Cellulitic Bliss

My sister and I were catching up the other night and she disclosed that she is thinking about heading back to school to get her Masters in Nursing.   She’s had this plan even before she graduated from Nursing school but I didn’t realize it would be so soon.  Her only concern, however, is that she can’t afford to give up her job (what with that beautiful mortgage of hers and just recently, her new car).  So knowing what I know about Masters degrees online, I suggested she take a look at Gonzaga University’s online programs for Masters in Nursing.  She didn’t believe such a private and respectable school would even offer such a program so she looked it up herself and realized I wasn’t lying (Annie Lenox, where you at?!).  I know it’s surprising to even fathom the idea of Gonzaga University handing out online degrees but I think it’s awesome.  Did you know they are ranked as one of the nation’s best university by the the Princeton Review and Forbes magazine?  Not only that, they are also ranked number 3 in the West by US News and World Report.  Naturally, all this excited my sister — she can consider getting her Masters while still maintaining her day job.  How much more perfect can it get?

Tomorrow night, I will be taking my final exam for my summer class.  I was originally enrolled for 2 classes this summer but ended up dropping one of them so as to get a feel for how things would go when I combined my duties and responsibilities at home with that of school.  Seems I am a lot better at multi-tasking than I thought.  Fall semester starts next week – I’ll be enrolled in 2 (possibly 3) classes and hope that things will go just as well as it did this semester.  I’ve had to schedule my classes based on the little girl which doesn’t give me much room to move, but I won’t complain too much.  Things are going way too well.

That said, I’ve really enjoyed being back in (night) school.  It’s been great ‘me-time,’ I just can’t express.  Going to class is such a sweet escape because I’m doing something where my brain actually has to work again – and I love it.  Back when I was still a kid in college (sounds so ancient, doesn’t it?), I hated taking evening classes because I was always too afraid that I would miss out on happenings with my friends.  That’s the kind of student I was back then – there for the social aspects of college and the good times that come with it.  Now, though, being back in school has taken on new meaning and I’m actually respectful of my work, my deadlines, the instructor – I never missed a class the whole summer save for that day that I walked out after the teacher lectured that night’s topic and all the important stuff, I was able to jot down.  My whole attitude towards school has changed so much even I am amazed at my own maturity.  But I guess this is how it had to happen – everyone’s journey will never be the same.  Sure it might have taken me years to buckle down but that’s alright.  I’ll have had the best time getting to where I need to be.  In fact, the idea of looking into Masters degrees online isn’t foreign to me.  But I don’t want it to be just from any online university.  I’m thinking more along the lines of Gonzaga University, one of the nation’s best universities by The Princeton Review and Forbes Magazine.  I’ve just come to find out they offer online programs – yes, a school that is ranked top 3 in the West!  (Friends and I had the privilege of attending a week long volleyball camp at GU back in high school.  We got to live in the dorms, play on their campus and pretend we were college students living the life — it was an honor itself to be on the campus!).  The possibilities are endless from here on out.