If you've found this tribe: What's your story? Where are you on your educational path? Inquiring minds want to know. Or at least I do.

I'll begin to get us warmed up.

I created this tribe today because I am nearing my mid-30's, and though I'm intelligent, moderately successful in life and have tried many times, I have over and over again left the path that would lead to a better career and a realization of my dreams, the one to my B.A. in Communications. It all has to do with an invisible barrier I erected long ago, a fear of my own creation and imagination, from growing up in an environment that never encouraged anything above mediocrity, that made me feel I somehow wasn't good enough. I carried that with me and it became a surety with me, that degrees were for people who were "lucky" or born with parents who could afford to send them to college, or for people who just had that amazing magical ability to not work and attend full-time classes.

I was not willing to do it little by little. I was afraid at that rate I'd be too old. "It's too late," I said. Yes, in the beginning of my 30's, I was already saying that.

I've always been a hungry learner. I've read voraciously and dallied constantly in a world of ideas and philosophical, intellectual conversations. I've been writing anything and everything since I was 9 years old. Not having a degree has not hurt me as much as it could have professionally, because I joined the Army over a decade ago - thanks to that, I've really had some amazing opportunities to travel, learn and network in life, for which I am truly thankful. Still, the urge to prove myself to myself by meeting my own personal challenge of reaching for and grabbing that degree has never ceased its pull. Whenever the age-old question of "so where did you attend college" came up, I'd find myself feeling ashamed, ducking out of conversations to avoid not having an answer to give.

Today, January 17, 2007, I pledge to change this. I have decided nothing else in the world is more important to me, and that waiting for the "perfect moment" to begin no longer serves to do anything more than push my dream of achieving higher education further into the distant future.

I found a B.A. in Communications was available today through University of Maryland University College (UMUC), fully through online classes. I now have NO more excuses. The degree I wanted, that I thought was never available online, is there and waiting for me to tap into it.

Baby steps... I then called and talked to an adviser who told me where to go to apply online. I did that. On Friday, I am to call and check that it was processed, and then I am going to begin with one class... only one. Reason being that I am starting small, one small incremental change at a time, so that I don't give myself the opportunity to back out and run, as I have in the past.

I have even told friends and coworkers to bug me about this as much as they want. "Hold me accountable," I say to them. In this way, I hope I am building a support network that will help to keep me on track when times are rough, and I'm feeling overwhelmed.

When I accomplish this one goal that I've let hold me back for so long, I know I will be able to do just about anything.

The bandwagon is there for you to jump on - so what are you waiting for?