Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just a quick little note to remind to wish you all a wonderful, joyous Turkey Day!! Be thankful for all you achieved, for all the wonderful things in your life, for your supporters and also your non-supporters, proving them wrong is motivation as well. Take motivation from all sources, work your way to your goals, no matter what they might be.
Today I am thankful for my loving family and my amazing friends and my baby bear, William and my wonderful boyfriend, Steve. Without all of you, I probably wouldn't be where I am now. Happy Thanksgiving!

Also, if you're not already a fan, come like me on my Facebook page! I post links to articles that are of interest to education as well as motivation and inspirational quotes everyday!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/From-Statistic-to-Anomaly/139657529470172

Some statistics for you

So, to really bring home the facts, some food for thought for you:

• There are 14 million single parents in the US today
• 83.1% of those are mothers, the last 16.9% are fathers

Of those:

• 79.5% of the mothers are employed
• 27% of the mothers live in poverty
• 22% receive medcaid
• 23.5% receive food stamps
• 12% receive some form of housing assitance
• 5% receive TANF

To put it more in perspective, two parent house holds held only 6.7% of the population in poverty.

I'm still looking for more statistics on this, so is just a small portion. I did focus on the mothers more because I am one. But don't think I'll just disregard the fathers. Being a single parent, mom or dad, it's hard. It's you and your kid(s) against the world, with no one by your side to assist. But we do what we have to so we can survive and raise our kids rights. My therapist told me today that I should be commended: I work, I go to school, I raise William and I have a boyfriend. She said I could take the easy route and quit school, she said this is always an option but it's great that I'm not allowing myself that option. To me, that is never an option. In William's karate class his teacher tells them, "Winners NEVER quit, and quitters NEVER win." These are wise words to live by.

Sources:

Dorning, J. (2010, April). PROFESSIONAL WOMEN: VITAL STATISTICS. In pay-equity.org. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from http://www.pay-equity.org/PDFs/ProfWomen.pdf

Single Parent Statistics- What do they tell us? (2011, August 3). In Single Parent Center. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from http://www.singleparentcenter.net/single-parent-statistics.html

Wolf, J. (n.d.). Single Parent Statistics. In About.com Single Parents. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from http://singleparents.about.com/od/legalissues/p/portrait.htm

First time for everything

So I dropped a class for the first time ever. I'm almost ashamed to admit it. It feels much like quitting. But there is a lesson here. Sometimes, even if it feels like giving up, you need to drop something to make things easier or better. If your grades are suffering then it is time to re-evaluate if it is worth continuing the way you are. I hated dropping that class but it had to be done. Now I can improve my grades in the classes I do need to graduate.

time to be honest

I've tried to stay cheerful and positive in this blog. I want you to feel that with enough determination, you can get yourself somewhere great too, you can better your life. But let's be honest for a moment: it is NOT easy, it is not as positive as I make it out to be. You have to work hard and sometimes, like I am right now, you will feel stuck. This is when you have to look at your life and see what you can change. There always has to be someway to improve it, even if it is not as obvious right away as you think.

Today, I had a conversation with a friend, I needed to vent and she gave me a lot of encouragement. She pointed out that many in my situation, as a single mother, can't say they've done half the things I have done. She told me an example of one of her employees who isn't even trying. My friend called me a saint. I laughed and told her that maybe I am handling my life better than most, but I'm not a saint and right now, I've hit my limit and something has to give.

So here is where I am: I'm constantly crying, stressed to the max, I'm having issues just taking care of my own basic needs. I put emphasis on the fact I said my own: my son's needs are being met. His karate classes are paid in full up till March, we had a wonderful night out at his school's family bowling night, we're ready for Halloween, he is healthy and has a full tummy, he has clean clothes that fit and new sneakers that he is learning to tie laces on (well, he knows how, just needs to practice a bit more), he does his homework on time and is a very happy child. yes, he still needs a counselor for his other issues that I mentioned previously, and as soon as MassHealth stops dicking us around, he will be going to see one. But as for me, I can barely function. I'm constantly stuck without a sitter, my mountain of homework reaches higher than Mt. Everest, my son's tempers are not helping (though I don't blame him for anything, I just hope counseling helps him), I want to scream and I can't, I feel like I'm losing my mind. So I know something needs to give because I can't continue this way. Yes, to whatever person is reading this, I'm giving you my honest to heart feelings, just laying it out for you. 

Making a decision to better your life is not easy, there is no short cut, there is no quick fix, you have to work for it. You will hit bumps in the road and want to quit. Stay focused on your goals, keep pushing through, re-evaluate the situation and think of ways to improve it. Cry. Scream. Throw a fit. Go for a run. Whatever you have to do to get yourself through it without causing yourself or anyone else physical harm. Don't turn to drugs and alcohol to make it easier, in the end, they'll make it harder. Remember none of it is easy, but it is possible. You deserve to have a great life, now get it.

Not always sugar and sweet

I guess I make things sound pretty simple sometimes. I work, go to school, raise my son, spend time with my boyfriend, normal household chores (which thankfully, this isn't my house so I don't have to do everything, but I do have to do somethings) and still some how manage time with friends. This is easy right? Not! There are still sicknesses that pop up (my poor baby), disagreements with friends when I get so aggitated from it all and then say the wrong thing, schedule issues, lack of baby sitters, lack of any free time to just do nothing. Right now, we're dealing with issues with my son. He's been badly acting out just about every day. This is the first morning since school started that we didn't have a problem. And I think that was only because we over slept so he didn't have time to think about a tantrum since I was rushing him to get ready to so much. I plan on calling the school today though and speak to the guidance counselour to see if William can take some time to talk to her. I get the feeling that William is angry and frustrated with something, but as he is not telling us what it is, we don't really know what to do. I'm hoping that talking to someone else that is not his dad, my boyfriend or me might help. But anyway, I have to rush off to school now. Hope you all have a blessed day!

ACCEPTED!!

So, I just got the e-mail today about my student teaching application. Please recall in my previous post I mentioned my kind of low GPA for the program. Well, because of that, I was only conditionally accepted pending I get my GPA up after this semester. Which, by the way, I plan on doing just that! This is exciting to me! It means the end truly is in site, I can see it, I can almost touch it, all this BS is almost done. While, I don't actually consider school to be a bunch of BS it is stressful, it is hard work, it's not easy and you have to really want that degree and that career to be able to make it through it. And damnit, I want that degree! I want my career! Anyway, I spent enough time on the computer. Much love to you all! Now, I'm off to school to get my kick ass grades!

Student teaching

Now it is time to apply for student teaching. The end is very close. My life is slowly getting better. I'm I'm therapy now and getting a neuropsychlogical test done. I'm getting better resources to handle my life and to balance it. But naturally, it's not easy. You need a GPA of 2.8 to get into student teaching. I currently have a 2.7. I know I can get it up by next semester, but will Bridge water let me start then? Or will graduation be put off even longer? I will be emailing tonight. Hope to have an answer by tomorrow. I can only hope at this point.