Two weeks of relaxation from school work and now back to the grind. It did not even seem as if I had a two break because it went by so fast. It really makes you think about life within its self.  I have been in school now for a year and 3 semesters and I still have a ways to go.  So I spent a few hours this week trying to figure out how many classes I can take at a time and how much longer do I have in school.

The results: Keep in mind that I am working 50 hours a week, but if I can take 2 to 3 classes a week; I can finish school within the next year and a half.  I am 62 credits away from having my AS degree in Business Management with a minor in Business Administration. So if I pack on a couple extra classes per semester I can get through this much quicker and relive myself.  Yes, I know it is kind of sad knowing it took me 3.5 years to get my AS degree, but at least I have it and it will hopefully take me a little further in my career. Who knows I may not stop here; the great thing about getting my degree from Rasmussen is the credits are regionally accredited. This means I can transfer them to just about any major University and continue my education towards my bachelor degree.

So for this semester I am taking Business Ethic, Ethics and Excel. They are all pretty easy classes and should be able to breeze through the semester. Now that they have to Student mentor section in the online portal I can have assistance at my finger tips. As for Excel I am pretty good already, but need to learn the formulas better because I will need that for my Accounting II course. As for the Ethic classes; this should be pretty easy for me since I have been in the workforce for some time now dealing with it day in and day out.

Oh and I almost forgot, we also have Wimba now too. The teacher can record a lecture or assist with a project and we can hear it on our own desk top. I am still learning how to use it, but I believe we can record questions about our studies for the teacher, but I need to get a microphone on my computer first. This is going to be pretty great and really take online courses to a whole other level.

Well I look forward to a great semester and I hope to have you along the whole way to share my student experiences.   Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions as I discuss my student life experience, current events and school.

I finished the summer semester courses and my two week break seemed as if I blinked and it was here and left before I could enjoy it. I guess that stems from working to much and everyday life stresses.  This semester I am adopting another class as I am trying to expedite my time attending school. I try to take additional classes when I can. However; working 60 plus hours a week doesn’t leave to much room for those extra classes. So I will take two for know and see how things go.

My classes this semester at Rasmussen are E-commerce and Customer Service. The E-commerce class is going to help me a lot in my working career now because I do a lot of online recruiting, marketing and searching for new business. Therefore I am actually excited about this class and anxious to learn a lot. The Customer Service I am not real sure about because I did not know they even had this type of course. It makes sense when you think about it because it is great for everyone to learn how to deal with customers whether they are outside of your company or inside. Inside meaning co-workers because we need to learn how to treat one another too.

Of course as I decide to take on more challenges with school, work wants to give me more challenges too. In Orlando we are really struggling with the economy and businesses are laying people off left and right. It has been addressed that I could be one of these people next. These are the times when I wish I could blink my eyes and be finished with my degree.

I was searching for jobs on CareerBuilder.com the other day with my boyfriend. He has his Bachelors degree from University of Central Florida and I am earning my degree now. The difference and stress levels from his search and mine are completely different. He is searching for areas of knowledge and compensation and looking in one field while I am searching for all of those plus education requirements and looking under several different fields. While there are companies out there searching for people with my experience they are requiring a four year degree. Even the sales positions were requiring a degree. What the heck… He was finding things left and right while I kept running into road blocks. This really scares me and I can only pray that I am not put into this difficult situation again.   

If only I had gone to College right after high school things in my life would be so different; however I did not so I have to move on. Thank goodness for the resources we have now which allow me to earn my degree online and work to pay my bills at the same time. Stay with me this semester as I journey through these courses and hope to learn lots – who knows, maybe I can share some things with all of you.

I watched the opening for the Beijing Olympics on Friday night and I can not even begin to explain how much I was in awe. For those of you that watched it can understand my appreciation for the Chinese. They didn’t just use the technology of the century. They used thousands and thousands of people to put on this spectacular show. It was filled with lots of beautiful colors, talent and history.

The Olympics is much like school because you practice and practice to make perfection and hope to win the gold medal at the end of the road. That is my school life in a nut shell. I study and study to learn as much as I can and hope that I receive the best grades while doing it; which in return allows me to have the gold medal (diploma) at the end of the road. 

 
These athletes train for years to have a chance to make it to the Olympics and some still don’t make it when the time has come. It is a once in a life time opportunity that couldn’t add up to anything else in the world for these people. If you think about it, they are becoming a part of history and they will never be forgotten. How many people in life can say that…not many.

While school may not make you apart of history in this way, it does make you a part of history in the fact that you will feel better about yourself and your accomplishments. In return will help you become smarter, stronger and happier.   This will allow you to have a great career whether you are working for yourself or for someone else. No matter what you will be making a difference which will make history.
What is your favorite part about the Olympics?