365daystogive's Blog

One of my absolute best friends has recently decided to go back to school to become a nurse, an admirable profession that she will no doubt thrive in.  However she has the initial hurdles to jump, prerequisite courses that must be completed before the actual nursing courses will begin.

As I was driving downtown she called and proclaimed that she was having the worst day ever.  She had just taken an exam and, completely flustered, had managed only to answer about half of the questions.  ” I really, really wanted an A in that class Molly, what will I do? How will I ever manage nursing school? Aaah!”  I stifled a laugh as I realized that this is exactly the sort of things that I had said to her in college, as a serious student who would settle for nothing less than the best grade.  Back then she would be the one rolling her eyes and laughing at me.

Looking back on college it was a time of learning, both personally and academically.  The girl that entered at 18 was only a shadow of who would graduate four years later, and even that girl is but a dim memory compared to the one writing this entry today.  Sometimes I would call my parents to grumble about difficult classes or ask kindly for some money, not realizing then what a gift it was that my parents were able to send me to school without the help of grants or scholarships.  I couldn’t truly appreciate this until years later when others around me would talk about paying off student loans, or incurring even more from graduate courses.  My gift wasn’t just the gift of a clean slate upon graduation, but the fact that I was even given the chance to go.

So many in this country are still unable to attend college, even with a scholarship.  So today’s donation was made to my alma mater, and it pleases me to think that someone will be given the chance to walk through those hallowed halls and interact with the professors and fellow students that helped shape who I am today.