School Is In Session

I used to hate school. I realize hate is a very strong word, but it used to aptly describe my feelings about anything academic. My mom will certainly back me up on just how much I disliked school growing up. Even having been home-schooled from sixth grade through high school (with plenty of flex time to work and travel), I still could not stand school. When I graduated in 1998, I told myself I was done with school forever. I had no desire to go to college. Zero, zip, nadda. Before I go any further I do want to make one thing clear. I had never been opposed to learning. I have always loved learning. In fact, I would say that I have always been a sponge for knowledge. I just always hated learning under the formal setup that came with schooling. There too often appeared to be a lot of repetition that served no other purpose than to burn me out while not providing any real educational benefit. Of course, it certainly does not help that I had a slew of less than stellar teachers during my elementary school years that simply dismissed my learning style and labeled me a "problem child". Not wanting a repeat of teachers like that was definitely a driving factor in my staying away from higher education after high school. Instead, it was off to the work force for me.

When I joined the Air Force in 1999, I became enrolled in an Associate Degree program through the Community College of the Air Force. This wasn't something I necessarily would have chosen to do. When an enlisted Airman completes technical training, they are automatically enrolled in a program that was inline with their career field. In most career fields, technical training provided for half of the required credits towards the degree. Since I maintained communications equipment, I was enrolled in the Electronic Systems Technology program. Even though this sounded somewhat interesting to me, it had never been more than something to do to fill a block. If I ever wanted a chance of making Senior Master Sergeant (E-8), I was going to have to have that A.S. So early on I took a few CLEP tests to complete my general education requirements. I had no desire to sit in a classroom and I certainly was not looking to learn anything new. I simply wanted to knock out the requirements and get the degree. After those initial CLEPs in my first two years of service, I stopped working on it and didn't give it much though.

Fast forward to 2009. When I started getting ready to test for Master Sergeant, I realized that I had better finish out my associates if I ever wanted a chance of making the next rank after that (no longer a goal anymore). I had two more course requirements I needed, math and speech. I can't tell you how many times I wish I had taken the speech CLEP back in 2002 after I had graduated Airman Leadership School. With the requirement to do several speeches during that course, I would have been primed and ready to knock out that CLEP. Alas, schooling was not in the forefront of my mind at the time. So I decided to tackle math first. Math had always been my worst subject. If my hate for schooling as a whole was strong, then my hatred for math was even stronger. I took two math CLEPs that year and failed them both. After failing the second CLEP, it became inevitable that I was going to have to take a class if I wanted to fulfill this degree requirement.

Towards the end of 2009, I took a yearlong deployment to try and get a new assignment. After a few months of being in the desert, I decided that I might as well make the most of the time I had and try to better myself a little. With that in mind I signed up to take a math class. That class right there was the turning point in my attitude about education. My professor was this little, old Bulgarian lady. She was bright, eccentric and funny. Most of all, she was able to break down math in such a way that it finally clicked for the first time with me. After 8 weeks in her class, two things happened; 1. For the first time in my life I actually enjoyed math somewhat; 2. I wanted more schooling and the opportunities that would open up as a result of education.

Skipping ahead to the present, I have since completed my A.S. in Electronic Systems Technology. As I type this up, I have just completed two courses this week that puts me a little more than half way to my Bachelor of Science in Fire Science Management. I'm currently maintaining a 3.9 GPA and I'm on tap to finish my degree in 2015. Now I'm not typing all this to try and boast. After reading how I used to feel about schooling however, you can see that I'm justifiably proud of how far I've come. For the first time in my life, I am enjoying my education. Now I'm slowing down a little for this next semester and only taking one class while my shoulder heals. Come next semester though, I'll be back up to two classes. So what's to come? Working on schooling has helped me to formulate new goals. As soon as I complete my undergraduate degree, I plan on steaming ahead right into a Master of Arts in Emergency Management. This will open up many more avenues of employment post-Air Force and will also allow me to fulfill another dream, to teach college-level fire classes.

I'll close here by saying that I'm proof that it is certainly never to late to go back to school. I sometimes look back and wonder why I had not begun this earlier. I like to think it happened when it was supposed to. Here's to getting an education and making your dreams become reality.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.