In 1993 I set my sights on getting an Associate's degree, took care of that business and walked away with a degree in Photography. In my mind it was a foregone conclusion I would decide what university to attend, take care of that business, and walk away with a Bachelor's degree. I had two brief layovers studying abroad in Europe much to the eternal enrichment of my life. Wanted to go to Europe to study abroad and make the credits really count. Ta-da...goodbye photography major and hello European Studies major. It was a slick switcheroo in my mind. Sadly, a life changing illness derailed all of those glorious plans.
My formal education quite abruptly ended in the Spring of 2000 with most of my life and self as I knew them. It burns something inside when you have a long-term expectation that seems to die a sudden and painful death. I would need to enter the work-force to pay for medical bills and get some kind of health coverage. Luckily I got a great job with a well respected company that provided me with decent pay and phenomenal health insurance.
I went about my life trying to navigate it with these bizarre new limitations in my health and well-being. It certainly has not been easy, was often times dark, but that is a different story for a different day. When I made my way home in 2005 to the literally and figuratively greener pastures of rural Maryland I found a new support network with my family close by. It has helped me tremendously. In the last eight years I have carved out a wonderful career for myself at the local hospital in my chosen field, that as an administrative assistant. With multiple stabilizing forces my life changed and what once was elusive became more obtainable.
Really that unfinished degree with so many credits sitting there unused was like a tick in the back of my brain. It never went away and it surfaced to bother me at different and unexpected intervals.
New educational systems have emerged since my days at university. Amazing, sometimes almost futuristic and alien, educational systems that allow people like myself who live in an outlying more rural location and who work a full-time job to access collegiate education. It was last summer and my 40th birthday was fast approaching. I was planning the big cruise trip and that was exciting, but a flyer in the mail at work, then an email advertisement in my personal email on the same day seemed like a possible cosmic sign.
I explored the University of Maryland University College website and their degree programs. I saw what was available and what might allow me to transfer the majority of my credits over and work towards a degree. Luckily they have a generic Humanities degree that fit for me. I was accepted and enrolled for class in less than two weeks.
I returned to college in August 2013. I took library science and student success classes that not only reminded me of things I had learned in the way distant past (13 years earlier) I was able to acquaint myself with the new online learning environment. It was amazing to learn about the online library. I've decided to go to school "year round". That means 6 classes per year spread out between late January and early December with one month breaks between the semesters. It will help keep me in practice instead of getting lazy and out of practice over the Summer.
A lot of people have asked why I am going back to school for a humanities degree. Am I doing it to further my career or change careers? No. Am I doing it for a raise? No. I'm doing it because that dreamed died, my expectations were shattered, and I was left feeling a bit like a failure. Now, I can say that I had the courage to go back and make it happen. I can resurrect and fix and succeed when for the longest time I had felt powerless. I have more respect for myself. The classes are energizing to my brain. I am thinking critically, interacting collegiately, completing challenging tasks, and it is excellent. Knowledge has intrinsic value. I'm glad it isn't interrupted anymore.
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