My Christening Entry

It is now 2:02 p.m. EST and I’ve been sitting at this computer since 8:15 this morning. I do this for a living, so you’d think when I have a day off I’d stay away from the blasted computer. But here’s the thing. I have to find money to pay for my college tuition. The savings I’ve been using are drying up, the budget can’t squeeze out one more penny, and even though I’m only a high-school educated office worker, I make too much money for need-based financing.

You’d think they’d have some kind of financing for old people who’ve raised their kids, paid their dues, and contributed to the gross national product for more than thirty years. You’d think we would get some kind of free pass into academia with a few life credits included. But no. Partly because I’m still only enrolled at the local community college, and partly because I choose to work for a living instead of sustaining myself on the government’s dime, I am not eligible for anything until I pay at least $9,000 of my own money per year.

So I did a little research into student loans (yeah, going into debt at 50 with no promise of a lucrative career when I graduate five years older is an attractive prospect), and landed upon a scholarship search page at the Sallie Mae website. I highly recommend it for prospective students at any age. I thought that knocking my brains out for a 3.9 GPA would earn a few brownie points toward a scholarship. But it turns out that over half of the ones I’m even remotely qualified for are need-based or only require a 2.5 GPA. (So much for all those late nights in bed with nothing for company but books and bifocals!)

Then, somewhere down about scholarship opportunity number thirty, there are two scholarships given to bloggers. Go figure! All I have to do is write?! And I can write about anything?! Geez, where do I sign up???? So here I am writing whatever comes to mind, and here you are reading it and we’re both asking ourselves why I don’t just retire to the sofa with my crochet needles and NCIS and forget this nonsense.

But you see, I’ve always wanted an education. Not just the one life has handed me over the years, but one that makes me think, that inspires me to greater things. I want to know what the world has to offer out there beyond my crochet needles. I want to understand the Pre-Cambrian Period and why Reinhold Niebuhr devised something called Christian Realism. I want that education to inform my decisions, my politics, my theology, my world view. I want to win at Trivial Pursuit once in a while.

Most importantly, I want my daughters and granddaughters to see that life is full of possibilities for those who seek them. Education is for everyone and its value is immeasurable. We can be anything we want to be if our hearts desire it enough and our minds can imagine it as reality. So you’ll be hearing from me again. Hopefully I’ll have something interesting to say to you once in a while. I’ll start right now by saying that if you are a student, of whatever subject, of whatever age, don’t give up. Don’t let any obstacle, no matter how big it appears, get in the way of your aspirations.