Hellooooo everyone!
So I’ve been dealing with a colleague of mine that is looking into starting college and chasing a degree BUT she is a little hesitant to do so. The main reason was that she hasn’t been in school for close to fifteen years so, she’s unsure, nervous.
I get that. I’ve been there.
I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree back in June of 2016. I hadn’t been to school in years. I had a full time job, kids, a wife, and every other adult problem and bill that normally accompanies that. I was unsure at the time if that was the route I wanted to take but in the end I felt like it was the right decision. I wanted my son to know that you have to strive and go through difficult times in order to attain what you want in life.
I never liked school. I used to get straight A’s in elementary but once I hit middle school it was a done deal for me. I would skip classes any chance I had. I was in gifted and honors all throughout school so it wasn’t a matter of me being smart or not it was just that…well it was a mix of things I guess looking back at things. A broken home. A lack of attention. A lack of interest on my part.
It was a cluster bomb of chaos waiting to detonate.
This trend continues on towards high school as well. I left around my 10th or 11th year of school. The pressure of going to school all day and working full time right after started catching up with me. I remember running on 3 to 4 hours of sleep if I was lucky. Keeping up with school, work and going out with friends left very little time for rest. Looking back it was irresponsible and dangerous since I remember falling asleep in my car at red lights or waiting for the train to cross. But as a 17 year old making a decent wage working for an automotive distribution center it was either make bank or finish the conventional way.
Even though some people would say I made the wrong choice, I think I made the choice I needed to make at the time and it worked out in the end but it took me longer. I transferred to an accelerated academy and attained my high school diploma sooner while I worked full time and “made money”.
Fast forward to now. I worked a series of jobs along the way but after a move across the state and a job change I look back and know I made the right choices now.
Was it hard? Yup. Were there times I wanted to quit? Most definitely. Was there a lack of sleep and brain haze? Mhmmm.
Am I glad I stuck with it and finished my degree? Plain and simple, yes.
I feel that even though I work for a company and have managers and higher ups that I still have an advantage in the long run. I feel that a degree, even though school has educated me along the way, can’t replace real life experiences and knowledge in a lot of cases. It does show however dedication, determination, focus, drive, ambition, intelligence, and the list goes on.
Couple book smarts with real life experience and the world is yours. Don’t be afraid of change, of new opportunities, of taking chances. We can’t grow if we stay in the same small pot we’ve always known.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
As always, if you have any questions/comments/concerns/post ideas:
HIT ME UP!
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