Different Roads May Lead to Different Opportunites... and a Road to Success

Since Curt is getting out of the army now I am terrified for the future. The army has been such a stable career for us that the thought of becoming "civilians" is terrifying!! I am beyond stressed about where we will live, where we will work, and how we are going to transition smoothly with as few hiccups as possible.

I am still moving forward with graduate school. Classes start September 2nd so I have all summer to ponder and work out plans A, B, C, D, and E. As long as I can complete at least one semester of my social work program I can transfer to another school. So fingers crossed we are here until December! ;)
I have already researched and bookmarked several schools in both Iowa and Illinois for a social work transfer. So fingers crossed things work out!!

In other ventures, I have also enrolled in a real estate school through Prudential Hawaii. This is my fall back in case things go crazy and my MSW will have to wait awhile. The class seems fun and I have a year to complete it. They prepare you for the state exam and the material seems well laid out and easy to follow. I will do my best in this course and hopefully pass the licensure exam with flying colors when I feel ready to take it!! I love real estate and took two classes in real estate during college so this is right up my alley as well. Not to mention my love of HGTV and scowering  real estate sites daily for houses!!

I have also applied for a few jobs. One being the FBI as an entry level human resource assistant or intelligence analyst. I have already completed the questionnaire, location preferences, and resume screening and have received my third call back from them already. My resume has been forwarded to the hiring managers in my preferred areas I selected so now I just wait for an opening. That was pretty exciting!!

The last avenue I am pursuing is the air force. I have already talked to the health professions recruiter and I have to wait until mid-July to hear what is going on. I am applying for the Health Professions Scholarship Program for my MSW. The air force is the only branch that offers this and it is extremely competitive. They won't even know if there are any scholarships available until mid-July which is why I stated that earlier. He didn't want to tell me that I will be disqualified for my high blood pressure because he did have a PA (physicians assistant) get a scholarship and he had high cholesterol. So its a 50/50 chance and it is ultimately up to the doctor's at MEPS.It would be amazing to get a scholarship and have my MSW paid for! Like I told the recruiter, the worst they can say is no... and if I don't try I am telling myself the answer is already no!

I have also applied to other odds and ends jobs that I am not too keen on, but I am pushing myself to make something of myself! Life is full of opportunities and I am working towards a few of them that may or may not work out! Who knows! I feel there is no harm in trying and I can feel rewarded just knowing I tried my best and did my best at anything I am working towards.

The sky's the limit! What are you waiting for? :)

Transitioning is terrifying

Hello everyone! I know it's been awhile since I wrote last. I am OFFICIALLY done with my BA program!! My graduation date is August 15th, but I am done! Feels so good. I can't wait to get that degree in the mail and show it off proudly.  Kaylie is now done with elementary school and will start middle school in August. I can't believe that either! Where did my baby girl go??? It's crazy to watch time just pass by and before I even realize it I have a kid in middle school and a kid starting pre-k soon.

So Curt has decided to medically retire. He feels there are no opportunities left for him in the army to further his career so is starting the transition back to the WTU to start the med board again. Since he's already been through it he now only has to complete the rating portion so it will go much faster. We are both nervous as hell about this, but I will support him. He is working closely with his AW2 coordinator and she has passed on to us many resources to help us as we start our civilian lives.

We will be moving back to the midwest and closer to family for awhile. Neither of us want to live there long term, but I'm not ready to think that far ahead in the game. For right now we are concentrating on the immediate future and all the changes that are going to happen which is stressful enough.

I'm still going forward with my MSW program at HPU starting in September. As long as I can complete one semester I can transfer schools. I actually have a lot going on behind the scenes that I am working on, but I don't want to mention them before I get anything concrete. All I will say is I am trying my hardest to help out my family for the future. Fingers crossed for the few avenues I am working on! I will work hard and try my best to make my future bright for my family and do whatever it takes!

It's so stressful though. I have so many different opportunities to explore that I wish sometimes someone would just tell me which road to take and which one is best for my family. The army has truly been great to us. I will miss it terribly. It's been all I have known for the past 12 years. It is so hard imagining ourselves out of the army and living in the "real" world.

Leaving Hawaii will also be hard. I truly like it here. It is a great place to live and raise a family, the only con is its so far away from anyone. I wish we could stay here permanently, and I will miss the aloha spirit and aloha lifestyle with all my heart, but its much more important to be closer to family who can help us out and be able to go to family functions again.

Anyway, not much more I can say on any of these subjects. Just wish us luck for the future! And I will update again soon.



Aloha!