There is a saying that if you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans. I have been a big believer in this concept. I think God knows I have a sense of humor about things and as long as not-too-many-bad-things happen too close together I can usually laugh it off.
Well, it's been a LONG time of not-as-many-good-as-bad things have happened, and I will admit I went from laughing, to fake-laughing, to crying, to numb, to motivated, to cranky, to hopeful. Well, now that we are in the hopeful stage I feel that I can share with ya'll DA PLAN that we have had in the works for a few months. Nothing is set in stone of course, but that's what makes plans so sonderful, their ability to evolve.
DA PLAN started blossoming in April when Ammon went to a job fair. He met a rep from a truck-driving school and got really excited about the possibility of becoming a truck driver. However, the school cost $4000, something we obviously did not have! Through some leads he got from the school, Ammon was directed to a government career center that has been one of the biggest blessings!! It has shown Ammon a way to tap into the Workforce Investment Act, which is basically a government-funded... everything. This Act offers so many opportunities including classes to help you improve resume-writing, job-searching, interviewing... and it is also a way to tap into grants offered to people in Ammon's exact situation. There's a lot of work involved in getting this grant, but it is worth it!!
Ammon is on the tail end of finishing up his paperwork and then within a few weeks, we will know if he qualifies for this grant... to go to school... to get a trucking job.
Well, that's the first part of DA PLAN. The second part happened when I realized that I needed a job... and was not getting a job. Something I have been aware of, but not so acutely until my unemployment was running out. Then, I was asked by a friend to do some photos for her family and a friend, and it hit me! I want to be a photographer!!!!! Okay, for people in my family this may not be such a surprise. I have loved doing photography for 15 years! I wanted to study photography right out of high school, but registered so late for my college classes that I never got a photography class. Hence, my dropping out of college 6 weeks later. I've never lost this 'dream', and in fact have done multiple photo schoots with family, friends and random friends-of-friends over the years. However, I haven't known about my resources until now. This, of course, is why I'm in the hopeful stage.
Shortly after this would-be revelation, I went to a class offered by the aforementioned career center that taught me all about the FAFSA. WHAT?!? I could get free money to got to school to become a photographer? (IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS!!). I never realized how little I knew. Anyway, needless to say, I am now registered at a local community college to work toward my Certificate of Completion in Digital Imaging, which is basically a fancy way of saying Photography. Of course, I still have to GET that free money, just like Ammon, but we are both hoping and praying that everything will work out for the best. And don't worry, my plans for education don't end there, I also want to get my Associates and eventually my Bachelors. I'm leaning toward Accounting, but we'll see how everything turns out over the next few years.
So that's DA PLAN!
