Right out of high school, my parents offered me the opportunity to get a college education. Unfortunately I didn't apply. I was not focused due to my immaturity and lack of wisdom. Today I am much older and wiser with 27 wonderful years of marriage, two beautiful daughters and 21 years of military service (Retired Army), I have decided to go back and get that college education. I knew that financially we could not afford to go back to school because our oldest daughter would be graduating from college this year to include our youngest daughter who would be graduating from high school and also attending college. I found out that the Veterans Administration had a new education bill called the 911 Montgomery GI Bill that I qualified for to further my education. Before retiring from the Army in 2002, I earned the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSC) certification. I was fortunate enough to retire from the Army and land a Human Resources Manager position at Fort Lee, Virginia. I was later hired as a system administrator (contractor) in the information technology field in Fort Lee. I have continued to work in the IT field since my retirement. I chose CTU based on excellent recommendations from colleagues and friends. CTU has made it very easy to apply and sign up. I will be working on my undergraduate degree in Computer Science (Networking). I am very excited to begin this new chapter in my life with the hopes of using my education to better myself in the IT field. I have mixed emotions about going back to college and earning my degree. I'm nervous but excited. I see great things for myself and my family once I graduate. I feel like I will stand out more when I apply for...... middle of paper ......k about my unfinished projects/tasks during lunch. I have access to fax machines at my home and work to include a digital scanner that will also allow me to turn in my assignments to my instructor at CTU. As I work towards my personal goal of being debt free, I will try to reward myself and my family by going out to eat once a month while we stay focused on paying bills. I know I can count on my family to help me achieve my long and short term goals. I will plan to reward ourselves by making sure we still have time for our family dinners and movies/TV. I will review my personal plan quarterly to ensure I stay on track. As I keep my eye on the big prize (getting my college degree), I will continue to remind myself how I foolishly ignored a college education when I was young and how lucky I am now to have a second chance..