I know so far I've made it seem like being an adult student is somehow superior to being a traditional student, but today, I'm taking off my rose-tinted glasses. I'm not feeling well, friends. I have been having severe back and neck pain all weekend, and gone sleep deprived since Friday night, so today, instead of attending class, I went to the doctor. I was diagnosed with high levels of stress, anxiety, and a touch of depression stemming from baggage in my past. I was prescribed a muscle relaxer, an anti-anxiety medicine, physical therapy, counseling, and what my doctor calls the 2% rule.
If you all are like me, you know that this is the time of year when stress is at it's max. Teachers piling on the work, midterms, final projects and papers, resume updates, job/internship searching, financial concerns--all of it is at the max right now, especially if you happen to be graduating. I've worked in restaurants for about 10 years now, and I know without a doubt that I never want to work in one again. In order to ensure that, I have been driven to always perform at the peak of my potential to make myself as attractive as possible to potential employers, especially when I know I am competing for jobs against students ten years my junior, with far more creativity and technical skills. It turns out that this has been a detriment to my health, as my doctor has informed me that while what I am suffering is common among 50 year olds, it is a rare occurrence amongst my own age group.
I have taken something away from this appointment that I think is good for all of us. I mentioned earlier that the doctor prescribed me to the 2% rule. If a day is 24 hours long, then we should all be spending 2%, that is half an hour, each day doing something we enjoy, just for us. That, he says, is what makes the other 98% of the day bearable. I enjoy sleeping and watching TV, but I'm sure those are not on the list of acceptable behaviors. What to do, what to do? And even more importantly, when to do it?
I was going to do some reading for History after this, but it's a beautiful day, so I think I'll take a walk instead.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
My Inspiration-Or Why I Knew I Could Do It
My enrollment in Southern New Hampshire University began in January, 2009 within the online program. While I had many transfer credits to my name, my departing GPA at UMass prevented me from joining the day program until I proved myself online. I was 29 years old at the time. For many high school students, it is the social norm to attend college upon graduation. It is not the social norm for 29 year olds to enroll full time on campus. Furthermore, it can be daunting, after all, it had been more than ten years since I graduated high school, and five since I had attended college at UMass, disastrously. So you may be wondering why, after all that time, had I decided to enroll? Well that had a lot to do with my mother, and one really bad boss.
My mother was born in 1954, which makes her 57 years old. She has been a nurse at the Eliott Hospital for my whole life. Back when I was still attending UMass, my mother decided to take a computer literacy class at UNH Manchester. She enjoyed it so much, she took another class, then another, and before we knew it, she was attending full time, and doing well. She didn't let it bother her that most of the students she went to school with were half her age. Se graduated with her BA, and went on to pursue her Ph.D. at the Durham campus.
Meanwhile, I ended up bar tending at a shitty restaurant with a boss who was rude, disrespectful, and just plain mean. He regularly disparaged me and told me that I had no personality. I was fed up. I knew that if I had no real life skills, that I would end up working in a restaurant, being looked down upon by customers and chased around by management for the rest of my life. I decided to make a change, and now here I am, ready to graduate, and interning with a group of very nice people who value me for my skills and abilities, and treat me as an equal deserving of their respect.
This May, not only will I be earning my own BA, my mother will be walking in a ceremony honoring her achievement of Ph.D. Unfortunately, the two ceremonies are being held on the same day, leaving the rest of my family to choose who to support. Let the family fun begin!
My mother was born in 1954, which makes her 57 years old. She has been a nurse at the Eliott Hospital for my whole life. Back when I was still attending UMass, my mother decided to take a computer literacy class at UNH Manchester. She enjoyed it so much, she took another class, then another, and before we knew it, she was attending full time, and doing well. She didn't let it bother her that most of the students she went to school with were half her age. Se graduated with her BA, and went on to pursue her Ph.D. at the Durham campus.
Meanwhile, I ended up bar tending at a shitty restaurant with a boss who was rude, disrespectful, and just plain mean. He regularly disparaged me and told me that I had no personality. I was fed up. I knew that if I had no real life skills, that I would end up working in a restaurant, being looked down upon by customers and chased around by management for the rest of my life. I decided to make a change, and now here I am, ready to graduate, and interning with a group of very nice people who value me for my skills and abilities, and treat me as an equal deserving of their respect.
This May, not only will I be earning my own BA, my mother will be walking in a ceremony honoring her achievement of Ph.D. Unfortunately, the two ceremonies are being held on the same day, leaving the rest of my family to choose who to support. Let the family fun begin!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Introduction to My Blog
My Name is Bridget, and I'm a senior preparing to graduate at Southern New Hampshire University. You may have already known that. You may or may not know that I just turned 31 this month, which makes me about 10 years older than most of my classmates.
There are a lot of benefits to being an adult student. Because I have been out in the world without a degree, I understand the value behind getting one, and getting the most out of my education. Life has, at times, not been easy for me since I graduated high school, and I know I want to make my life better. Additionally, because I am older, I know myself better and have a stronger sense of my interests, strengths, and weaknesses than I did when I was younger.
I went to college straight out of high school--UMass Amherst. My major was chemical engineering because I am naturally gifted in math and science, and at the time, an engineering degree meant $45K right out of school. In high school I took all the art classes offered and even pursued my interests in photography, drawing, and painting outside of the classroom, but I never thought I was good enough to get into art school, so I made what seemed to me to be a reasonable decision.
I hated my classes, had no study skills, and skipped class. I changed my major-to math, my least favorite subject-because I had a lot of credits and a decent GPA in the math classes I had completed by then. Another decision that seemed reasonable, but I failed to consider one thing, myself. I was dedicating myself to something I had no interest in. I never finished my degree.
There is one more benefit to being an older student. I had a lot of fun in my 20's--a lot. I've had all the experiences a college aged student could (should?) ever have. I'm past all that now, and without the pressure to live the college lifestyle, I can really focus on my classes without feeling left out or unpopular. I'm not saying I don't want to make friends, I've made lots of wonderful friends at SNHU, and I will be sad to leave them, but they are not the focus. Making myself a better person, not just financially sound, but truly happy with what I do, that is the focus.
There are a lot of benefits to being an adult student. Because I have been out in the world without a degree, I understand the value behind getting one, and getting the most out of my education. Life has, at times, not been easy for me since I graduated high school, and I know I want to make my life better. Additionally, because I am older, I know myself better and have a stronger sense of my interests, strengths, and weaknesses than I did when I was younger.
I went to college straight out of high school--UMass Amherst. My major was chemical engineering because I am naturally gifted in math and science, and at the time, an engineering degree meant $45K right out of school. In high school I took all the art classes offered and even pursued my interests in photography, drawing, and painting outside of the classroom, but I never thought I was good enough to get into art school, so I made what seemed to me to be a reasonable decision.
I hated my classes, had no study skills, and skipped class. I changed my major-to math, my least favorite subject-because I had a lot of credits and a decent GPA in the math classes I had completed by then. Another decision that seemed reasonable, but I failed to consider one thing, myself. I was dedicating myself to something I had no interest in. I never finished my degree.
There is one more benefit to being an older student. I had a lot of fun in my 20's--a lot. I've had all the experiences a college aged student could (should?) ever have. I'm past all that now, and without the pressure to live the college lifestyle, I can really focus on my classes without feeling left out or unpopular. I'm not saying I don't want to make friends, I've made lots of wonderful friends at SNHU, and I will be sad to leave them, but they are not the focus. Making myself a better person, not just financially sound, but truly happy with what I do, that is the focus.
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