Beginning of the month I was faced with a decision....to keep where I live by paying the deposits and signing the lease or finding a new place by march first. I wasn't sure at first. I wanted to continue and make a life here, but it was sorta a selfish hope too. I stay in fulton for myself, and no one else. Its really selfish. I have lina and my sister here too. Fulton doesn't benefit them. I brought them into the room and talked. We thought we'd moved to columbia but sign the lease if it doesn't work out. There was a third plan of me and lina returning home if we couldn't find a place. As the week progressed, I just wanted to go home. So much has happened over the past few months. I've had the hardest time since I first moved to mo keeping a place. I would go from one room for rent/sublease to another. I never had a place of my own to keep. I was hoping this place would be it. The truth though sits me in the face. I have a house that is old and 550 a month. It needs to be fixed up and I don't have the money for it. Jobs are all the way in columbia. I have no license. Its been suspended for almost two years. I have probably thousands in fines that need to be paid.
I've realized that i need to figure out my next steps in life. I love going to woods. The asl program is amazing and everything i want. I love all that I'm learning. McCray's perspective on Deaf and what we should do on interpreters is what I want as apart of my education cause I've seen so many treat Deaf as if they are disabled, stupid, or what not. Its not right. They have full lives. They just can't hear. They have a world and community all their own. The other day I was told by some tax preparer owner that I was so kind to do things for Deaf. I wanted to smack him or something. The way he talked about them was just completely wrong. I am interested in interpreting and asl studies because I love asl and at woods i learned that the area of Deaf studies incorporates everything I love studying into one degree. All my questions and concerns about the direction I was going in had been answered in that one semester. I loved it. i couldn't get enough of what I was studying. I was in my element among the interpreting students. I loved that woods took on the aspect that many interpreters out there weren't at the level that they should be and wanted asl to be our B language (second language that you are fluent as possible with since its not your native language). Its not about the job, but the people we serve.
But, I also had trouble at woods. I've been out of college for too long. I would have breezed through last semester with no issues if i was fresh out of high school. I was able to breeze until i was 22. I could do math and english easily. i can't now. I need help. I need my basics taken care of in an environment where I'm not alone and always searching for help. Away from Tennessee, I'm always seeking out home and work while trying to attempt school. Its not going so well for me. I know i can have what I need back home while going to school. I have many adjustments I have not made that I need for school. I need to focus on my general classes so that I can pass and be adjusted to school. It may take me a long time to pass, but I need to take the best path for me. Many options lay before me to help me. I can attend UT, go to nashville state or northeast state. I can return to ETSU once I've taken three good grade classes so that my gpa is back up. I think I should probably look at northeast or nashville state for the summer. Would only do nash state if they are doing asl 2. I have til july to figure out my next step....if i'll return to woods or if i'll stay to take care of my core classes.
A few other issues deal with transportation, my tickets, and a few other things. These may determine when i graduate.
There's a lot for me to think about and figure out over the next few months. I need to be an a place where I can do that. The best place is at home at my mothers. As hectic as it can be there, its home and where I can get my head together. Hopefully, I'll know by july. If not, I'll attend northeast state and ETSU until I do.
I should know who I am by now no matter which account I use ;)
ReplyDeleteIf I may put in my two cents, step up on the soap box, what have you...
If I were in your position, I would move back home. I can get core classes out of the way and raise my GPA before I take the classes that I want to take. (I'll need to do this anyway when I finally decide to take a 4 year college. I've been out for so long, it will help greatly to go to a community college first.) Pretty much re-iterating what you said. BUT, there's something else I wanted to add in.
You mentioned having to adjust where you move to. There is no adjusting at home. It's where you know, where everyone knows you. It's all automatic. Sure it's hectic, but isn't that life? Unless you live on your own where everything's taken care of it'll always be bothersome and hectic.
I would line everything up in importance. College, job, car, comfort, whatnot. For me it would securing a job first, then transportation like a car. One can always make payments on fees to reinstate your driver's license. A car afterwards can be searched and bought out of the trading post. (Depending on the kind of car you drive and the condition of it, it might be cheaper and more beneficial to just buy another car than to get your old one repaired. Some junk yards pay you so much per pound for scrap metal.)
Once you've got your source of money and transportation secure, next is college.
Go for one close to home, one that you can focus solely on core classes. Get those out of the way. Hopefully by then you'll have saved up enough money to go back to Woods to finish your education.
Don't do everything at once! For gods sake take it slow. You're still young and you have all your life still. Focus on one thing at a time. Take a day or two or three to put dozens of applications in for jobs. Do some research to find out how much you need to reinstate your license and start saving towards it. See if you can make payments for it. Once you almost finished making payments look around for Car Repair Centers and/or look in the Trading Post. See which way would be cheaper and more beneficial. Do it after your done with the license, then start looking at colleges. You won't have to worry about paying off depts because they will already be taken care of.
There maybe a better way to do it, but that's how I would do it >.>