{"id":35,"date":"2017-02-01T21:33:39","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T21:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-first-year-seminar\/?post_type=chapter&p=35"},"modified":"2017-06-14T15:05:48","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T15:05:48","slug":"something-was-different","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-firstyearseminar\/chapter\/something-was-different\/","title":{"raw":"Something Was Different","rendered":"Something Was Different"},"content":{"raw":"
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Jacqueline Tiermini<\/h3>\r\n

I have earned both a bachelor\u2019s and a master\u2019s degree and I have nearly twenty years of teaching experience. Would you ever guess that I contemplated not going to college at all? I originally thought about going to Beauty School and becoming a Cosmetologist. It was to me, honestly the easy way out since I was sick of all the drama after high school. The thought of college seemed overwhelming. Why did I really need to have a college degree when all I ever wanted was to get married and be a stay-at-home mom? My friends weren\u2019t going to college either, so I often wondered if going would complicate our friendship.<\/p>\r\n

I decided to go anyway, and it did<\/em> separate us a bit. While I was writing a ten-page paper for my summer class in Genetics and Heredity, my friends were swimming in my<\/em> pool. They also had the chance to buy new cars and new clothes and to go on vacations. I just went to school, driving my used Nissan Sentra, without much more than gas money and a few extra bucks. Again, why was I doing this? It would have been easier to just do what my friends were doing.<\/p>\r\n

Little by little, semesters went by and I graduated with my bachelor\u2019s degree in Education. I started substitute teaching immediately and within six months I was offered a full-time job. Just like that, I had more money and all kinds of new opportunities and I could now consider a new car or going on vacation just like my friends. At that point, I decided to continue my education and get my master\u2019s degree. Yes, it was a lot of hard work again, and yes, my friends wondered why I wanted to go back again, but I knew then that this was the best choice for me. The challenge wasn\u2019t knowing where I wanted my career to go, but rather overcoming the pull to settle into a lifestyle or career because it was easy, not because it was what I wanted.<\/p>\r\n

By the time I graduated with my master\u2019s degree I realized that something was different. For all the years that I felt behind or unable to keep up with what my friends had, I was suddenly leaps and bounds ahead of them career-wise. I now had two degrees, a full-time teaching job, and a plan to keep my career moving forward. I was able to do all of the things that they had done all those years and more. None of them had careers, just jobs. None of them had long-term plans. None of them were as satisfied with their choices any longer and a few of them even mentioned that they were jealous of my opportunity to attend college.<\/p>\r\n

Don\u2019t be fooled. Being a college student is a lot of work and, like me, most students have questioned what they are doing and why they are doing it. However, the rewards certainly outweigh all of the obstacles. I used to hear, \u201cAttending college will make you a well-rounded person\u201d or \u201cIt sets you apart from those that do not attend,\u201d yet it never felt true at the time. Eventually though, you will come to a point where you realize those quotes are true and you will be on your way to earning that degree!<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

\n

Jacqueline Tiermini<\/h3>\n

I have earned both a bachelor\u2019s and a master\u2019s degree and I have nearly twenty years of teaching experience. Would you ever guess that I contemplated not going to college at all? I originally thought about going to Beauty School and becoming a Cosmetologist. It was to me, honestly the easy way out since I was sick of all the drama after high school. The thought of college seemed overwhelming. Why did I really need to have a college degree when all I ever wanted was to get married and be a stay-at-home mom? My friends weren\u2019t going to college either, so I often wondered if going would complicate our friendship.<\/p>\n

I decided to go anyway, and it did<\/em> separate us a bit. While I was writing a ten-page paper for my summer class in Genetics and Heredity, my friends were swimming in my<\/em> pool. They also had the chance to buy new cars and new clothes and to go on vacations. I just went to school, driving my used Nissan Sentra, without much more than gas money and a few extra bucks. Again, why was I doing this? It would have been easier to just do what my friends were doing.<\/p>\n

Little by little, semesters went by and I graduated with my bachelor\u2019s degree in Education. I started substitute teaching immediately and within six months I was offered a full-time job. Just like that, I had more money and all kinds of new opportunities and I could now consider a new car or going on vacation just like my friends. At that point, I decided to continue my education and get my master\u2019s degree. Yes, it was a lot of hard work again, and yes, my friends wondered why I wanted to go back again, but I knew then that this was the best choice for me. The challenge wasn\u2019t knowing where I wanted my career to go, but rather overcoming the pull to settle into a lifestyle or career because it was easy, not because it was what I wanted.<\/p>\n

By the time I graduated with my master\u2019s degree I realized that something was different. For all the years that I felt behind or unable to keep up with what my friends had, I was suddenly leaps and bounds ahead of them career-wise. I now had two degrees, a full-time teaching job, and a plan to keep my career moving forward. I was able to do all of the things that they had done all those years and more. None of them had careers, just jobs. None of them had long-term plans. None of them were as satisfied with their choices any longer and a few of them even mentioned that they were jealous of my opportunity to attend college.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be fooled. Being a college student is a lot of work and, like me, most students have questioned what they are doing and why they are doing it. However, the rewards certainly outweigh all of the obstacles. I used to hear, \u201cAttending college will make you a well-rounded person\u201d or \u201cIt sets you apart from those that do not attend,\u201d yet it never felt true at the time. Eventually though, you will come to a point where you realize those quotes are true and you will be on your way to earning that degree!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div>