DARE TO BELIEVE ~

You are wondering if returning to college is a smart thing for you to do right now. The economy is going through a great deal, money is tight, the future feels uncertain. Think about that for a second. There is ALWAYS going to be excuses and reasons to not go back to school.

when I told my husband that I wanted to return to college, he said if you can find a way to pull it off, go for it. That is exactly what I did. I knew I was going to have to go into debt to do so, but I have faith that it will be OK. The old saying is very true, “If you want something bad enough, you will find a way.”

If you can dream it, work to achieve it. Bottom line. Visualize it, feel it, speak it into reality.

Going back to college as an older adult is very difficult and can be overwhelming. There is work, family and friends, and commitments, You just have to find time management tools. Use calendars, date books, whatever you need to keep track. You will be fine. You will be better than fine ~ YOU’LL BE GREAT!!!

Enjoy the journey.

Time Doesn’t Matter – JUST DO IT!

This is perfectly stated. I cannot tell you how many times while doing my undergraduate work that I heard people say, “This is going to take me forever, I can’t take three or four classes at a time.” Hearing that often made me feel sad. Why? Because people were putting undue pressure on themselves.  As an adult student you have more responsibilities than just school. Many of you have jobs and families. Some of you are caring for an elderly parent or a disabled child. You don’t have to keep up with anyone but YOURSELF.  You have nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, the opposite is true. You a lot to be proud of. You are still going to college in spite of all the obstacles.

It does not matter how long it takes you as long as you JUST DON”T STOP. You will get there. When you can, take more classes, when you cannot, take only what you can handle. Do not take anything on that will cause you to possibly fail. That defeats the purpose. Do not set yourself up to fail. Set yourself up to SUCCEED! Then when you walk across that stage and hear your name, it will mean even more.

I started off taking one class at a time, then when I felt more comfortable I took two. It wasn’t until my junior year that I could take three classes. Even in my senior year a situation happened that forced me to take only two classes during one-quarter. It actually was the best thing I could do for myself.

Do not listen to the other students bragging about how many classes they are taking. They are not you. You do what is in your best interest. Keep your eye on the prize – GRADUATION! Allow yourself to enjoy this incredible journey. 🙂

Peace

Are you a Caterpillar or a ~ BUTTERFLY~

That huge Boulder in front of you ~ College ~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College can be a ~ ROLLER COASTER RIDE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this roller-coaster ride that we call life, we will experience thrilling highs, and we will experience stomach-dropping lows. When unfortunate situations occur, our natural instinct is to partake in negative thought patterns by stressing, dwelling, or worrying. We are human and these emotions are expected. But, when learning to become in control of our attitudes, we can reduce the degree of our… negative reactions and become more accepting of what’s out of our control. Instead of constantly worrying about what you cannot control in life, work on shifting your focus towards what you can always control: your attitude. Make the choice to be positive today.

Going back to college as an older adult is just like this. You are not just juggling school and a social life. You are struggling with school, jobs, family and friends. There always seems to be a crisis of some kind and they always happen during exam times. There always is some report that MUST be done, the family has something that MUST be done, one of your friends is having a melt down. If you are like me you will want to just crawl into a hole and hide for a little while and let life just get back on track. BUT we know that is not possible. You have to set boundaries. Setting boundaries are not always easy, but they are necessary. If you are going to succeed on this college journey, you do not really have a choice.  Especially if you want to complete school with high honors, not just getting by.

You need to get honest with yourself and accept that you do not have to be everyone’s savior and they have to learn to be their own. From my personal experience, this was really hard to do. My husband and boys were so used to me “taking care of everything.”  I handled all the bills, the shopping, the phone calls, the cleaning, cooking and laundry. When I started my Freshman year, I really thought that I could be “Superwoman.” Well, that lasted about 2 months. I thought I was going nuts. 🙂 Why could I not do all of this? What was wrong with me? I began to doubt myself. Had I taken on too much? Did I really think that I could go back to college and have a family and all the responsibilities of life?  OF COURSE I CAN!  It just required some serious restructuring of my life. I started making lists of priorities. I then sat down with my family and told them what needed to change and the help I needed from them. I also explained my expectations and what was not negotiable.  I was surprised that they understood. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy for them to change. I also had to be patient and understand that they were trying. I had to learn to accept that sometimes dishes were going to be in the sink or the vacuum wasn’t being run every day. I had to stand by my expectations. It got tough at times and the resistance tested me. Eventually everyone got the message that I was serious. 🙂

College is fast paced and often overwhelming. The best way that I explained it was I would show a math book I was studying and tell them that I had 12 weeks to learn everything in that book, not the whole year. Their eyes would get really wide and say ohhhhh, wow. It was really awesome to see their reaction and the light bulb suddenly going off. 🙂

You can do this. No matter what the struggles are. Use the tools the colleges offer to you such as: Mentors, Tutoring, Counseling. Contact an Alumni and connect with them, They are the best people to help you through it since they have already done it. You will be amazed at the trials and tribulations that other students have had to overcome. Please do not allow life’s roller coaster and tests to cause you to give up. You are stronger than anything that comes your way. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!

KEEP GRADUATION ON YOUR MIND! It will be worth every single moment.

Enjoy the journey…….

Peace.

 

I wish I was in grade school ~ When there was NO FINALS! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

Here we go, gearing up for the FINALS! I was thinking about this and I reminisced about how nice it was to be in elementary school because there we NO FINALS! Just playing and having fun! 🙂 WHY CAN’T IT BE LIKE THAT NOW! 🙂

FINALS~ that word sounds so harsh. This is your FINAL chance to prove you learned something. Whew, what pressure. BUT…….Then again, if you did all you were supposed to do during the first 11 weeks of class, it should be a breeze right? Right?

We put so much pressure on ourselves during exams. It’s almost like we don’t trust ourselves. That we don’t believe that we know the material. That the earth is going to open up and swallow us whole for one exam. Think about that.

I do the same thing. I sweat and stress and drive myself crazy during finals. Maybe they ought to change the word from FINALS to ALMOST TIME TO PARTY! 🙂

You have done everything you are going to do and everything that you can do. It is what it is at this point.  Just imagine what you will be doing a week later. Maybe relaxing, getting caught up on family/friend time. Finals will be a distant memory then. It will be time to focus on the next leg of your journey. That may be GRADUATION!~~ It may be focusing on the next quarter of classes, or a new job prospect. THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. Did I just say that? LOL.

Clear your mind, do your meditation, breathe and TRUST IN YOURSELF! 

Good Luck, YOU WILL DO GREAT!

PEACE

Rise Above – NO EXCUSES!! YOU ARE NOT COMMON!!!

Rise Above – NO EXCUSES!! YOU ARE NOT COMMON!!!.

Are you willing to get your hands dirty? YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS!

Are you willing to gedt your hands dirty? YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS!.

The Art of Visualization ~ Keep Graduation in your sights!

The Art of Visualization ~ Keep Graduation in your sights!.

Road to SUCCESS ~ Have you planted your seeds?

Road to SUCCESS ~ Have you planted your seeds?.