So thankful!

Life is a long road. Sometimes the road is straight (when life is easy), sometimes the road is bumpy (when it is hard) and well sometimes the road just ends when we are not ready for it to end. I would say that my "road" is now looking pretty serene and my path is straight. This past semester was my last official semester of being a full time HCC student. It was also a pretty hard semester. My car was broken into early on and my school books were stolen (along with my computer and I was taking three online classes). Then my dad's cancer decided to come out of remission and show its ugly head again. When I was confronted with life's problems in the past, I used to not confront them. I would run away and hope that they would just solve themselves. HA. Well, that doesn't work (and I have learned that from experience). We have situations in our lives to learn from them, so that when they do show up again (and they always do), we can confront them and we can have better ways of dealing with them.

The last time I was a full time student (2005), my dad was living in Houston and getting radiation 5 days a week. I used his "cancer" as an excuse for not going to school. I would tell my teachers, "well, I am just not handling his illness well", and I was also his full time caregiver while he was here. I decided to quit school, because I told myself that while he had cancer, I would never be able to finish school. I used that as an excuse for a very very long time. His cancer had been in remission for a while and since then it was always in the back of my mind. I always thought, well I know its going to come back and I know that he will be back living here, so what is the point in going back to school if I was going to have to quit it again and take care of him? It wasn't until I quit my last full time job in May 2009, that I got the courage to go back. I had the gotten advice from not only my awesome boss, but my friends to put my fears aside and head back to the college. So friends, this blog post is dedicated to you!

If it wasn't for the support of my friends and my boss, I wouldn't be where I am today. Since being back in school (summer 2010), I have managed to raise my grades, and have gotten into a Tier One University! These friends nudged the HELL out of me to go back. They would IM me on facebook (practically harassing me) asking me if I had figured out how I was going to go back and when I had signed up for classes. I honestly was quite annoyed with them. Always in the back of my mind, I kept thinking my dad's cancer was going to come back, and that my road would once again get bumpy. But I put my trust in God, and had the guts to sign up for school. I have officially been back in school since July 2010, and I have made the best grades I have ever made as a student. Yes, I did fail that stupid college algebra class (math is not my thing) and made C's in my biology classes (science is also not my thing), but my grades have overall been very good. I am now leaving HCC with a 3.0 for the fall semester, and my overall GPA is 2.879. 

When I go to U of H in January, I get to start my GPA over with a 4.0. The history adviser told the 6 transfer students at my session that he expected us to all graduate with 4.0 since we all get to start over fresh. I can tell you that I am planning on doing my best to meet his expectations. And yes, it will be hard since my dad's cancer is back. My attitude is SO much better than it was those 6 years ago. I am going in much stronger than I was before, and this time I am going to finish. Speaking of finishing, it looks like May 2014 will be when I will be graduating! I have come so far, and without the support of my friends, family, and of course my faith, I know that I wouldn't be where I am today. So for everyone that gave me encouragement, support, and pushed me.. I thank YOU!!