Back in School

I've been thinking about shifting the focus of this blog a bit. I would like it to more honestly reflect what is going on in our lives. I use to just update periodically about what we as a family are doing. That's nice but very superficial. I thought I'd narrow the focus down a bit. Why not make this about a wife & mother going back to school 26 years after graduating from high school. Could be interesting. Let's see if I can make it so.

I just finished my first semester at a local community college. Since I have four kids in four different schools, I started out as a part-time student. I had two classes, psychology and American history. Both very interesting topics to me and I learnedso much. The most interesting aspect of this is not what I learned from the books and instructors however, but from the students around me, students the same ages as my older children. The first classmate I met while waiting in line to have our picture taken for our student ID. Chelsea was 20 and had moved here from Texas to attend another school, but then decided she didn't like it. In the meantime, she had met a boy and they were now living together, so young and on their own, with no outside help from either family. They have financial issues and can't afford to get married, but plan to eventually. Then there's Lianna, a friendly girl, with a big smile who made my first day of class feel so welcoming. We maintained a friendship, sharing notes and giggles during the semester. She is moving on to a bigger university in the fall and seems to have a plan for her future, despite her own mother ruining her credit by identity thieving her. I was shocked by this, wondering how a parent could do that to her own child. I admire Lianna for having such a positive attitude and ready smile, despite what she's dealing with. These are just a couple of the kids I've gotten to know over the last little bit. As I recall things and meet new people I hope to share more. I'm not sure what I expected out of my classmates, a bunch of kids with no worries but grades and entitlement attitudes? I did run across those, but for the most part, most students were in school full-time working part-time. They were struggling to make passing grades and working to pay expenses. And while I had only two classes, they were balancing 4 or more. I enjoyed my semester so much and I look forward to more.