Sometimes "Round Two" Is Something To Be Proud Of...

After thinking about my life a lot lately I have come to an important realization:

"In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time."

I am in the last 3 weeks of my second round of University and am currently taking two Educational Psychology courses which has got me to thinking a lot about life and the paths that we take (by choice or fate)

To be honest...I was one of those so-called "bad" teenagers. One of those "hormones gone wild" types who knew everything, was angry, would not listen to anybody and I have learned most things in my short life the hard way. I have not realized and accepted this until now as I tend to blame instead of taking responsibility for how my life has unfolded thus far. Bad choices I have made in many aspects of my life have held me back, have been a struggle, but have also changed me and made me the person I am now.

I have to admit that I am happy that I never quit nor gave up and am now finishing my second degree. This is something that makes me very proud because it would have been so much easier to just let everything fall apart and take the easy way out.

I believe I have grown up a lot in the past few years and it was a necessary step to take in order to be successful in life and grow as a person. I am pleased to say that I will be graduating with Distinction(I believe that I am 2 or 3 % short to graduate with Great Distinction) awww ;'( oh well, I will take Distinction:-)

I often joke that I have been going to post-secondary school for a decade now which really isn't true. Although it did take me much longer than most to "grow up", understand myself and my wants and needs I believe that everything has happened for a reason and that I have learned so much through school and also through life experiences and travel in these past 10 years and would not change a thing.

It is pounded into our heads in our classes, student teaching, and internships that reflection is so important and necessary. I agree with this not only in career situations but also in your life. When you look at where you have been you can take pride and be happy with where you are now or where you are going in the future and that is truly what life is all about. Learning continuously, growing, changing and becoming better each time.

The only thing I wish is that my Dad could have seen this success but I am sure he knows:-)