It's Done

Last night, I turned in my very last research paper for to complete my master’s degree. My very last assignment. I am so excited. I have never felt less interested in school as I do now. I have been going to school since 2006 so I guess I am kind of burned out. It took everything in me to sit down and write that paper. In between paragraphs, I was on the internet looking at clothes and shoes, on YouTube watching videos, on the phone, lol. I was doing everything but writing that paper, I even feel asleep towards the end. I eventually buckled down and got it done but I am just exhaling right now because I am done! If I could shout, I would. That is how excited I am.

I am thankful to God, too, because I remember back when my now seven year old daughter was around one year old. Back in 2006, four years after I graduated from high school. I was 22 years old. I remember all my peers graduating from college with their bachelor’s degree. During that same time, I was only a few classes into my bachelor’s. I felt so behind. I remember confiding in someone telling them that I felt almost as if I was a failure because I should have my degree by now, too. I have always been a high performer academically with my usual report card being straight A’s from first grade through high school. Out of high school I went into the Army, so I had a year worth of training to attend, including basic training and my job training (AIT). Then since I was in the Army Reserves and not a full-time soldier, I went back home to Alabama after that year of training to start college only to get deployed (stateside) a couple of months later. Another year was spent doing Army stuff. Then pregnancy came. Then I had to find a real job to help support my new family because the one weekend a month with the Army was not paying the bills. Finally, once my daughter was a few months old I felt like I was in a good place to start back taking classes and working towards my degree. I looked up and four years had passed me by. I thought I would never complete my bachelor’s, let alone my master’s.

Obviously, over the years more children came. I now have three children and a wonderful step-daughter. I kept getting promoted into new positions at work with increasing responsibility. Even with more responsibility at home and at work, I still continued to pursue my education. It was not always easy. But as I am finding out with most things that are worthwhile --- parenting, relationships, educations, weight loss; none of those things are easy and I am better person because I’ve had to learn how to push through uncomfortable situations, push through uncertainty and doubt. All the while, God is granting his mercy upon me. God is keeping me and providing and making a way when there was no way. I don’t take the credit for any accomplishments in my life. I just know I am blessed to now be able to say that I have finished an MBA. Praise God!