As a 32-year-old college student, I felt that this time my college experience was a success…. this time around. You might be asking, “Why this time around?”. Well, there’s an explanation behind that.

After I graduated high school, I went straight to college with excitement and no second thoughts. If my memory serves me well, I was going more for the college experience, the fun and hopes of earning a degree. Well while I was attending school (Blinn College), I was getting the college experience that I was looking for; but, at the same time the grades weren’t reflecting that. It kind of felt like I went out there, wasted time and money; so, I just packed up and went back to Houston.

A few years later while going through trials and tribulations within my own life, I had actually given up on education. One day while sitting down talking to my mentor, he actually been encouraging me to get back into school and earn myself a degree. For the longest I’ve refused to even think about going back there; until one day I had a really great talk with my mentor that made me change my mind. I remember we was talking about the backstory of the rapper “Ludacris” and how he started out in the entertainment business. One amazing fact that I found out about this story was that, before he (Ludacris) became a rapper; he was once a radio DJ. That story amazed me because I’m a DJ myself and I have aspirations of making something out of my DJ career.

So, taking these stories into consideration while going through what I was going through; I just went and took the initiative to enroll back into school. I still have my feelings that I have towards the education system, but one plus that I could take from it was that have a degree would give me at least a leg up in this competitive society.

Now the transition from being a troubled civilian to becoming a college student again was kind of a challenge to me. Going administration, financial aid, and even trying to hurry up and sign up for class before all the seats were taken was kind of getting to me but I didn’t let that get to me. I mean, it’s been times where I wanted to give up, but I had some good people in my corner that was encouraging me to keep going. As I attended HCC (Houston Community College), it was hard at first then I ended up getting a hang of things. Also, while I had gotten the hang of things, my grades started reflecting it also. While attending the last 2 years here at this establishment, I attended “online anytime” classes until my last semester when I had to take a hybrid class (Comm 2324) with Professor Batiste. Before taking this class, I was never the type of student that does good with sitting in a classroom listening to lecture. Until I took this class, this was enjoyable to me; when the professor spoke, it didn’t really feel like a lecture. It seems like he was just conversing with his students and didn’t really feel like a classroom, but I’ve learned and took a lot from this class, and I have him to be thankful for.

I can’t lie, this college experience this time around kind of changed me and made me man up. This here experience is so important to me because I will be the first one in my family to earn a degree especially while I was going through some adversities in my life at that time. For the decision I’ve made (to go to college), I’m forever owe thanks to myself, my family, friends and even my professors for encouraging and believing in me. This degree that I’m earning in the field of Mass Communication gave me the motivation to further my education even more by attempting to earn a Bachelor’s in the same field at TxSU (Texas Southern University).