If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to not be negatively influenced by people who do not value academic pursuits. I remember when I was about to graduate from college for my B.A. I was a single mother with two children. I had struggled considerably to accomplish this goal. In addition to attending classes full time, I also held down two part-time jobs and took care of my two girls. Near the end of my senior year, I made the decision that I would need to obtain my Master's in order to be fully prepared for the field of work I wanted to pursue. Through all of this I discovered...