Going Back to School

I know I said I’d talk about why I’m going back to school, so I figured today was as good of a day as any. So here it goes….

I graduated from university with a degree in 2006. While in school I did two internships, so I had experience using my education in the working world. I was passionate about it and I thought it was what I wanted to do.

After graduating I got a job. It was working with a tough population though. I’d had experience working with other groups, but not this one. Some nights when I’d get home I’d be mentally and physically exhausted.

After toughing it out at that job, I ended up getting the job where I’m working now. I was supposed to work for just a week, but 4 or 5 years later, I’m still there. It’s great to be able to work outside and be in the sun (I even like the rain!). With all the family stuff going on right now I’m pretty lucky that my boss is so understanding and flexible with the schedule.

As much as I really enjoy this job, it’s not what I’m passionate about. I felt like I needed to start moving towards something else, even if I wasn’t totally sure what that something was just yet.

A couple months ago I started really thinking about what I want to do. I narrowed it down to a few things (nursing, kinesiology, and international development), and started checking out programs and universities.

I haven’t made any final decisions about what I want to take just yet, but I in the midst of my research I discovered that the prerequisites for nursing and kinesiology were pretty similar, no matter what school I went to. They both required high school classes that I didn’t take.

So I decided to get those classes done. It was a slightly terrifying decision. When I signed up for my chemistry class my heart was racing. That nervousness made me realize that it was exactly what I should be doing.

I’m a couple weeks into my chem class. There’s been moments of “Hey, I kind of remember this!” as well as “Ugh, I’m never going to figure this out.” I figure both of those are fairly normal, and what counts is that I stick with it and put 100% into it.

Although I still don’t know what degree I want to go for, I figure I’ll have time to make that decision while I take the three high school classes. I feel like I’m moving forward while still taking the time to make a good decision.