Today, I took the first positive step toward building myself an amazing personal history. I enrolled in and paid for my first class at University of Maryland University College (UMUC), and I have the book for my course already on the way. I'm just starting small, as I stated before, due to previous fears of being overwhelmed with too much coursework. I am taking a course I have great personal interest in, Sociology (SOCY) 100. I am very excited. At first, I had planned to only take online courses, but when I called today, the online version was full up, and the physical course every Monday was open. I decided 'why not' and enrolled, because it's probably a smarter option for me to get started with a course where I am among other adult students.

How perfect is this, too - The stop for the college is one stop before my usual stop where I park each and every day, which means I can get there, attend and then go straight home without any back and forth distance and transportation woes. This is what truly makes me believe there is a higher hand at work in my life. I may not call it God like some people, but I acknowledge that it is present in my life.

I also believe there is a reason I have ended up taking the non-virtual version. Either I will find people with common issues and interests, or in the long run, it will help cement me in my efforts to reach my educational goals. In the past few months I've really begun to learn and support the philosophy that no one can succeed in isolation. This was echoed in a webinar I attended given by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) the other day, and I think it holds true for everything, from the individual to large corporations.

What do you think? Do you agree that having the support of friends or family who are or have been in similar situations is helpful and maybe better than going it alone?