Single Mom and Going Back to School Essay

Going back to college after you have been out of school for quite a few years, had three children, been married, and divorced is a lot harder than I ever imagined. It takes hard work, dedication, and missing out on the little things previously taken for granted. I miss taking naps the most. I believe if you can tough it out through the worst days, you can finish school and provide a better life for your children and yourself. You need a lot of willpower and a large sense of humor.

The reason I could not graduate in 1986 was due to my son, who was born in 1983 with a heart defect and had to have surgery four months after his birth. My son was about to die when his heart defect was discovered.

Returning to school after 30 years poses its challenges, yet after looking back, the tassel’s clearly worth the hassle.

Deciding to return to school at my age was definitely a difficult chose but I wanted to have a career and not just a job. Working already in the medical field, I realized that I would rather be an advocate for the people that need help adjusting to life’s changes, and people with mental, or emotional problems. I researched and saw that their where many career opportunities, in the Human Services field. Although, my primary purpose in life is to raise my children to be decent individuals, and understand that people are special in their own way. Coming back to school has help me see, and shows my children that nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. I want to gather and learn as much knowledge as I can, too help me achieve my goal.

My decision to become a nurse was determined while I was going through medical problems during my eighth-grade year and going through my senior year of high school. While I was in the eighth-grade, I was placed in the hospital because of an e-coli poisoning that attacked my digestive tract resulting in HUS, hemolytic uremic syndrome. I was in the hospital for about a week and then went to Mayo for my recovery. This left me weak, but on the road to recovery. Then as I was entering my freshman year of high school, I developed an eating disorder, anorexia nervosa. During the summer before my sophomore year, I was in treatment most of the summer in Minneapolis. I returned to start my sophomore year and then in March, I returned to another treatment facility in Fargo.

A few years ago, I became a single mom. By the way, I have got four beautiful girls ages 9 to 15. As as single, I was not making enough from my online business to care for myself and my kids. So I needed a find a job to supplement my income fast. Armed with more than 10 years on the job experience online, I thought finding a job will be a walk in the park. It wasn't. The one common theme of all the refusals was you have no degree in business or marketing.

As a student at the age of 32, I have many causes for starting college again. My main cause was I realized that I was going nowhere working, as a cashier, for minimum wage. Another factor was showing my kids that no matter how old you are, you should never give up on your dreams. Yet another cause is my brain is slowing down as I get older and I need to keep my brain functioning at full capacity. In high school, I focused on other activities than learning. I would like to right my wrongs and make my mother proud by going back to school. Another cause is I am a quick learner and there are so many things for my brain to absorb. It would be a shame to waste all of this space in my brain. In conclusion, I love to learn new things and I really want

For a student also playing the role of a mother, it made sense that I would throw aside school bags, run to the car and pick up an ill child, but I marvel how I did it all: dropping the children off at day care or school, taking on tons of academic classes, employed to make a living and arriving back home to six children needing fed, bathed, and played with and before

Life as a mother of 3 is very different and more challenging from when I was a child. It has taught me a lot about myself, others and life as a whole and how different this world was, has, and is becoming. It has also been a growing process and if I may say so myself, growing is not always comfortable.

Michelle Ellis thanks for sharing your experience. We have a lot in common; I also have “hands full” with my full time job, my mother, which is another “full time” job, and my kids, which are my dogs. My husband is very supportive of my education. I could not do without him. Also I am a kindergarten teacher; I just love it, and St. Jude Children’s research hospital is my charity.

Which behalf is the best side, the single parent versus the traditional family? A traditional family is defined or described as two parents working together to solve anything that goes on in their house. The advantage of a traditional family is that they are going to have a more stable income that will buy them a reasonable house or an apartment. “The traditional families have two parents, the mom and the dad, jointly raising kids with help and advice from each other” (Magnier). An accustomed family also expresses their feelings towards one another and has respect among others in their home. A dysfunctional family is usually described as conflicted adults living on their own. Although a dysfunctional family may sound inadequate, it is

It was on March 2nd, 2014 approximately 7:13AM when my life changed drastically. I gave birth to a six-pound baby boy who now ruled my life. No longer was I a full-time student and employee, but on top of those responsibilities I was now a full-time mother. The following week after giving birth was finals week for my 3rd quarter at Cal State University of Los Angeles, and there was no way I could miss exams. It was then that I told myself I wasn’t going to allow my circumstances to be a burden and an excuse not to pursue my dream to be successful. Only 2 percent of teenage mothers graduate college by age 30, however, I decided not to contribute to this statistic. I have decided to pursue a J.D. degree.

I grew up in what I would consider. I had two parents who loved me and a sister I got along with most of the time. I never really thought about single-parent families; I cannot recall any of my close friends having only one parent. Growing up with two parents may be normal for me, but for some, it is not. In this day and age, divorce is more common, and growing up with one parent is not out of the ordinary. According to Mary Parke; Policy Analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, “An increase in the numbers and proportion of children born outside of marriage and a rise in divorce rates have contributed to a three-fold increase in the proportion of children growing up in single-parent families since 1960.” Mary Parke also highlights

Within the growing number of women in higher education, there is a growing population of students who are also mothers. Mothers attempting to obtain a degree contend with home and family demands that affect their degree completion rates (Carney-Crompton & Tan, 2002; Home, 1998). These postsecondary education students, unlike their traditional peers, are not developing into adult identities that are supported by a traditional college setting (Arnett, Ramos & Jensen, 2001; Arnett, 2000) but instead already have an adult identity as a mother (Wilsey, 2013) with a different set of needs and because of the familial responsibility motherhood brings with it these women are no longer “traditional” students (Cross, 1981; Bean & Metzer, 1985, 1987;

I was born in Springdale, Arkansas, and was raised in Oklahoma City. Growing up, I attended two private schools, Gospel Tabernacle Academy in Spencer, OK, and Bethel Christian Academy in Choctaw, OK. I acquired my diploma by taking the General Education Diploma test at Rose State College in Del City, OK in 1981. I immediately went to work cleaning houses for my mother, who owned her own business. I worked at a couple other places until I got married. During that time I had two daughters, one of which is physically disabled. I divorced and remarried in the next three years, at which time I had a son. Shortly after he was born, I was divorced again. I spent the next twenty-one years putting all of my efforts into raising my children. At which time, I decided to go back to school, I completed my Associate’s degree in May of 2013 and my Bachelor’s degree in December of 2015.