As Graduation Season is in full swing,success and accomplishments fill my Facebook timeline on a daily basis. Young eager college graduates are ready to spread their wings and fly into the headwinds of life, not knowing what awaits them. Now that the cap and gown are put away and all of the presents have been opened, reality sets in and it's time to make something of themselves.

I can't help but to think of the many college co-eds that started school but never finished. Some lost interest, some got married, and some may have gotten knocked up.  At the end of the day, college is not for everyone.  I'm one of those that got married AND knocked up before I finished college. There have been many times I have desired to go back to school and finish what I started, but life got in the way. After being out of school for 20 years and 6 kids later, I finally decided to go back in 2013.  Keeping my household together, juggling the kids schedules and getting dinner on the table still had to be done on top of my courseload and I had already made preparations for all of those things. 1 week before I was to begin school, I got a cancer diagnosis that threw everything out of whack. Once again my academic endeavors were being put on hold for something else: the fight of my life.

After 6 rounds of chemo and 25 rounds of radiation, I am cancer free today.  At the tender age of 38, it took a cancer diagnosis to really give me reality check of what really matters in life.  Here I was going outside of my home trying to accomplish academic tasks when there were areas within my home that needed my attention. I needed to improve on being a better wife to my husband, a mother to my children, a sister to my siblings, and even a daughter to my parents. For many years I had bouts of feeling inadequate or less than because I had never finished college. The Lord showed me that it wasn't my education that determines my success, but it is the quality of life that I live and the legacy that I leave behind. As a result of me devoting more attention to my marriage and my household,  my marriage is stronger and so is my family. Don't get me wrong. I do believe in higher education and I am making sure that my children attend college, but for those of us who have not atteneded or finished college, it's not the end of the world.  

That being said, you may be reading this post and have desires for higher education at this point in your life. Maybe you want to go back to work or start a business but you have been home raising your kids for the past 20 years like me.  The advice that I have given myself is long as I have breath in my lungs and blood running through my veins, it's NEVER too late to succeed in life. Success looks different to each and every one of us. Your success may be a house with the white picket fence, 2.5 kids, a dog, a hot husband, and a Porsche and mini van parked in the garage. Success may be having a million dollars in the bank a thriving business. If you wanna lose the weight, then lose the weight! If you wanna get married, then get out there and throw your hat in the ring.  If you wanna open a restaurant, then do it!  The picture of success for me is being alive and cancer free, loving and taking care of my husband and children, serving my church and community, and sharing my story of hope and faith as it relates to cancer. I am loving life and succeeding in all areas that matter to me and you should be doing the same.  If you don't like your current situation, CHANGE IT TODAY.