Two years ago I began a Masters degree. I was 35, divorced, had two kids and hadn’t been a student in nearly 15 years.
Back then, I’m not sure I owned a cell phone, and a notebook was literally a book filled with blank pages rather than a computer. So much had changed since I’d done my undergraduate degree, and now I felt out of my league. In fact, I was terrified.
How would I balance motherhood and school? What if I didn’t do well or couldn’t keep up? On top of that, the program I chose—a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction—required me to leave my kids and live in a dorm in Halifax for two weeks, two summers in a row.
Leaving my boys was torture. (My dorm room had it’s challenges, too.) I didn’t think I could do it.
But I did. It was stressful. It required hard work and dedication. But I did it. This week I’m graduating from my program with my MFA degree. I made wonderful friends along the way, learned more than I ever could have otherwise, expanded my writing portfolio and wrote a book. More than that, I fulfilled a lifelong dream of going back to school to earn my Masters.
When I don my gown and cap one last time at my graduation ceremony in Halifax, my parents and fiancé will be watching me from the stands. I will be surrounded by my friends and mentors.
It is such an accomplishment—one that I never thought I’d have the confidence to achieve. I hope I’ve made my kids proud by showing them I can do anything I put my mind to, even if it’s scary. I’ve definitely made myself proud.
I wonder what I’ll set my sights on next . . .
Congratulations! You're very personal on these posts and I'm glad you shared this.
I often wonder the same myself to do my Masters with two young kids and it was ages ago since my undergraduate degree. I feel so behind in times and I'm older than you by 2 years!
It's good for your kids to see that you have goals and achieved them!
Congratulations. Any way of learning is wonderful and helps keep us young. When we stop learning is when we get old.
Congratulations! You are an inspiration.
I don't do this often, commenting on here, but i had to because you have affected me. I am 39, father of 3 and a wife. We immigrated to Canada in January 2016. I started working and then lost my job 3 months later. I started internet marketing and your blog helped to build my business from $0 to $200k annual and counting. Thanks again and i wish you the best in your career (though you didn't need the degree). Keep being an inspiration to women and men out there. God bless!