Being a Forever Student

11 months of paralegal education, and I have had enough.

Well, not really. But it was time to let go. I was at the end of my journey as an online paralegal student.

The online student center showed the truth: Exam 31 of 31. Average: 98.06% Please send Homework 1-6 to finalize grading.

I've sent in my homework in one email. It was Labor Day yesterday so I'm sure they haven't checked it yet. Maybe today. Maybe tomorrow.

I'm hoping to get my certificate within a month, if not in two months.

Is this the end of the road for me as a "forever student?" I sure hope not.

Facts: I defended my Master's thesis on July 30. I passed my thesis to the grammarian on August 6. It's September 2, and I still haven't received the thesis checked by the grammarian.

Am I in a hurry? Not really. After all, among our class, I was the first to finish my thesis and defend it. My other classmates would be doing their first revision, and when I get my thesis from the grammarian for final revision and bookbinding, they'll be impatient as me, waiting on their thesis to be checked by the grammarian.

So why can't I wait?

Hmm...good question. Not really easy to answer. First, I hate procrastination. Second, I'm not that bad in grammar. :P Third, I want to be finished so that I can start a new class or course, or whatever it is that I feel like doing.

Okay, fine, I'll wait. I just hope to pass my hardbound thesis before October 21, graduation day.

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity wrote a Devil's Advocate post about not paying your children's education. You can find the link here: http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/dont-pay-your-childrens-college-education.html

It's an interesting article with good points about why financing your children's education is not the best financial move. It states that you need to save for your retirement and the kids can support themselves like their generation before them. In part, I agree with it. The other half of me doesn't.

My parents always thought it was their responsibility to send their children to school to have a good education, and hopefully get a good paying job for them. Although this was their goal, my parents always stressed out to my brother and me that the ultimate goal of education is not to work for other people, but for other people to work for us. After all, salaried people don't receive as much as entrepreneurs, correct?

So what do we do in exchange of the free ride to higher education? We should study hard and after four years, bring them to our graduation and give them our college diploma as proof of our hard work.

My brother and I did that, and we brought smiles to our parent's faces.

At our university, I see a lot of students working hard for their tuition fees. Work student scholarships are common, but are limited to different positions, which include clerk duties and janitorial positions. People sometimes think it is degrading, but I find them honorable. In the end, they will value their education more because they worked hard for to pay for the diploma. But I see a lot of people who have gone through college easy and still value their education.

My parents still support me in my education. They paid 80% of my school fees for my Master's degree, and 100% for my paralegal course. They said that they don't tire of sending me to school because I work hard for it and they see that I love studying and gathering more knowledge that I can use for myself later.

I am fully financially supported, but I value my education.

So tell me, who is ultimately responsible for a child's higher education? Please vote.

Who is responsible for a child's higher education finances?
( polls)

So I received two emails from Emily Eider from Blackstone Career Institute. The first one told me that she has received the assignments that I sent her to finish my paralegal course. Generic stuff.

The second one, though, was much better. She told me that I had gotten a satisfactory grade in all of my assignments and that they were going to send me a diploma for finishing the paralegal course.

What?! Why is everybody looking at me like that?

So, I'm a nerd. I admit it.

Of course, I did my niceties (I don't know how to spell that and I used to compete in the spelling bee, probably 'cause it's not a real word) and thanked her and, of course, BCI for making my paralegal education dreams come true (not really like that, but in a sense, sure). I told her I'm contemplating of enrolling in a continuing education via Ed2Go, also offered by BCI. She emails me back and recommends the Legal Nurse Consulting introductory class, which is in fact what I'm going to enroll in a month and a half from now.

So, there goes my highlight of the day. I'll make sure to post a picture of my diploma when I get it. It's going to be mailed to me on Thursday. I'll give it two weeks to arrive here at the house.

I never understood why the pictures that would be forever plastered in my transcript of records always end up looking bad. Check it out...

I haven't visited and edited this lens in 12 days. What does that say about me? Maybe that I can't finish what I started. Maybe that I'm not as fervent or passionate in writing on this lens. Maybe I'm just lazy. Or maybe that I just got a new job, which gives me more responsibilities.

Yes, I got a new job, but it's not something that should keep me away from this lens. After all, I still have to tell the world that I am a forever student.

My goals for this month:
1) add something new here at least once every day, no matter how short
2) describe something about my education and learning in my articles
3) updates about my new job :)

So, hopefully you'll tune in.

Last Tuesday, I got down to business. I talked with my dad and he said that if he thinks it would help me in anyway, then I should definitely enroll in that course.

And so I did...

Starting October 15, I will attending a 6-week course on the Introduction to Legal Nurse Consulting from Ed2Go. For only $99, I get to see another growing field in the nursing career and also a growing legal career.

I want to see if I can use legal nurse consulting as a means to add more legal experience in my resume, and also to add a little more money to my pocket.

Ah, another month and a half of learning...I can't wait.

Aha! Finally, I am a featured Squidoo Lens. But I wonder why no one is visiting. I must not be making myself known. It will take awhile, they say.

So, what should I do now?

I think I should just keep this thing updated. So far, I'm having fun, and adding posts everyday. That's one good thing. Also, I'm commenting in different blogs and I leave my URL on them...so if anybody thinks my comment is cool and clicks on my name, they'll be redirected here. So far, that hasn't happened yet, but well, maybe soon. :)

I'm also planning to write a blog, and maybe have it as a guest post at one of my favorite blogs. Lots and lots of things to look forward to.

Hopefully, my work won't keep my busy. :)

Happy studying, folks!

The post man just came by and had a large envelope for me that said, "Don't Bend."

Sender: Blackstone Career Institute

Contents: my paralegal diploma...

Since I'm a proud professional student, I thought I'd show it to you all...

Over the course of a month, I found myself adding up 3 lbs. toy 125 lb, 5 feet tall body. In short, I am of medium build, and I am overweight by 3 lbs.

I find myself sort-of disgusted by the way I look. Not because I don't think I'm pretty enough in my current weight (self-esteem, people). My boyfriend keeps on reminding my everyday how beautiful I am so I have somebody telling me how that's true.

Mainly, I dislike the fact that whenever I put on my clothes (clothes which fit me just a few months ago), I now find everything tight in all the wrong places. I've never liked tight clothes in a woman, much more for me, and I don't think I'll start now no matter how people think that they're sexy.

I've battled with bulimia, in fact, it's been just 7 months since I haven't had the urge to purge whatever I eat. Problem with body image: sure, I have that. Plus that bloated feeling inside me doesn't help at all.

I have exactly 4 weeks until graduation. I have 3 lbs to lose. I have 125 lbs to maintain until then, and yes, I have 1 fabulous graduation dress to buy.

Take up a challenge? Sure, why not? I only took challenges academically. Probably that's what made me a couch potato. This time I'll take up a physical challenge.

I'm going to exercise for at least 20 minutes everyday. How? Use a stepper. Watch a TV series on my computer for 30 minutes. 5 minutes warmups. 20 minutes stepping up and down that stepper. 5 minutes cool down.

What about food? I'm going to have to lessen my intake. My boyfriend says that it's not the time of the day that you eat the food, but the quantity and quality of food that you eat. He has a point there. But I'll take my chances as research shows that the two types of diet that help in losing and maintaining weight are: low-carb diet (not good for Filipinos as we eat a lot of rice, but I'll try), and Mediterranean diet (eat whatever you like until noon, then stop eating by 7 pm; and also red wine helps burn up the calories). So I'll mix the two.

I'll get back to my figure. I'll be 125 lbs soon enough. You'll see

I'm a regular subscriber to the blog, "Christian Personal Finance" by Bob Lotich, and today I found this.



I am a big sucker for giving, whether it be monetary (although sometimes I don't give enough, but I believe that every one cent helps) or something intangible.

If you want to join, do sign up here: http://www.christianpf.com/10daygive/#sign

Or maybe you want to view a video about the cause first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNCnsS0Ophw

Now to plan on what I'm going to do over the next 10 days. :) Maybe I'll just go spontaneous, huh?

:)

There is one thing I'll have to admit before I even start describing my first day of giving challenge: giving isn't really a challenge for me. In fact, it's one of the easiest things to do. I was born with a generous heart, care of my mother. No wonder I get complaints from too many people. Also, I was awarded "Most Generous" a couple of times in high school. I just like to give. I can't help myself.

What does that have to do about being a forever student? Well, maybe nothing at all. Maybe I can't relate it to anything remotely close to formal education, but every time I give, I start to understand love. I understand selflessness. I understand the beauty of making somebody smile. So there's still some learning taking place.

Okay, here goes my first day of 10 day giving challenge.

I had a bad day today. Pretty bad. I was supposed to go out at 10:30am, not 11:25am. But my brother was late. I was still mad at her fiancee for doing something last Sunday (I won't elaborate). I'm the type to hold grudges. I just can't let go immediately when it hurt so bad.

So I was stuck with my brother and her fiancee, and I knew that I had to meet my boyfriend at 1pm. That was not happening now. That doesn't help my mood at all. So I tried to feign tiredness.

My brother noticed something was wrong, and asked me to talk to her fiancee. I couldn't do it. While driving her home, he spoke about how he didn't like the fact that the two most important people in her life were fighting. I felt my brother's pain, but I wasn't about to humble myself (my brother must really hate having me as a sister sometimes).

When he got out of the car, though, my insides started to quiver. She and my brother have been together for 6 years. We've been her family since that time. And my brother loves her so. If my brother can forgive her for doing something hurtful to him, why can't I who was just a witness to that dramatic scene?

I gathered up my courage, turned around, and waved to her goodbye. I said, "I'll see you tomorrow at church." I promise tomorrow will be a better day between me and my brother's fiancee.

What was able to give? The gift of forgiveness.

My day doesn't end there.

I came home and logged on to my YM account. My dad was online. They're currently missionaries to Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. It's a joy to see them online everyday. I thank God for technology.

My dad talked to me about how there was somebody who wrote him about being interested in supporting the ministry. My dad had to write him so I offered my services as an editor. People know that I always edit stuff for my parents, brother, and relatives so there must be nothing new or giving about this. That's where they are wrong. I used to do all those with a bad spirit. I'd do it because they asked me to, not because I want to do it.

Today, I knew how important the reply email was for my dad. So why give him a headache with my complaints? I did it. Message sent. Now, I'll pray that he'll support my parent's ministry in Africa.

Oh, and a plus: my dad wanted me to pay for a medical instrument he ordered on Ebay. Guess what, there was a section in the payment webpage about supporting a non-profit organization that's building schools in different communities through Mission Fish. I clicked, "Yes, I'll donate." Donated a dollar.

Hmm...maybe my giving challenge is connected to formal education.

Can't wait for day 2! :)

I'm attaching a picture of my dad with the local pastors from Democratic Republic of Congo as they prepare to go on hospital visitation at University of Lubumbashi Hospital.

First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate myself for jumping up 5,000 spots in the How-to and Education category and 50,000 spots in the overall ranking of Squidoo lenses. That's a major leap, and I did not expect that. I guess if you keep your lens up to date, Squidoo will help you become noticed.

To the two people, who visited my blog, thank you very much. Keep coming back for more boring stuff! :P Just kidding!

Okay, let's get back to the topic.

Most people who know me know me for my profession: a registered nurse. That's what I am, for real. But I don't work at a hospital, not a nursing home, nor a hospice or home health care agency. People know me as the "freelancer." Instead of focusing on practicing the art of nursing, I've decided to teach the science and theory, which is nursing.

Growing up, my mother was a clinical instructor at a big College of Nursing in Manila. Even when we moved back home to Tacloban City after my dad's residency training, she was still teaching at a local school of nursing. I used to go there with her and spend time at the library. I'd go there during school days as I'd feign sickness so that my mom would be convinced to take me (believe it or not, the professional student wasn't a perfect student).

Looking at my mom's work, I have decided that I would never become a teacher. Funny how life ends up laughing at you. Moral of the lesson: never speak of the future as if it's certain because you never know what will happen.

For the past year or so, I've been making a living out of teaching. I teach about fundamental nursing skills, maternal and child nursing, pediatric nursing, medical-surgical nursing, etc. Okay, I've teached each and every one of the subjects in nursing.

Am I good? I'll leave that to my evaluations. But I know that these are true of my teaching:
1) I am strict.
2) I am idealistic.
3) I am not the most entertaining of teachers.
4) I appreciate the learning process.
5) I want the best from each of my students.

I think what's interesting about my becoming a teacher is that I am effective. I have had several students who came up to me after taking their major exam and say, "thanks, you were a big part of my success." Knowing that I was part of something big in a person's life makes me feel good. Sometimes I find myself complaining about my job, and how crappy it is to be preparing something for several days and have it end in 2 hours. It's frustrating. I believe I've burned more calories preparing and studying the material I'm going to teach than exercising. But the work is done and it's time to receive the results of your students' exam and you've found that they've passed, every single complaint flies out of the window.

I believe what makes me appreciate formal education and what makes me want to go back to the classroom, be it in a brick and mortar institution or online, is the fact that formal education has led me to my career here in the Philippines: teaching. I've learned some things in college and I used it appropriately that now I can share the knowledge I have to my students. Every little bit of knowledge that goes into my brain I can be able to share to someone else. I might not find the knowledge for me, but maybe it is for somebody. I might as well share.

So I'll learn as a student, and I'll learn as a teacher. Formal education or not, I'll keep on learning.

P.S. I just really, really hate computing my students' grades.

Today is Sunday. Tomorrow I'm going to ask my Jewish boyfriend how many days do they celebrate Hannukah. If I'm correct, I'm guessing it's twelve. I know the song is not about Hannukah, but I kinda thought that the song "12 days of Christmas" might have a little touch of Christmas.

I'll have to Bob Lotich soon as to why are we giving on September/October. Why not on the holidays? Maybe because it's too cliche and we need to be more spontaneous.

Hey, I realized I am very spontaneous. I didn't understand when the 10 days of giving challenge was going to start. I just received an email from Bob that it starts on October 10. Whoops! I should have heed the warning signs when he talked about saving money to give to people. Whoopsie daisy! Oh well, I've started. Maybe next time I'm going to start giving at least once a day for the whole year. That would make a great blog or Squidoo Lens.

So, it's my second day of giving. Nothing big today, but at least I feel better than yesterday. I've finally forgiven my future sister-in-law. My dad and I talked about my future. My boyfriend and I were able to catch up with each other. I was able to send my thesis to the bookbinding company (I'll have to pick it up on Wednesday). The ink died out on me again, and I'll have to buy a new one tomorrow for the thesis papers I'm giving out to people who mean a lot to me.

So what did I have to give today? I didn't have much money. I'm still paying off a purchase I made 2 weeks ago, and I am saving for a FMLA treatise (I still like to call it hornbook) for me to study.

My boyfriend and I were talking about my students not getting good grades in the last 2 exams that I gave. I told him that the first was a given as it was a pretest and was a surprise. At least, 65% of the class population failed that exam. I gave them a post-test, too. I would expect that they would get a higher score. Well, records show that only 65% of the class passed that exam, too. Is it me? Am I a failure as a teacher? I hope not.

The students are lax these days. Maybe it's the educational system. Maybe it's the overpopulation of the student nurses here in the Philippines, and the idea that it's easier to go to a foreign country if you're a nurse (they're wrong, by the way).

I admit some of it is to be blamed on me. I'm not the most entertaining of clinical instructors and I like it that way. I tell stories. I make sure people understand what I'm talking about, but I won't stop if the students start talking in class and decide that they don't want to learn. It's their prerogative. When I was a student (still am), it was important for me to study and I made that a priority.

Sigh. I don't understand students these days.

But I'm giving my class a chance to make up. Today, I made a take-home exam for them, and I'm making a grading system that would be a win-win situation for them. As long as they work their best, attend class, participate in class, and take all the exam and at least get a 75% score, they'll do all right.

Point 1 for me.

I'm the new nurse research adviser/director of SC-SIT. It's a tough job, but I love it. I never knew how much I love research until I finished my Master's thesis. It's a exhilarating feeling. Now, I want my students to learn the value of research in our career as nurses. I'll have to be lenient with them, though. I didn't start, and it seems like who ever handled their research work before wasn't making things easier for the students.

So today, I helped a group with the questionnaire of their study.

Point two for me.

Even until now, I dream of becoming a lawyer. Funny, whenever I see myself as a lawyer, I don't see the dollar signs ($) in my eye. It would be great to have that, but as long as I'm earning a good amount of money to live in a 2 bedroom apartment, get groceries that would last for 2 weeks every paycheck, have a car that takes me places, and have a savings account that would give me a comfortable life during retirement. Oh, and it would help to have the love of my life by my side. :)

But since I'm still dreaming of becoming a lawyer, I'll stick to reading Nolo and visiting legal aid services websites, dreaming that I'll be working for them someday. Ah...that would be me.

So, I decided to donate $1 to the Christian Legal Aid Office of Los Angeles through Paypal.

Point 3 for me.

Oh, I should tell you that I have a thing for donating dollars. I'm planning to write an article about it, but I'm too busy juggling everything from work, school, leisure reading, church ministry, and my life. I should get to that soon though. I'll keep reminding myself.

So there we go...Day 2.

Can't wait 'til tomorrow. :)

I've skipped writing again for quite a few days, too. It's been a busy week for me. I'm teaching the whole week and I am preparing for next week lessons in advance. It's kinda hard to juggle everything, especially since at the end of the day, I'm tired and I just want to sleep. But I can't do that yet, as I still have some work to do.

Good news of the day, though, is that the Dean of the College of Nursing where I work part-time is going to appoint me Level 4 Chairman. Wow, I'd never thought I'd get that position. Only by God's grace.

I hope everything works out. So pray for me.

As for now, I'll go back to working.