"Everything I know, I learned after I was thirty." Once I turned thirty, I began to realize I wanted more from life after working as a mechanic in an automotive dealership for fourteen years after high school. My experiences taught me I had deficiencies that are counterproductive to success in today's competitive, technology-oriented environment, like being unable to operate computer technology. However, I also realized I was more mature than I was when I would have normally enrolled in college. I now knew there was a goal I wanted and college represented the path to achieving it. I faced the major decision of enrolling in college in order to earn an Associate's Degree in Aviation Maintenance.
The Clemenceau quote above means a lot to me because I really began to learn about the world and myself once I turned thirty. I began to meet new friends because of traveling with a ski club called the Chicago Fryers. On these travels which included destinations across Europe and America, I was exposed to a social crowd of individuals who were much better educated, well-bred, and more open-minded than my typical friends. In order to be accepted among my new friends, I realized I needed more formal education and a means of earning a better living that would also bring me more fulfillment.
My decision to go back to school was also formulated from a desire to interact with women of a more educated
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