Going Back to School

Yesterday I applied for financial aid and also to a local community college. I’m both excited and scared at the same time.

It has been awhile since I was in school. 1996. Back then I had 45 college credits under my belt and was registered to go back for Fall quarter. It never happened. There were a variety of reasons, some financial (I had just moved out of my parents house) and some mental. School suddenly didn’t seem very important anymore when other responsibilities required money, like rent and bills and groceries, which meant I needed to be working more.

Funnily, rent and bills and groceries are still important, but my priorities need to shift from survival to living, and there is a difference. Surviving means simply getting by, most of the time barely, and usually with assistance. Living means just that. Doing stuff, going places, seeing things. It’s difficult to do that on a part time, minimum wage salary. But, what that part time job does provide is an opportunity to continue my education. Hell, even if this job was full time I’d be able to go to school full time as well, although it’d mostly be online, because I don’t have the stress associated with my previous employers which made me both physically and mentally tired.

So with that, I’m going back to school. I really don’t know what I’m going to do just yet, but I know that I will get my Associates Degree. Maybe during this process I’ll figure out whether to continue on to get my Bachelor’s and possibly Master’s. Maybe during this process I’ll figure out if I want to start my own business or be an asset to someone else’s. Maybe during this process I’ll figure out a little more about me.