School+Work=No Life!

It's hard to go back to school. I have a lot of respect for those working adults who decide to return to school and essentially retrain (or those who have had to consider school and/or new training in order to get a new job in these hard times). It's not an easy thing to do.

Once you enter the work force, your mindset changes. You're in the make-a-living-and-pay-the-bills-so-I can-keep-my-apartment/house frame of mind. Your focus has changed. You're worrying about the day-to-day minutiae of house chores, getting Comcast their money by the due date so you can keep your cable, feeding pets, running errands, and getting that latest project at work done on time. If you have kids, you get to add the feeding and caring of your children to that list. Who has time to write a 15-page paper when there's already so much that demands your attention?

That's one of the reasons I find going back to school so challenging. On top of all of the things that I have to take care of on a daily/weekly basis, now I get to add school and the hours I'll have to dedicate to my studies. As my boss told me when I was discussing it with him, "you won't have much of a life."

Luckily, my boss, my mother, and my boyfriend have all been really supportive of my decision to go back to school. My boss is willing to work with me and make my hours a little more flexible if I need it once I start classes. As a woman who has gone back to school to get her college degree, my mother is a great sounding board for anything involved with returning to school. My boyfriend has been another shoulder for me to lean on and listen to me when I worry, and encourage me by saying that I can accomplish this. I have been so blessed with my support system.

I have already registered for my classes. I will be only taking four units my first semester. I thought I would be able to be really ambitious and take six, but my advisor suggested easing into school, rather than jumping in head first. After taking the time to think about some of the things that I've put into words here, I realized that her suggestion would be the smart thing to do. I would hate to over-estimate my abilities and do poorly in classes I need to do well in. So I will get my feet wet and we'll see if I can jump to six units for the spring semester of next year.