Two Semesters Down

Last night I took my last final for the semester, and just like that, I have two semesters of school under my belt. Time has flown! It seems like just yesterday I was facing the overwhelming prompting that I needed to go to back school.

I confess, I'm taking it slow. Gone are the days of taking 18 credit hours, like I did in junior college. Somehow I was able to handle a high course load, and work 35-40 hours a week. But I didn't have the same responsibilities or stresses back then. I was married, sure, but other than feeding my cat, I don't know what else I really had to worry about.

Now I'm just taking it one semester at a time. I don't want to set aside my family for school. It's important to me that I'm still present as a wife and mother. I've been prayerful about what kind of work load to take, and the Lord has definitely provided me with the direction that I need. Since I start a new semester in a few days (and I'm having a baby, but I'm not talking about that because I promised), I was only going to take one class for Spring semester, but when it came time to register, I had the prompting, "You can handle one more." I began praying about what class to add to my schedule, and the answer came in the form of a course number: FAML 360. When I looked up the course, I had to laugh. It's Family Stress and Coping.

Bring it on!

Just to make things even better, I looked at the syllabus the other day, and it turns out, I already own the book that's required for the course, and it's full of marginalia. What a wonderful blessing!

I am truly loving school. There are things about it that I don't like, of course, (homework, anyone?) but I feel like the things I'm studying are really enhancing my life.

I know that many people do not consider online school "real" school (I'm guilty of having this perspective in the past), but I'm working through an accredited university, I'm networked with some great people in the field, and the courses I am taking meet the criteria set by the NCFR to become a Certified Family Life Educator (there are a limited number of colleges in the nation that meet this criteria). Regardless of what anyone else thinks about my education, I know that I am doing what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. I don't know all the specifics of what I will do with this education in the future, but I know that I am on a course that is correct for my life right now, and that is a wonderful feeling. It's also wonderful that my degree is relevant to my life whether I choose to work or not. I really can't go wrong, so I'm not worried about what to do after I graduate. I think things will fall into place as they should.

A year ago, I had no idea this is where I was headed. I'm still in shock sometimes because any plans I had for school were much farther in the future. I had to really push myself out of my comfort zone to make this choice, and dare I admit? I'm really proud of myself. I'm proud that I received a prompting and followed through. I'm proud that I left my comfort zone because that's a very hard thing for me to do.

I have been very blessed though this journey.