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Vanessa is a 24-year-old stay-at-home mom, wife, military spouse, and veteran. She started her online education while she was still in the Navy. After receiving an honorable discharge, getting married, and having two beautiful girls in two years, she is still going strong with her education at Ashford University. She is currently doubling up on classes with hopes to attend graduation December 2009 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration.
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I hope that you guys did not think that I just disappeared on you!! Well that was not certainly the case at all! Well, right as my week 1 class started at Ashford, I started feeling really sick. Chills and fevers, muscle aches (down to the bone), migraines, and extreme fatigue. Finally, after 3 days of not feeling better, my husband convinces me to go to the ER. When I got to the ER, they told me that they were going to test my blood for lyme disease, even though they checked my body and didnt see a rash (that can accompany it) or any tick marks. When I was discharged, they told me that the results wouldnt be back for 48 hours. I went home even though I still wasn't feeling right. Then, around 8:30, I get a knock on my door, and it was my ER doctor! Imagine my surprise! He told me that my blood work showed a very low white blood cell count and a high liver enzymes count, and from that preliminary results and my syptoms, they thought that I had a rare form of Lyme disease called Anaplasmosis. And because of that, he wanted to start me on anti-biotics, which he had a prescription in his pocket, for 14 days. So, as you can see, things have not been too good for me! Luckily, I called my Academic Advisor and explained what was going on, and she pushed my class back a week so I could relax and get better, which was definitely needed. Now, I am just finishing up my Week 1 of the same class I was taking before, Finance for Managers. I have an appointment this week with my DR. to check my blood and see how the antibiotics did. So, there is the update for you guys! Hope all is well!
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YES!!! Week 5 of my classes are finally done as of Monday! I must say that there was so much going on at my house the past few days before those finals that I really put them off till the last minute, which is not like me. For that, I know that I did not do the best that I could have on them because I was feeling rushed, so lets hope that I do get decent grades from those two classes. So, I have not heard back yet from my Financial Advisor about my situation with doubling up on classes. Even if I would have doubled up on all of my classes till December, I was really pushing it to graduate then. Now that I am starting week 1 of my new class, even if they came back and approved me, I would not be able to make December graduation. For a few days, I was really bummed out about this. Which in turn did not help my motivation for my finals that wre due. I was just not motivated and disappointed, that I even considered taking a break from school, because even after all my hard work, I was not getting what I thought I had wanted.My husband would have suported me, but he knew that I really didn't want to do it. So, I've decided to just accept it and continue to take one class like what was originally plan, and I will attend May 2010 graduation. I know that the fact of the matter is that I need to continue towards my dream and it doesn't matter when I graduate, as long as I do. Plus, it is a relief taking just one calss again. I was really working hard taking two at a time. So, hopefully, everything happens for a reason!
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So I have been MIA for a few days.....and that is because it is week 5 of my classes. What does that mean? Lots of stress and late nights due to finals! Every week 5, I am usually a trainwreck! Granted, I do get my syllubus at the beginning of the term, you would think that I should not wait till the final week to work on my finals. But that is not the case at all. Even though you get to know what you have to work on for your final, you have to do the required readings and learn about it before you can decide on a topic to write an 8 page final on. By the time week 5 happens, I usually have a topic and an outline established, but still have to get everything down on paper. This term, I have two finals for my two classes in Business Law and Introduction to LIterature. My Intro to Lit. class final wont be too hard. I really enjoyed this class and the amazing readings that I had. For this final, I get to choose 3 plays, stories, poems, that I enjoyed and compare and contrast them to each other. All I need is my textbook and that is it. No research or anything involved, which is also a plus. Plus, when you are writing about something you enjoy, it comes easier to write a paper on it....it tends to flow! For my Business Law class, on the other hand, is a bit more tricky. I chose to do my final on the issue of Whistleblowing. For anyone that does not know, a whistleblower can be defined as a person who reveals any wrongdoings or malpractices that are taking place within an organization. There are many rules and laws that protect whistleblowers, expecially in the wake of high profile cases such as with Enron. I am researching and writing about this and current cases. In other news, I still have not heard back from my school in regard for me to continue doubling up on classes. I am still upset about this and hope to hear something in my favor very soon!
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So, I have been at Ashford University and I can not say enough amazing things about this school. Well, yesterday I got my first big disappointment  When I transfered to Ashford University, I knew that since my previous college was on a different format than Ashford (I was taking a semester based curriculum), that not all my credits would transfer. I must say that I was pleased with the amount of credits that did transfer, but it did push my anticipated graduation date that I had already set back a bit. As I continued with my studies, I found out that I had the option of doubling up on my classes. The school does not recommend it because you are already on an accelerated course, but if you have a good GPA and can handle the workload, they allow you to double up for 4 terms( a total of 8 classes) each academic year. After looking at my schedule and talking with my academic adviser, I realized how many credits I had left, and if I could double up my classes the whole way through, I would cut 40 weeks off of my schedule and be able to attend graduation December of 2009, right around the time I had originally set up for myself. My academic adviser told me to continue with the doubled classes that I had, and if I did good, I could submit a one page petition requesting to allow me to do this. So I worked very hard in my classes, and bumped my GPA up significantly. After submitting my petition, I got an approval. But now, there were different rules for the students that doubled up. I had to get it approved through the financial department, which I didn't need to do before. For my currently doubled classes, my financial aid, military grant, and Pell Grant had helped covered the costs, which was amazing. But because students were racking up huge amounts of debt, now, if you want to double up, if you do not have the credit on your account, you have to pay for the classes up front in order to take your doubled classes. So, seeing as I rely on my financial aid for school, I am not able to pay the amount for the classes. I spoke with a financial supervisor and explained my situation. Right now, she is going to look at my financial aid disbursements that are set for this year, and see if maybe I can do a payment plan so I can continue with the schedule that I hope for. If not, then I won't be graduating till May 2010. I know it's just a few months after December, but I have had this in my mind for a while and I really want to graduate in December. So everyone, cross your fingers for me and I will update when I have more information.
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So I got my first reader question and I wanted to make sure I responded quickly! As anybody that goes to school either online or on campus, we all have something that we struggle with while we are pursuing this goal. For me, I think that my main struggle is time management. It's not good that I struggle with this as I feel that this is one of the most important elements of online education. It's not that I am lazy or anything. It's just that my issue right now is that I have two young children that demand my attention all day long. I do not have the ability to do much work while my girls are up because once I get started and get in my "groove" a diaper needs changing, a sippy cup wanted, coloring to attend to, or to kiss a boo-boo that one has recieved (and thats not including the housework or anything like that!). So for me, my homework time doesn't start till after 8pm when the girls are nice and tucked away in bed. Unfortunalty, most of the time, I am exhausted by the end of the night! Which means that I am usually up way past midnight studying. One idea that I have gotten and have been implementing is a schedule. Every Tuesday, which is when my school week starts, I look at my classes and calendar to see what I have to do for the week. Then I write down the days and the assignments that I need to do for each day. I try to give myself at least Saturdays off so I can just relax. Lately, it's been a bit hectic for me to stay exactly on schedule but I do try. Even though I have been taking classes online for about 2 1/2 years, I think that things have been easier when I make a schedule and stick with it. I have even made a schedule for my cleaning lists as well! So for all of you that need some help with time management, try to break it down into a schedule and stick with it! You could really see how much time, or not, that you do have in a day!
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