Hey Hey Peoples,
For those of you who aren’t aware, I have a rather long list of job titles from ‘Mum’ right down to ‘Bitch’, and somewhere in between I just so happen to have the title of full time uni student. Currently I am studying two BA‘s – Bachelor of Criminology (Co- Major Criminal Justice) and Bachelor of Behavioural Studies – Psychology (Co- Major Sociology).
Why duel them you ask?
Well lets face it, I’m not getting any younger! So I decided if I was going to down the path of study, I might as well throw myself down the deep end of the rabbit hole and duel the two BA’s :p I am currently in my third year of study, with probably another 12 years, give or take, to go… (three years left on the BA’s, then hopefully working towards my Ph.D). I have my fingers crossed that because the two BA’s have units that tie into one another that I will be able to shave some time off of the 6 years completion time. I mean dont get me wrong, I do enjoy the study, but its a very long process! and then there is the lovely debt that I’m currently racking up! Oh and don’t even get me started on textbooks, there cost alone is ridiculous, especially when you get to the end of the unit only to realize you paid $100+ on a book you only need to touch once!
What lead me to start studying so late in life?
Well a few years ago (around 5 years actually), I was minding my own business when my daughter Miss Punky Bo’ster was brushing my hair and noticed I had a mole in my cleavage, now Bo’ster being her typical self decided to kindly inform me about the dangers of melanoma (by kindly I really mean that she demanded that I go get it check and proceed to tell me that I would die if I didn’t). So after a few weeks of her badgering, I finally gave in and booked my self an appointment, and was in shock when all the tests can back saying that my almost 6 year old (yes you read that right she was just shy of her SIX birthday at the time) had been right, I had melanoma in my right breast. So any way long story short I had a battle on my hands (you can read about it here), which I won and have the battle scars to show for it. At the time of my diagnoses I was home schooling both my kids, (that is a story in itself), and at the request of my doctor I decided to risk sending them back to school, it was a hard decision to make due to the reasons that had lead me to home schooling in the first place, but I had to give myself a chance to get through the melanoma and to recover properly.
So anyway, once recovered I realized, hey wait a second, I’m still here & my kids are surviving at school! So what now?!?!? what am I going to do with my second chance?!?! I couldn’t work because while my kids were surviving enough at school to leave them there and not take up home schooling again, they still had regular melt downs that required either me to go to the school and assist or to pick them up and bring them home, plus their never ending doctor/therapy/support appointments, no one would hire me! Sure they all seemed happy enough when I explained that I need my work to be flexible and that my kids come first, but reality is when I am constantly having to leave early to rush to my kids, I’m not really helping their business am I? And that was when I decided that it was time for me to do something for me, and study. I chose to study online, this way I can work it around my kids as much as possible, and still be doing something beneficial at the same time.
So what lead me to pick this study path?
For as long as I can remember I have spent my time reading people, it was a strategy I put in place early on in life as a survival tactic, except I spent lets say the first 18 years of my life using this skill as a way to appease the people trying to hurt me. I would read them in order to know what would make them happy, or what would at least satisfy them, or when they were angry. This way I was able to survive, but then I started to get the courage to fight back, and started teaching my self how to use my skill of reading people not just to defend myself, but also to stand up for myself. And at the age of 23, thanks to facebook and old friend can back into my life, who helped me to learn how to be independent and thus truly be able to stand up for my self and my kids.
Since then I have continued to learn more and more about reading people, and the more I learn the more I’m intrigued and the more I want to learn more. It fascinates me why people do the things they do, or why they act the way they do, my kids most of all intrigue and fascinate me. The way they think and act, and how they see things, its just amazing! I watch my kids and how they grow and develop, how they interact with each other and other people, and how other people interact with them. Unfortunately not everyone is willing to look past what is different, and so I watch and I read, and I protect them the best I can.
And so when the time came to ask myself what is it I want to do with my life, the answer was easy, I want to watch and read people, I want to be able to protect people from what others cant see or don’t want to see! I want to be able to see the people who have been hurt and tell them that there is a light at the and of the tunnel and maybe be lucky enough to help them find it the way I was helped. But most of all I want to be able to help make a difference for my children, and for the others who aren’t able to, and hopefully do my bit to make the world easier for a few to live in. So I work my ass off, and study as hard as I can, so one day I can hopefully end up working for A.D.F.I.S. (Australian Defense Force Investigation Services (if I can finish my BA’s while I’m young enough to apply)), or to work for A.S.I.O. (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation), or the A.C.C. (Australian Crime Commission).
And next your probably wondering why I choose to study full-time, while raising two kids on my own, both with ASD, and while also trying to get a business started?
That’s a very good question! Well the simple answer would be to say that I really don’t like being bored or sleeping (the sleeping part is a lie, I love sleep, it just doesn’t love me back 😛 ). The more complicated answer would be that, one day I hope to be able to reach my goal of building a gaming environment for everyone that is happy, healthy and safe, a place where no matter who you are, where you come from, what labels you have been given, you can leave all that at the door and just have fun. And then be able to pass that on to my kids and who knows maybe one day their kids :p
A lot of people see the gaming world as a negative, and yes as with everything in life, the gaming world has its pros and it cons, but for anyone who has truly experienced the world of gaming and seen all the benefits that can come from it, they will understand why I’m a gamer and why I am building NUGaming. I love my kids, they are my world, but they are also very difficult and can be very draining at times. Having a place that I can go to once they are in bed, I place that can unwind and focus on something that I find relaxing, is what recharges my battery so I can get up and do it all again the next day. My life is very much a balancing/juggling act, yet I wouldnt have it any other way. I get up each morning and get my kids ready for their day, then once they are at school I study, and I do this till it is time for them to come home or time for one of their appointments, and then we do homework or watch a movie or something till dinner and bed time, then I game/work on NUGaming, unless I have exams or assignments to do, in which case they take priority. I enjoy that my life is so full on, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I don’t like or enjoy being bored, I don’t like or enjoy being unproductive, and I don’t like knowing that there is something that I could have done or could be doing, but didn’t, unless I know that I can honestly say to myself that nothing I could have done or nothing I could do, would have made a difference. And so when I get bored I find things to do, or I find things to fix or help with. When it comes to study and NUGaming, I guess if I said that one feeds my brain while the other feeds my soul, that would probably be the most accurate way I could describe it, I will let you decide which is which :p
As always have a great day & thank you for your support
Chat soon
Soul <3
