School's Out For Summer

My very first post in this blog was me talking about applying to and getting accepted to Bay Mills Community College’s online degree program.  I was nervous, and anxious to start classes.  I had to take placement tests so the college could figure out what English and Math classes I would be a good fit in.  It had been quite some time since I was in school, and I was scared.  Scared that at 34 I would be judged for finally figuring out I wanted to go back to school.  Afraid that I would fail.  And also afraid because of the stigma of going to not only to online school but online community college.  Classes started May 13^th and ran through August 25^th.  I did not think that this was a rather long time; it looked like (on the calendar) a normal semester’s length of time.  I, also, did not consider the small fact that I would be taking summer classes.  Nor did I think about the fact that I work 40 hours a week and taking 12 credit hours.  Twelve credits did not seem like a full load to me because when I was a freshman the first time, I took 18 and worked.  Boy was I wrong!  I learned a lot about time management, course load, and taking summer classes this semester.

I have always been a huge procrastinator.  Not as bad as some I know, I mean I have never put an entire school project into the night before it was due nor have I ever tried to cram studying all the important information from an entire semester the night before the final.  I just save things for the weekend or the last week that I can.  Let me start out by saying that my goal for each week was to have any assignments and tests completed by Friday.  This way I would be able to have the entire weekend to myself to do whatever I wanted including working on the research paper I had until week 12 to complete in my Psychology class.  Sounds like a good plan, right?  I mean, I was taking Freshman Comp, Psychology 101, and a Microsoft Office class.  Three classes did not feel like a lot when I signed up.  Online classes are hard with a capital “H.”  You miss out on the in-class experience and this causes it to be twice the work.  Microsoft class was super easy (to me) as I was just following the directions in the book.  I easily completed each assignment for this class by Monday, sometimes Tuesday evenings right away.  Then I would move on to English.  That teacher would have us read and take tests on two chapters, one on grammar and one on an essay type or writing style.  Then we would have a writing assignment.  I would read and take the tests for this class, but not complete the assignment until last because my Psychology class required a lot of reading.  Well, as it turned out, the only class that was completed by Friday was Microsoft.  Psychology was Saturday (all day), and I would finish the English writing assignment on Sunday along with the Psychology essay.  Let me just say this, I will never take two online writing classes at the same time!

Ok, so now let’s talk course load for a moment.  My suggestion for those planning of working full time and taking 12+ credits, make sure you really want your dream.  It was hard trying to get through each week of class, just to start again the next week.  The only thing that kept me going, and I am not going to lie here, was the fear of failure.  My thought process was “Oh my!  This is really hard.  Should I drop a class?  No, because that means you are not a full-time student and not one step closer to your dream and a failure!”  Ok so that sounds a little harsh, but I am thinking of the next step and that next step includes transferring out to a four-year college at some point.  A four-year college is about five times the cost of community college (for the same education I may add) and I need to keep up a full course load for the most scholarship opportunities.  Yes, it is difficult and yes, after this semester I learned to be more mindful of the type of classes I take at the same time each semester, but it is all for the purpose of preparing me for the future.  I have proved to myself that not only can I work full-time, but I can also take a full 12 credit load and succeed.  And by succeed, I mean I have a 3.800 GPA at the moment (1 A and 2 A-)!

Finally, I want to talk about summer semester.  Word to the wise, especially if you plan on taking your courses online, do not take 12 credits in the summer!  It sounds like a great plan, but it is really not.  It is EXTREMELY time-consuming.  Next year I only plan on taking 1 class.  I did not have time to really enjoy my summer.  Don’t get me wrong, I had some fun times, but I also had to say no to a lot of things.  Yes, I did two 5ks and a “100 miles in July” challenge.  But let me tell you it was difficult to find the time to fit school in between taking care of the dog and working full-time.  And, of course, my mindset about failure did not help me here, I could have dropped a class or two, but that contributed to my fear of failure.  Sometimes I wish I did not set such high standards for myself.

School is out now (and has been for a week when you are all reading this) so I can enjoy my summer.  All two weeks of it!  I hope to be productive during those two weeks and wish to be refreshed by the time Fall Semester starts up on September 9^th.  Plus side, I already bought all my books, maybe I’ll get ahead….  Maybe not.

Until next time!  Stay Tuned!