You are never too old!

My name is L’Tanya Fish and everyone just calls me “Fish”. Yes Fish because it is easier to remember. I was born in Hickory, North Carolina to a single mom and my extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and a lot of cousins. I was raised in a Southern Baptist home where education was encouraged and supported. When the public schools were integrated in my hometown, my mother jumped at the opportunity for me to be one of twelve students to integrate Hickory City Schools. Now, I have a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and Deafness and a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and Deafness.

Ten years ago, I decided to create my bucket list of things that I wanted to accomplish. Here are just a few items:

• I wanted to travel to all 50 states in America as well as go to Paris, Rome, Australia, and New Zealand.
• I wanted to get my doctorate degree.
• I wanted to study abroad.

I am a 6l years old black female living my dream. I am telling you that you are never too old to make your dreams come true. I have traveled to 28 out of 50 states plus Paris, Rome, Australia, and New Zealand. I am a doctoral candidate majoring in Rehabilitation Counseling and Rehabilitation Counselor Education at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC and plan to graduate in May.

Now, I am in Belize, Central America to study abroad for nine days with sixteen other graduate and undergraduate students. Our professor asked us to maintain a journal while in Belize and gave us some specific questions to write about. One question was “What are your thoughts, feelings, and concerns about studying abroad or going to Belize?” Although I enjoy traveling as a tourist, a cultural immersion experience is totally different. So I will be honest with you. I had some concerns that ultimately I had to resolve if I wanted to successfully cross this item off my bucket list.

I was concerned about paying for this trip while also paying for tuition and fees. I decided to ask for additional financial aid to cover my tuition and fees plus assistance with study abroad expenses. I was also allowed to make installment payments for study abroad and receive a scholarship from the Office of International Affairs.

I was worried about traveling with a group of twenty people. My initial worry soon abated as most of the time, our group of twenty was broken down into smaller groups of eight or nine and going in different directions. Also we were given different opportunities to explore the city and culture in small groups.

I was apprehensive about rooming with a person that I did not know because I snore. Luckily, we were assigned different roommates when we changed lodging. This was a great idea because I was given the opportunity to get to know the other students in the group. Furthermore, I was able to obtain a TEP scholarship that afforded me a single room for the last leg of our study abroad.

I was nervous that I would not find anything to eat because of my allergies. The TEP staff of the program asked about any allergies and special diet and communicated my allergy’s restraints to the appropriate people who were providing the meals. The TEP staff ensured that shellfish, peanuts, nor tomatoes were not a part of my prepared meals.

I was scared about the dogs freely roaming the streets of Belize. I have had several bad experiences with dogs in the United States but the dogs roaming the streets in Belize seemed to be more afraid of me than I was of them.



Lastly, I was unsure if I could keep up the pace of the other graduate students when travelling. I realized that everyone gets tired sometimes and how important it is to drink plenty of water. Although I had a lot of concerns, it was important to me to find solutions to my problems by communicating with my professor, financial aid officer, University Study Abroad Coordinator, Assistant Director for Study Abroad, and Toucan Education Program Coordinator. I choose to do everything possible to make my dream come true because I truly believe that you are never too old! So as I looked out my window at the Caribbean Sea and touched by the beauty of the water, I am so happy that for me “age is but a number” and only I get to say when I am too old.