Narrative

Six Years Later

“What are you doing after graduation?”
That was a question often asked by many of my classmates as high school graduation neared.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I think I might take a year off and think about what I really want to do.” I replied.
I had contemplated going to college for quite some time. I even took college classes when I was a senior in high school. I also took an internship at the local hospital in what I was interested in going to college for. I always knew what I wanted to go to college for, it was always in the back of my mind. Why didn’t I just go for it? Why did I wait so long to decide to actually go back to school? I honestly couldn’t answer that question, I really didn’t know.
While I was contemplating what to do with my life, my classmates were planning their future. Most going to colleges far away, needing to get out of “that town”. While some already had jobs lined up for the summer and beyond. I was just enjoying my summer after graduation hanging out with friends, doing whatever I wanted, and not having a care in the world. I thought to myself, “Yeah, I’ll go to college someday.”   My plan was to take a year off, save some money, get my own place and then go to college the next fall.
Well, that plan never prevailed. While I did save some money and get my own place, I didn’t go back to college the next fall, or the fall after that. Actually I didn’t go back for six years. I thought about it for months and even years. I worked at a daycare for over 5 years after high school and while I loved working with the kids and loved the people I worked with, it just wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Not to mention, I wasn’t making as much money as I wanted. I know money isn’t everything and you shouldn’t base your happiness on money, but making just over minimum wage just doesn’t cut it.
I have one person to thank for pushing me to pursue my dream. My dream was always to go to school for Radiologic...