Back to school time?

Life happens! We may get downsized, divorced, widowed, or have grown children who no longer need us as they did before. When we find ourselves at one of these transition points, while we may first feel we have been pushed out of  a plane without a parachute, as we recover our balance we notice that there are new options available to us that hadn’t been possible before.

One of these options is to return to school, either to complete earlier education or to change direction or upgrade our qualifications. It is very easy to talk ourselves out of taking a step in a new direction, but the benefits of stepping out into the unknown can be much greater than the qualification we earn along the way! This story tells the stories of a number of Florida midlife women who have returned to school, either as students or educators. If you have any concerns about  your capacity to learn, study – or take test and exams – read it to see how these women have found it to be less difficult and more enjoyable than they originally imagined.

When I went to grad school in my late 40s I had some misgivings about being older than the other students. I assumed that everyone in grad school would be in their twenties or thirties, but couldn’t have been more wrong as in several classes I was far from the oldest student. Even when I was the oldest person in the room, I was the only one who seemed to notice it. The students who were my daughter’s ages treated me as a peer, and even younger professors seemed to enjoy not being the only post-adolescent in the room! The experience opened my eyes to the broader purpose of higher education, which is that it is a melting pot of  ideas, knowledge and opinions, and that as slightly older students we have a lot more life experience to bring to the table.

I also found that there was a youthful energy around the school that I caught, which surprised me as I feared I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the workload. Instead I was energized by this atmosphere, and despite working three part time jobs while I went to school, was never late turning in homework. Ironically I was often used as an example of someone who did turn their work in on time, with the assignment not only completed as requested, but whose writing had also seen the spellchecker. This caused groans from my younger classmates, but also made them determined not to be outdone by someone the age of their mother!

My only warning to others who follow this path is that as a new grad in your fifties you have to compete with people half your age for jobs – and agism is rife. This has been my greatest frustration, but it is more than outweighed by my increased self-confidence and enthusiasm for taking life and running with it – qualities that are incredibly valuable in their own right.

Without having been around students from Wharton I would never have considered starting my own business – the aura of potential in every situation and inevitable entrepreneurship oozed through the campus’ veins. Being around very bright people who challenged my assumptions and wouldn’t take half-baked answers, made me aware of how easy it is to slide through life without ever really thinking. Being successful amid people half my age made me realize I still have a lot to offer, and at a time when society prefers to believe I don’t matter because I’m no longer young.

When I enrolled I expected my qualifications to transfer into a well-paying, interesting and satisfying job, but now see that the world is much bigger than that, and am at ease with using what I’ve learned in a variety of situations. The bottom line is that regaining the driving seat to my life was the best graduation gift anyone could receive.

So, is it back to school time for you? What is that little voice at the back of your head saying?

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