A Bachelor’s for My Kids

When my last semester began, I felt like I was starting the longest semester of my life. I was going to be taking one of the hardest classes in my major. Then I got pregnant about a month into school, and that made the process a bit harder as well. Yet, I can’t believe how quickly that last semester went by. Heck, I can’t even believe how fast college flew by! I can remember going to Idaho for the first time in September of 2014 and feeling like I was somewhere so different from California—and already so much colder than California. Now I am in love with Idaho.

I have always wanted to get a bachelor’s degree. I knew I had to do it. Getting that degree was one of my biggest goals in life. I love education, and I think education is very valuable. I wanted my daughters (and sons) to see that Mom could do it and that they could too. I had to set that example for them. There was a time, after I had my daughter, that I thought maybe I should drop out, but I knew that I couldn’t let myself do that. I HAD to finish school. If I didn’t go for it right then and there, the thought of needing to finish my bachelor’s degree would have nagged me for years until I did it.

It took me a bit longer to finish my bachelor’s degree than I was originally anticipating. I was in school about a semester longer than I should have been. I had also done 12 or 13 semesters; our school offers trimesters so you can do three semesters a year. For about three of my four and a half years in college I was doing school year round, every trimester. It was a grueling process with few breaks. It took me longer because I had a baby, stopped doing classes full time, and took a semester off to, you know, have a baby.

I am going to be honest with you. I don’t plan on using my degree to go and get a job. I have had multiple people ask me what the next step is for me in life. My next step is to be a stay-at-home mom. That’s what I have always wanted to be. I may in ten or so years go get my Master’s; I don’t know. I have no set-in-stone plans as of right now. Right now, I am just going to be a mom and a wife, help my husband with his video production business and focus on what is most important to me.

I do not consider my degree a waste. Not one bit. Further knowledge and continued learning is very valuable to me, and I can use what I learned in my degree every day with my family and with others around me. It also opens the door to more options for myself later on in life if I do want to go into the work force or if I do want to get a Master’s.

This is just an “I am proud of myself” post. But I do hope that someone feels motivated to push a little harder and test their limits in order to reach a goal that they’ve had their whole life. Whatever you want to do is worth it. It is worth it to you, and it is worth it to me. Don’t be afraid to take some risks!