My journey in education has been long and meandering. I went to college straight out of high school and dropped out to…um…well…do a lot of drugs, really.
But it’s been ten years since all that went down and today I officially earned my Associates of Science degree from Seattle Central Community College. I’ve already been accepted to the University of Washington in Seattle, for a major in Near and Mid-East Studies while still pursuing my goal of attending medical school.
I am really thankful for the route that I took, hard as it has been. It has given me an extra dose of sympathy, a good eye for bullshit, and a slightly more relaxed attitude. Remember, not all who wander are lost, but we may sometimes become temporarily mislaid.
I left a promising University in my youth due to financial considerations. Got a job in a printing plant. Made Ok money for the time, started drinking/drugging . Got married, had a Kid, Used what University I had to intern in a Musuem… Took courses and such until I had the equivelent of a BA in Museum science. That only took me so far, one divorce and a strong need to make more money (still drinking and drugging) got me into specialty retail.
and now I am almost 50…
and I quit drinking/drugging
Was joking with the human resources manager about my retirement. I said… "well I just want enough to go get a degree in some abstract branch of mathematics (n-dimensional topology)…
She looked me square in the eye and said… “Don’t wait… do it now!”
I’ve got a similar story. Never really got around to “real” college, but I sure got around to getting wasted. I got an AS in Computer Networking in my mid 20s, but that won’t do me much good in attending a university because it’s from a technical college. Still, I want to do it. I turn 30 a week from today, and having that milestone in my very near future is making me think a lot about this stuff.
Congratulations, MerryMagdalen. I hope to be able to post a similar OP someday.
Thanks everybody! I’m really excited to start on the next phase (though the MCAT frankly scares me) but I am really looking forward to my summer break.