My mom and I are going to Rome and Florence for 8 days at the end of this month. Too short for me, but long enough for her first trip to a non-German-speaking country (and for our first trip together since I was 15). I'd love to study anywhere in Europe (I think) but I doubt seriously it's going to happen--not within the next 10 years, anyway. Thanks for the info, John--I'll suggest it to hubby and see what he says! for entertainment purposes....

At the risk of sounding sappy. I just wanted to thank everyone for making ME feel better about my situation and reminding me of how lucky I am. I have been living in Central Europe for 2 years due to my husband?s job. <BR> <BR>I am not able to work here (Switzerland) because the area we live in is somewhat rural with very few job opportunities for a foreigner without fluent German, stringent Swiss laws, etc. <BR> <BR>While most days I feel incredibly fortunate to be here and without children I can pretty much do whatever I want everyday and we travel a lot. I know, you all really feel for me right? <BR>So what do I have to feel bad about? Well, I left the U.S. right after finishing my BA and always feel that EVERYONE else my age is going to be soooooooo much further ahead of me career-wise when I get back. I had planned on being in Grad School by now. You know all that peer envy. Some days I get really depressed thinking, that maybe I?m wasting too much valuable time. But some of your posts really gave me the swift kick in the derrière I needed today. When I look back at how much I have learned in the past 2 years, about art, culture, history, I know it?s better then any MA . I just hope any future potential employer thinks the same? <BR>

Hey Gina, <BR>Check the internet for distance graduate education programs. Several schools offer complete masters online so it doesn't matter where you live or how often you move. Look at yahoo education, universities and colleges, distance. <BR> <BR>Maybe you can start school tomorrow!!!!

Torn, <BR>I am so glad to hear you are going to Italy! <BR>Rome and Florence sound perfect for the two of you. <BR>Your mother is German? <BR>Have a REALLY good time, and enjoy every minute of it,( guilt free!)

you made the right choice but only because you decided to go on a vacation instead of grad school. you seem to lack the determination and sacrifice necessary to become a successful student. 2 weeks and you took the easy way out. please do not reapply to school and use up a valuable slot unless you alter yopur priorities for the long view not just the short one. i may seem harsh but if you had to ask this question for permission of others you answered it before you wrote it

My two cents---or maybe a nickels worth? <BR>now that "torn" has made her decision <BR> <BR>I earned an associates degree in nursing in 1988---14 years after I first started my nursing education.I was 32 years old and earning a 'technical' degree. It was hard to return after I stopped, but it wasn't the hardest thing I've ever done. Yes, *no excuses* in the previous post, I "took up" a place in the program when I dropped out in 1974 to become a full-time wife and mother, but nursing was and is my professional passion and I think---no I know-- I made the right decision at the time I dropped out and at the time I returned. An "alarming" number of marriages ended during the two years I was in school. But there are no guarantees that a marriage will last whether you go to school or not. As you know, nearly 1/2 of all marriages end in divorce, and while mine survived both of us going to school, it ended after two decades. I was an involved nurse, wife, mother while I went back to school to complete my bachelor's of nursing and completed that in six additional years--dropping a course here, taking an incomplete there but trying to keep my priorities straight. I went for the BSN because I could get better shifts and positions and of course the sacrifices of school were rewarded by better income. I am now a teacher at a high school(sadly less financial reward but great personal reward) and am working on my master's in adult education. I think I'll be lucky to complete it by the time I'm 50. I've had to drop out of graduate courses half-way through because of personal and family crisis. I sacrifice my personal time to take courses to better my chances of reaching my professional goals and I postpone taking others because there are no guarantees in life. Decisions based on fear of cancer, death or loss are not always wise. *regrets* made a the choice she needed to make at the time, in her situation, but in my experience when a person makes a decision because of "what if a piano falls" they sometimes regret THAT decision. On the other hand, as a nurse I hear people express regrets when they or their loved one faces a bad diagnosis("I wish I'd have spent more time with my kids" or "my kids are such ingrates, I'm sorry I didn't travel more") my advice is to make your decisions based on living in the now with an eye to the future--a blancing act---but worth it. I keep looking for that graduate internet course that will meet my requirements for "testing and measurement" so I can take a laptop to Italy and sit in the square while I tick off one more course toward my degree! <BR> Torn, it sounds like you made the right decision for you. Grad school will be there when you return from Rome and Florence and will be there when your son is grown. YOU DON"T HAVE TO DO IT ALL not now, not ever. <BR>buon viaggio- <BR>