Starting in January 2015

The last few weeks have been very exciting for me. It started with a job opening where I work. I had very mixed feelings about this job in particular, so I have spent a lot of time talking with our HR department, and it has just spiraled from there.

HR mentioned that for this job, they really want an accounting degree. Then it also came up there are a few other jobs, in the company, that would also require the same degree. One of those jobs really interests me. There is no way to know when it would open up, but over the next few years, there will be a lot of retirements and a lot changes.

So I started looking at school. But its so expensive. So I went back to HR to get his opinion on a few things.

Then I thought about it some more.

Then I went back again to HR to learn more about how they help with tuition.

Then I decided to bite the bullet and meet with an adviser at the local extension of USU.

Let me back up 10-13 years ago. During high school, I took as many college classes as I could. I'm not sure how it works now, but back then, all I had to pay for was my books. My junior year, I could have graduated early; I was even engaged at this point. But I knew if I enrolled for my senior year, I could knock out several more college classes, so I did. That is why I married during my senior year of high school. I wasn't actually attending any high school classes and didn't even feel like I was a part of high school. But I wasn't not going to walk away from the chance at free college classes.

After getting married, I took a few more classes. But it got expensive and life happened. We actually moved away for a few months, and that was all it took to take the wind out of my sails. I was only 2 classes away from having my general studies complete.

Over the years, I've talked about going back to college, but it just never felt right. Money and time could just not line up together and make it possible.

So back to meeting with my adviser. I was worried I would have to start at square one. Retake Math and (gulp) English. I wasn't thrilled, but I really want my degree and am willing to do whatever it takes.

I was thrilled to learn I was wrong. I will only have to retake one class, and that's because the grade isn't good enough for me to get into the Accounting Program.

The next obstacle is figuring out where I stand on math. I have the required courses complete, but in order to get into the Accounting Program, I have to take a Math Placement Exam and achieve a certain score.

Let me tell you: a person can forget a lot of math over 10+ years. I've been known to say "Dear Math, I'm not a physiologist. Solve your own problems." Not that I hate math; its actually my favorite subject. I just have gotten lazy and let the calculator do my work for me. Its been a long time since I needed to know what "x" was.

My adviser was awesome. I actually knew her from when I did my internship there 14 years ago. She helped me work up a game plan. First on my list is to retake Econ (for the 3rd time...) and get a better grade. She told me when to apply for scholarships for spring and again for fall semesters. And she showed me where I can brush up my math skills in preparation for the test. I'm allowed to take it 3 times. After that, I have to take a math classes according to where I fall on my score.

My excuses to wait are gone. I didn't go back because I wanted to be a mother. Now that I know I won't be, I've realized I can channel that energy into my career. We used to live far from the extension, and the drive was just more than I wanted to take on. Now, we live 5 miles away. And the money? I'll take out student loans if I have to, but right now, I don't think that will be likely. We are very blessed to not have any vehicle loans right now, which frees up a lot of room in our budget, which I try to put into a savings account. I think by the time January come, I can have enough for tuition.

Its like there is now a fire in me. I used to spend all of my free time reading. Now, I'm doing math. I decided to start at the dummy level and work my way up, so I'm covering everything. I'm remembering just how much I love math. And hopefully, when the problems start throwing in "x", I will still love it.

I start classes in January and I can hardly wait. I wish I could start tomorrow. But I am worried that by the time January comes, I will have lost my enthusiasm. I wish there was a way to bottle it up and save it for later.

My interview went well, but in the end I didn't get the job. Which I was ok with. I wasn't sure I wanted it in the first place. I only applied because I had heard of others that had applied and I figured I had just as much a chance as they did. When I told Josh I didn't get the job, his response was, "I'm not sure if I should say sorry or not, because I could never tell if you wanted the job."

Now, to just save up this excitement for January...