Some of you know that I recently found out that I qualified for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. I’m heading back to college!
I finally submitted my application yesterday after finishing my essay. So if you’re bored and have a few minutes to read, here ya go!
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I was eighteen years old when I first stepped onto the campus of the college I had taken months to decide on attending. It never crossed my mind that the journey I was beginning would still not be complete fourteen years later. Life has a funny way of not going according to our plans on occasion but I have found that the adventure my un-planned life has been bringing me is much better than I could ever have planned.
Returning home after having the opportunity to spend a semester in Rome, Italy, I knew I didn’t want to sit in a classroom anymore. I had completed all the compulsory educational requirements and three years of college. I was tired of the traditional classroom and wanted to travel and “start my life”. The only problem was that I didn’t have the means to support that desire. With no savings and no job to speak of I wasn’t going to get very far. After giving it some thought I visited a military recruiter and took the ASVAB test. Sooner than I could blink my eyes I was sitting with a career councilor, receiving my job, taking the oath of enlistment, and being shipped off to boot camp. After graduating basic training I went to Pensacola for job specific training and reported to my first duty station, The USS Vella Gulf, in July, 2000. With only a 12 month tour aboard the ship I never had the chance to deploy and was soon transferring to my next duty station, Ft. Meade in Maryland. I was married after making the move to Maryland and soon welcomed our first child into the world. With the new challenge of being a wife and mother I knew that there would be no traveling to foreign shores and I began the new course life had me on.
I received my honorable discharge in 2004 and began a new job as keeper of our home and stay-at-home mom. We now have five children and I cherish the moments I’ve gained teaching and nourishing our family. In 2006 I began to run a small business online from home using my skills in fiber arts. It has been a great creative outlet and the sense of accomplishment that a small income gives is wonderful.
So, why return to college? Why now? Mostly, it is about finishing what I started. As a mom I know that my children watch and learn from how my husband and I live our lives. They know I attended college after high school, and they also know that I have not yet graduated. After hearing about the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, I knew that it was a wide open door and that now could be my time. Now I am ready to get back in the classroom. I have life experience behind me that continues to shape the woman I am and I wouldn’t trade my “non-traditional” route for anything.
With a hint of trepidation I am excited to get back to school. I am excited to see how I can contribute to a group that will likely be significantly younger than me and I look forward to seeing how they will help me grow as well. The advantage to stepping outside of the traditional path gave me a chance to really see what skills I possess and for which ones I desire more honing.
I’m ready for Towson, is Towson ready for me?
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