Final Essay
General Studies Capstone

Before I started at UCO, I completed courses at both Oklahoma City Community College and OSU-OKC. My very first semester of college was at OCCC where I was straight out of high school. I finished high school online, so starting over and going to class was a learning curve for me. I was very anxious and shy starting out. I remember the first day of class, it was Intro to Psychology, and before going into class I cried in my car for twenty minutes because I was so nervous. I thought college would be an extension of high school and that I didn’t want to go through again. Once I talked myself into going to class, the first hour I did not remember. However, I quickly realized that college is nothing like high school. The professors are nice, but honestly they are not there to babysit so they didn’t enforce rules but when you did something they didn’t care for they just made you leave. I loved that part, I always felt more mature than the people of the same age because I had two sisters that were 10 years older than me, therefore I was forced to grow up and be mature at a very young age. So having ‘no tolerance’ professors was something I truly liked. Once the first class ended, I had already made a couple new friends. Some of which I still am very close with to this day. I stayed at OCCC for one semester before transferring on to OSU-OKC to pursue my Associates Degree in Echocardiography, (Cardiac Sonography). I remained in this program for 3 and a half years. During this time period I met more people, experienced life on a professional level and learned how valuable and astonishing it is to help someone become healthier. This time period was also very hard for me. I lost my mother in a car wreck ten weeks into the program; she was the rock that always pushed me to do greater and to not stoop to anyone’s level, to stay honest and true. I promised to keep going and not give up, because that is all she would have ever asked of me. Later that year, my boyfriend and I of seven years made the decision to part ways. It was hard coming to terms that our relationship was failing, and that we were just not meant to be involved romantically, only platonically. To this day we remain friends. At that time I thought my life was over, I had just lost my mother and now the only other support, my long-term boyfriend. The friends I met during my first semester at OCCC were phenomenal. They helped me recover and to get my mind off the things going on in life at that time. They helped me remain positive and proactive in my life. They never let me slip behind or blame anyone for anything. These friendships are some I cherish and still keep active to this very day. I graduated in the Spring of 2013 with an Associates Degree in Sciences with a concentration in Echocardiography. During this period in my college career I had college hours, clinical experience, work and my personal life all going strong. I was able to understand the importance of time management and prioritizing my obligations with my wants. I succeeded in this program and graduated with a GPA of 4.0. I was proud of my ability to remain concentrated on what I wanted with life and to keep going in honor of my late mother. The Echo program taught me more about myself than I like to admit sometimes. It was hard, challenging, times I wanted to give up. But through it all, I remained strong a preserved through it. Right out of the program I took my national boards and passed, and quickly was offered a job at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. After working for about a year I decided to go back to school to retrieve my Bachelors Degree. I didn’t know what I wanted the degree to be in, I just personally did not want to only have an Associates degree. I decided to complete a General Studies Bachelors Degree because I felt that with such a broad degree there is so much I could do with it. After my first year at UCO, I was certain my mother made that decision with me. I realized that Echocardiography wasn’t the career destined for me; I found a quiet job in customer service at a precious metals company in Oklahoma City and began working there. I continued taking my college courses at UCO, mainly online except for the speech class due to my hectic schedule. I soon met a man that I know call my husband and we own a house, all things I only dreamed of happening to me. The General Studies Degree was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I was able to take courses, which appealed to me, and some that were very different and challenging. There were few classes that I did not enjoy, one of which was Speech. I actually had to take this course twice, of course. The first time I took this course was in Fall of 2014. Writing the speeches and preparing myself was the easiest part of the whole semester and course. However, once standing in front of 25 strangers and speaking on a topic I thought I knew inside out, but kept choking on, was terrifying. I made it all the way through the semester and then failed to make it to the very LAST class. So unfortunately, I failed. The following year, Fall of 2015 I took the class for the second time. I thought it would be less challenging due to the fact I had already been in the class and made it all the way through once, boy was I wrong. I think it was almost even more difficult the second time around. This time, I passed. Looking back on the anxiety the class put me through, I would do it again it taught me patience, and that sometimes life is scary, and sometimes you have to do things that are out of your comfort zone. The good thing about it is everyone else feels these things too. I was not the only student of 25 in the class that messed up, or was terrified. I was one of 25 students that remained strong and pushed through the fears of public speaking. I am now taking my very last course, to be this close to finishing is scary to me. I am not great at change, but this is a change I am more willing to accept than others. I am grateful to the professors I have come to know as they have helped me get to a place of pride, love, honor, and understanding through the challenging and long hours put into homework, assignments, and tests. As I think about what the future holds, I am no longer scared. I know that obtaining my Bachelors was the best thing for my life and that with it I will succeed everything I thought I was able to accomplish. I am excited to see what happens in the next chapters of my life.