Who is "University Mama?"

Do you wanna hear the whole story?

I married while I was still a sophomore in college, but being the independent, strong-willed sort of female, I was determined to finish my studies nonetheless.

Life happens. My husband needed to jump-start his grad school studies so we moved to campus for a bit and I became the primary breadwinner for a year. When it was my turn to head back to school, I found out I was pregnant. Both my husband and I believed it was important for me to be a stay-at-home-mom when we had children, so we made a new plan: I would go back to college when all of our children were old enough to be attending school.

Turns out, this was a difficult plan for me to stick with. For several years, I felt that I had let myself and my dad down (I promised him that I would finish my degree since I was marrying so young). I also struggled because everyone I knew was defined by what they studied or what they did for a living and I felt left-out. I dabbled in a couple of internet classes along the way, but never jumped in whole-heartedly; I just didn't have the time or the energy (or the cash flow, to be honest). I did, however, start my own business later which did help with my mini identity crisis of sorts.

Looking back, I wouldn't change our "revised plan." I have enjoyed staying at home with my kiddos and I truly believe it has given them the best start they could have in life.

This fall I am enrolled full-time in a local unversity (by "local," I mean 60 miles away-yikes!) and I have changed my major from English Education to Mass Communications (something I never thought I would do). I'm nervous and excited as my class start date looms near.

I have created this blog to journal my experiences as an adult student retruning to the classroom after an almost 10 year absence. My hope is that other "univsersity Mamas" will join me on this adventure so that we can share our tips, stories, and frustrations and laugh together along the way!