So, like many of you, I have a full time job and a full time life. But two years ago, I decided I needed to go back to school. Struggling to make it paycheck to paycheck is not what I want for the rest of my life. I have worked as a tour guide, a bartender, a waitress and any number of other jobs that I have enjoyed, but life has always been a struggle.
My "ah-ha!" moment came out of left field in the form of a disease. One day, I work up unable to move. Literally. I was 29 years old and my body stopped working. It was like I had become 90 years old over night. Intense, crippling joint pain set in. My hands wouldn't move, I could barely dress myself, I couldn't go up or down stairs. My arms wouldn't bend. There was a day that I couldn't open the front door to get outside because my hand couldn't turn the lock. It was terrible. Horrifying and so scary. To make a long story short, over the course of the next 18 months, I worked with doctors and was diagnosed with a variety of connective tissue problems. With medication, I am able to be (almost) as good as new 2 years later. And lucky. I feel so, so lucky.
So I decided to do everything I wanted to do, but had put off. That started with going back to school to get my degree to become a French teacher. I had a few pangs of "Am I too old?" but decided that it is never too late to take an opportunity. So I dove into school and have even made the Dean's list. But I still felt the need to improve my French skills. Study Abroad has always been a distant dream. Sure, I have always wanted to do it, but it seemed like it was for other people. Younger people, people with more money and less commitments. But I really wanted to do it.
My "ah-ha!" moment came out of left field in the form of a disease. One day, I work up unable to move. Literally. I was 29 years old and my body stopped working. It was like I had become 90 years old over night. Intense, crippling joint pain set in. My hands wouldn't move, I could barely dress myself, I couldn't go up or down stairs. My arms wouldn't bend. There was a day that I couldn't open the front door to get outside because my hand couldn't turn the lock. It was terrible. Horrifying and so scary. To make a long story short, over the course of the next 18 months, I worked with doctors and was diagnosed with a variety of connective tissue problems. With medication, I am able to be (almost) as good as new 2 years later. And lucky. I feel so, so lucky.
So I decided to do everything I wanted to do, but had put off. That started with going back to school to get my degree to become a French teacher. I had a few pangs of "Am I too old?" but decided that it is never too late to take an opportunity. So I dove into school and have even made the Dean's list. But I still felt the need to improve my French skills. Study Abroad has always been a distant dream. Sure, I have always wanted to do it, but it seemed like it was for other people. Younger people, people with more money and less commitments. But I really wanted to do it.