This Thing Called Life

     I'm not liking my body today. The shorts I'm wearing make me feel twice as big. I don't have time to do laundry because of work and school. I don't have time to work out due to work and school. To be completely honest, I'm not happy. I'm depressed that I never have time to workout and make my body look better. I don't get to lay on the beach during the day due to work. I never have any "me" time. Todays blog entry will most likely end up being a rant because I'm so stressed out, just a fair warning.      Last nights class was good. We ordered pizza and practiced our skills all night. I can't wait to learn all of the skills and then practice them so I can get checked off. The class is not too hard and I highly recommend it to someone looking to get into the healthcare field. I pass all of my tests, including medical terminology. Some people look at me like I'm nuts when I say I like med term, but I do. I'm thankful my brain is ...

     By now, anyone that reads my blog knows I attend community college. During high school I did not have the best grades or the drive to want to go to a prestigious school like Virginia Tech, Harvard, etc. My parents never put loads of unwanted pressure on me to even attend college. Their goal for me was to at least graduate high school and I did. My parents didn't go to college but they are not failures at life by no means. They are hard working individuals that always get the bills paid regardless of what it takes.      Every time someone asks me if I go to college or what college I attend and I say community college, they look at me with the expression of "oh she must not be academically smart enough" or "what a loser/poor person". During my senior year, I had made up my mind to go to nursing school. By the time I graduated, I had no money in my savings account for college because I always thought I had to go to a prestigious school that I k...

     I am finally starting my next semester on Monday! I'm so excited because the class I took at the beginning of the this fall semester was only a month and half long due to the fact is was just a refresher math course, but it was mandatory to take in order to apply to the nursing program. It has been too long. I thought about taking another course along with that math course but I didn't and now I'm regretting it. It was nice having time off from school but work has been really slow so I have had nothing to do! Finally I will have something to do like studying or homework again. It's weird that I like going to community college because before I applied, some people told me it was just like high school, which I hated and that made me nervous. Surprisingly, I do not think it is like high school at all and here is why. For starters I'm not arguing with stuck up bitches like I did in high school. Another thing is the classes. We go in, sit down, learn what we want an...

Happy New Years Eve everyone! I'm so excited because I just paid my tuition for my upcoming semester which starts on January 7th. A few good things will be happening in 2013, most of them will occur in January. I start my new semester, turn 21 and it's the beginning of a new year. What's not to like? Since today is the last official day of 2012, I thought I would write about things I remember from the past year. Some memories may not be as good as others but they are still in my head. These memories are in no particular order and I'm typing them as they appear in my mind: I got into 2 accidents. One guy hit my passenger side because he wasn't paying attention due to him talking on his cell phone. The other happened because an idiot decided to run a stop sign right after looking me dead in the face. He even admitted to the police he saw me but kept going! Glad this is in the past. Watch out for other idiot drivers! I volunteered more than ever. I did a fundraiser...

Even though the new year is still 5 days away, I have already started on some of my goals. I almost have $200 saved up for my wisdom teeth removal, I'm slowly introducing my body to my elliptical  again and I have been drinking a lot of water. I saw this awesome idea on Tumblr. It was a poster board that someone wrote their goals on and I plan on doing that as well. I feel like I will be more likely to achieve my goals if I write them down and can see them on a daily basis instead of writing them somewhere on paper and losing it due to my disorganization. Since I am off this whole week for Christmas, I decided to also go ahead and get some things ready for my next semester of college. I set up my planner and labeled my notebooks for each class. I need to get binder tabs for my different classes since I plan on using one binder for all classes instead of one binder for each. For the first time in a long time I think I'm excited for a new year and what is has in store. Getting an...

Last night I got back on my elliptical for the first time in months. Even though I only lasted 9 minutes, it's still a start. I am going to slowly work my way back up to riding it for an hour with ease. During the weekdays I have decided I will alternate between riding my elliptical and doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I know your supposed to do the shred for 30 days consecutively but I want to change up my routines. Earlier this week I also finished all of Christmas shopping! I'm glad I got everything done when I did because I have noticed that traffic on the roads and in shopping centers has increased A LOT. The other thing that makes me feel good is that my textbooks for next semester came Monday :) I can't wait to go back. Going to college makes me feel great about myself. It shows me how motivated I am to have an actual career someday instead of working a dead beat minimum wage job for ever. Plus I like learning. I always have. I'm the type of person that w...

My next semester of college starts in January and I cannot wait. For the new year I won't be making too many resolutions because I'm happy with my life at the moment. The only things I really want to work on in the new year is to get back in shape and start exercising and stuff again. I stopped due to the fact that it stressed me out since I would still worry about how I looked in my clothes and to other people. I stopped caring but it is time to start caring again. For the new year I also want to focus on school. It's not like I wasn't focused on it before but I want to make EXCELLENT grades and even if I don't like the classes I must take in order to apply to the nursing program, I will still pretend I do so that they aren't as miserable. And as always, I want to keep putting money into my savings for school to avoid taking out loans and asking the parentals. Nothing makes me more proud than to brag about how I paid for my school out of my own money instead of...

      I haven't written in a while. Mostly because I have been trying to find other FREE blogging sites where I can still earn some extra money for college. I really like this website because the layout is so simple. It sucks they are taking away the ads. Even though I'm only earning a couple cents each month from my blog, it's better than nothing. Plus I love writing for my readers.      The other day I went ahead and decided to plan out the rest of my semesters for community college since I will continue working full time. I will be taking these pre-req courses until 2014. But I'm glad I planned ahead because I'm not stressing over which classes to pick when the time comes. I saved my Anatomy & Physiology classes for last because they are the hardest. The Spring 2013 semester starts in January so I will be taking English 112 and Psy 201. I'm very excited.      It's so weird that I get excited to learn at college be...

     The phrase "Same shit, different day" couldn't be more true. I am truly starting to see why some people live so recklessly and do some pretty crazy shit. It's because they don't want to live a dull life like 85% of the rest of Americans. It gets so old doing the same routine 5 days a week and my weekends are consisted of nothing but sleeping and cleaning since I have no friends. I wish January wasn't so far away. I have never been more ready for such a big change in my life. Even though I have had no luck finding a part time job that will fit with my school schedule, I will make it through. I have no choice. Nursing school is so important to me. And the best thing that I have gotten out of my community college experience, is the fact that I have NEVER relied on my parents for money to attend.      Paying my own way through college has made me realize that money is no joke and failing is not an option. In the few semesters I attended college,...

     I'm still saving as much money as possible so that I can start school full time in January. I look online everyday while I'm at work for a part time job and to be honest, if the job market continues to look the way it does now, I'm screwed come January. The hardest part is finding a place that will let me work with them a few nights a week while still working full time at my day job. My new schedule in January will be COMPLETELY different than the one I have now. Mondays and Wednesdays I will have school all day pretty much until about 4 p.m. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I will have my labs for Anatomy and Microbiology. Then on Fridays and maybe Saturdays, I plan on working to get a little more money if the company that decides to hire me will work with that schedule. I have never served and would love to try it since you can make great tips but all of the places I'm interested in want experienced servers so that it out. I would also love to work at Walmart or...

The nursing information session yesterday told me one thing and that was to keep doing what I'm doing. I've completed the required math classes and now I have 7 other classes that I HAVE to complete in order to apply to the program. They use a point system based on your grades, so the higher grades I make, the more likely I will be accepted. The lady said each semester they choose 64 applicants. They do have a list of alternates each semester in case someone who is chosen cannot start at the time due to life happening. I really hope I will be chosen the first time I apply. All this means for me is that when I start school full time next semester, I have to focus on my grades. I don't want to make anything less than a B in my classes so that I can get a lot of points. On the informational slide, it said that if you need to work, it should be MINIMAL. Do they understand that I will be traveling from a city about 30 minutes away everyday to attend lectures at this campus? I wi...

Today I'm leaving work early to attend an orientation to healthcare at my community college. The only issue I'm having is that the campus is located in another city about 40 minutes away and it is the only campus that offers nursing. I'm really excited about it. With gas prices the way they are, I'm going to need to either move to that city to save money or work closer to the school so that I'm not going to all different cities spending hundreds in gas. I still haven't been accepted into the program since I have all of these other classes to take, but I have always been the type of person who plans ahead. I just want to be more than ready when it is time to cross a new bridge. It always seems like there is an obstacle in the way. Like at community college, you have to take these math essential courses just to take actual math classes like chemistry and stuff. I honestly think it is a way just for colleges to earn money. Anyways, happy hump day people and make th...

I am glad this week is finally over. My Friday has already turned crappy because I forgot to give the delivery the check for last month, so now after work, I have to go all the way to the other side of town and give it to the company in person since they don't make deliveries on Mondays. I'm avoiding Facebook for a while because all people are talking about is football and I'm not a huge fan of sports. I've been studying my ass off for my final unit test next Thursday. I just took the practice one on the class website and I didn't do so hot. If I don't pass the class this time, I will probably stop going to college all together because there is no point in wasting my money on a class that I will just keep failing. The good thing about the teacher I have for this class this semester is that she gives partial credit and points just for showing work and she gave us the descriptions of all 20 questions that will be on the test. She said if we were to fail all 4 word...

          I'm counting down the days I have left sitting in this desk chair. I am so excited to start a new beginning in January. I will probably feel VERY overwhelmed at first when I start college full time, but I know that this is the right thing to do. It has been so long since I have only worked a few days a week. I was like 15 or 16! I hope these 3 months fly by so I can get on with my life. I want to start catering to myself instead of everyone around me. And just a note for immature idiots that will be in my classes, I'm not going to put up with your high school bullshit, ESPECIALLY since I'm paying out of pocket for my classes. If you want to be immature, stay out of college until you're ready to handle it. The only thing I am starting to worry over is where I'm supposed to get a part time job that will work with my school schedule. I could try the malls, but most of the time they just hire for holiday help and then let you go. I real...

          Nursing school is obviously going to be very expensive. But I also need thousands of dollars just to take the co-requisites I have to have just to apply to the program. When I tell people I'm saving every penny, I mean it. Literally, I'm saving every coin and bill I get to go towards school. My biggest goal is to pay completely out of pocket for school or at least as much as possible, that way I don't have to get a loan and if I do, it will be a small one. You're probably wondering why I don't file a FAFSA and get pell grants and such. Well since my I "make to much" money, I only get about $300 from the government and that $300 will only be applied to my costs if I'm enrolled full time, which I can't since I work full time.            My biggest tip for saving is to make sure that school is your priority, not shopping or just wasting money on other things you don't have to have. I ...

Class last night went well. There are only 13 people in my math class. The thing that really sucks it that the class I'm re-taking is taught with a different curriculum this semester so I had to buy a new access code to use the e-book online. It was $122.85. I find that a bit ridiculous. I know I'm buying the book (technically) but it's all online and if I print papers out, that is my money being used not theirs. Anyways, I am going to study my butt off so that I don't have to re-take this course AGAIN. The good thing is that these essential classes don't go towards my GPA so I still have a 3.0 :)

Even though I'm only going to be starting my second semester, I have already thought of a few things that make community college better than a University. But don't get me wrong, there are some things that just won't measure up to the actual college "experience" that you would get by going to a University. The Good: Flexible Schedules. They offer Days, Nights and Weekends The cost. You can spend $30,000 on your entire education plus your degree, instead of a University where just one year will cost that much or more You can pay as you go. You don't need to have all of your tuition before your start classes. Every time I mention that I am the one paying for my education all by myself, it makes me feel AWESOME. If you go to a local community college, you will know your way around since your a local and there will most likely be people you know in your classes as well The Bad: No dorms or parties, so you won't get that actual college "exp...

I'm very angry at the fact that I've wasted almost 3 years of my life working all the time instead of going to school full time like I wanted. I just found out I have a whole entire list of classes I have to take before I even want to consider applying to nursing school. This is a total set back! I know I have wrote about this before and complained how I want to act like a 20 year old instead of a 40 year old, but damn! Each semester I waste all of this time taking ONE class instead of taking like 4-6 classes to go towards nursing school. This sucks and I'm so mad I want to cry. I don't need to work full time and make the money I'm making (although it is very nice to have extra money to buy whatever I want). I should be focused on school and making good grades so that I can get accepted into nursing and start learning all of the hands on stuff. I guess I'm angry for wasting time and money and not acting like a typical 20 year old, who just goes to school and wor...

I started collecting aluminum cans months ago in an effort to get more money for my college education. Some people laugh at me but I don't really care. At least I'm helping to clean mother earth and earn some extra cash. Of course, the prices vary per pound in each state, but if you make a good effort to collect a lot, it can amount to a lot of money into your pocket. With this came my idea to help other people who want to further their education who can't afford it. The charity would be named Cans for College and there would be drop off sites for people to donate their cans. Then after the cans were turned in for money, the money would be given to people who need it. There is nothing more frustrating than when someone wants to go to college and cannot go because it is too expensive and they cannot afford it. I hope one day I can make this charitable dream a reality. Trust me, I'm in this boat now. I would love to have experienced the dorm life and have money my parents...

I start Chemistry this fall at community college so that I can apply to  a University nursing school. I have set some academic goals for myself this semester. Even though I suck at math, I really want to try and excel in Chemistry so that when I take college Chemistry, I will kind of know what I'm doing. My academic goals are as follows: Have at LEAST a "B" average  STUDY Never miss a class Ask for help when I need it Be interested in it, since I will be taking it for a whole semester Enjoy it, Learning is FUN Do not fail this class. It will show up on my transcripts :/ I never took Chemistry in high school and Algebra and I do not get along. But I believe in myself and I want to go to nursing school so bad that I know I can achieve these goals as long as I put my mind to it.