In today's fast-paced world of technology, standard college classrooms are expanding from large lecture halls and professors, to online courses where a student can earn a degree from the comfort of home. Technological advances have provided schools with the ability to teach students the same course content provided to students in the classroom. Some students, like me, lead very busy lives and the idea of ​​sitting in a classroom is out of reach when you also have to work a full-time job and take care of a family. Although moving my education to an online environment was a difficult transition, the availability of these courses had a profound effect on my education: allowing me to earn my associate degree on my own time, in any location with an internet connection , and using the learning style that worked best for me. In 2010, I decided that going back to school to earn a college degree was my only choice if I ever wanted to advance my life beyond the meaningless job I was doing, toward a full-time career where I could be happy and secure a good life to my family. My options at the time were limited by the fact that I still had to work full time to provide for my family. This left me with the option of taking part-time evening classes in the classroom or enrolling in an online school. I had heard many stories from others who had taken online courses and were unable to complete the courses, or felt like they hadn't really learned what they needed to be successful in their careers. I have found, through researching comments from previous users and discussing online courses with school counselors, that online classes are what you make of them. If I simply tried to get through the courses and only learned what was needed for... middle of paper... in class, all my notes would already be in one central location and sorted by class with easy search functions. I succeeded to complete my degree in a year and a half, and once completed, I took time to reflect on my online studies and how they affected the rest of my life. I was now an entry level candidate for a professional level job, and after overcoming my initial fears and the stigma that follows online colleges, I realized that online classes not only gave me the knowledge I needed for my career , but they also shaped the way I would study in the future. Even now, as I go back to school to continue my studies, I no longer have the same fears I once had about online learning. Instead, I'm excited to put what I learned in my first online course into practice again as I progress through my bachelor's degree program at Western Governors University.