Write a 1-2 page essay in which you: 1. Address why you decided to go to college at this time in your life. 2. State the reasons behind the decision.
Your assignment must: * Be at least 250 words minimum or up to 500 words maximum. * Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. * Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: * Write paragraphs and essays, and other assigned work with a clearly defined main idea, introduction, body, and conclusion. * Revise written pieces to improve clarity and organization
Consider how the prewriting, writing, and revising processes can help you write the essay. Think about the topic, how to write supporting sentences, and how to organize the essay.
1. Audience, Purpose, and Subject * Each time you write, you should think about the audience, purpose, and subject for your piece of writing (Chapter 1 of Evergreen: A Guide for Writers). * The audience for this writing is your teacher and peers. * The purpose is to explain to your readers your reasons for going to college. * The subject is about your decision to go to college.
2. Prewriting * As noted in Chapter 2 of Evergreen: A Guide for Writers, there are several ways that you can pre-write to come up with ideas to discuss how you are changing your life. * You can Freewrite, Brainstorm, Cluster Your Ideas, or Ask Questions (Reporter 6: Who, What, Where, When, Why, How in Evergreen). Use any of these to help you tell the story of how you are changing your life by coming to college to pursue your career and personal goals.
3. Writing * As you write your essay, tell your readers the story of how you came to this profound career and personal decision. Remember that your reader has not been on your journey. Take the reader along the journey, making your essay interesting and eventful, always stating the “so what,” thesis, or main point about your life change.
Before submitting your assignment, ask yourself these questions: * Did you use any prewriting techniques to generate ideas about your topic? * Did you consider your audience and the purpose for your essay? * Are there at least three (3) examples used in your essay? * Do the paragraphs have at least a minimum of four (4) sentences each? * Did you proofread to edit for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors before you submitted your assignment?

Who would have known that returning back to school would be a scary yet exciting journey? I always told myself in high school that I would never venture into the college world. When I was in high school, I feared that I did not know as much as my classmates, and I was afraid of being picked on or talked about by others. As a result, I decided that the college experience was not for me. I had no desire to further my education or place myself in a situation that I felt would only embarrass me. I felt that I would not have any problem with finding a job to support myself. I was able to survive in the world until I started a family. I then began to realize there was a huge difference between having a job and having a career
There were several things I considered regarding my decision to return to school. One of those reasons was to be a good role model for my children. How could I possibly teach them that having an education was the most important thing to have in the world if I myself had not completed anything past high school nor did I make an attempt? It was embarrassing to have my son come to me for help with his homework and I look as if it is foreign information that I am not able to understand myself. Although my college career is not complete at this time, in the future I will be able to look at my children knowing that I gave them all the knowledge that I had to offer.
Another reason for my decision to return to college was to be able to broaden my career options. I have worked jobs such as a secretary, bartender and customer care representative where I would make anywhere from minimum wage to ten dollars an hour. Knowing that I would need to at least double my income in order to effectively support my family, I realized that going to college would open up many doors. A degree in healthcare administration will allow me to venture into many different career fields including healthcare providers, healthcare suppliers and insurance organizations. It is known fact that a person will make on average one million dollars more over a lifetime if they have a degree than if they do not, it is to be assumed that a better education leads to a better career resulting in more income.
The most important reason of all is to have a sense of self accomplishment. Growing up, higher education was not an option but a requirement, one that I never fully appreciated. If you were to ask me then how I saw my future I knew that college would not have been in the picture. I know that because the decision to go back to school was such a hard and painstaking one. Obtaining my degree will be a long journey with many road blocks in my way, but nothing in life is worth having if you are not willing to work for it. Knowing that I have taken on a challenge that I have always dreaded, I still had enough will power to start a new chapter in my life not only for myself, but for my family as well. Conquering this challenge would be a great accomplishment for me and open doors that would not have opened for me without a college education.