``I am a mother of three with an amazing husband that is extremely supportive. When I told him that I wanted to go back to school he was right behind me all the way. The difficulty was that we have an autistic son that had difficulty with things changing around him. So naturally when I started school it disrupted his schedule and made everything difficult for all of us.
During the first phase of school I had had so many ups and downs in emotions that I felt like I was going to go insane. With me having to work a swing shift then try to complete the list of items needing to be completed for school then sleeping until my next shift. It has been exhausting, stressful, and all over complicated with the schedule.
When I finally reached the Phase 1 project I felt like I was going to cry. I felt like I knew nothing that was just taught. Every time I tried to read the Guidelines for the project or tried to start it I would get anxious and the words would blur on the page. I never thought that I would complete my project, so I walked away.
While I was trying to relax I decided to think about my project again, but this time I thought about how I wanted to build something that would make a difference in someone else’s life. Thoughts ran through my head about building apps that were way out of the league I was currently in. I had to downsize to a smaller project somehow. I decided to talk to my husband, an outside opinion that knew nothing about what I was doing, and we came up with a Special Aide.
I decided to create a Special Aide for children like my son, autistic or special needs. The application is meant to be an interactive checklist for the day. It will help young children attempt to complete their daily task throughout the day with little to no assistance from an adult. It currently has the parental control where a parent is able to create a list of age appropriate chores for their child and even put a picture that displays what they are to do, with the chore name.
I personally ran into a lot of issues going through my first Project. I would get overwhelmed easily and want to throw my computer across the room. I mean who wouldn’t want to? This is like trying to learn another language. I would feel defeated and really stupid when I couldn’t get something right and just between us I felt like quitting a lot. I have to admit this has been one of the most challenging things I have ever had to learn and I wouldn’t have it any other way. These are the top five Issues I ran into while trying to complete my project:
1.) Frustration
We all know the definition of it “the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something” and we have all, at one point or another, experienced it. This was one of my main companions because it was hard for me to concentrate due to my children needing my attention or having to go to work or fighting to stay away so I could finish something.
2.) Sleep Deprivation
This is another one that I feel like no one needs explained. If you have not felt like a zombie at work or tried to survive off nothing but caffeine well I would love to know how you do it. I had such a difficult time trying to find a minute to sleep seeing as I work, go to school, and help my husband take care of three children and my grandmother. ON TO THE NEXT ONE!
3.) Quiet Time So I Could Concentrate
Ahhhh! Another thing that I think all adults with children wish they could get more often. My husband helped me out a lot with this when I first started learning about Software Engineering. I was getting overwhelmed with my kids wanting my attention and not being able to give my full attention to my schooling for even five minutes. My husband walked up, took my computer while I protested, and took it to the bedroom. He then proceeded to lock me in our room and made sure the kids left me alone. I understand not everyone has this option but you can also complete your work while your kids are at school or asleep.
4.) Becoming to Stress
I stress is the one thing everyone has in common. What am I going to do about the house bill? Who was supposed to go to the doctors today? Is little Jimmy going to go to his dad's house? This is only the very tip of the stress iceberg most of us deal with and then we want to add going to school to the never ending stress list.
5.) Depression
This one was the hardest for me to deal with the most. I have battled with depression my whole life. It is hard enough to try to deal with it in day to day tasks but to have to fight it repeatedly while working through something makes it even harder. It is also not something to take lightly and I hope if you feel it is getting too difficult to handle you will get help.
Until then here are some links of the things I used to help me:
For stress: https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/tips-to-control-stress
For Depression: https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/how-to-fight-depression
For achieving Quiet time: https://inspiremystyle.com/benefits-of-quiet-time/
For Sleep Deprivation: https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-the-treatment-for-sleep-deprivation-3015326
For Frustration: https://mhanational.org/18-ways-cope-frustration
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