Yet Another Foray Into New Territory
I'm officially a "mature adult learner!"
What exactly does that mean? Well, yesterday I sent in my application to take a class through the lifetime learning program through our local community college. I'm a student again, one who's actually paying for a class. It's only a one day class, but still. . . .
So what exactly inspired the college-degree-holding, four-kids-and-no-spare-time, already-training-for-a-triathlon woman to sign up for a lifetime learning class? It started with a dream. I woke up one morning having vividly dreamed that I was back in college. You may know the kind: where you wake up in a panic because you think it's time for the final exam and you've forgotten to go to class all semester. Yeah, one of those kind of dreams. Anyway, it had a random effect on me. I got all nostalgic about being in school and spent all morning wishing I could take a class just to learn something new. (Not to write term papers or take tests though. I have no desire to return to that part of my life.)
Later that day I was walking through the gym lobby and the community college had a display set up. Remembering my early morning wistfulness, I paused and leafed through their catalogs. That's when I saw the lifetime learners catalog, which helpfully added on its cover that no grades or tests were involved. Perfect!!! So I leafed through it and chanced on a class that immediately caught my interest:
How to Write and Publish Your First Book
Hmmm. I've already written two and I'm driving myself nuts trying to work on the third, but publishing . . . that's something I know nothing about. Not that I expect or have any desire to be Stephen King or JK Rowling. But still, it would be so exciting to publish something, not to mention that even a small advance would help finance my triathlon hobby. (With a larger advance, maybe I could even pay off the van. . . wait, back to the topic. I would never disgrace my talent by writing for monetary gain. I write solely for the sake of pursuing excellence in my craft. *snort*)
After discussing it briefly with Terence and mentally debating it and finally receiving desperately needed encouragement from my mother, I decided to go for it. But when I pulled out the catalog to get the registration form, I noticed one troubling little detail.
Everyone pictured in the catalog was eligible for Social Security. I flipped to the description of the lifetime learners program and read that it is an "enrichment program for adult learners of any age." OK. "Any age" implies that people younger than retirement age are welcome too. But why emphasize the adult part? Isn't nearly everyone who goes to college an adult? Was it supposed to be a politically correct code, like "Active Adult Community?"
Before I sent in a registration form only to get rejected for not being "adult" enough, I emailed one of the guys in charge. His email cheerfully explained that yes, the program is intended for "mature adults" (see, there's the code,) but they have had students from their 20's to their 90's, so I'm welcome to join a class if I wish.
So here goes. The class is in August. I sincerely hope I'm not the youngest person in it.
What exactly does that mean? Well, yesterday I sent in my application to take a class through the lifetime learning program through our local community college. I'm a student again, one who's actually paying for a class. It's only a one day class, but still. . . .
So what exactly inspired the college-degree-holding, four-kids-and-no-spare-time, already-training-for-a-triathlon woman to sign up for a lifetime learning class? It started with a dream. I woke up one morning having vividly dreamed that I was back in college. You may know the kind: where you wake up in a panic because you think it's time for the final exam and you've forgotten to go to class all semester. Yeah, one of those kind of dreams. Anyway, it had a random effect on me. I got all nostalgic about being in school and spent all morning wishing I could take a class just to learn something new. (Not to write term papers or take tests though. I have no desire to return to that part of my life.)
Later that day I was walking through the gym lobby and the community college had a display set up. Remembering my early morning wistfulness, I paused and leafed through their catalogs. That's when I saw the lifetime learners catalog, which helpfully added on its cover that no grades or tests were involved. Perfect!!! So I leafed through it and chanced on a class that immediately caught my interest:
How to Write and Publish Your First Book
Hmmm. I've already written two and I'm driving myself nuts trying to work on the third, but publishing . . . that's something I know nothing about. Not that I expect or have any desire to be Stephen King or JK Rowling. But still, it would be so exciting to publish something, not to mention that even a small advance would help finance my triathlon hobby. (With a larger advance, maybe I could even pay off the van. . . wait, back to the topic. I would never disgrace my talent by writing for monetary gain. I write solely for the sake of pursuing excellence in my craft. *snort*)
After discussing it briefly with Terence and mentally debating it and finally receiving desperately needed encouragement from my mother, I decided to go for it. But when I pulled out the catalog to get the registration form, I noticed one troubling little detail.
Everyone pictured in the catalog was eligible for Social Security. I flipped to the description of the lifetime learners program and read that it is an "enrichment program for adult learners of any age." OK. "Any age" implies that people younger than retirement age are welcome too. But why emphasize the adult part? Isn't nearly everyone who goes to college an adult? Was it supposed to be a politically correct code, like "Active Adult Community?"
Before I sent in a registration form only to get rejected for not being "adult" enough, I emailed one of the guys in charge. His email cheerfully explained that yes, the program is intended for "mature adults" (see, there's the code,) but they have had students from their 20's to their 90's, so I'm welcome to join a class if I wish.
So here goes. The class is in August. I sincerely hope I'm not the youngest person in it.
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