i look young for my age. i will admit it. i am 24 years old and at times i look like i am still in high school. this is not such a bad thing, when people ask me about school. but i am an honest person. i can openly admit that i am in my sixth year working towards my 2-year degree. i have attented college off and on for those 6 years, but i get so many raised eyebrows. what is wrong with taking our time?
when i first enrolled in college, it was right after high school. i did it solely to appease my family. i was very much against going directly from high school to college, with nothing but a summer vacation! three months is was not a long enough break from 12 years (not including pre-school) of continuous schooling. however, i didn't understand that i make my own decisions, and so i enrolled and hated it...
next thing i know i am taking every other quarter off, not to mention the 2 year long breaks. it was fabulous. although i wish i would have done more travelling, and not gotten into heavy drugs, i thoroughly enjoyed my time off. i returned to school with a refreshed atitude and more focus. i even found my major - accounting. i am happy now, attending school. sometimes i feel a little pressure from my family to hurry and finish. but i am no longer on their schedule. it is my time now....
funny thing is, the school treats me like i don't want to graduate. if i were 30+, returning to school after an extended break, i would be treated differently. but there is a prejudice about a twenty-something taking a long time to graduate. i have heard of, and seen, a few "professional students" but that is not me. i want to be done with school, more than my school wants me out. but i also want to continue to work full-time at my job to keep my health insurance. abd full-time at my job only allows me to attebd school part-time. having a job also helps to pay for school, which is far from free!
i am happy with my life. the only thing that would ease my sscholastic pains (aside from school being free) would be for people (mainly my college's administration) to drop their prejudices. they should respect the fact that i am in school, working hard to finish. so it may take me longer than the standard 2 years, but i have the motivation to finish.
THEY CAN TAKE THEIR "OUR RECORDS SHOW YOU SHOULD HAVE GRADUATED BY NOW" AND SHOVE IT!
i will graduate when the time is right. that is my final answer.