An Old Essay

In Sociology class I had to write an essay on why I was in school (community college). It was meant for kids out of the house for the first time, but it was apt for this old woman too. Here it is with all its warts:

Why Am I Here? Sept 10, 2003

It has taken me some fifty-odd years to get here. The path here is littered with many trials—battles won and battles lost, friends remembered and forgotten, family found and family lost. It has been a hard road and it has left its marks on me. Along the way I have learned a few things. I have leaned that happiness is elusive, but attainable. I have learned that sorrow is unavoidable, but manageable. I have learned that contentment can be a close companion. Most of all I have learned that the struggle for achievement is never ending.
Several years ago I had a conversation with my employer about my education. I was lamenting the fact that I had never finished college and gotten my degree. At that time it had been 15 years since I had been in school. He asked me why it was so important to have a college degree. I was doing well, making decent money, and had a good family. I should just forget about college and concentrate on my career. This advice offered from a college graduate and owner of the company. I was an office manager for him and would never advance. I think he liked it that way. I didn’t like it, and I went to night school anyway. Unfortunately, I did not have a plan for my education and I ended up taking a smattering of courses that achieved nothing in terms of a degree. In the meantime, events occurred that lost me that job.
I suppose when I first considered going back to college I still believed in the American dream—at least a little. It’s funny how after years of being kept down, struggling to make ends meet, losing ground year after year to increasing taxes, decreasing wages, and increasing costs that I still held out hope for that dream. It is incredible how ingrained that myth is in our psyches. But with the encouragement and support of my new love and partner, Traci, I came back. And I came to Skyline College.
My immediate goal is to obtain a two year degree. My long term goal is to obtain a four year degree, if circumstances permit. I found that my strengths are in writing so I am majoring in English at present. However, I discovered something incredible this semester, my second at Skyline. I am discovering additional experiences by broadening my course structure—something you have to do to obtain a degree. I love my drawing class and found I can actually draw a little. I run as fast as a crippled tortoise in my PE class but I can out distance kids half my age. Journalism is a new kind of writing for me and I am immersed in it. I have discovered how history can come alive and enrich me in so many ways that I never imagined before. I learned to read as many as four and five books at a time, and it never seems to be enough to satisfy my thirst to discover more. Most amazing to me is my math class. I am actually learning math—and I kind of like it!
My initial fears I had about going back to school so late in my life are a distant memory as I plunge ahead with electric enthusiasm. I am meeting people here that are enriching my life beyond anything I could have hoped for. And I hope I am helping some others as much as they are helping me. Getting a degree will certainly help me in the future. But experiencing and living the vibrant colors of college is reinvigorating me with a magic as powerful as the fountain of youth.