College Ruled at Thirty

Like most high schoolers, I jumped right from one educational institution right to another thinking that I knew exactly what I wanted. I would find out with a harsh reality that I did not know what I wanted. I went to school originally for Secondary Education, but couldn’t decide between History or Literature. My plan was to do two years at my community college FVCC and then go on to the University of Montana.

Somewhere between that, I would meet the woman I was going to marry and then marry after college. It was so close. Only one and a half years into college and I met her. Completely by accident, never had a plan to date. In fact, my new plan was not to even think about girls until I got to the university (I really thought this), even after a warning that it was the bachelor’s famous last words.

I got married, we were having a child, then I switched schools to an online school so we could stay in the area. I won’t bore you with the details, just know it was a helluva ride, and I would end up dropping out of college due to responsibilities. At that time, my wife and I had two kids, our relationship was on the rocks and I was trying to work full-time. It was time to let it go.

BATON PASS

Ten years and three kids later, there was another change. I found where my mind began to focus and it was into business. Mainly management or entrepreneurship. I had been writing and working on that career for a long time but I began to see that my vision was a little bit broader than I had thought.

I still needed a job. Some business opportunities fell apart and so I was left with trying to pay bills alongside my wife who worked part-time at a bakery and a pole fitness studio. It was then the shift began. My wife discovered a great job and she applied, then subsequently got the job. She was now working full-time.

My heart was still in business and entrepreneurship. I had done a lot of research over the six years I had opened my own LLC, but self-learning can only go so far. I needed direction. After discussing my plan with my wife to get a certificate in applied science, I could get into a management role or train in one.

Financing and scheduling was the next hurdle and it happened rather quickly. I received a grant that got me in, and classes began.

COLLEGE RULE

I’m thirty. It’s not old and I recognize that, but it sure feels like it at times. My biggest worry was that I was going to see how big of a culture gap there is between my generation and the generation just entering college. I kept reminding myself I wasn’t that old. Luckily, as I entered my first class and took my seat, I realized that there were people of all ages there. Two people were older than me.

Thus, I sipped my coffee from my banged-up thermos that had been with me on many jobs and listened to the introduction to the accounting class. I was thankful to remember that at a community college, there are people there who realize later in life what it is they want to do or decide to do something different. As it was, my small business was changing or I was, and I didn’t have the knowledge available to figure out how to change with it. Was it going to be a small press? An independent journal? I didn’t know how to take it, but now that I’m in the course and surrounded by people of like mind, things are shifting and the vision becomes clearer.