My Support are Loving Crutches

In January I started my Master's program online through Ashford University. After carefully studying around 30 different programs, I finally chose Ashford's Organizational Management program with a specialization in Supply Chain Management. I will be finished in April of next year, and the funny thing is, is that the thought of ever obtaining a Bachelor's Degree never even crossed my mind.

I have an amazing support system that has encouraged me throughout my entire academic career. In high school, my parents were always catechizing about what I was going to do after I graduated, and my answer was always “I don’t know”. It took me almost ten years to figure out what I really wanted to do, but I think if my parents hadn’t have taken an interest in my studies, I may have never even pursued college. With six kids in my family, I am the only one that completed a Bachelor’s Degree, or even started one for that matter. I believe that my Dad always asking “when are you going to finish?”, although very annoying, helped motivate me to finish my undergraduate degree. I suppose that was his way of supporting me in my efforts.

I think that many people have a hard time finishing degrees due to conflict of schedule, which makes it hard to balance your time. In a study done by Wlodkowski, Mauldin, and Gahn in 2001, they concluded that; “Lack of time was the dominant theme for leaving both colleges. The adult students repeatedly and emphatically mentioned competing priorities and not having enough time to meet the demands of family, work, and school” (Wlodkowski, 2003) As we can see from their study, family plays a big part in the completion of degrees. If a wife has the support of her husband, he will take care of the kids when it is time for her to do her studies, and vice-versa. If spouses play no role in the support system, there is always a friend or family member close by.

In my case, I have a very loving wife that has supported me since day one. As I struggle for motivation to go into the computer room and study, she is always there to give me a swift kick in the butt . . . literally . . . not really. After watching our child all day long, she steps up without a peep and occupies him while I spend time here at the computer. When she needs a break, I take time out to watch the kids and let her relax for a bit. By helping and serving each other’s needs, we are both always wanting and willing to do favors for each other. We both understand the end goal of this education and are willing to support each other in any way possible.

I also believe that random people can be a support to us. As conversation arises about education, I mention that I have started a Master’s Program and the response is always positive and is enough reinforcement for me to keep chipping away. Support is very crucial for someone to accomplish things, it motivates and inspires people to do great things, and the people closest to us should be that inspiration.

So Stereotypical

Stereotypes have for centuries lined the minds of humans, and have caused many many problems between different races, cultures and countries. Stereotypes I believe have even been known to cause wars, even in modern history.

In the United States we have been stereotyped by the Muslim world as infidels or non-believers, but we have stereotyped all Muslims as terrorists even though a select minority group in the Middle East and elsewhere are the sole cause of all Islamic religious attacks.

Words fired at certain groups of people seem to travel fast and stick to them like crazy glue, which in turn affects the opinions of those that observe them. Whether or not the stereotyping of certain people is true or false, it will happen, and it is up to the viewer to determine what is myth and fact. Stereotypes create rifts, and buffers between different cultures and countries, and with this distance in place it makes it insanely difficult or awkward to near your neighbor and fellowship them. Instead of getting to know the people for who they are, we rely on preconceived ideas and stereotypes and indulge them as fact, really not knowing if they are myth or fact.

Sifting out the valuable information from stereotypes seems to be difficult for the world. Being able to and having the courage to get to know and study people gives one the chance to analyze and determine what is true about the stereotype and what is not. When Garcilaso was traveling through the Basque country of Spain I’m sure he entered with many preconceived notions of the people because of all the writings before his time, but when he arrived and spent time with the people, he realized that they were very happy. He wrote “joy begins there and only ends with death”. When he realized this, his stereotypical thought process had shed itself of all negativity.

Using our God given common sense, courage, and friendship are ways one can sift through and filter the hordes of stereotypes and find value in a culture, race or country.