Kristen Cook:  

College After completely disregarding my Mother's pride of having her first born graduate high school, I decided not to attend commencement due to the fact that I had graduated high school on the 11th of December in 1997. I had a strange weariness that people would not remember me and the only applauding would come from my Mother and sister. Besides, I was on the "outs" with my so-called friends, so I spared my Mother the money to shell out for my cap and gown. I promised myself on the night of 1998's graduation that I would not look back with regret. Nonetheless, I still get a bit of "why didn't I just go?" going through my head. After graduation I had decided to take a year and a half off from all schooling and just live life one day at a time. I searched for random jobs during that time since my Mother told me, "You're going to be 18 soon which means you're on your own ...that means you need to get a job." The day after my 18th birthday I brought on the charm and was hired on site at a place that will remain nameless. I took on several jobs after that. During the middle of 1999 I decided it was time to go back to school, and I did. The first college I attended was Mt. San Antonio College where I double-majored in Art and Philosophy. I earned a certificate for being a featured artist during one of the college's art exhibitions. Other than my high school diploma, I hold that certificate mighty high. Since I hate being in one place over a certain span of time, I became tired of Mt. SAC and decided to enroll at Citrus College in Glendora, CA, where I majored in Graphic Design and English. Although the parking structures really blow at Citrus, I managed to stick it out there for a whopping 2.5 years. By the time I was 20-years old, I became sick and tired of junior colleges and went for the gold. I took out a $30,000.00 student loan in order to attend The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising where I majored in Graphic Design. The school's Graphic Design ...Expand for more