Accounting...it's kinda fun

No, now, wait, stick with me on this. I'm in school to get an MBA in accounting. There are days when I wonder if I really made the right choice in 1) going back to school and 2) going back to school to become an accountant. I mean, let's face it, I wasn't the best student.

I graduated college with a 2.7. That's after 7 years and several classes like choir where you got an A for showing up. I nearly failed out my first year. I was on academic probation for three semesters. My first semester, I got a 1.3. In order to avoid suspension or expulsion, I had to bring my grades up. In order to get off of probation, I had to bring my GPA up over 1.7. Cumulative. In most of my academic classes - that includes Music History - I got a C or worse. I had two classes that I had to retake, one of them three times. The thought of providing my transcript to anyone makes me anxious. I mean really, how would you feel about someone if they handed you a transcript with all those Fs and Cs? That includes classes where I was deeply interested in the subject matter, or worked my tail off trying to learn and complete the assignments, study for tests, et cetera. High school wasn't much better.

Honestly, one of the reasons I chose my school is because they didn't require a standardized testing score, and they weren't fussed about my transcript. They wanted to see it, but it wasn't a deciding factor. Another reason is it's regionally accredited, so I can still get financial aid.

There were so many arguments against my going back to school. I have difficulty with reading and auditory comprehension. If I don't write something down, it didn't happen. Even when I'm interested in something, I have a hard time remembering it. It's just the way I'm wired. I'd love to be able to eliminate that, but I can't. I never learned how to study, so my study habits are, at best, abysmal. I'm nearly 40, so it's not like I have a whole lot of time left to earn money for my *ahem* retirement. Disability, more like. I need to spend my time finding a new job, not getting an education. There's no guarantee that I will find another job, particularly with our economic downturn. Okay, you can say it, economic depression. It's been going on for several years. It's a depression. So why in the world would I want to go deeper into debt, when I just finished paying off my undergrad student loans, for something that's not assured to pay off?

In September of last year, I was laid off from yet another dead-end job. It sounds elitist and snobbish to say so, but it was beneath me. Most of my jobs are. I know that. I've been underemployed most of my life. But I never had the confidence to sell myself to an employer with a better job. Anyone who's paid any attention would know that I'm seriously lacking in the self-confidence department, and just dripping with insecurity. When dating, the worst guys possible sense that, and the sharks begin to circle. It's a big reason why I'm not dating now.

In November, I decided to take a trip. I visited my aunt in Tulsa. Long drive down, long drive back, good, restful visit while I was there. I got to hang out with one of my cousins and my aunt, and had a great time. I can't wait to go back. The only black mark on my trip was the accident the day before I was planning on leaving. Fortunately, my car is mechanically fine, and the door still opens and closes securely. While I was at my aunt's house, I decided that I would, in fact, go back to school. By the end of December, I was enrolled as a student. An MBA student. MBA-Accounting.

The graduate-level accounting courses assume you have some accounting background, either in practice or degree. Because I had neither, the dean required me to take undergraduate accounting courses. I checked with financial aid, and found that as long as I took at least the half-time equivalent of graduate-level classes, I could also take undergrad classes. I wasn't thrilled about it at first, I figured it would lengthen my time at school, and cost me even more money. In order to save time, I was taking the first two introductory courses simultaneously. It got confusing, but I managed to pull it off.

And it was fun.

Yeah, it was fun. It wasn't easy, but it was fun. There was the challenge of understanding the concepts, of putting them into textbook practice, and of completing a project, and taking a graduate-level statistics course at the same time. Also fun. The next quarter, I had a graduate finance course and intermediate undergrad accounting. I had to take an incomplete in my accounting course, I had a couple weeks where I felt really miserable. It happens, sometimes. Just another concern of mine.

This quarter, I'm taking the second part of intermediate accounting, the first part of tax accounting, and a graduate economics course. The graduate course doesn't start until August, and it's completely online. I'm a little worried about that, but I want to get as much done as possible, and I have to take a grad class to keep my financial aid.

Tax accounting doesn't really appeal to me. I want to get into fraud and forensic accounting. I wasn't particularly looking forward to taking this tax accounting course, but the dean required it for me, so I had little choice. Tonight was our second class, and for the second time, the class was over long before we were ready for it to end. As with most of the classes at CTU, the instructor is actively working in his field of instruction. Because of that, his information is current. And he's a dynamic speaker. Very knowledgeable, and has a wicked sense of humor. He enjoys his job. A lot. And it comes across.

Nights like this are when I realize that yes, I did choose the right major, yes, I did make the right decision to go back to school. Now all I have to do is find a job that I can do until I graduate, 'cuz the money's running out. It doesn't even have to pay well. It just has to pay something. I'm a little worried about working while going to school. I tire easily these days, and I'm still figuring out how to work with my learning difficulties. Last time I was in school, I was also working. Grunt work, but working. Granted, I was also going out all the time, but I didn't do that until I found that working my tail off wasn't getting me anywhere. My grades improved when I spent less time on my homework. Irritating. Currently, I have a 3.94 out of 4.00. At no time in my academic life after 6th grade did I ever have anything approaching that. I don't want to jeopardize that. It's the first time I have a tangible display of success. But, since I can't find someone else to pay my bills, I don't have much of a choice. I have to find a source of income.

Still, I will continue with my schooling. I'm enjoying it immensely. I may have to try and sell my house before I finish, and I may have to give up my satellite and even the high-speed internet, although I need that for my classes. But I'm going to finish. And I'm going to do well. Because this is fun. It really is.