It was inevitable we were heading for a divorce. There would be no reconciliation. There would be no happily ever after, at least not with him. I returned to my home state, beaten down by a failed marriage. I had little to no money, my finances were jacked-up, I had no way to support myself financially. My parents graciously allowed me to return home to mend the pieces of my broken life.
I had no clue what I was going to do. It was not my desire for a divorce nor to live with my parents for an extended period, but as they say, “Life happens,”
The question became, “How was I going to pull it together?” I needed a way to support myself, and being a teller would not do it. I had to go back to school or become skilled at SOMETHING that would allow me to stand on my own two feet. I had to figure out how to manage my finances after divorce. Returning to college and obtaining a degree in accounting was my choice.
That in itself presented so many barriers. Before marrying, I had flunked just about all of my classes. I d because I was not intelligent enough to do the work but because I was not motivated enough to do the work. It seemed to be no big thing then; I wasn’t paying for it; my dad was. It’s easier to be callous with other people’s money than it is your own. I often dropped classes for no good reason other than being lazy and unmotivated, with no clear direction on who I was or what I wanted out of life. This came back to haunt me later.
Starting again after divorce
I decided to start again at a community college since the 4-year college I attended previously denied me reentry because my GPA was so low. I was on a mission and worked feverishly to earn excellent grades. By the end of the two years, I had earned my associate’s degree and graduated with high honors, talk about a turnaround. I had my sights set on returning to that 4-year college and reapplied. Guess what happened? They denied me again. Feeling defeated, I talked it over with my mother, and she asked me, ” Are you going to take no for an answer?” I had no response for her at that time.
What came out of that conversation with my mother is that you have to fight for what you want. I began to pray about the matter then I set out to get accepted no matter what. I called the admissions office umpteen times and spoke with so many people at the college that I couldn’t keep count. Every avenue and resource that I had available to me was exhausted.
A few months later, I received correspondence from the school. I thought they were going to ask me to stop harassing them, but the letter indicated that I was re-accepted back into the school, starting with a zero GPA. I was granted a fresh start. By the end of the two years, I had earned my bachelor’s degree and graduated cum laude. When I say that God can turn something around, he can surely do it! I was on my way to turning my life and finances around!
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