STEPS - Library - Central Queensland University

Run with it
Ursula White
Part Four: Student transformations
Bi-polar has haunted me since my very early teens, creating turmoil with
my schooling and personal life. Uncertain of what was really happening, I
stumbled through the years making consistent errors of judgment, delving
into the depths of darkness, a place I knew I didn’t want to be but could not
rise through it. This ‘thing’ was destroying me, but I was maturing and
refused to give in. Finally, in my early 30s, I was correctly diagnosed, and
stability entered my life. Time and medication improved circumstances; I
was steadily recovering and rebuilding my life when the unimaginable
occurred. On 10 June 2001, I fell from a horse and broke my back and hip. I
recall thinking this was only a small inconvenience. I was alive. I was not
paralysed. I would endure and resume living.
I have never focused greatly on the adversities that have emerged during
my life or let them weigh me down, but have always looked for alternative
directions and moved forward. I’ve resolved that these challenges are life’s
ingredients to test and build character and managed correctly, are valuable
learning instruments for future endeavours. With two failed marriages
behind me, a teenage son who appeared lost, bi-polar and a broken back in
2001, it was get up, shake myself down and run another race. So, in late
2001, when an opening for the Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory
Studies (STEPS) program arose, it seemed a fitting venture. Ten months
after my accident, there I was, not realising I was on the greatest journey to
freedom and self-improvement, not just for my own future but that of my
son as well. There was no doubt previous experiences had more than
prepared us both for the next few years of university, schooling and life’s
ultimatum. However, mostly, this is a story about how my son and I
achieved beating adversity through perseverance.
Education is the key to freedom and when the opportunity to complete the
STEPS program came about, I grabbed hold of it with both hands and ran
with it. STEPS was not a challenge. I felt it was more a necessity than
something I had ever dreamt of achieving. Yet, STEPS proved to be more
than that; it was an opportunity to flourish, grow, and prepare for the bigger
picture of university life, and accomplish a degree in my chosen field of
study. STEPS was easy to commit to; nothing could hold me back from this
new way of life. The program was totally enjoyable. With my love of
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