Outside the Box

It’s amazing what happens when you step out of the box to consider options that you may not have considered before. This week I am looking at the class choices for the fall semester. The pickings are slim for my major and my schedule. I am finishing my second full year back to college. It’s been a very interesting ride. I am still homeschooling two children. I am still driving the school bus. It is a delicate balance that leaves me utterly exhausted most of the time.

I am a psychology major with a minor in HSDA. I started off with the HSDA as my major and psych as my minor, but the 600 hours of required internship hours were just too daunting. I am loving psychology, though, and it will get me to the next step quicker, so I am staying right here. I am learning so much and I LOVE the material I am learning. Last semester I discovered a new friend in my Quantitative Methods class. She and I are the same age, we both have over the average number of children, and we had two classes together. Some of the younger students in the class called us “Mom”, and during labs, when one girl in particular had a question, she would look up and say, “Moms??” We always both looked up and answered her question. It was a terrific experience for me. The best part was how we pushed each other: a little competition, a lot of mutual encouragement. Truly iron sharpening iron. We had a sweet group of girls around us–all of us Christians, all of us Psych majors, all of us striving for the A.

This semester I am in the Research Methods class, and I have been blessed with a good group. Each group has to complete a research study. Our study just went live and was sent to all the Psychology 1101 students. In a week or so we should have all our data, and then we will be able to analyze it. Individually, we each have to write a  paper such as the scholarly papers one would find in a peer-reviewed journal. Of course our studies aren’t going for peer review, but we are learning how to walk through the process.

My friend from last semester is not in my class this time around. I had to take a schedule that allowed me to take the Methods class with a professor who was willing to be extremely flexible in allowing me to leave lab early to get to my bus route. I also needed the HSDA class that was only offered on the same days. Next semester my friend and I are going to try to take two classes together. We both need one more lab class. There are four possible lab classes to take, but only two are usually offered in a semester. Again, the schedule for the lab class did not work at all for me, and this time there was not a professor who was able to be as flexible for me.  I was truly stressed out about this as I tried to manipulate my schedule to make it all work. However, since the content class is required anyway, I can do the lab at a later time. Thus, thinking outside the box, I will take the classes with my friend, and I will wait for a lab that works better for my schedule. I also have to have a foreign language, so I will take Spanish. I am hopeful that I can do well with 9 hours of class credits. My 4.0 since returning to college is important to me!

I have neglected my poor blog, and I hope my readers will forgive me. I hope to get back into the habit. There is SO much I want to share with you all!