Mom's in College!

I completed the 2nd course with a 4.0 GPA and am relieved!  The current course starts today, English Composition 1, and is going to be approximately 3 times the writing as the two prior courses, so will be much more work every week!  This will be a challenge for me for the next few weeks because I am working 6 days a week and working from 0930am to 8pm at night for the entire month of December with very little time for anything else.  I did try to get organized this past weekend to get a head start on the busy month ahead. With trying to manage working overtime, completing all my assignments and Christmas, I am feeling overwhelmed. Thank goodness there will be a winter break for college for a few weeks! If anyone else is going through this and has suggestions on how you are managing this, let me know!  As usual when a new course starts, I do feel a bit of angst wondering if I will do well in this course but I will keep trying my best and try not to be so hard on myself. And thank goo

 So far I have been able to maintain above a 95% into the 2nd course, and I'm not complaining! This week, Week 3 , there are two discussions needing to be written by Thursday, and I am one down.  I have to admit I am a bit stressed because I am walking on eggshells where my laptop is concerned and am still in need of advice on getting a new one - still asking for suggestions/advice? anyone?   Also, work has been, well... (long story, ugh) so I am preparing just in case. It is always good to be prepared, and as a friend recently advised, "Get your parachute ready.", because you don't want to be thrown out of that plane without one! I found out from a counselor at a local Job Source place that resumes have changed a bit, and here is the main change: " Objective " is no longer used, it is now called a " Profile Statement "!  I recently found an interesting tool that may come in handy for anyone who is required to write a certain amount of words

Sorry I did not blog since last week, but I waited until receiving my final grade from my first completed course, and... I completed the course with a nearly perfect score so I am so far at a 4.0 GPA ! One course - 3 credits down, 117 credits to go!  I have completed the first week of my current course ( PSY202 ), a Psychology course, and am feeling semi-confident. As always, the quizzes continue to stress me.  But I was able to complete the second quiz with 100%, and turned in all required by today assignments.  The course work load is much more than the first course; double the chapters and much more words required in submitting work.  I will need to amp up my studying time for this course and not be spoiled from only reading one chapter a week.   My biggest obstacle this week and from here out is I dropped my laptop on its side which shoved the adapter cord into the laptop which is causing the cord to not just automatically charge easily but cord needs to be positioned at a perf

Just took the last of two quizzes due today with a 100% ! As you know if you've read my prior blogs, I FEAR the quiz! I know, it's all in my mind and fairly sure it's my "Precision" learning pattern making me want to be perfect and accurate in all I'm doing in this course. Just ask my instructor who I frantically emailed yesterday feeling unsure of what the assignment needed to be turned in by today was asking us to write up, but he put my mind at ease with examples of what he was looking for. Never "fear" your professor or instructor to ask questions to if you are uncertain or need even the simplest explained - that is what they are there for.  I do appreciate my instructor's guidance as well as him personalizing his responses (not "robotic") and including his past errors when he was taking courses; makes me feel he's not perfect and that he has compassion for his students.  Wish he could be my instructor for one of my future cla

Have to say Chapter 3 was most in depth so far, and had 3 quizzes to complete; busy week! I did get a note back from my Instructor and he said   I  was doing very well when I emailed asking if there was extra credit for this course, but he said I did not need it.  This made me feel good to get a positive feedback like that but I am still wanting an even better score yet - that is just me pushing myself to a higher standard.  I think the reason I do that is because I feel like I have something to prove and that is what drives me. Even though this is just the beginning of my four year program, I want to start it off by doing well, and that's a good thing, right? On another note I was able to call into the National Weather service as a T rained W eather S potter ( TWS ) my first severe weather report last Monday; another accomplishment.  So this week has been quite productive!  Let's see what this week brings! As always, feel free to post a reply about anything that's on your

Just completed this week's quiz ( 100% !) and assignment; all turned in early and I am feeling much better about Week 2 then I was for Week 1 .  Not to say this is easy but am just feeling accomplished and getting used to the college life a bit more.  I do have a long-term goal in mind and that is to be in the top 10 percentile of class.  Maybe I want this personally because of not being able to "shine" before and it means so much more to me now; my personal fight.  Does anyone else out there have a "personal fight" too?  If so, what is yours?  This is maybe what drives us to achieve more, become a better person or "shine bright". Fall for me is my favorite season and it inspires me to want to do better things; whether it be to lose weight, be creative in ideas for the upcoming holidays or have a goal in mind for future endeavors. To the future and on to Week 3 my apple cider drinking bloggettes ! ; )

With Week 1 under my belt, Week 2 is under way!  I felt a bit overwhelmed yesterday (life's issues) so I did not study full force after working a full day yesterday so I took a bit of a breather.  It's okay to do this as long as you don't fall behind.  It is better to be ahead of schedule with your assignments I'm finding; makes you feel accomplished and you won't feel rushed or forced to catch up.  Also wanted to remind anyone who is trying to get assistance with tuition fees to check with your employer to see if they have a Tuition Reimbursement program.  My company does and you have to make sure you submit in your forms BEFORE the end of the year. Time flies and you may forget to do this because of the busy holiday season coming up.  Also, found this website to assist " single mom's " for possible scholarships - read through to see if any may benefit you and apply! here is the link: http://singlemomsincome.com/10-legitimate-places-single-moms-can

Forgive me my bloggettes ,  it's been a few days since my last blog.   Have to say I was not certain how my first week would be or what to expect, but I am feeling, so far, confident.  I scored 100% on both quizzes (woot!), so that probably had something to do with boosting the confidence.  My counselor, Alysha, spoke with me yesterday and said she noticed (she keeps tabs on my progress, can't get away with anything these days lol!) I was having a good week.  All I can advise is if anyone else wants to do this is to stay focused, keep organized, complete assignments ahead of time so you are not overwhelmed to get done by end of your week, and remember to take a breather by going outside, breath  the air and look at the sky .  At least that's what helps me.  And remember, if you do become overwhelmed, no matter if it be in college or whatever in life, there is help available.  That help may come by you reaching out to friends in some way, communicating to your instructor o

I'm glad to report an update on yesterday's quiz - grade 100%! That is what I strive for, and believe me when I say there is NO one harder on myself, but myself. I was stubborn as a child, and if told by someone I couldn't do something then I did it anyway! (drove my mom crazy(ier)) However, if you feel self-doubt creeping up on you, remember what I said yesterday, "we are not alone in the universe...".  I may have been wittily referencing that show " The X-Files ", but I was trying to make a point too.  That is why I started this blog because if there is someone out there who starts to feel inadequate about their own journey or uncertain of how to get it started, you have someone to talk to.  I may not have all the answers but I can offer support or research like I did for myself to offer options.  So, who has a question for me? ~until tomorrow my bloggettes ~~

After successfully completing my 1st day Tuesday with the required " Introduction " posting and replies, I studied my first chapter until very late and took 4 pages of notes even!  So today on my 2nd day I decided to take the first quiz but every time I would try to post the online system would go down which was causing me a great deal of frustration (to say the least...).  I made a second attempt at the quiz for 20 questions, and I have to say this: their questions and multiple choice answers did not match with what I had read, studied and took notes of!  I guess this is a new learning curve I will have to get VERY used to... Since this is all new to me what I can share with you is this - if you have Microsoft Word or the like, take notes or key in your information there so if you are trying to do something online you do NOT have to re-write over again! Or even email yourself too if you do not have Word to use.  This will save you hours of frustration and not losing yo

Today is the first day of this exciting journey for me!  I am enrolled at Ashford University in Journalism and Mass Communication for a B. A. degree aiming which will direct me towards a job in Copy Editing or Writing or a media-related position.  It took me a LONG time to get here because of the roadblocks life has handed me.  Growing up in a restrictive religion we were highly discouraged from pursuing a further education.  That was my primary roadblock.  The others had to do with being a stay at home mom supporting my spouse in his work and interests, and the necessity of being that stay at home mom taking care of my first daughter who has a developmental delay disability.  After my divorce, the roadblocks continued.  One day recently I was told the best advice I've received by my best friend Dawn who said this: "Another four years are going to pass whether you enroll in college or not."  I made that decision that day I was not going to let another year pass regardle