It was called to my attention that I had never updated following my last post about the kerfuffle at the university. Someone on Facebook asked me the following day “What did you have to do?” to which my answer was, “Talk to someone who actually knew what they were doing.”
Basically what I did was go back the next day and see my advocate in the Educational Opportunity Center. He is there to help me with whatever I need and I told him it was a positive insult that I should have to test in English and Reading after scoring near-perfect on the ACT. He told me I didn’t have to take the whole test, just the Math. I still didn’t think that was necessary – it was patently clear that I could do basic math but not algebra or above, and that I should be in zero-level Math – but I found it more important to get myself accepted than to argue. I felt I could live with taking the doofus Math test if it meant getting past this particular hurdle. So I took it – and tested at “post-high school” level. And if someone can explain to me how I can test at post-high school level when the ACT is (allegedly) high school or post-high school level and I bombed it, I’d be most obliged.
Anyway. The next step was to go talk to people in three different departments and let them look at my paperwork, my scores, etc., and tell them why I am deficient in Math. They were all very nice and very impressed with my scores, and all said that they couldn’t see me having any problems. The final lady I talked to advised me against taking a full load (I hadn’t planned on it; there’s no way, with three kids and having to do most of the work myself). She thought three classes would be a good place to start and I agreed.
From there it was on to make my appointment to come back for enrollment and class selection (June 9th), and there we had it. I was accepted. They asked me if I wanted an official letter and I said yes. It came the other day and you’d better believe I’m going to keep it, thank you very much. I can see it, framed, on the wall of my office years down the road.
And so, ladies and gents, off we go into the wild blue yonder. What will happen? I don’t know. Maybe this won’t work out how I’m currently planning. Maybe it will. Is it insane for me to pursue this course of study at this particular time in my life? Perhaps. But I’ll never know if I can do it until I try. I have the means, I have the support and I am more motivated than I’ve been maybe in my entire life. I have decided I want to do something and I’m actually following through. Even when it didn’t go as smoothly getting started as I’d expected, I followed through. The quote that has kept me going through this beginning process has been, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I made that step and now the journey has begun. I’m thrilled to see where it takes me.
