Going to college and raising children is a bit like self induced ADD. Maybe even schizophrenia on the really hectic days! As a CCE student and a mother of two girls, my days are dictated by a calendar that’s filled with everything from ballet lessons to exam dates. I never doubted I would get a college degree. My parents are college graduates and they have a genuine love for knowledge that was passed down to me. It was when and how I would earn a degree that I had to figure out.

I waited until my youngest was in kindergarten before I enrolled at Guilford. I couldn’t afford daycare, so I took one class at a time at GTCC until she was old enough to go to school.

I started school this semester and I will never forget that first day of classes. I was so excited to just be with other adults and have a conversation without Spongebob roaring in the background. But it was intimidating too. There I was at this prestigious school with kids who had just come out of high school with SAT scores, transcripts, and skills with computers that blew my e-mail pecking away. I found myself well, terrified.

I knew I was intelligent, but when you spend five years of your life staying home with kids your social skills need to be recharged. I had been perfecting my Candyland game while most of you were in high school preparing for a higher education.

Going back to school has been an adjustment, not just for me but for my whole family. Suddenly, I wasn’t immediately available and that was a big change for Emma and Avery. And judging by the way my living room looks, laundry is a lost cause.

Throughout this first semester there have been struggles and changes. Emma and Avery hear, “Not now, Mommy has to work” a lot. We dine on Hamburger Helper frequently. Instead of folded socks, we have a communal sock basket where all clean socks are thrown in. I conjugate Spanish verbs while breaking up arguments and answering questions like “why does a room echo when there’s nothing in it?”

Getting a college degree is important on many levels. Obviously, having a secure spot in the job market is a big one. But I am also driven towards a career that has meaning, where I can use my voice as a tool to make a difference. There’s so much to do and learn and I can’t imagine a life without a career that will allow me to harness it and do something concrete.

Despite all the changes and difficulties or perhaps because of them I love my life just as it is, right now. I love the way Emma sits next to me when I’m working and do her homework. I love watching my husbands face while he reads something I’ve written for the Guilfordian. I love it when Avery says incredulously, “Mommy’s in a newspaper Emma, she’s famous!”

All of these things sustain me and renew my drive when I’m tired, frustrated, or feeling discouraged. I have my own cheering squad, and that makes me a very lucky person.