The first thing I say to people when they ask to me to introduce myself is not “I am a college student,” it is “I am a stay-at-home mother.” I do, however, take enormous pride in the utterance of either title. My identity is comprised of being both a stay-at-home mother and a student, and I take both jobs very seriously.
I was one of those high school seniors that could not wait to graduate and start college, but when that day finally came, I found myself resigned to attending community college. Despite not being accepted into the university of my choice, the excitement of college and everything it meant to my life was still there. I still remember that first day of classes, the smell of the building, the fresh supplies, and the new faces. I was in love with college. I nurtured this relationship and I reveled in its company. Then one day the excitement wore off, the supplies became dull and lost their luster, and the faces began to look exactly the same around every corner. I had hit a rough patch and wanted to quit. So I did; I walked out the door and never looked back.
Flash forward three years. I was doing well in my life by most standards. I spent some years working in retail and then sort of fell into a job as a pharmacy technician. I was earning decent money, and even though I was still living at home, I was on my own. I was in love with being me and I was happy. I couldn’t imagine life being any better. Then I met my husband and pretty soon I was a mother of two. Once again, I was in love. I was in love with being a wife and a mother so I gave notice at my job and never looked back. I was perfectly content with my new life. Then one day, contentment was not enough. I wasn’t unhappy and didn’t want out, I just wanted something different, something new and something that was just for me. I was watching TV one day while feeding my newborn daughter and saw a commercial for Southern New Hampshire University online. Their tagline of “See Yourself Succeed” resonated with me and all of a sudden I realized that this is what my life was missing. This is what I wanted and what I needed. I applied, was accepted and enrolled. The rest, as they say, is history.
I am not what comes to mind for most people when they picture a college student or a stay-at-home mom, or at least, I never used to be. I am the new normal in college. I am the college student who is logging into her classes after being up with a sick child the previous night. I am the college student who just got home from picking her child up from cheerleading practice and has a psychology test to study for. This new version of having it all is, in my honest opinion, what that phrase was coined for. I can be a mom, but I can also be a student. In this day and age, who doesn’t long for the best of both worlds? I believe that I have found it and now my life is more amazing than I ever dreamed it could be
