To keep up with the amount of gray that seems to be presenting in my hair.
Thanks to genetics, I’ve been going gray since I was in my teens, but the additional stress of school really seems to bring out the troops, and I’m having a hard time keeping up.
I’m not used to being one of the oldest in my classes. When I was in primary school, I was always the youngest because I started when I was a few months shy of turning 5. I remember the testing that I had to do to be allowed to start kindergarten early (this was back in the days before K-4). Even when I was in college the first time around I was the kid, because the track I’d chosen was typically populated with non-traditional students (being surrounded by 8 women who seemed to think I needed a second mother was not what I’d call fun…but how ironic, no?)
Now that the tables are turned on me, it’s been quite an interesting experience. I’ve been asked numerous times if I’m a grad student. Those who spy my wedding ring seem to go into fits of swooning because they think it’s so spectacular (anyone who’s married or committed to someone long-term knows that swoony part wears off, though mine hasn’t quite yet…I’m just a realist.) Thankfully, either the majority of the student body is liars, or they are really poor judges of age, because most everyone seems to think I’m about 26. (I want to hug anyone who tells me that…sure beats hearing people say they thought I was 35 when I was only 25…) Every once in awhile I want to throw something at my pre-calc professor when he admonishes the class by saying something about having to forget what we learned in high school (yup, that happened about 15 years ago, bucko…it’s already been forgotten.)
But for the most part? Being the older student kind of rocks. I know what I’m here for, I know what my goals are, and darn it, I know I’m going to have to fight and claw my way to get there. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some first years out there that don’t have their goals established and are super confident in what they want to do with their life. The reality is, however, that the average person changes what they do in life several times over the years. Of course, I think half the people I mention this to just kind of placate me by nodding their heads, thinking, “must be nice to the old lady, must be nice to the old lady…” I have the advantage of having certain things settled in my life that I don’t have to worry about…like whether or not I’m going to find someone and ever get married (check!), I’ve established my identity, I pretty much like myself, and I get along relatively well with my parents (distance and not needing to ask them for money helps…a lot.) It doesn’t hurt that professors usually love older students because there tends to be more common ground.
So, to anyone reading this who might be older and considering coming back to school: if after weighing all the options you have, all the priorities you have (family, work, etc), you find that it will work for you, DO IT! A year ago and a half ago I was miserable. I’d never thought of going back to school full time (I was in school part time), or completely switching my track. I tell you, right now, in the middle of the semester, with one set of tests behind me and another set looming in front of me, I am SO glad I made the transition. It’s the best thing I could have done with my life at this point (one of the scariest, too, but hey, a little fear is healthy.) We non-traditionals might not make up a large part of the population, but dammit, we’re here, and we will make an impact.
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