Being able to be in a classroom with a teacher, peers and a syllabus with deadlines is definitely preferable to me. I have just 11 credits and one semester to go before I graduate! Or at least, that's what I thought. Upon closer inspection at my graduation plan I realized that I forgot about one 100 level, 3.0 credit class that is mandatory for my major. That brings the grand total of credits up to 14.0 turning this semester from fun, easy part-time student to stressful, time consuming, full-time student.
Being the top dog at BYU; AKA, a senior; I get to register for the classes I want first! My deadline is approaching-- Oct. 26-- and now I have a decision to make.
Scheduling Options
I am a mother now. Do I sacrifice the class that I really want to do for a schedule that requires less time on campus (and therefore fewer hours I would need to pay a babysitter to watch Sander) and allows me to go in later in the day? Or do I take the class I know I would really enjoy and am interested in and deal with the longer hours on campus, the 6:30 wake up on Mondays and the 5:30 wake up on Wednesdays and the higher babysitter fees?
The class I really want to do would require me to be in class from 9-3 on Monday, 8-3 on Wednesday and 12-3 on Fridays. These times I have listed have a class during every hour with no time to eat or pump my milk if I get too full except in the 10 minutes I have in between classes. On my longest day, even if I feed Sander right before I leave, that is 8 1/2 hours that Sander would be with a sitter and I would have to go without pumping. . . yikes.
The other class, with a bare minimum schedule, would only require me to be on campus from 12-4 MWF. That's only 5 1/2 hours on campus. This is also not including the extra time I have to be on campus to take exams and work on any group projects.
When I put it like that the choice seems obvious and yet a little part of me still rebels against it. The early class is an advanced cooking class (the 3rd level I will have taken where we actually get to run a restaurant on campus!) and the more I talk with Casey the more it seems like those skills would come in handy in our future career path. But it's much earlier in the day and requires two more hours on campus than the other alternative- a Parenting and Child Rearing class, that would also be interesting (probably), but not as fun. Going with the Parenting class I wouldn't have to leave to go onto campus until 11 a.m. which would be an advantage during the winter semester because it would give any snow that fell during the night a chance to melt, making the roads and the journey to campus much safer and faster.
Alternatively, I could still do the Parenting class but take a Latin Dance class in place of a religion class and instead do the religion class online. Then I would be on campus 11-4. But, that's still 6 1/2 hours I would have to go without pumping, 2.0 more credits tacked onto my schedule, bringing me to 16 credits, with more out of class hours that I would need to practice the dances with my partner.
*sigh*
I guess I know what I have to do. The most important thing is Sander. I want to be there to take care of him and not spend most of my days on campus and most of my nights ignoring him to get my homework done. The second most important thing in this is to get my degree. I've come too far to give up on it now. The parenting class will still be beneficial and interesting and has many more checks in the pros column than the cons. Choosing to become a mother will require sacrifice and I am willing to be responsible for the life I have created. I have a responsibility to his welfare and development first and foremost. And, to be honest, all he has to do is look at me with those beautiful blue eyes, flash that big gummy smile while he gurgles at me and suddenly, it doesn't feel like much of a sacrifice at all.
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