By Leslie
At this time last year I was working at Rockcastle Mfg. We had just found out in July, after vacation that the factory was going to close. They were taking our work to Mexico. This was not a big shock, we knew for a while things were not looking very good for our jobs. I guess you could say, we knew it was coming but when it actually did it was just hard to accept. We were all just trying to figure out what we were going to do. Some people had already gone on to find other jobs. But most of us were riding it out to the end. Then one day we were told that because our work was going over seas that we would have the opportunity to go back to school if we chose to do so.This was really something to think about. The Trade Readjustment Act would allow us to go to school for two years and it would be paid for. This was due to our jobs going to a foreign country. Also, we could draw our unemployment for the two years. This was something to really think about. How many times would a person get an opportunity like this?
There were several of us that decided to go back to school. For me, this was something that I always wanted to do but never had the opportunity. I was really looking forward to going to school. But the closer the time came to actually do this the more nervous and scared I became. We had to start in the adult education program first to get us ready for actual college because most of us had been out of school for so long.
The day came when we had to go to the adult education center and do testing to see where we needed to start. I was scared to death. Before it was just a thought and now it was actually happening. I was scared to death of taking a test. It had been nineteen years since I had taken a test. But once I got there, it wasn’t so bad. Everyone was so nice to me and went out of their way to help me. That really helped me feel comfortable and relax a little.
Then the time came to start the adult education process. I was nervous at first, but I was also excited to start learning. I was mainly scared that I wouldn’t be able to do the work or couldn’t learn as fast as everyone else. But I have done better than I ever dreamed I would and that made me feel more confident.
Now it almost time to start actual college. And again I am having the same nervous and scared feelings. But I try to tell myself that I had the same feelings when I started the adult education and that has gone wonderfully. I just hope college goes as well.This time last year, going to school was just a thought of what we would do when our jobs were over. There was a lot of nervousness and worry at that time but now I think we are feeling more confident and secure with our choice.
