Need Help Pls!

Honey, it is NEVER too late. So long as you are livin' and breathin', there is nothing you can't accomplish if you want to. Won't be easy, but then again, nothing worthwhile ever is. GO FOR IT!!!!! ; )

I think you should look into it and see what you would need to do to complete this. It will take a while and be hard (especially with children) but I see NO REASON you wouldn't be able to eventually be able to do this! Don't let anyone tell you what is hard for you. Even if it is, school is hard for a lot of people and they find a way. No reason you shouldn't be able to also.

I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." In other words, if YOU think you can do it, you absolutely can. Don't listen to others. Listen instead to that quiet voice inside who insists you owe more to yourself & your children.

GO FOR IT!!!!!

If it's to be, it's up to me. So, go make it happen girl. You've SO got this!

My MIL went back to school when she was in her 50s so that she could be a nurse. It's never too late if you really want it.

As a homeschooled student you don't need your GED.

There is a different admissions process (to both colleges & universities). Its too bad your mom didn't know about this, because most homeschooled students start community college at 16/17 (for free). They either use their 2 year degree and transfer into a university as a junior, or use those 100&200 level classes as their highschool transcripts for Ivy League applications.

You family REALLY dropped the ball. Both then, and now.

Personally... I STARTED school when my son was 2 months old.

Do the math:

10 hours of childcare needed per week
(vs 50 hours of childcare for full time employment)

Work (aka study) from home / set your own schedule
(Otherwise known as the SAHM dream job that you see people asking about a zillion times).

Through scholarships, grants, & loans... You can "make" more than a full time minimum wage job.

Schools usually have subsidized daycare as part of their financial aid package.

BSRN = a 5 - 6 year school tract. Which means you'll be working full time when your youngest is in 1st grade / school full time.

AND HOW IS ANY OF THIS A BAD IDEA????

If you feel your educational base is lacking... Community colleges offer EVERYTHKNG you need to start from the ground up. Study skills classes, writing labs, math labs, counseling, special needs & learning assistence (dyslexia, auditory provessing, adhd, etc.), tutoring, mentoring. Remedial classes. Testing services. A person can walk into a community college not even knowing how to read... In a year be taking 100 level courses, and in 3 years transfer to a university as a junior.

Its not all rainbows and unicorns... Its hard work... But not as hard as working full time with little ones... And in 5 years you'll be making 10x as a nurse what you could in a no education required minimum wage job.

GO FOR IT, woman.

Even if your first quarter is just study skills seminars and writing labs (no classes while you get into the groove & wait on financial aid), and your 2nd quarter is 1 class... Get started. The time will pass whether you go to school or not. In 5 or 6 years you could be exactly where you are now, or you could be an RN. (Or anything else you fall in love with and work for).

______

Note: I said BSRN instead of RN up top (although both BSRNs & RNs are Registered Nurses)... Because one takes 4.5 years, the other takes 5 years. The difference is about 20k a year (40k v 60k to start). Most RNs go back to school for their BSRN. Spending that extra 6 months in school saves you 2 years of school later on, and puts an extra 20k in your pocket every year.

________

And you're 23 for crying out loud. You have 40 years left before retirement!!!! Even if you were 50, you'd have 15 years before retirement. "Too Old" / missed you chance/ etc. is a ridiculous notion. He k, if you enlisted in the military right out of highschool, you'd just be starting school. Don't listen to math challenged morons who don't see that spending 5 years setting yourself up for the next 40 years of working is. A. Good. Idea. Or that 10 hours of daycare is LESS than 50 hours of daycare. You go rock your life and do right by yourself and your kids.

I think you need to stop listening to your family and all the other negative nellies out there - I think it is really sad that your mother chose to home-school you, probably thinking it was the better option, but then apparently didn't expect you to do anything with it. Makes me wonder how far your mom got with her education, and then if she is worried that somehow you might do "better" than her - which most parents WANT, but not ALL.

My cousin went to school to become an RN, and eventually earned her bachelor's, then a master's, and is now a certified nurse practitioner that owns and runs her own medical practice with doctor supervision. She did all this while raising 2 kids. I had vet school classmates that were also parents, or became parents along the way, and they managed to graduate and become practicing veterinarians. Anything is possible, if you put your mind to it. It did help that they had supportive spouses and families, but they made it. If you want to change and improve your situation, you need to make it happen, not just sit around waiting for someone to tell you what to do or get your family's approval. I say, go for it, and don't let the turkeys get you down.

Your situation is actually a great example of why homeschooling is not the solution for every family. You've had one teacher for your whole life, and that teacher did not believe in you. And, I am so, so sorry about that.

You absolutely can and should get your GED. If you can write a coherent and intelligent-sounding post here, you can get a GED. What I recommend, since it sounds like you have lots of responsibility at home, is just taking it slow. Enroll in a class, but as part-time as possible. Very early on, as in, day one, ask the instructor to recommend a tutor who can help you through the rough spots. That way, if something is confusing, it's not a reason to quit, it's just something to ask your tutor about.

Really, you sound as capable as anyone else. It just sounds like you were "educated" by an untrained teacher who didn't believe in you. That's not a reflection on you; it's a reflection on, well, a not-so-great homeschooling situation. Now that you've got the maturity to take your education into your own hands, you'll do great. And you'll be an inspiration to your little girls.

Take baby steps so you do not get overwhelmed.....and don't let anyone put things in your head to make you think you can't do something.

If you have the drive and motivation to do something and you are willing to put forth the effort.... YES YOU CAN do anything you set out do to.

Keep a positive attitude, seek our counselors, instrustors who will help guide you and believe in you.

Never, ever, give up. You go girl and yes you can.

my homeschooled kids did require a GED in order to get their associates degrees from the local community college, but they didn't need it to get INTO the credit programs. so you can work on those two things together. the GED will be a piece of cake once you've had a semester or two of comm college.
you may need to take a 98 or 99 english or math class in order to get into the credit classes. don't let that faze you. they're useful classes and it's better to firm up your foundation than to get over your head with college level classes that are too hard. i happily paid for the 'remedial' classes for my 15 year olds because they are such a great introduction to college work.
you are still very young, K., although with 2 kids you might feel overwhelmed. there's lots of time for you to continue your education, and i applaud your desire to model a positive lifestyle for your girls.
do not listen to your family. it's hard for people who haven't accomplished much to really understand how far drive and energy and ambition can take you. please please please do not allow their negative talk to impact you.
get into community college, talk to the counselors, and give yourself a little time to settle on the right career option. it may well be nursing, or you may find that when you start on your college path that other passions open up for you. don't limit yourself!
and above all, don't let others limit you.
you can do this, girlie!
khairete
S.

I"m a SAHM but I would like to encourage you to do whatever you want to better yourself for you and your kids. Don't let anyone try to stop you!!! Yes, it will be hard with 2 small kids but if you really want it, go for it!!! Also, you can go to school online. Well, for college, not sure about GED. But you know what, research GEDs to see if there are online programs you can take. Don't limit yourself!!

Take things in stages, K.. Work on getting your GED first. Don't talk about getting a nursing degree. Once you've gotten your GED, THEN try for an LPN degree, K.. You'd get less static from others if you don't talk about your later goals.

You are very young and yes, you have plenty of time to work on your education. The best way you can handle this is to SHOW people that you can be successful (after the fact), not talk about what you want to do with them beforehand.

Homeschooling is vastly different from going to college. You'll have to make a real adjustment. But that's okay, K.. Work hard to get your GED - that will help you learn how to study again.

One last thing, K.. You will need to find ways to help yourself learn instead of just expecting someone (like your mother) to lead you to resources. Makke this part of your GED studying.

You can do this. Even if you decide not to get an RN degree later on, you'll be SO much better off getting your GED. One day you will need to go back to work. You can't get any decent jobs without a HS diploma/GED. You just can't. So take care of business for your future!!

Dawn

I had my first child at 20, second at 22, and third at 24. I got my undergrad degree when I was 22 (a month before I had baby number 2) and I just completed my MBA this year. You CAN do anything you put your mind to. I won't tell you it's easy, because it is not. You'll need the support of everyone around you to do it and remain sane...but it's very do-able.

Also, no one is ever too old or waited too long to go to school. My mom got her undergrad in 2004, she got her masters in 2011, and she is one year into her EdD now. She is in her 50's doing all of this, while working a full-time job and volunteering more hours than anyone else I know. You're never too old or been out of it for too long.

that is one of the saddest things i've ever heard.

honey -you can do exactly as much, or as little, as you decide to.

you can do it! i promise!

what a crock that nursing would be "too hard for you". god. i'm sorry but your family sound like tyrants who have enjoyed keeping you under their thumb.

the ladies have some good advice. i wasn't homeschooled so i don't know what you need to do -but you can find out. if nothing else, you have access to a computer - google it! you CAN do this. you CAN do whatever you make up your mind to do.

don't listen to people who obviously have never really wanted anything in their lives- except to keep you down. ANYTHING is possible if you are willing to work. you go girl!

Your mom was homeschooling you and gave up on you? Why do I find that extremely annoying? If she wasn't willing to do the hard work of teaching you (one of the reasons I wouldn't have homeschooled my own kids), shouldn't she have simply sent you to school?

Enough about your mom. You can do it. Lots of good suggestions below.

Girl go get it!! You can do anything you want to! You should be very very proud of yourself trying to give your children a better future! Good luck:)))

Please please do it. As an adult when you want something so bad, you succeed. I always wanted to go to nursing school and my mother told me I was not smart. I had to live at home to do it but with such negative vibes I gave up my dream. Fast forward when my Dad was dying and I was caring for him, she looked at me and said you should have gone to nursing school. I had to walk out of the room. I did get into the medical field but not nursing.
School did not come easy for me either. So I beg of you, go for it. You can do it!!! You will always regret it if you do not try. I regret not going for it.

Updated

Please please do it. As an adult when you want something so bad, you succeed. I always wanted to go to nursing school and my mother told me I was not smart. I had to live at home to do it but with such negative vibes I gave up my dream. Fast forward when my Dad was dying and I was caring for him, she looked at me and said you should have gone to nursing school. I had to walk out of the room. I did get into the medical field but not nursing.
School did not come easy for me either. So I beg of you, go for it. You can do it!!! You will always regret it if you do not try. I regret not going for it.

You can do this! Go down the road to Bloomington and speak to the admissions people at IU. They will help you. Ivy Tech is right there by you as well and their credits transfer to any Indiana state college. I'm pretty sure they even have a GED program. Call them today. I graduated from IU and their staff wants to help you succeed!

Go for it, K.! The only person that you really need to support you is your husband, because you guys share your lives together. Everyone else can kiss your butt on this. You could contact the local high school and the local college with the program you are interested in and find out what you need to do. You can take classes one at a time until you get to the level you need to be to start a program. Many accredited colleges have ONLINE classes that work very well with a mom's schedule.

And you're not "too old" or "out of school too long". My hubby is 41 and is going to start med school this summer. He graduated from college in the 90's for heaven's sake - that's 20 years ago.

Also, you are an adult now, and you "have a clue" about life. This will probably help you with school. And college is NOT like high school. The professors (not all, but most) are helpful because the students are PAYING to be there, and don't just have to be there (most of the time).

I could be wrong, but I think that she may have given up because SHE couldn't keep up, not because of you. And now you want to use the smarts you have to do more with your life. Often when we start to make positive changes in our lives, the people that have known us for a long time (especially family) are threatened by the changes - it's stupid, but there it is. It threatens their idea of how things are, and if YOU can make amazing changes, why aren't they?

You're only 22 and people who love you are telling you you can't succeed at school or achieve your goals? Do not listen to a word of it.

I have a year at a time philosophy when faced with a challenging life situation. I figure I can do anything for a year, even if I'm overworked or even unhappy. Set a goal YOU think is realistic and commit to reaching it in one year. After that, assess your life and set your next goal.

Below are things I tell myself when I feel overwhelmed or negative...

Everything has been done before, I'm not inventing the wheel just doing what millions have done before me.

I deserve to give this my full attention and effort, it's worth it to ME

I am blessed to have the chance to work hard and dream big, most people on this earth do not have my great fortune to live in this country (try bettering your life from a slum in India)

My kids deserve a fulfilled and happy Mom

I will not listen to the negative voices, they don't have to live my future, it's for me not them.

Finally and most important in my life has been be creative. If something truly isn't working figure out a creative way to make it work. There is opportunity all around you, if you're unsure of the first step I say school is ALWAYS a good place to start!

Baby steps, get your GED first then ponder the future.

Being out of school for a long time doesn't mean you won't be successful. I went back to college at 38 and did fine. What concerns me about your story is you were never familiar with a structured educational environment so you may want to start at a community college working on gen ed after you get your GED.

You are never to old or have to many children to better your circumstances. If you want to go back to school start with the local community college most of them have nursing programs that are 2 year programs. If nothing else start with the nurses aid part and when you have that you will able to get a job. sometimes medical facilities will pay for you to go to school to get the rn or you may qualify for some help with tuition etc most community colleges have the GED program that you can go in and test and they will tell you what to work on before taking the real GED test. My daughter did not finish highschool but went back and did the GED. she started and dropped out of community college several times while we were trying to "make" her go to school and get a job. it wasn't until like you she was ready to do it for herself that she got busy and did it. She is now an RN. she had 3 kids the whole time she was going to school. it can be done. it is hard and you will need to have people behind you that will help with daycare while your doing clinicals and classes. some colleges have daycares in them. that will help. Good luck to you and thanks for being a mom who knows that her children will have a better life if you are willing to work for it.

Don't wait for others to believe in you to try for a nursing degree. It sounds like you know what you want so take a deep breath and go for it. You should be able to take classes at a community college even without a diploma or GED. Talk to a counselor there. You may be able to use your credits and grades from the community college to transfer to a 4 year college. Decide what direction you want to go and take one step at a time. You can adjust your dream as you go, but never let go of it. By the way, I'm 56 and back in school. You can do it, too.

I believe you owe it to yourself to try.

It is not that Nursing School is hard, it is just that it needs commitment and it is that commitment that can be hard. It is highly competitive to get into any Nursing Program. A requirement of a C average in your general ed classes does not mean acceptance. You have to commit time and a lot of studying to put you in a position of advantage for acceptance.

Another route is to get your LPN degree and from there work on your RN degree.

Your only 22 so I don't understand why nursing would be unrealistic. It doesn't take 10 years to finish. I was never good at school but I am in a job that I am good at. How does your family know you won't be good at nursing.
First get your GED. If you need help then get a tutor.
Good for you getting your GED and trying for College. Don't listen to anyone else. You go girl!!!

K., the only person that patters is you. Do you think you can do it? If you don't then you will not make it. It will be hard and frustrating at times. but it you stick with it you will realize your dream. Do not be afraid to ask for help along the way. I think you biggest difficulty will be balancing your time with your little ones and school, homework, and work. You will show your girls that school is important and that you care. I say if you believe in yourself go for it!

Contact a local college that offers a nursing program and go talk to a educational counselor. This person will help you to determine what you need to do to get started in school. If you need your GED or HSED and will help you with financial aide to pay for school.

GO FOR IT!!!! Then show all those people what you CAN do!!! Do it for your kids, but mainly do it for you :)

Chickadee - you can do whatever you want to. It is going to be hard. It is also going to be expensive. I still owe student loans and will for probably the next 10 years. It sounds like you did not have the greatest motivator or example to follow. What a great example and story it would be for your children to hear what you have accomplished. I do not know anything about nursing school, but I am sure you will have to take some basic prerequisite type courses. The local community college near me offers these courses and you could take 1 or 2 at a time to see how it fits in your schedule. Of course the first thing you will have to do is get your GED. One step at a time and you can accomplish it if you want it. The toughest part I see is you will need help with the kids....someone to watch them while you attend class and work on homework. I commend you for realizing you did not give yourself a chance and want to make it better. I wish the best of luck to you.

College is different then high school. People who were ehh with high school LOVE college because you are taking classes that you want to take-for the most part, you get to choose what you take, create you schedule etc. You don't have those same choices in high school.

If you want to be a nurse then go for it. But don't listen to your family tell you that it is unrealistic, see for yourself. If you want it bad enough then go for it.

But first, the GED. I tutor for the GED and I will tell you now to study and get the GED NOW. In 2014 they are changing the tests and making them harder. The goal is to discourage kids from dropping out because the test alot of people say is easy.

If you need help with studying or sites to go to or whatever else, let me know and I can send you to some great links-all free that can help you. Sure there are places you can go and actually get GED tutoring or you can do it on your own. Or even books that I prefer to use. I'm picky so I have my preferences.

Also I don't know about Indiana but the cost for a test in Ohio is $25. In 2014 It's going up to like $100.

Nursing: Other options instead of going to college is look at community colleges. They are just as good and cheaper. The other thing to look into is working your way up to an RN. Sure there is a shortage of nurses but there's also a lot of places who are NOT hiring for nurses right now. The other thing to look into is the waiting list to become a nurse-well to get into the nursing program. I know quite a few people who started out going for nursing and changed their mind because there was over a year wait just to get into the actual nursing program after they took their General Education Classes. So Please look into that. But again you can work your way up to nursing.

Start out first with getting your CNA-Certified Nursing Assistant/Medical Assistant. It is called both things. That way you can get hired in and work your way up into nursing. You can see first hand what to do and what you need to do and some places if they do need nurses and know that you are going to school for one could even potentially help pay for your school expenses-how cool would that be? Every little bit helps.

I have a disability but I am far from stupid. I know all about being told I couldn't do something because of it. I was told I wouldn't graduate from high school. I did. With a 3.5. I was then told that I wouldn't graduate from college. You know what? I have a Master's Degree, so pooey on everyone who told me I couldn't do something because I did it.

So who cares what other people thing. Do this for you. Do this for your kids and show to everyone that you can do it and be proud of it.

One thing you can look into (again I do this when the youth/adults that I work with and it's fun. I've even done it myself several times) is go to humanmetrics.com It's a myers briggs test. Pretty easy. Just answer the questions all yes and no. But it will tell you what type of personality you have but then it will also list careers that match that personality. That could also help you to decide what you should go into.

And before I finish this book that I am writing to you :) When you go back to school, look at trade schools or community schools (2 yr. colleges) first because they will be cheaper than a 4 year school and some of the community schools have agreements with 4yr colleges to have everything or most everything transfer.

Good Luck!

In Oklahoma if a person who never graduated from high school completes the first few semesters of college they can automatically apply for a high school diploma. It is NOT a GED but an actual high school diploma.

I suggest that you go to a local community college and see if they have any sort of program that has something like this. By getting your "toes wet" in a community college you can see how you do at a college class atmosphere. To me it was so much easier in Jr. College because each of my professors goals was to make sure that I passed and learned the material. Unlike a full university a smaller local college can make all the difference when it comes to attending and passing classes.

For instance, when I attended Oklahoma City Community College I thrived. I made A's pretty easily because the professors made the material interesting and fun. My Museum Studies class that fulfilled my Humanities requirement actually went to Santa Fe for a few days. We also stopped in Albuquerque and in Amarillo. We went to a LOT of local museums too. I found a lot of interest that I did not know I had about museums. I saw pieces of bones from highly revered men, I saw pictures that, once explained, made perfect sense to me. I found I had a totally different ideal about Knights once I saw armor. It was all to short and tiny! They were way small way back then.

My point is that I learned because the classes were made to be passed and to be interesting.

When I graduated with my Associates degree in Psychology I got a full scholarship to OU. I hated every minute I was on that campus. I was in classes of hundreds of students and the professors walked in to the classroom, well, it was actually a theatre where stage performances were done. The professor came in and said "I grade on a curve, XX of you will make an A, XX of you will make a B, XXX of you will make a C, XX of you will make a D, and XX of you will make an F. They would say things like "If everyone makes the same grades I will put everyone's names in a box and draw names. I cannot and will not show that my tests don't test right". That was frustrating to say the least. He was determined to show that his class was correct and that his test scores showed it.

I transferred to OSU after a year at OU and I thrived. I loved every class I took at OSU. Of course there were some classes I hated but over all I loved each one for different reasons.

So you need to start in a small class and see how you do. Find a counselor who will work with you and help you get the classes you want to take and to help you achieve your goals.

You can do this, you don't have the educational background that everyone else has. So what? You have potential that has not been tapped yet. You can do this, yes you will have to learn new habits but you can do this.

I would try to get an LPN first ( at a community college ) and then you can 'bridge' over to an RN if you want to do that. It's hard to get it though, at least here, you have to be picked out of a large number of people wanting in. BUT I had a daughter who was partly homeschooled/partly Christian school say she couldn't do it. I did believe in her, and she was accepted and is a great LPN now thinking of doing the bridge over because she is now confident. I think maybe you need to try some things to become confident in yourself and see you can do things well but find the 'right' thing for you. It sounds like you haven't tried too much so maybe try a few jobs first to see what you would really like. The GED is not so hard you couldn't pass it and they have classes here at the community college to prepare you for the GED. They seem to help some kids.
Also there are different nursing schools and some in the area are easier than others as far as requirements. Check on that where you are and see if they all require the same amount of chemistry or math, etc.
Just get out there and try and find what you enjoy. You can do it. You can do it, you can do it..:-)

I'm a little confused as to why you need a GED? If you were homeschooled the state should recognize your schooling, you should have had to take some kind of standardized tests over the years to prove you were on grade level, if not the state would not have allowed you to homeschool, unless your mom purposely slipped under the radar? However that being said, there is no reason you cannot accomplish now whatever you want that you have so far not been able to in life, no matter what your family says.