Monday, April 20, 2015

#MicroblogMondays: School Thoughts

Last week, I filled out an online survey for the college. Several of the questions focused on the high school years. "What inspired your during those years to pursue a higher education?" "What do you feel could have been different to help inspire you to pursue a higher education?" There was 3 or 4 questions, all very similar to that.

When this semester first started, I felt more prepared this time around. I understood the importance of all of it. I realized that I can not just put homework off until the last minute and fly through on the seat of my pants. So my response to the survey questions was "Nothing inspired me and nothing they could have done would have. Being an adult has been biggest factor."

The first time I was in college, I was also a young newly wed. I was ready to take the world by storm. Over the years, I have seen high times and low times. Nothing has prepared me for college like being an adult has. I'm more responsible now. I'm better at managing my time. I can better understand when I need to turn down something fun, so I can finish an assignment. I'm more established with my finances.

I'm not saying a young person should live a few years between high school and college. If you are able, go to college as soon as possible. Because of all the course I took many, many years ago, I nearly have my Associate's degree. I am hopeful that I'll be able to start the Accounting program this fall. 

But when it comes to life, there is no better experience than, well, life.

Since we're on the subject of school, I have to brag for a minute. I was able to wrap up my Economics class a few weeks early. My official grade isn't posted yet, but I'm confidant it will be an A (or A- at the worst). That's pretty good, considering all I hoped for was a C. I'm pretty proud of myself, but I think the best thing was listening to my husband talk to his grandpa and hearing him brag about me. (He didn't know I was listening.)

I still have two weeks left in my math class. Unfortunately, at this point, a C is what I'm hoping for. I think its party because I was so worried about my Econ class that I focused most of my energy there. But also, a person can FORGET a lot of math over the years. Seriously, I've never needed these skills over that last 13 years, and I don't foresee ever needing them again.

But despite that, I still have hopeful have good news on the math front. I thought I would have to retake a class this summer. Not because of a bad grade, but because it would line me up for the Accounting program this fall. One adviser counseled me to retake the Accuplacer test again and see if I can score well enough to skip ahead. But then, on Friday, I ran into another adviser and she suggested I take the ACT math test instead. She said it was less intense and I could get by with a lower score if I go through that route.

I agreed to try that and asked when the next test was. "Oh, in about 2 hours." Its a test they only offer once a month, so by next month it would be too late. (I need to sign up for summer semester in the next 3 weeks.) So I decided that maybe God had put her in my path for a reason and I agreed to take it. I did a Google search for ACT test preparation and studied off of it until the test. I know I didn't do perfect, but hopefully I did well enough to skip to a higher level.

You can find more of this weeks #MicroblogMondays posts HERE.

2 comments:

Lollipop Goldstein said...

Sending good thoughts for that ACT grade.

So many countries encourage a gap year (or military AND a gap year) to build that maturity pre-college. Add actual work experience and life experience into the mix and you have a leg up on most students.

Jess said...

Congrats on your Economics grade, and hopefully not having to retake the Math class. I agree that as an adult you value higher education more -- I definitely was more invested when I went back to school for teaching and had to finagle it into my work schedule than when I was 18 and tasting freedom for the first time. You sound like you are super hardworking and goal-oriented, and that will take you so far! Good luck with all your coursework and decisions.