Friday, August 30, 2013

New Routine


I am ruled by routine.  Throwing something new into the mix, like a class two days a week, has rocked my world a bit, but I’m starting to settle in.
I’m so glad that I chose to take a class on campus rather than online.  Partially because my limited technical skills are put to the test enough as it is, and I’m actually showing up for the “learning part” in person.  

Being on campus, even though it’s in my own city, is so different from anything else I’ve ever experienced here in Denver, I sometimes feel that I’m in a different country altogether.  As a white person, I’m in the minority.  It’s crowded with people.  The fragrance in the air is cigarette smoke and cherry chapstick.

One of my favorite scenes last week: I saw a guy walking to class.  He was wearing a flat-billed, oversized baseball cap, full-sleeved tattoos, a wife beater and oversized shorts.  He was pushing a stroller with a toddler in it.


The campus that I attend is shared by three different schools, two of them community colleges, so I’m not in the minority in terms of non-traditional students.  I don’t feel out of place, being 34 and a half and going to school for the first time.


I should say that I don’t feel like I look out of place, there are lots of people my age and older that are walking around, but it feels out of place in my own skin, I guess.  I constantly feel like I’m too old to be starting this.  It’s funny to talk about this class and have people say, “Oh, you’re going back to school?”  Nope.  I’m going to school.  First time (not going “back”).  I never did this before.  I went to beauty school.  


I wondered, as I walked to my class this week, how many of the other students had spent the beginning of their day, you know, as “class prep”, in therapy (because they’re widowed), then hassling with the contractors on their bathroom renovation, then making confirmation calls for their full-time job, then leaving a heated message with the bank because they still haven’t sent the checks for the business account that were ordered over a month ago, then loading their service dog onto the light rail and waltzing into class?  



3 comments:

  1. You picked the perfect class to start college. People in the creative arts and writing classes don't spend much time judging people by age...it's the work you'll produce in class that will count with them. I was over 40 when I went back to college and what I found funny was that when I wore a skirt or dress the others treated me like I was professor or something, opening doors for me, etc. But when I wore jeans I was treated just like everyone else. I hope you'll post some of your writing assignments here. Either way, enjoy the ride you're on!

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  2. Proud of you! That's a huge accomplishment.

    My mom went back to school to get her high school diploma, back in 1967. My oldest sister was 14. I can't imagine what the college campus looked like back then!

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  3. I wish you were at dinner with us the other night- a bunch of girlfriends at a garden dinner with open seating... We sat with two wonderful ladies who have had FULL careers in the post secondary education field.
    And one tiny tidbit that I took from the vast night is that YOU, and all those like you in any way shape and form (the "non-traditional" student) are now the majority...and that majority will only continue to grow.
    So don't fell out of place, or wonder what others think...you are right where you need to be.
    So excited for you!

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