Commencement

I finished grad school a few weeks ago. It was a big feat and since I know have a little time back I wanted to write about this adventure. Of course, the holidays hit and I was crazy busy; then I wanted to spend time with my favorite guys. Since school starts again Monday I figured I would stop procrastinating.

My parents never graduated from college, so getting my degree seemed like a big deal, mainly because I've always been a pleaser and I wanted to make them proud. College didn't seem like a choice...it seemed like a priority. All of this "pressure" and I still didn't feel like graduating was an accomplishment. I'd been in school most of my life, what was a few more years? Then I joined the "real world" and began working and taking care of myself. I knew that someday I would want to pursue a Masters degree, but that seemed so far away I put it out of my mind. Several years later the state government decided to pass a new law...teachers would no longer be paid according to level of experience. If I wanted to be paid as a Master teacher I had to start on my degree right away. The drawback here...I had just had a baby and was on maternity leave. I applied right away and was accepted into grad school at Ball State.

I spent two years trying to balance being a mom, wife, teacher, and student. It was a struggle. I slacked at doing housework, I didn't cook like I'd wanted, and I had to ignore my son at times when I would have rather been with him. I learned how great my partner was when he stepped in to pick up all the slack I had left behind. He deserves a medal or a parade! I was a less than par teacher; I had to spend extra time on homework and projects instead of spending time on lesson plans and school projects. I wasn't even a great student because I didn't have the energy to put into class work like I had during my undergrad.

At this point I don't know if it was all worth it, but I feel like I did make an accomplishment this time. I chose to further my education. I took a path that will hopefully better my future. And I will be able to teach my children that their mother doesn't back down from a tough challenge, but instead faces it head on and wins. 

As 2013 rolls out I hope that I can use all this "extra" time to meet some other goals I have.