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Monday, September 25th, 2023. The first day of college.

Day one to becoming a therapist. Day one of earning a Masters degree in Psychology. Estimated time of completion: eight-plus years.

Why eight-plus years instead of the normal six? Knowing my body and assuming my health stays the same… It’s going to take more time for me than a healthy person. The plan for the first leg of the journey, a Psychology Associate of Arts – Direct Transfer Agreement (degree), takes six quarters at 15 credits per at a normal pace for a total of 90 credits. I’m going for a nine-quarter pace, so 2 years, 4 months.

The Beginning

Is a day earlier than scheduled. I’m ready nonetheless. I woke up at 8 a.m. from the shriek of the alarm clock on the desk in the corner of my room, where my desktop computer resides.

It was not a restful night, despite going to bed at a reasonable time, having hot cups of tea of Egyptian chamomile and Kava stress relief teas, and listening to the sleep meditations playlist on Spotify– noise canceling headphones equipped–

With little effectiveness. Eating a massive bowl of popcorn seasoned with nutmeg, coriander, monkfruit sweetener, Olive oil, and salt at 7 p.m. may not help sleep. Nor forcing myself into this new sleep schedule at the last minute probably didn’t help. Somehow, I managed to get enough sleep despite the restless sleep with stress, dreams, and a nightmare.

Math 081 strikes first

I began this post last week full of hope that I could blog while doing schoolwork. It didn’t go as planned. So I’m going to blog as much as I can in the meantime.

The first week of college went smoothly. It started with math and there were only 5 assignments with one in person class. I’m in math 81, which is a remedial math class with material before algebra and calculus at an accelerated pace. Week one was whole numbers, week two is multiplication and division with some beginner geometry. It’s been a long time since I’ve done long division and multiplication, so reviewing that again is helpful. And it’s important to learn the syntax and math grammar for the assignments and I assume the test since that’s completed online.

Though I’ve passed an online math class before and taken tests online to get a CDL license in the past, it’s still an adjustment to take the whole class online. It’s paced so you can only complete the assignments for the week, and half in person but it’s odd. Maybe it’s because it’s been eighteen years since the last college class.

The hardest part of doing assignments is that I question why I have to learn things in a rigid way, or why certain terms are necessary. Such as the factor of or, product of, and so on. Maybe this is just my problem with accepting authority or autistic urge to question why things have to be a certain way. I get that part of college is opening your mind to different ways of doing things and learning to be critical.

But. I signed up for this. All of it. I need this math class for later classes and I need to relearn this material because I learned it half a lifetime ago. It’s buried in my head and starting to shake some long buried related memories loose.

All said, I’m keeping up for now. I am stuck on one problem for today’s homework but class is tomorrow. And there is always the option of getting a tutor if needed.

English 101

I’ve attempted English 101 four previous times. First I got a “D” because I took it in Running Start, a local program where you can get an AAS degree while in highschool as a junior and senior student. I got that poor grade because I was an immature high schooler and it was a bad time in my life. I took it senior year in highschool and tanked that and a gym class at another local college (Seattle Central) because it was a year after my dad died. I was grieving and didn’t care much for school and barely passed highschool because spending time with friends and doing other activities such as working at my mom’s bakery, videogames and baseball was more important.

As for the other three attempts? I dropped the classes. Once because I changed to taking a technical English class for the Culinary Arts program, (did well in that) and the other two were attempts at returning to school while working but I stopped because life got in the way.

I’m here now with something to prove. I’ve been keeping up with the assignments but haven’t been graded. The work is a mix of reading, responding to a post asking questions about the piece, responding to classmates, and eventually essays.

Though this class is online, it’s paced and we do assignments throughout the week.

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So, that’s about it. I’m still adjusting to this new schedule and discovering my learning process. Going to school is much easier this time after working in jobs.

Lucy got clear X-rays from the vet and didn’t need dental surgery. She got her teeth cleaned and her gums will heal. It’s a huge relief because the bill was half as expected. High, but not take your breath away. Coconut also went to the vet and is healthy. She needed her rabies shot. That’s a welcome relief.

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