Reasons for Returning to School

Reasons for Returning to School Dolores Hutt ENG 121 Instructor Vanessa Martin January 15, 2012 Reasons for Returning to School After careful thought and consideration, I made the desire to return to school into a realistic goal. I had finally come to the conclusion, that it was time to take control of my circumstances, rather than continue to let my circumstances control me. For the first time in twenty years, I have a window of opportunity to fit a degree program into my daily schedule. Returning to school had always been a desire of mine, but in the past, I did not think I had the time or the money to pursue a degree. I was a single mother, I was working all of the time, my children were very young, and half of my wages went to daycare expenses. Seven years ago I made a decision to pursue a career in Massage Therapy. When the opportunity presented itself to enroll in an accelerated Diploma and State licensing program for Massage Therapy, that was only going to take one year, I jumped on it. Looking back, I realized how fast a year can go by and how easy it was for me to turn a desire into a concrete accomplishment. Having a career in Massage Therapy for the past six years has been a rewarding experience; it has given me that sense of contribution to society and to my community. I have taken much pride in accomplishing my career goals so far, however, through my experiences with working for corporations, businesses, and having my own business, I realize that I am still missing that important element: a business degree. Having gone through that year in school to get my career going, the experience gave me the confidence to overcome the thinking, that I did not have the time or money to pursue a degree, I now believe that the benefits of a degree will far outweigh any outcome of not having it. The benefits of having a business degree to enhance my career are; that a degree will add credibility to my desire to take my career to the next level, and it will open more doors and options concerning high level job positions. I can talk about experience all I want, but at the end of the day, when it comes to running a business, or getting an executive to listen o my ideas, that will help the industry flow more efficiently, I believe that having a degree will help me to be taken more serious. It will also help me take a break from the labor to pursue the creative and business end of things. I am hoping that this degree program will help me to develop the skills I need to keep a successful business running, an d give me the credibility I seek. My first step after obtaining my business degree will be to get a management position in a corporate setting, so I can get the experience I need to have my own company and employees. I believe that a Degree in Organizational Management will help me to accomplish that goal. Experience, though valuable and relevant, is no substitute for a short cut. I have realized that regardless of experience, if I want to be taken serious, having a degree will open doors and add more opportunity and credibility to any experience. So pursuing a degree at this point in my life has become a priority. Returning to school had always been a desire of mine, but in the past, I did not think I had the time or the money to pursue a degree. Any obstacles I had in the past are no longer there. I have an excellent support system at home, a loving and supportive fiancee of six years, a two income household, my career allows me to work part time and make the same amount of money as I did working full time in the past, so I get to spend more time at home, and my children are much older now so daycare expenses are a thing of the past. This online university program offers so much flexibility and affordability, that I really have no excuse to not execute this with full force. For me, the timing is perfect; the time it will take to complete this degree program is short when I compare it to time wasted by not having a degree. I have done this before and I know I can do it again. I keep my goals and plans right in front of me. I know that with perseverance, planning ahead, and just staying positive, that pursuing my degree will be another accomplishment that I can be proud of, and then I can keep moving forward in my life with confidence and ease. I am no longer at the mercy of my circumstances, I have taken control back, and returning to school is exactly where I need to be right now.