Cause & Effect Essay

School of Life

Adventure was my middle name growing up in Tehachapi, California. I had set my ambitions high and was college bound to study Biblical Archaeology. Attending College has been a good impact in my life. My sister took four years to complete her Masters in English, and I may end up taking just as long to finish my undergraduate degree. I have attended five different colleges and finally returned to my education after a six year hiatus. Some people may see this way of doing school as haphazard. After delving into my own past however, I’ve realized this gap between school years has created a positive effect. I’ve been learning more about who I am, something that doesn’t happen in a classroom. Due to self discovery, I’ve gained more confidence, set more realistic goals for a career, and learned new skills because my plans for college changed course.
To start, I’ve learned to build more confidence using life’s experiences and applying that confidence towards homework or class participation. River rafting has been one of my biggest dreams. In Montana, my husband and I went rafting down the Blackfoot River with a large group of people. The trip took us past the beautiful green Cascade Mountains still capped with snow. Manipulating the raft down the river gave me an exquisite feeling of rush and confidence. Every time I face a new challenge each day, all I have to do is remember how I felt when rafting down the river and apply that confidence.
Secondly, I’ve altered my perspectives higher with the aid of setting new goals and standards towards a degree in school. My husband and I bought our first home in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2002 and lived there for three and half years. I shattered my wrist from a fall shortly after I had started working at the local Base Exchange. There were metal prongs to hold up the middle bone at the wrist and a custom sling made up from five bars to connect everything. My supervisor wanted me to come in the next day to work. This event changed my perspective on my working life and helped me set higher standards. I remember thinking; I can do better than this! After a few months of healing, I was hired to work as a purchasing agent and secretary at Metro Aviation. I was making twelve dollars an hour with benefits. With confidence and the aid of setting new goals, I feel that I can achieve any degree or good grades in college with or without a gap in my education.
Most of all, I have gained new skills in writing, secretarial and personal finances that I can use to my benefit during college. A good example would be in Paso Robles, California when I was working at a chemical plant called Lubrizol. My job entailed purchasing equipment, corresponding with vendors, and much more. A lot of money had to be accounted for with different programs such as MS Money and Quicken. Business letters had to be typed, emails had to be sent, and phone calls had to be made in order to correspond with other companies. Doing these new tasks on the job made me dream of dollar signs. The experience gave me fresh confidence, new eyes for bigger goals, and use of my skills for tracking personal finances for my return to college.
The real adventure begins when the sun comes out to play because every day brings joys and sorrows. I’ve learned to accept life in any direction because tomorrow may bring rain instead of a cheerful warm day. I cannot control how my college life fluctuates but I can accept and handle how much capacity is plugged into an empty ravine. I’ve decided not to go to college the traditional way because there are more opportunities in life to learn from; such as fishing or camping. Over the years, I’m happy that I’ve set new hopes and dreams, learned new skills that will boost my confidence and if I don’t there will be no room to grow; whether I am in college or not.