The Feeling of Being Back in School After One Year, Essay Example

I was sick with delirium for eight weeks and hospitalized for four weeks. After this, I took time off from school for a year. I chose to come back to high school because I felt I was missing something from my life. I was brought up to believe that one of the most important things in my life was follow through; meaning, my word. When a person commits to something, by actions or verbally, it’s a contract. Following through with a contract lets people know what kind of character you have: I felt like, not finishing high school was a black mark on my character. I’m seeking to remedy this by returning to high school. I seek to finish what I started, not only for my reputation but for my personal goals and self-confidence.

It has proven to be a challenge: going to school as well as managing my personal life. I have to find balance between homework and actual working. I think that working makes me appreciate what education can get me, or where it can get me. Working a minmum wage job makes me see that there are things I want in the world that are more than what I have right now. Doing both helps me to stay focused. That’s how I make it through: I say to myself that by focusing my attention of school work now, and by cutting my work hours somewhat, it will pay off in the long run. At least, I hope so. That’s another one of my goals. I have to have follow through for both of my commitments, otherwise, it’s a waste of time.

There are other individuals in my program that are near my age (50) but I think I’m the oldest. I’m okay with that – it just means I can offer them sage advice about staying with the program, kind of like a cautionary tale about how best to spend one’s time. Some of them decided to go back to school for similar reasons as mine (meaning, to get a better paying job, or to prove something to themselves about what they’re capable of accomplishing, or their self-worth). Some of them are returning to school in order to prove to their children how important education is.

My expectations before starting school again was that I would be very busy. I would be busy learning (and struggling learning) new material, or re-learning old material. I knew it would be frustrating sometimes because other people are more advanced than I am in some areas, even though they’re younger than me. I told myself that I would prevail against these obstacles and I wouldn’t get in my own way (sometimes I can be stubborn and set in my own ways).

My advice for people who are thinking about returning to school is to not waste any more time. If you know that returning to school is the right choice for you, then do it. Don’t let time, family, money stand in the way. My dad said, “Education is something that no one can take from you.” I believe that to be true. It fosters a growth, and encourages you to experience new things. To me, education is the point of living, at least insofar as I understand that last sentence. Taking high school classes makes me realize how much I still have to learn about the world around me, and how much I want to learn about that world, and my place in that world. It’s something that I don’t believe can be a negative thing. For these reasons, I think people who want to return to school should, period, no excuses. Be your own hero to your own story, or, as Dickens said, “whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show” (Dickens 3).

Works Cited

Dickens, C. David Copperfield. The Harvard Classic Shelf of Fiction: New York, New York. 1997.