Back to School

I did it.  I’m back in school, graduate school that is.  I’m not as old as Rodney Dangerfield but I’m probably showing my age just by mentioning him and his film, Back to School.  I bet most of the students in my night class do not even know who he is nor have they ever seen that movie. (What a shame!  Films from the 1980’s are the best!)

I graduated with my B.A. in English (and a minor in Technical Writing) in May of 2000.  So it’s been fifteen years since I’ve had to truly study, work on projects and submit work for grading.  I may be a little bit rusty.  Still I’m rather excited about diving into class mode.  I have a real passion for professional development and training.  I become rather bored doing the same things and not advancing both at a job and in my personal life.  In fact, I tend to make up my own personal challenges if I’m not being stimulated.

I’m probably one of the oldest people in my class (I’m 36) but I am not very bothered by these “kids today.”  If anything I may have an advantage over them – I have real world experience that should add value to our subject matter, Health Communications.  I have birthed two children, had a PPO plan for over a decade and had several health issues in the last few years.  I’ve watched several members of my family gain or lose weight.  There have been illnesses, deaths and new discoveries about eating, exercising and body image.  I have a big network of resources in the medical field too (Many family members who are all nurses, pharmacists, dieticians or other medical helpers).

So far I am enjoying the class and even the textbook we are reading.  Textbooks are normally hard to get through but this one is easy to read, engaging and actually has inspiring stories at many points. I look forward to the discussion and the team project that lies ahead.

I was going to wait until Fall Semester (August) to begin but my advisor said I was cleared for summer session and encouraged me to start earlier. I thought, okay, why not!?  Here I am.  Of course I wouldn’t recommend waiting until two weeks before the start date to make that decision like I did.  The timing (or lack of) was a bit stressful: re-applying, registering and figuring out why I had “holds” on my account and why I could not get into the class I wanted.  We worked it out and I made it on time, however.

Attending school two nights a week for a summer session makes for a LONG day!  The class is three hours and twenty minutes long and we are there the entire time (6:00 pm to 9:20 pm). I wake up at 4:30 a.m. and I don’t go to bed until about 10:00 p.m. on the evenings I have school.  I drop off my children between 7:15 and 7:30 a.m. at school or daycare. So I don’t see them until after they are tucked into bed.  My three year old has been waiting up for me but my seven year old is snoring and deep in dreamland when I come home.  This won’t be easy but I know someday they will understand why I must do this and will (hopefully) be proud of me for working toward my goals.

Somehow I know I will manage to fit in the things that are most important to me – exercising first thing when I wake up, writing throughout the day, eating breakfast with my family each day and dinner with them on the nights I don’t have school.  In addition, I will continue my cooking in bulk on the weekends so I can reheat during the week.  I make it a point to do a load of laundry and dishes almost daily so it doesn’t pile up too much.  I don’t spend too much time on social media and I never watch television, except for an hour on a weekend maybe.  My time is used for a purpose and I try to make the most of it.

I’m happy to be back in the classroom but I also realize that life, family and work are some of the best teachers and tools we can have.  The last fifteen years have been rather amazing and I’m glad I had that time to grow up, move around, meet new people and take on new challenges.  My experiences have made me the person I am and will influence my development in school (and in my future).

Have you considered going back to school?  What kind of training do you enjoy most?