Friday, November 7, 2014
Blogger Glitch
I have no idea what happened, but somehow, I managed to comment on all of my posts with the same information that I put in my blog. Weird! Sorry for the hiccup!
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Scholarship Hunting: Olene S. Walker Foundation
Well, let me start out by saying this, "If you don't ask, they can't tell you no." My dad used to say that to us all the time. I'm sure it's widely used, but it's something I credit to him. That said, I have an experience that reiterates that statement, even though it doesn't have the most happy ending possible.
If you don't know, I live in Utah, and one of the scholarships offered here is the Olene S. Walker Foundation Transition to Adult Living Scholarship. (If you are in Utah, use your preferred search engine to find the current scholarship application.) Note, if you are over the age of 26, you are outside of the age limit for this scholarship.
Going forward with the point of this post; I decided to e-mail the contact for the scholarship application to ask if they would consider accepting my application despite my age. After a few corresponding e-mails and phone calls, I am excited to say that they decided to go ahead and let me apply, On the other hand, while I was able to apply, I found out this evening that because I am enrolled in a private school, they would be unable to award the scholarship to me based on that. In order to receive the scholarship, I would need to transfer to a public school, despite my contact having a positive opinion of University of Phoenix.
I feel that I'm at a fork in the road right now. I am awaiting her response which will likely come tomorrow. I wrote this e-mail that is long and detailed about why Phoenix has been such a great choice for me but I'm too afraid to send it because I am afraid I will seal my fate in not getting the scholarship. At the same time, I don't want to waste any one's time. That and I'm convinced that chances are slim in finding a Utah based public school that will allow online study, contain the shorter weeks of class, and still maintain such a beneficial level of interaction and authenticity with its students.
I warned you, the ending wasn't happy fuzzy; however, the ending wasn't the point; the middle was. I got the courage to reach out and ask if my application could be considered and I was told yes. Of anything, that was my biggest accomplishment and a testament to what I was raised being told,
So here's my tip: ASK!!!
If you don't know, I live in Utah, and one of the scholarships offered here is the Olene S. Walker Foundation Transition to Adult Living Scholarship. (If you are in Utah, use your preferred search engine to find the current scholarship application.) Note, if you are over the age of 26, you are outside of the age limit for this scholarship.
Going forward with the point of this post; I decided to e-mail the contact for the scholarship application to ask if they would consider accepting my application despite my age. After a few corresponding e-mails and phone calls, I am excited to say that they decided to go ahead and let me apply, On the other hand, while I was able to apply, I found out this evening that because I am enrolled in a private school, they would be unable to award the scholarship to me based on that. In order to receive the scholarship, I would need to transfer to a public school, despite my contact having a positive opinion of University of Phoenix.
I feel that I'm at a fork in the road right now. I am awaiting her response which will likely come tomorrow. I wrote this e-mail that is long and detailed about why Phoenix has been such a great choice for me but I'm too afraid to send it because I am afraid I will seal my fate in not getting the scholarship. At the same time, I don't want to waste any one's time. That and I'm convinced that chances are slim in finding a Utah based public school that will allow online study, contain the shorter weeks of class, and still maintain such a beneficial level of interaction and authenticity with its students.
I warned you, the ending wasn't happy fuzzy; however, the ending wasn't the point; the middle was. I got the courage to reach out and ask if my application could be considered and I was told yes. Of anything, that was my biggest accomplishment and a testament to what I was raised being told,
"They can't tell you no if you don't ask."
So here's my tip: ASK!!!
Grade update
Haha! I got my grade back today! Guess who got a solid A?! This gal right here! Holy cow! It took my GPA from a 3.67 to a 3.84. Awesome! Now, back to homework for my present class. *Oy*
+1 for good grades! :D
+1 for good grades! :D
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
I Survived BSHS 325
Well, I would love to write specifically about my group experience over this last class, but time restraints and household requirements bid me to not. I will say this: that group was probably by far my greatest challenge in school so far. I now know what it feels like to have to hold up the group. Yikes. Hats off to those of you who have to pull far more than your own weight in group projects!
I did learn a great deal in this class as opposed to my last one. I learned a lot about the different systems involved with people and human services and even more topics that I couldn't begin to cover in this post alone. I really enjoyed that class and I feel the need to mention that my instructor, M. Perrotta (I'm not sure if we are allowed to announce their full names--I will look into that) was an amazing teacher, despite a few minor complications I may have had.
Ms. Perrotta really pushed me to go outside of my comfort zone both with my group and in my personal writing. I can't even express the amount of excitement I felt when I read her feedback on my last two papers stating that she was very proud of the progress I had made. I definitely learned quite a bit as far as writing as well as about the topics I presented.
Overall, it was a very hard class, but it was well worth the stress (I think). I'll post a grade update as soon as I receive it. I can't wait to see my final grade; I'm pretty sure it's around 95-96%, Fingers crossed!
Tip: For those of you attending school, particularly online classes: do not give up. Push through and when you think you can't take any more, push harder!!! Cheers from a perfect stranger; I'm definitely rooting for you!
I did learn a great deal in this class as opposed to my last one. I learned a lot about the different systems involved with people and human services and even more topics that I couldn't begin to cover in this post alone. I really enjoyed that class and I feel the need to mention that my instructor, M. Perrotta (I'm not sure if we are allowed to announce their full names--I will look into that) was an amazing teacher, despite a few minor complications I may have had.
Ms. Perrotta really pushed me to go outside of my comfort zone both with my group and in my personal writing. I can't even express the amount of excitement I felt when I read her feedback on my last two papers stating that she was very proud of the progress I had made. I definitely learned quite a bit as far as writing as well as about the topics I presented.
Overall, it was a very hard class, but it was well worth the stress (I think). I'll post a grade update as soon as I receive it. I can't wait to see my final grade; I'm pretty sure it's around 95-96%, Fingers crossed!
Tip: For those of you attending school, particularly online classes: do not give up. Push through and when you think you can't take any more, push harder!!! Cheers from a perfect stranger; I'm definitely rooting for you!
Friday, October 24, 2014
Plan For College: 8 Ways to Keep in Touch with College Kids in the D...
Plan For College: 8 Ways to Keep in Touch with College Kids in the D...: You and your semi-adult children may be in different ballparks when it comes to communication - both philosophically and technologically. ...
Monday, October 20, 2014
Courage to cry
Well, some of you may know that I have been applying for several scholarships lately in hopes of funding my schooling. It's quite an intimidating process when you sit down and think about it. I have a lot of things working against me. I'm not a high school student, I'm not over the age of 50, I haven't been out of school for 7 or more years (but I've been fighting my way through school for 7--does that not count?!), and I don't have a lot of community service or outstanding merits to grant me consideration. I have my writing skills which can be mediocre when I'm trying to convey a message about myself, and I have my life experience. I've been trying to get involved in volunteering, I just seem to be hindered by not knowing where to start. All that being said, I applied for the Courage to Grow scholarship. I tried very hard with this one. I told myself that I would do okay and that I was equal to my competition.
I've checked their page every couple of days since the end of last month. The e-mail came to me today and I got super excited...until I finished reading it and hopped over to their website. It wasn't me. It was another young lady who discussed what it was like to grow up in a home where she wasn't able to eat yummies because they were for her mom's work. She talked of writing a book with her sister that will reflect the life of a caterer. It's a great read. It really is. The problem I keep finding myself in is that I can't help but think, "I don't want to write my 'sob' story. I want to write my future story." (No, I'm not indicating that her's was a sob story at all. It does reflect that hardship that she endured as a kid though in a good light). I was crying before I started reading her story because it was a hard reminder that I'm not able to convince people that I'm worth investing in; that my future is what is worth investing in because my past is outdated and only serves as a reminder to where I will never be again and where I hope to keep kids from being. I haven't been able to convince anyone that my untold future story is what's worth investing in...yet.
I'll get off my soap box now and sit back down at the computer thinking of what I need to write in order to convince someone that my past isn't what's important (sure, it's a good convincing story, but it's not what I want my qualification to be based on), it's my future.
I've checked their page every couple of days since the end of last month. The e-mail came to me today and I got super excited...until I finished reading it and hopped over to their website. It wasn't me. It was another young lady who discussed what it was like to grow up in a home where she wasn't able to eat yummies because they were for her mom's work. She talked of writing a book with her sister that will reflect the life of a caterer. It's a great read. It really is. The problem I keep finding myself in is that I can't help but think, "I don't want to write my 'sob' story. I want to write my future story." (No, I'm not indicating that her's was a sob story at all. It does reflect that hardship that she endured as a kid though in a good light). I was crying before I started reading her story because it was a hard reminder that I'm not able to convince people that I'm worth investing in; that my future is what is worth investing in because my past is outdated and only serves as a reminder to where I will never be again and where I hope to keep kids from being. I haven't been able to convince anyone that my untold future story is what's worth investing in...yet.
I'll get off my soap box now and sit back down at the computer thinking of what I need to write in order to convince someone that my past isn't what's important (sure, it's a good convincing story, but it's not what I want my qualification to be based on), it's my future.
Epiphanies in Class Discussions
Well, I'm happy to say that this week, I finished a full day ahead of schedule, meaning that I have an extra day to get ahead on the coming week's assignments. That shouldn't be as exciting as it is. LOL!
One of our discussions this past week was about "old people" in the work place. Our instructor posted a discussion question asking our opinions of having aged individuals in the workplace. I was quite shocked (but only slightly) at the number of responses from my classmates that felt that having "old" people at work was not ideal. Reasons for included that "they [aged individuals] are set in their ways," "they can't be taught new things," and that "they don't understand." That's just to name a few. I was very disappointed to read things like this.
My response reflected a story I read in elementary school about an emperor who wanted a string to be threaded through a warped log which had a hole drilled through it. Many young people tried tirelessly to get this string threaded through this warped old log with no success. An older individual asked to try and was basically laughed at, but still given the opportunity. The older gent tied the string to an ant and placed the ant at one end of the log and a pile of sugar at the other end. The ant crawled through the hole in the log, thereby successfully threading the string through the log. The basic moral of the story was that someone who is old does not mean that they are not useful or wise. From the time I read this story, it changed my perception of "old" people. To this day, I no longer view someone who is older and grey as someone who is incompetent. Instead, I know that the individual has experience and knowledge that at my age, I can't yet comprehend. Therefore, the people who are "washed out" and "un-teachable" in the eyes of so many young folk actually deserve respect and a listening ear because they are our past and we will eventually be their present.
My opinion of the aging community was further strengthened by my readings tonight. The book we are reading out of discussed the trials that the older generations are facing. Social Security not being enough for them to live off of. Other supplemental incomes offered that still don't allow them to even live comfortably; most living on the cusp of poverty. We forget that much of the older and aging generation lived a life trying to pave the way for us younger folk. Their sweat and tears is what allows us to be here now, making the advances, getting our education, and more. Our parents who are entering the age of medicare dependency are the ones taking care of our grandparents while still trying to raise us, "the sandwich generation" is the other name for our parents. Are we forgetting all of these important things that our parents and grandparents have done and are continuing to do for us to ensure our lifelong success? Mom is taking care of Grandpa to make sure that I don't have to stress about it so I can attend school. Mom and Dad are paying for the house that will likely get passed down to me and my siblings when I'm older so I'm not homeless. Those narratives aren't my life experience, but I see so many younger students whose parents are doing exactly that. It made me slightly sick to think of how entitled the younger generation (including my own young-ish generation) feels. We think that the older generation does not deserve to be helped through support programs, larger social security benefits, welfare, and supportive aids, yet, dare we think about where we are headed? If you must view it in personal befitting eyes, then at least consider that their [the aged and aging] present fate will be the equivalent of your future one.
One of our discussions this past week was about "old people" in the work place. Our instructor posted a discussion question asking our opinions of having aged individuals in the workplace. I was quite shocked (but only slightly) at the number of responses from my classmates that felt that having "old" people at work was not ideal. Reasons for included that "they [aged individuals] are set in their ways," "they can't be taught new things," and that "they don't understand." That's just to name a few. I was very disappointed to read things like this.
My response reflected a story I read in elementary school about an emperor who wanted a string to be threaded through a warped log which had a hole drilled through it. Many young people tried tirelessly to get this string threaded through this warped old log with no success. An older individual asked to try and was basically laughed at, but still given the opportunity. The older gent tied the string to an ant and placed the ant at one end of the log and a pile of sugar at the other end. The ant crawled through the hole in the log, thereby successfully threading the string through the log. The basic moral of the story was that someone who is old does not mean that they are not useful or wise. From the time I read this story, it changed my perception of "old" people. To this day, I no longer view someone who is older and grey as someone who is incompetent. Instead, I know that the individual has experience and knowledge that at my age, I can't yet comprehend. Therefore, the people who are "washed out" and "un-teachable" in the eyes of so many young folk actually deserve respect and a listening ear because they are our past and we will eventually be their present.
My opinion of the aging community was further strengthened by my readings tonight. The book we are reading out of discussed the trials that the older generations are facing. Social Security not being enough for them to live off of. Other supplemental incomes offered that still don't allow them to even live comfortably; most living on the cusp of poverty. We forget that much of the older and aging generation lived a life trying to pave the way for us younger folk. Their sweat and tears is what allows us to be here now, making the advances, getting our education, and more. Our parents who are entering the age of medicare dependency are the ones taking care of our grandparents while still trying to raise us, "the sandwich generation" is the other name for our parents. Are we forgetting all of these important things that our parents and grandparents have done and are continuing to do for us to ensure our lifelong success? Mom is taking care of Grandpa to make sure that I don't have to stress about it so I can attend school. Mom and Dad are paying for the house that will likely get passed down to me and my siblings when I'm older so I'm not homeless. Those narratives aren't my life experience, but I see so many younger students whose parents are doing exactly that. It made me slightly sick to think of how entitled the younger generation (including my own young-ish generation) feels. We think that the older generation does not deserve to be helped through support programs, larger social security benefits, welfare, and supportive aids, yet, dare we think about where we are headed? If you must view it in personal befitting eyes, then at least consider that their [the aged and aging] present fate will be the equivalent of your future one.
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