After working ten years in the finance field, I quit my job and went back to school. It wasn't on a whim, mind you, and a lot of planning went into the change (and a little bit of luck). So, I am currently pursuing a Paralegal certificate through Phoenix College. Therefore, my first semester of school is this summer and I have three classes going right now. Two of them are law classes and the third is a computer class. I had the option to get out of the computer class (a prerequisite for the program) but I thought the blow-off class could help my pad my grade point average, and I did not know how I would adjust to school after not taking any classes for almost 12 years (I graduated from Arizona State University with a less than 3.0 GPA). As irony goes, my challenging class is the one I expected to be a blow-off.
We just finished mid-terms, and my favorite class had been Civil Procedures I on Wednesday evenings, but then the first class after the exam shifted from theory and practical application of law into the actual application of law, specifically drafting a complaint. My first paper is due next week, and I'm not entirely sure how well I am going to succeed. My second favorite class, which moved into first place after mid-terms now, was Introduction to Law on Saturday mornings. Our book in this class is the same used with law students studying to be lawyers (hence the reason I call my schooling "law classes"). For the most part, the class is a broad overview of various aspects of law, and this class is definitely the most interesting.
However, the reason I'm so tired is that all three classes have exams every week and, in both law classes, we cover a new chapter each week. Right now I am torn between signing up for three or four law classes for the next two semesters. If I took four classes in both semesters, then I would finish certificate in 12 months. If I took three classes, then I could taken on a part-time job and get some income. At this point, I am torn between the choices. After 10 years of stable income, I have grown accustom to a few more luxuries than I have budgeted. Then again, after 8 years of dedicated employment, I enjoy taking things slow and absorbing the simple life (although, lately that has consisted of more television than anything else, so if that continues, I'd prefer working). Of course, the option isn't fully up to me as I would need to find a job first. My ideal part-time job would be in a law office as a mail-room clerk or similar position where I could grow within the company and take on the position of a paralegal in the same firm at a later date. Failing that, I could take on any brainless job as long as it did not wipe out my energy. But again, it is not fully up to me.
Either way, I did well on my mid-terms and I enjoy learning about specifics of the law enough that I doubt the next 9 or 12 months will be too difficult for me. Plus, the weather will only get better since Arizona is experiencing what I call the "100 days of 100 degrees" (i.e. mid-May through mid-September) and this weather zaps all my energy. Lately, I have felt that I have accomplished less each passing day. Come to think of it, that may be the real reason I am so tired.
