Thank God for that procrastination of a few years before applying to school. Without it, I would not have made the connections I made and the new friends I have found. I would never have met the professors that have changed my life in the most positive ways imaginable. The mentors I have learned from are top performers in the industry and have more contacts and connections than LinkedIn. I’m serious. No other school has this much experience as faculty. The Public Relations program at Algonquin College is the best program in the country. And I’m in it. Whether I felt like I belonged or not (which I didn’t, at the time) didn’t matter anymore. I was going to do my best and by my best I mean make it on the Dean’s Honour list. And why was this so important to me? I pretend I have nothing to prove, but honestly, I do. I was bound and determined to prove to those who didn’t think I had it in me that I could not only complete the program, but do so with flying colours while still being the best mom I could be. But mostly, I wanted to show myself that I could do this. That it was never too late. I wanted to show my daughter that hard work and determination can and will get you places in life. Places you want to be and are meant to be. No matter where you are in life or at what crossroad you stand, if you really want something in your life to change, you have to just take that leap of faith. Trust and believe in yourself. Allow yourself to fall, if that is what is meant to be. Just don’t stay down. Pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and leap again. And now I’m standing at the edge, future unwritten and unknown, ready to make that change. All I have to do is leap.
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I applied to Algonquin College at the age of 33, with an almost 4 year old starting full-day kindergarten. What the heck was I thinking? Well, if she could barrel into school full throttle, then so could I, right? Well, I suppose we should take into consideration that it took me three years to gather enough courage to even apply for college. So many hesitations, insecurities, uncertainties and most of all fears held me down in a paralyzed state for what felt like an eternity. Would I even get accepted? An old gal like me applying for one of the most sought after programs in the school, yeah right. Don’t even mention that I hadn’t seen the inside of a classroom in more than a decade. Did I just waste my time and money to write the admission assessment tests? I thought so. I walked out of that Test Centre questioning my intelligence with a pre-determination that I blew it and I knew nothing about Canadian history, authors, writers or artists (I can recall my cousin, an elementary school teacher, reassuring me the only people who really knew all the answers to those questions are the ones applying for Canadian citizenship. Ha, imagine that). And then the most surprising thing happened. I was accepted. I got in. At first I thought they made a mistake. Maybe they took pity on me and figured I would drop out in the first semester. Or maybe, I had just earned my seat in a class of 55 that received over 800 applications. Oh. My. Lord. I was going to college. I am no stranger to taking the road less travelled. Understand this…most people who find themselves down negative paths filled with destruction never intentionally planned to walk that trail. I will openly admit I have made poor choices…we all have. But without those not so great decisions, I would not be who I am, where I am right now, which happens to be, for the most part, exactly where I want to be. Let me explain… At 29 I was working as close to full time as possible at a grocery store. Not the career I had aspired to have. In fact, for a long time, I dreamed of becoming a writer (I can’t tell you how many tiny pieces of paper I have filled with ideas, lines and verses, quickly scribbled down on the closest acceptable writing material so that I wouldn’t forget it). But anyhow, that grocery store was just where I ended up. But, thank God for that. If I never worked there, I would never have met my life partner (and his son) and father of my daughter. She came into my life, saved my soul and breathed new life into my heart not long after I turned 30. And by the time I was done maternity leave I had come to the realization that if I didn’t change my current path, I would end up stuck and miserable. I wanted more out of life. Not just for me, but for her…for us. That’s when I first resolved to go back to school. The only way to get a decent and fulfilling occupation was to get a post-secondary education. And that is exactly what I was going to do. |
Shauna QuinnNo stranger to taking the road less travelled, I must admit those not so great choices made me who I am and led me to where I am right now, which happens to be exactly where I am supposed to be. Archives
July 2018
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