Close to Burnout

OK, I'm blogging right now when I should be working on completing a paper that's due in about 38 minutes. I think the most challenging thing about this move and adjusting to a new routine has been my college requirement. There actually is a pretty good reason for it.

Back in October 2004 I made the decision to finally complete my Bachelor's Degree. I started college back in 1992 when I graduated high school, but quit after two years and got married. Notice I said I quit after two years AND got married...not TO get married. I made the decision to quit before my husband proposed. I was burned out on school then and decided that it was unfair to my parents. They were paying good money for me to attend an expensive school and by the second semester of my sophomore year, I was skipping as many classes as I could get away with skipping without failing my classes. I was doing the minimum that was required of me, and I had always been a much better student than that.

While P. was in Iraq, one of the nurses that I worked with introduced me to the University of Phoenix. She was working on her RN to BSN degree, and went on to complete the coursework required for her Master's. I think at this point she's waiting until she returns to the U.S. to finish the rest of her requirements, but I'm not positive. With her encouragement, I researched UOP and found a degree that suited me...the Bachelor's in Health Administration. I made the decision to start right then. I had put off completing my degree for so long, partially because of our lifestyle in the Army. How in the world was I supposed to complete my degree with our frequent moves and the concern of trying to transfer credits?? UOP seemed like the perfect fit. Plus, with it being all online, I was able to work within my time constraints, as long as I met the deadline requirements for assignments. This was amazingly simple while we were in Germany. I was a minimum of six hours ahead of the students I worked with on projects. As long as I had my assignments in by midnight my time (sometimes by midnight Phoenix time, depending on the instructor), I was able to stay ahead of the game. I was able to work on assignments while my teammates were working or still sleeping, and they were ready for submission long before the deadline.

Then we returned to the States. It's been more difficult than I realized to readjust to my new time zone for school purposes. After a year and a half, it's pretty hard to change my work habits for school. I'm doing ok, but not as well as I would like to, or as well as I was in Germany. I'm currently taking a Healthcare Ethics Class. Each class is five weeks long, and there is a lot of information packed into those five weeks. I take my classes back to back, and my previous class was Legal Issues in Health Care. Both of these classes are very interesting to me (believe it or not), but I'm about burned out with having to be on the computer all the time. Between my job and school, I feel like I'm chained to my laptop. Oh well...it could be worse. At least with the laptop I can work wherever and whenever I need to. I also only have six courses after this one and I'm finished with my Bachelor's. Then I have to decide whether to go ahead and finish my Master's. If I stop now, I don't know if or when I'll start back. But I'm really beginning to realize that I need a break. At least I will have completed the goal I set for myself so long ago. I think I need more time for myself and my family...to do the things we enjoy doing instead of always having to worry about a paper or other assignment that's due or meeting participation requirements.

Now I have about 20 minutes left. Time to stop procrastinating.