Fears mature students face about school

Today I want to address some common fears mature students face when returning to school.  Many fears are not realistic, but they exist nevertheless.

• I haven’t studied in years. I’m out of practice.                                          
• What if I am too "stupid" to learn this new stuff and have  wasted my money?
• How will I juggle my home life and school life?
• What if I can't catch on to what the professor is teaching and never "get it"?
• I haven’t written a test in a long time.  I’m worried, anxious and nervous, scared to death.
• I haven't written a paper in over 20 years.

• I don’t know how to use a computer well.  Everything at the college seems to involve computers or the internet.

• What is up with all this math?  I don't even know the metric system.  When I was in school we were only taught the imperial system.

• What if I don't find anyone to talk to and can't make any friends?  What if I feel so self-conscious I give up ?  Am I too old to even try to learn something new?

•   I feel like such an outsider.

• I'll feel old and stupid next to everyone else.  What if i don't relate to anyone?  All my friends are my age so I'll feel awkward around them and I will feel so OLD around all the young kids.

• I doubt my own abilities. I won't be able to keep up with my younger classmates in a formal learning environment.

 I now realize a lot of the above fears are not necessarily an age thing....everyone fears new things at first.  It boils down to the following questions:

Would you rather look stupid for a couple of years then have a successful, good paying job? Or would you rather look stupid your whole life working at some low paying, menial,  dead end job?

My best advice is this:  Just be proud of what you are doing for your own self and your own future no matter what age you are.  Be proud that you are doing a good thing for yourself.    
Meanwhile, onward and upward.                                                                                    You are NEVER to old to learn  

 

 

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Why I LOVE College

Things I LOVE about College.

Today I want to concentrate on some of the things I LOVE about college!

First of all let me tell you.  I am a major reader.   I mean a MAJOR reader!  I LOVE to read.  I read before I started Kindergarten and have barely put a book down since.  My house is FILLED with books.  I enjoy everything from sci-fi and biographies, to medical and legal tomes.  Now that you are aware of my “addiction” issues, perhaps you can appreciate why I LOVE College.  It is such a wonderful way to quench my desire for knowledge!

I LOVE learning about new things, new words, new concepts and approaches to issues.  My grandmother lived in the same house when I grew up, and shared my quest for knowledge.  She read the dictionary every day to improve her vocabulary.  It became a game between us for me to try to guess her “new” word of the day. This just fed my addiction to knowledge.

Another thing I LOVE is the brainstorming sessions and team work.  It is easy for younger peers to think I know nothing about current events, technology or the latest social media fad.  Instead of opening my mouth, I find it beneficial to sit back quietly and listen to different ideas.  By doing this, I learn how others think without alienating anyone.

I also LOVE seeing the potential for greatness in my fellow students.  Their whole life is before them.  This is inspiring to me and even though I am twice their ages, I’m sure they will agree with me about this statement.  

Meanwhile, onward and upward.  Life waits for no one!

Life is hard, education doesn't have to be

I find myself comparing my viewpoints with some of my fellow students on all manner of issues.  They think they know everything and have their future all planned out.  Well, I am here to tell them that life does not always go smoothly and no matter how intelligent you are, or how much planning you do for the future, NOTHING ever goes according to plan in life.  

When I was 19 I was married and had a lucrative career working with my husband in advertising.  At 22, my husband died of cancer and I was suddenly a widow.  At 25, I married a man 17 years older than me and put my career on hold to raise two sons.  When my boys were in school full time, I returned to work.  At 35, after 10 years of extreme physical, mental and verbal spousal abuse, I escaped with my sons and what we could carry.  We slept on the floor till I found full time work.  Did this take courage?  You bet it did!  Did this make me grow up in a hurry?  You bet it did!  Did it give me a very different perspective on life from others my   age….you bet it did!       

    

Returning to school at an older age is not all negative!  One of the benefits of being surrounded by younger classmates is that I get to see educated minds at work.  It keeps my own mind young and in tune with society.  I love being involved with social media.  I love sitting back and listening to students discuss their “problems” and thinking of how I wish I could trade problems with them.  I love living the life of a “normal” college student vicariously. My fellow students are fine young people who will continue to grow and mature into even finer adults.

 Onward and upwards to the future.