In 1971 I started Head start (the Kindergarten of the dark ages). Now, forty years later, I have graduated from Henderson State with my BSG. It’s been a long ride and it’s not over yet. I actually love school. My mom had to make me stay home when I was sick—not so my sisters! I loved reading and writing, recess and my friends; it was all good. I was probably the only student who read the entire text books assigned to me within the first month of school.
There were a few teachers along the way who truly inspired me. Mrs. Battles and Mr. Bobby Holcomb were both high school English teachers who pushed and prodded me to be a better student and to dream big. However, as a high school student, it was never discussed whether I would attend college or not. I knew that it just wasn’t in the cards. Financial aid wasn’t as plentiful then as it is now and while I was a good student, I wasn’t the top student. I graduated in the top quarter of my class and was fortunate enough to “win” a scholarship to the local vocational technical school.
Vo-tech provided me with the skills needed to get a job. I loved it. Back then I could type upwards to 150 wpm, do around 15 thousand keystrokes on the 10-key calculator and write 110 wpm in shorthand. My hard work paid off and I earned a Secretarial Science Certificate .These skills, even the shorthand, have helped me get to where I am today.
In spite of a job that paid well, I just wasn’t happy. I really wanted to go to college and in 1987 my boss decided to relocate. This was the proverbial boot in the seat needed to motivate me to go ahead and try to enroll in college (and move out of my parent’s house since I was 20 years old). My original goal in attending college was to be one of the first in my family to get a college degree. Financial aid and 30+ hours per week at Wendy’s saw me through all but one semester of college at HSU. One semester before graduating, I quit to get married and raise a family. Looking back, we might not have struggled as much through the years had I just stuck it out. To top it off, Dana beat me to the degree, not to mention that she was smarter and a lot more driven than I would ever be and went further than I had even dreamed of going.
Learning certainly didn’t stop when I quit school. At one point I worked for a life insurance company (that’s where the shorthand helped) and took several insurance classes–mostly so I could get a pay raise. After PFL, I became an office manager to some small companies and continued in that line of work until an opportunity was given to me to become a real estate appraiser. This required even more education and an exam to qualify for my license. I failed the state exam by one question the first time but passed with low flying colors the second time. I was excited to enter a new field and have continued learning and education in that field for the past 10 years.
Eventually though, all good things come to an end. The mortgage industry crashed and along with it, the majority of my livelihood. Dark days and sleepless nights were the norm. It was time to see about completing school and making a career change. In 2008, since I like to eat, I took a “real” job instead of being self-employed and enrolled in classes. Friday the 13th of 2011 saw the end of a long journey. I have many people to thank along the way, my parents for being supportive and encouraging me to go to school, my friends and family and who kept telling me I could do it, my children for waiting on me when I had to study or take exams; and, last but not least, my husband, who has helped me study and wiped my tears when I thought it was too hard and wanted to give up.It is finished but the battle is far from over. I’ve been accepted into the Master’s program and my goal is to complete it within 18 months or less. I know I can do it and I know it will not be easy. Besides, I have to catch-up to Dana!
The moral? Don’t let old age hold ya’ back!
You go girl! I stopped one class shy of my degree – could kick myself now!
It is never to late to reach out and get your dream. Like you said, ” its not easy”, but you keep pushing and in the end it will all pay off. This story was actually inspiring and could help those people that is going through the same exact thing that you went through. I think that every college student should go by this quote, ” Never let it be said that to dream is a waste of one’s time, for dreams are our realities in waiting. In dreams, we plant the seeds of our future.”
I am a high school senior, work, and am going to college at UCA in the fall. It makes me nervous that I will not be able to do it, and will be on the verge of having having a meltdown everyday. It might never get easier being in school and trying to balance everything in life as a young adult, but that is okay. I learned that not only can I make it through, but that if I do fail I can get back up every time. As long as I keep getting back up it does not matter as long as I keep working to achieve my dream of becoming a Social Worker and working with DHS. Thank You for writing this and letting people know it is never too late, just keep trying.
“You are never too old to follow a dream,” my mom keeps telling me all the time. I know for sure that some members of my family believe that I should be working full-time, and that I should be forced to accept a life of limitation that will not be helpful in a near future. This is something that I have tried with all my might to do just to please others. What I have not realized before is that in trying to make others proud of me to satisfy their own beliefs and values, I had completely forgotten my pride in myself, my values, and my own dreams. I believe that all the experiences I have passed through are life lessons that for the most part can only be learned and utilized after a certain amount of life experience. I feel that, at this age (about to be 30), I am almost there and ready to reach my dreams with a more mature outlook on what I truly want to get for my own life and, for sure I do still value the opinions of others. Certainly, I do not let them influence my intuition and the passion I have for what I am I trying to achieve. Now, reading your post has made me believe more in myself and confirm that never is too late to pursue a dream and achieve it. “Nothing is impossible; the word itself says I’m possible”.
This is such an encouraging story not just for women but for any student struggling with school/life issues. It teaches you that your never to old to educate yourself and to never give up on your dreams. I began school when I was 18 months at First Step (a preschool that works with developmental and learning disabilities). I was a premature baby so it took a little more work for me to get to where I am today. I’ve been struggling a little more this semester then my others only because I’m taking 19 credits this semester alone. It has been very hard but I’ve found that as long as I keep up with the work I can pass every class I have!
This is so true it seems like the only time school and work gets easier is when your graduating. School teaching us life lesson such as learning to manage your time, learning to multitask and also how to adopt to difference issues. I to had to work full-time and go to school full time and also balance time for family and friends. Once you begin this journey it begins becoming easier and easier if you learn to stuck with it. This was a good inspiration story for someone beginning college, school, or vo-tech.