Education. To many people I know, the word 'education' is a word that brings to mind political allegiances, tense moments between instructor and parent, and an immense shortage of funding. To me, it is everything. Hope, dream, love, the list goes on and on!
I know it might seem silly, I'm 27 and returning to college. Truth of the matter it is, I worked really hard to get here. When I was fresh out of high school, I didn't really care about college. I thought signing up and registering for classes only served the purpose of getting me into the dorms. I thought living in the dorms would be everything.
Turns out, college was my gateway drug. I lived in the dorms, and never attended a class. Instead I opted for partying and associating with people of the criminal variety. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I ran up massive debts, wasted precious time, and hurt the people who cared about me. Three colleges I signed up for, and failed to attend. I wasted thousands of dollars in student loans, and the opportunity to be there, learning.
This may seem like 'too much information' for some people. I just want it to be known, that I will never take my college education for granted. I quit doing drugs and drinking, I quit hanging out with people that could get me arrested. I made getting back into college my goal from the first day I was clean and sober. There was nothing more I wanted than to have the opportunity to learn and grow. I learned the hard way, that you really don't know what you've got until it's gone.
It took me almost 5 years, but I'm here.
I want to thank you, my fellow classmates, for being a part of this journey with me. I hope to learn from each of you in some way, and hope that you might learn from me, too.
I enjoyed reading your blog post--makes me feel like I'm not alone in going back to school after many years. I had to tear around a bit before FINALLY (at age 35) becoming ready to "learn" and appreciate the opportunity attend college and not take it for granted.
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