I don't know what happened..

You know I really don't know what happened, one day I became old-ish, was married, produced the most awesome offspring ever and to top it all off I was a college student. Yes I am one of these things we refer to as a Non-Trad. No I am not a creeper from under the stairs, I am a living breathing college student. I just happen to have a few more labels than others. I mentioned being married and having a child because it helps out a little when being a college student. Now before you reach over and scroll past my post, I am not promoting getting married and having kids as a means to do better at college. I am merely suggesting I am playing the cards I have been dealt and doing mighty fine job (if I do say so myself).

My husband and I have been together for six very exciting love filled years, we have been married for a year and half and have a four year old little girl. For those of you doing the math yes we did things a little different in our personal life so why should college be any different.

I started school back in 2009 after I had lost my job. While scared I made it through my first year with his support. I later talked him into coming back to school. We both found a place in college and love it, I know who would have thought college would be great! We have now accomplished talking his siblings into coming as well as a few friends. So watch our traditional students the Non-Trads are taking over! Being a college student definitely puts your life into hyper drive at times but it is having this support from each other that makes it easier to handle.

We have to schedule classes like everyone else but we just have to juggle two work schedules, babysitters, preschool, my classes, your classes and through in a dash of social life. Most nights we are in our living room eating dinner, juggling homework and entertaining our little one. We have found she does not like Plato's Symposium but she loves History 152 books. It is not unheard of one of us reading while cooking, folding laundry or while having a few short moments of solitude in the bathroom. We have to take a tag team approach to studying. I do the house stuff and entertain our munchkin while he works and then we switch, or we call reinforcements from other Non-Trads.

Finances are always tough when going to college but, my OCD and being a heck of a tightwad gets us through. Yes I am one of those crazy couponers! I search for the best deals on books and supplies, because I am a tightwad. We picked OSU at Marion because it was close to home, so we don't have to pay as much for gas or a sitter, because I am a tightwad. We also get a main campus education at a regional price. Did I mention I am a tightwad? We work on campus which helps us immensely on finding a work schedule that will work around our class schedule.

Going to school with my husband and his family and friends gives us an understanding of what each other is going through and the stresses we deal with. We help each other out when we stress to much about class or a paper. We vent on each other to get rid of frustration and work it through together. With the support we give each other we are able to do things on campus or get away for a few moments.