Me, my college degree, and photography

Imagine that it’s February 2011 and you’re almost done with high school. It has been a good four years, and you certainly aren’t complaining about leaving. Sure you will miss your friends, maybe even some of your teachers, but there is nothing that will hold you back. You are more than ready to graduate. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you are driving fast. Along with that bright light of College seemingly always to be shining in your eyes, comes the obstacle of choosing a degree, the potholes of leaving home, and the steep ravines of College tuition on either side of the road.

This is the road I discovered myself upon not too long ago. I was having a good ol’ time driving along, camera in hand and just enjoying the scenery. You see, for as long as I can remember I’ve loved photographs. The power that they hold constantly amazes me. A photograph can make you laugh, cry, or remember previously forgotten memories―sometimes all at once! I love to put photos on my walls, and my desktop, and looking at them in books. You’ll find them all over my bedroom. I love the colors, angles and the emotions. I love the art. The day I got my first camera, I was addicted. I was outside every day photographing anything I could find, which as I look back through my pictures it turned out to be every single flower in my yard. As my ability grew, so did my passion for photography. I realized that the reason I loved photography so much was because every time I looked through the lens, I saw God’s fingerprints all over something. At that point I knew I wanted to do photography as my career. So this is where I found myself, stuck on this road I was supposed to be speeding forward on. Without a map, without a clear view, and without any idea of how to get where I wanted to go.

Right when I was feeling the pressures of not having a road map, my Mom heard about College Plus! ™. My parents and I both really liked the idea of getting College credit for half the time and much less of the cost, but I wasn’t sure if I liked it enough to actually become a College Plus! ™ student. Distance learning, CLEPs, and life coaches were all strange new things I had never heard of. The program sounded amazing, but I was afraid. I didn’t know what it would be like to go to an online college or if I would even be able to pass so many, many CLEPs. I did not consider myself a test taking kind of girl. After looking at all the options and praying for God to show his will in my life, I decided to become a College Plus! ™ student.

Since then, I’ve fallen in love with College Plus! ™. I love the program, I love the control over my education, and I love the encouragement and support from my life coach. Once, the thought of taking 90 credits worth of tests would have put me into a cold sweat, but now it’s not a big deal. Getting to study a new CLEP test is like a breath of fresh air. The more CLEPs I take, the more addicted I become. Am I crazy? Yes, I probably am. I cannot help but to enjoy the challenge of each CLEP test. The small window of time I have to study, the pass or fail element of each test, and the complete immersion of each test are all things I have come to love. Mind you, this is a girl whose only “official” test was taking the SAT. On my first CLEP I’ll admit I was freaking out, but once one can get oneself into the routine of taking the tests it is no longer a problem. Throughout all of those tests, the most valuable thing I’ve discovered about College Plus! ™ is the fact that I can still live my life. It is my life with College. Not College with my life squished in on the side.

Through College Plus! ™ I have been able to get my college credit, and still do what I love. I am currently working on a degree in Communications, while improving and honing my photographic abilities. I get to stay with my family longer, do what I love, and earn college credit at the same time. In short, I get to live my life. I do not have to put anything on hold while I go to college, and on top of that I will finish college faster than my peers. The road to college may be crazy, but choosing College Plus! ™ to help you navigate isn’t.