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"You need to do something with your life"
After one year of marriage, my wife and I had a wonderful child named Layla who is my inspiration for everything I do. My wife always intended on going back to school when the time was right, but I was still very skeptical and reluctant. One day after a long day's work I came home complaining about the $9 per hour I was making and how I deserved better than that. She looked me in the eyes and said, "You need to do something with your life and get back in school." She asked me if I would go back if she filled out all the paperwork and helped me with the registration process and I gave in and said yes. The day of orientation I was very nervous and a little frightened that I was going to be the oldest person in my classes. After orientation I went home feeling a little better about the whole idea since there were a few people older than me or as old as myself. The first day of school felt weird since it had been so long since I had been in an educational setting, but I made the best of the situation by meeting other students. Interacting with the other students made me feel comfortable and less like I was twenty-six years old. At the time I started school I also had a full-time job working 35-40 hours a week for a computer company and of course had a family to take care of. I thought it was going to be impossible to be a full-time student, full-time employee, and a full-time father and husband. After two or three weeks, I began to see that it is not impossible but very possible to handle all of these responsibilities at once, understanding that failure is not an option and the only way to keep from failing is to succeed with dedication to myself and my family.  Doing homework again was a different feeling because the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was more work, but I actually found it to be almost like a meditation instead of work. It is very important to understand that going back to school as an older student is probably better than going when you are young because you really care about what you accomplish and you can relate the topics to real life situations. If you feel that you cannot succeed at your age as a full-time student because of financial reasons, then you should look into your state's financial aid program and see if you qualify for benefits. If you think that student loans are a bad thing because you have to pay them back, then you should look at the statistical trends of lifetime earnings for citizens who are degree holders compared with citizens who have a high school diploma. The Bureau of the Census reports that a high school graduate earns $1.2 million dollars in a lifetime and a bachelor's degree holder earns $2.1 million dollars in a lifetime. http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf I am now a senior business administration student at The University of Southern Mississippi that holds a 3.5 GPA with a family, a 20-30 hour work week, and still has time to pursue my other love, music. You can do it if you believe in yourself and know that you will be a better person when it is all said and done. Take it from someone who knows from experience and is more excited about education than ever. Return to Continuing Education Stories Menu Return to Inspire Home
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I have been a professional musician (Drummer) since the age of 17 and continue to play when the time permits. I am also a huge baseball fan and love to go to Cardinals games and since I live half a block from the University of Southern Miss baseball complex I go to almost all the games. I enjoy an occasional movie with my wife and daughter but only when there is one worth going to see. I enjoy building and playing on computers and I love my Playstation Portable (PSP) since I am always on the go. Taking my daughter to the zoo and swimming are the main hobbies for the family. Last but not least I really enjoy my classes and am very enthusiastic about higher education.