i'm in graduate school. yes, almost 10 years after i graduated from wesleyan, i am back in school. i'm getting my master's in counseling, and i have to admit, higher education is in fact like riding a bike. sure, i had to get back into the swing of it, but once i adjusted, it's been smooth sailing. i'm actually learning a lot and remembering a lot that i forgot :). each semester i take 2 courses. since this was my first semester, one class only lasted 4 weeks (an orientation class for online education). i'm more than halfway through with my second class, and i have a 99. i was really worried about the idea of taking classes strictly online. i was afraid i was going to be one of those people who had to be in an actual classroom all the time--you know, the traditional brick-and-mortar program like i had in my undergrad days. i surprised myself with how quickly i adjusted to online classes. i love the flexibility of working on school when i want to (as long as i meet my deadlines, which i do), and i enjoy how different the interaction with my classmates is when all we have are our words. it's been really fun to see my classmates take on the topics we study, because so many of them have real world experience in the field and can offer interesting perspectives that i can learn from. i love it. i have recommended online classes to several friends and am a firm believer in the idea.
i'm excited about being in school again too because i think that getting my master's will make achieving my long-term goal easier. once i receive my Master's Degree, i plan to sit for the georgia state licensing exam. my goal is to start a non-profit agency that specializes in working with patients with long-term, critical and terminal diseases. there are many variables involved—insurance and financial issues, the need for proper self-care for the patient and the family, help with obtaining the necessary treatments, and even trauma counseling or crisis intervention. i have seen first hand the need for this program and dream of being able to provide these services to others. i wish to this day that an agency like that had been available to us all those years ago when my mother's illness first struck. mom helped start the MOST group because she felt the need to find a way to provide for others what hadn't been there when she was sick. i'm inspired to do the same thing. putting off grad school right after wesleyan was absolutely the right decision, because being able to be near mom during the last recurrence of her illness and being close enough to be there with her at the end was more than worth the delay. the loss is still raw and painful to me, but her courage and dignity throughout her illness inspire me every day. i know that she never wanted me to shelve my dreams for her sake, and i know that she is proud of me for what i am accomplishing. almost 3 years now she's been gone...it seems so hard to believe. on nights like this, when i'm exhausted and have work to finish, and the thought of phoning it in crosses my mind, i think about mom and what this would mean to her, and i know i could never give it anything more than my best. she would expect nothing less, and i refuse to disappoint her.
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