by Jennifer Vensel

Created on: February 04, 2009   Last Updated: February 17, 2009

This may be a story a bit out of the ordinary, but a thing or two may be worth hearing about life as an adult college student. This writer was a bit of a career student, until I figured out what I loved. I was living in a one-room apartment among crack heads and sick people, but actually feeling peaceful there. I lived with a boyfriend who loved me when I paid the bills and cooked dinner. I was disgruntled by the whole corporate BS and wanted to start feeling a little better about myself and life. I decided to finish college and get my degree.

I was elated when I got in, and couldn't wait for the new opportunities.

I boarded the city bus and traveled fifty miles a day to get to a Miami University. I lived cheaply on financial aid, and worked during the summer to make up the extra money. I eventually substituted during the year to help out with my expenses. I did not have the burden of a really good job, mortgage,and kids but poorness was my burden and put the two on a scale it will probably be even out.

What I did not realize was I was going to have a beauty complex. It didn't occur to me there were younger girls, who were attractive in college. I was going to have to look at them everyday. This reminded me of my own aging face, I got over it real quick. I exercise, and I eat healthy, so I look a lot younger than my age. The thoughts were still there, but I had more important things to worry about.

The classes themselves were fine. The second time around. I was more relaxed. I had a deeper understanding of things. This helped in believing what was being taught to me.

Studying was a bit difficult. I had to force myself to study. I am not a coffee drinker. It took a lot of chocolate chip cookies, and herbal tea to help me finish. It is important to take care of your wants and needs in a time of force.

A nice thing was I really didn't have to talk to any of the other students if I didn't want to. Everyone was in their own world. Nowadays there a lot of people working and going to school. There were also other older people in my classes. Some I enjoyed talking to and others were just as annoying as people can be in the outside world.

The one thing that I didn't do, and I wished that I had, was take advantages of all the free services. The University can help place you in a job. I strongly suggest making friends in your major and use the job placement office. This way you can take advantages of opportunities. I wanted my degree. That was my goal. I didn't know what job I wanted with the degree, so I did not go after a job before I graduated. This was a big mistake.

The best part of going back to school was finishing. When I got a Bachelor of Arts in English, I felt just as good as everyone else. It was important to me to have it. I love writing, and it was the closest degree to it that I could find. I really don't use it as far as my income is concerned, but it was important for me to get it. It was just a few years in my long life, and now I have no regret. I am glad I did. You should do it too, if you want to.

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