Do I plant my butt or do I freeze it?

[ta2dirishlass]

For those of you who know me, you know that my sis moved to Soldotna a few weeks ago and it was pretty rough for me. I felt like I lost my support system and now am only left with my mother, whom I love because I have to but isn't nearly as supportive as my sister was. But on the happier side we do get to talk on the phone a lot and email back and forth. Today she emailed me with a crazy proposition. We've joked for a while about me moving up there, okay not so much joked but discussed, and it's kind of been a slowly formulating plan. But today she emails me with the news that the junior college there in Kenai doesn't charge out of state tuition. That has been one of my "things to consider". I'm a sophomore now, working through my pre-requisites before hopefully starting a program and ischool is not something I'm willing to give up even to be close to her.

Originally I had been playing with the idea of transferring to U of A next fall but the thought of paying non resident tuition is prohibitive. But my brilliant sister with her master's degree points out that I could attend the JC in Kenai and establish my residency and then transfer to U of A the following year. This is an excellent idea but I truly don't have any pre-requisites left to require another 2 years unless I changed my major (which I do think about all the time). Or I could try to transfer in the "spring" but the thought of trying to move to Alaska mid-winter makes me cringe. I've been kind of setting up to go for a social work program but I've always played with the idea of going for nursing as well. And if I switched to nursing, then this plan would be a masterful one. And if I still felt the urge for social work, there's always the master's program. Or I could get my bachelor's in psych in Kenai.

Another good thing about moving up there would be the fact that I would have my support system back. And I could work nights and weekends so maybe I could actually *gasp* get a job. Only being able to work daycare hours has severely depleted my job offerings. And it sucks.

So really, if I want to do this, all I have to do is figure out how to come up with a couple thousand bucks, decide whether to fly or drive up, and depending on the mode of getting there, either sell or pack up all my crap. Oh, and somehow find a place to live and some job leads before I get there. In Kenai or Soldotna that could be interesting. Yikes.

But if I stayed here, I could stay in my apartment, not pack all my crap or sell it, and finish my degree. I wouldn't be able to work however, I've been waiting 2 months to get hours enough to cover daycare (apparently impossible when you're only available during "office hours"), and all I have for support here is my mother.

Alaska would be awesome. But the whole matter of getting there is quite a huge undertaking. And I would be thousands of miles away from everyone else, even if I did have my #1 person right there. She's my rock. But I'm kind of wondering how I could do on my own, KWIM? But if recent events is any indicator, not too hot lol.

Alas, I'll rest my hamsters and Fornits (points to those of you who get the reference).

[mellie369]

Aug. 2, 2009 at 7:37 AM

Wow! What a decision and I hav no help to offer - well, just that I live in Quebec and want to slit my wrist for the 6 months of the year that we have winter so Alaska would be a no-go for me, lol.