Returning to college - Essay Example

Sonya Lockhart English Composition 121 Narrative Essay Draft Karen McFarland Maureen Duffy April 20, 2009 Preparation for College Studies The intellectual levels of the new generation have raised a lot because of the advanced external environment they are getting. Competition has been tightened everywhere especially in the field of employment. Organizations are looking for highly academic people in order to compete effectively in the job market. It is difficult for a person like me to survive in an organization without having a college degree since educational qualifications are one of the prominent criteria, most of the organizations consider for higher positions.

I decided to return to complete a college degree program, in pursuit of a good job in education. It is not going to be easy for me to prepare myself for the transition from a family person to a student. Though once I was a student, at that time, I never had any constraints for my studies. Well, I did not grow up with good study habits, I used to spend most of my free time playing video games, watching movies and listening to music and hardly doing my homework when I was a student. Since I got married now and have an infant daughter, my burdens have increased a lot.

So the problem is how to prepare myself mentally for the transition from a house wife to a student without sacrificing the needs of my infant and husband. The very first step I am taking is to make sure that, my home is a good place to study. For any positive results to be attained in studying at home, the home environment should be made conducive for thinking. In order to make my home suitable for studies, I have to manage my daughter and husband judiciously. It is clear to me that, I can only concentrate on one thing at a time and for that purpose the home environment should be free from noise and distraction.

The time management of my daughter is going to be a big issue in my pursuit of completing a college degree. She is in her early pre-teen period and hence it is compulsory for me to take care of her because of the presence of mother is essential for the child development at infancy period. So apart from my studies, I have to spend as much as time with her in order to satisfy her needs. It is difficult for me to convince her regarding the importance of my studies because of her small age. It is better for me to utilize more time for my studies while my daughter is sleeping.

I can also ask my husband to take her to some parks or to entertain her in some ways when I am studying. The second challenge of course may arise from my husband. Like all other husbands, he also requires my company in order to maintain the family life on a positive manner. Definitely he may not complain anything since he was very much interested in building a career for me; but still it is my duty to give as much as care to him also. As a wife, I have to assist him in all the family matters.

I cannot shift the family responsibilities fully to him because of my studies, though he may be ready to take most of it. The third and most important thing is the preparation of my mind itself. Even when I was a student, I have not concentrated much on my studies and my attitudes towards studies were not so good at that time. But now since I realized the importance of studies in a professional life I have to change most of my attitudes and traits for attaining the college degree. I realized that, developing good study habits was paramount because through them only I can achieve my goal of completing a college degree.

I know very well that initially, it is going to be extremely difficult for me to back on my studies track after a long break. My mind set had to be completely restructured. All my leisure activities need to be cut down. I know very well that I am attached to so many things now than before and hence I need to manage all those barriers in an effective manner. In conclusion, I have to find a balance between the lives of a student and a family person in order to complete my college degree. Good environment for studies are created and developed by an individual rather than blaming the existing one in order to make excuses for our own failures.

I have to produce a strict time schedule based on my commitments towards, family, husband and daughter along with my studies. The success of my studies lies on how well I tackle all these parameters of my life.