Age. Its something I never thought I would face going to a university. It is a question I get all the time, “how old are you?” When I give them the response with, “I am 26,” they look shocked. When I hear others say how old they are, they typically range from 18-22 years old. Am I the outsider? No. And I will tell you why. I started my college journey just fresh out of graduating high school in 2012, I had several ideas of what I wanted to do with my future, but I could not nail down one single thing. I started out at Wenatchee Valley College just doing your basic English and Math courses, I was not driven or motivated to go and felt like I was not doing this for me, but for others. A few months into attending the fall quarter, life started to present a lot of challenges with taking care of a sick Grandfather and then later a Father who was battling multiple health issues. I had to put my life and my plans on hold to take care of two men who did so much for me.
After four years of devoting my life to being a caregiver for them, they both passed away and I had to figure out how to move on with my life and learn to take care of me again. School started to become a thought in my mind, but I wanted a purpose for going and I was not quite sure what it was yet, until one day a school nurse walked into my work and we had an hour-long conversation. I told her my story and she was telling me about kids that were diagnosed with diabetes and not having any of the knowledge on how to manage it. The parents were just as lost when it came to the education aspect of diabetes. I explained how I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and was dealing with it since I was six years old. She emphasized how important diabetes education is because so many people do not know how to live with it or don’t know how to give proper care. I started doing more research on what I needed to do to become a diabetes educator. I even got reconnected with my diabetes educator from Children’s Hospital in Seattle and picked her brain on what I should do. She recommended that I aim for becoming a dietician and after a certain amount of time in that field I would be able to test to be a diabetes educator. I was ready to start this new journey.
In spring 2017, I started back up at Wenatchee Valley College to get my AA. I was taking general education courses as well as electives that went with what I wanted to get into. I was doing all I could to finish as quickly as possible so I could move onto my bachelor’s degree and into my field of study, Food and Sciences. Spring 2020 rolled around, and I finally graduated. Everything was falling into place despite it taking a little longer than I wanted, and now dealing with our world flipped upside down by COVID-19. I was accepted into Central Washington University fall quarter of 2020 and was ready to start a new life over in Ellensburg. I have now been in Ellensburg for a month now, and I can say it is the best decision I have ever made. The people I have met and the friends I have made so far have positively impacted this new journey. Even with a pandemic going on, I have kept my head held high and been making the most of this experience.
Are you too old for college? Never. You might have a few bumps in the road to get where you want to go but, hey you’re doing it. I look at this way, I would rather go to school with a purpose in mind rather than not know what I want to do. When I was faced with challenges and having to grow up a lot quicker than I wanted to, it put into perspective what I wanted out of life. Go for your dreams, they do not have an age range. Sometimes you don’t have to follow the crowd, you just have to go your own path, even if it means starting it later on in life. Dreams don’t have an expiration date.