I was a news junkie, but, at 50, I didn’t even have a college degree. If I wanted to fulfill my dream of working in broadcast journalism, I’d have to act fast.
I can still hear all the comments ringing in my ears as though it were yesterday. “Are you crazy?” “What are you thinking?” “Why are you wasting your time going to college at your age?” And later came, “You’ve got it made.” “You’re a stay-at-home mom and housewife with a cushy life.” “Why would you want to give all that up?” “You’ll never get a job doing that at your age.” It seemed as though everyone was questioning my decision to go to college and major in broadcasting, but then again maybe it was just my inner voice trying to cast doubts on my dreams. I just knew it’s what everyone was thinking and saying behind my back. After all, I was quickly approaching the big 5-0, so I was pretty much over the hill.It all started when I was watching the news one day. I was and still am a “news junkie.” I could watch news 24/7. My youngest child had just left for college and it left me with an empty feeling, wondering, “What now?” I had spent the last 19 years as a stay-at-home mom, devoting my life to raising my two kids. As I fixed lunch, I looked over at the bubble-headed, blonde news anchor stumbling through a story about something insignificant, at least to me. I thought, “I could do that.” A light went on as it hit me—I really could do that!
I knew, if I were to pull this off, I had to be on the fast track and time was of the essence. The Nike slogan played repeatedly in my head, “JUST DO IT!”
I was still married then, but my husband and I had been having problems for several years. I had promised myself, and even told him, that when both children left home for college I would leave. I knew I needed to find something to fall back on. My husband’s job had moved us to Oklahoma just two years prior and I reluctantly went along, kicking and screaming the entire way.
We lived only about a mile from a state university, so I decided to find out what I needed to do to go to college—a dream I’d had for a long time. I’d taken a couple of courses here and there but nothing serious. I recall the counselor telling me to take the entrance exam to give them a starting point. What? Me take a test?!! I could barely remember how to add and subtract, let alone all the other stuff. I couldn’t even remember the difference between a dangling participle and a pronoun.
