As I write this, I am officially one quarter and one week away from my Associate’s Degree. In 13 weeks, I will be done with the biggest thing I have ever set out to achieve.
Next week is the last week of Winter Quarter. I will be so glad to take the last two exams. Statistics and Accounting have been busting my butt all quarter. I should end up with B’s in both classes. I am very proud of those B’s because I usually don’t do well at all in online classes and these two were even harder than most other online classes.
Then a blessed week of Spring Break. The worst part is the ex has my daughter this year while she is on Spring Break at the same time but I imagine the new job (!!!!!) will keep me busy enough that I won’t even notice I’m on break.
My last Spring Quarter starts the first week of April. Ohio decided a few years back that all colleges would go to semesters so transferring from a 2 year school to a 4 year school would be easier. So this will literally be my last Spring Quarter ever. It’s very sad and at the same time, I can’t wait. I have 3 cake classes that I saved until the end on purpose and one class (Organizational Behavior) that may be kinda hard but that I hope is very informative.
And as I’ve close to the end of this journey, I’ve spent a lot of time looking back. Both at what I’ve learned (and forgotten) and how I’ve changed.
I think the most important thing I’ve learned is how to be less Type A. I don’t drive myself near as crazy as I used to about homework and tests and having everything done perfectly right every time.
I’ve learned it’s okay to not know all the answers. Because really, that’s why I was in school. I didn’t know all the answers. I was there to find them.
I’ve learned it’s okay to miss a homework assignment or two when life takes over and there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done.
I’ve learned you can flunk a test and still pass a class. It doesn’t feel good to flunk (and that’s probably the Type A in me) but life goes on.
I’ve learned more about human psychology just from watching and interacting with soooo many other students and teachers than I ever learned from my 5 Psych/Soc classes.
And I’ve also learned that I really am very smart. I do amazingly well with abstract concepts. I created the craziest mnemonics to remember information.
But I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that if I want to hold myself to a higher standard, then I can. Other people may think I’m high-strung (I am), or crazy (yep, that too) but that’s all part of me. I work well under pressure and stress. I know when I’ve had too much and I know what my triggers are. I know how to de-stress and I’ve learned how to ask for help.
Part of me is very sad that my time in college is going to be over soon. It may be temporary, it may be permanent. I am still undecided on if I want to continue with school. Some of that is financial, some of it is the vast amount of time it takes. Some of it is simply the fact that after 3 years of school, I need a break.
Most of me is very proud for having actually finished something.
