Saturdays I spend doing something fun, or lazy, while feeling guilty for not doing homework. I have a tension all the time, as I write this even. I cannot wait for that to be over. Frankly, just having to work my full time job will feel like a vacation. I know, that’s how I’ve felt every Holiday season and summer I didn’t take classes. I don’t even know how someone with kids and a full time job does the school thing.
Having a supportive partner has been crucial for my success. I am so lucky I have a husband who will do the laundry or make me dinner or even grab me a beverage – and often he is the one asking ME if I need anything. When I write reports, Edmund is always my first reader. He has great comments and criticism, and I don’t want to admit it, but he is often right. [Don’t tell him I said that.]
What I look forward to is the following:
- Guilt-free Weekends
- Hanging out with friends
- Going up north on a whim
- Organizing my office (weird, but I am looking forward to it)
- Blogging and Vlogging with abandon
- Catching up on my novel reading, Stephen King books especially
- And reading. Did I mention reading? Something that wasn’t a 300-page treatise on poverty or inequality
- World domination plans coming to fruition (well, of course!)
That said, like I mentioned earlier, if you have plans to go back to school to get your undergrad degree, I totally recommend it. Part of my angst and frustration now is because I am only taking classes to fulfill my Math Minor – otherwise I would’ve gotten my sheepskin last June. [I only had one class to go, and I figured that I would regret it years later if I didn’t go ahead and finish the minor.] And the Senioritis – I have a huge case of it.
What did I learn in college? I learned about Sociology and Mathematics, I learned how to do research, both qualitative and quantitative, and I also learned how to better express what I think. What will be my next task? My next challenge? I’ll be living in the moment, baby. Living in the moment. And saying smart stuff. With my brain.
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